# The Making of Prince of Persia: Journals 1985-1993 by Jordan Mechner

11 Hacker News commenters recommended The Making of Prince of Persia: Journals 1985-1993 by Jordan Mechner and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Jordan Mechner's journals from 1985 to 1993 show how he built Prince of Persia, with day-to-day detail that readers enjoy, especially gamers who remember the 1990s. One critic said it was not what they had hoped for.

## Why people recommend it

- Detailed day-to-day development journal entries (2 comments): "Goes into lots of detail as what was going on through the journal entries of the dev." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48501091)) "it's amazing how the journal feels exactly like today's startup scene" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49139025))
- Enjoyable, nostalgic read for gamers (3 comments): "You definitely will not regret that purchase. It's a very enjoyable read." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45840346)) "It's a very nice trip down memory lane." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48500707)) "highly recommended as 90s gamer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48500052))

## What people warn about

- Not what some readers hoped for (1 comments): "it wasn't what I'd hoped for" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48084384))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Tempest vs. Tempest: The Making and Remaking of Atari's Iconic Video Game](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tempest-vs-tempest-the-making-and-remaking-of-atari-s-iconic-video-game.md): 7 recommend
- [Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blood-sweat-and-pixels.md): 4 recommend
- [Game Over by David Sheff](https://hackerapproved.com/p/game-over.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578627310?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780578627311) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Making of Prince of Persia: Journals 1985-1993 by Jordan Mechner", https://hackerapproved.com/p/making-of-prince-of-persia-journals-1985-1993/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).