A Morning With Mechner

A light chat about Prince of Persia is nothing new for fans of the fabled franchise, but Friday morning's meeting with series creator Jordan Mechner was full of talk of new directions for the franchise. What some attendees didn't know was the programmer and creator of the original Prince of Persia game (released in 1985 on the Apple IIe) only consulted on the release of Ubisoft's Sands of Time game before the French publisher took the series in a new direction. Over and over, the primary panelist wished Ubi well and offered sincere support for the upcoming release, but reiterated his influence ended with Sands of Time.

The panel was held to discuss he upcoming movie and the more immediate release of the graphic novel. One unexpected gem surfaced from the sands of tie-ins. When asked about his interest in bringing back Karateka (Mechner's 1984 Apple IIe game), he responded with a cool, yet inspiring statement, "Funny you should ask . . . There are plans, but there is not in the way you would expect." Many have concluded that means a game, but that may be too obvious of a conclusion. The topic of the panel was deeply focused on graphic novels, movies, and licensed opportunities. While he hinted later in the panel that he was working on other graphic novel trilogies, fans of the Broderbund classic will just have to wait and see what materializes.