6.07.2010

Mechner of Persia!

Blogger was down last night, that means today is another double post! I think I'm finally starting to get a little faster at Preston Blair's great walk cycles. I just love how over the top and fluid he makes his characters move.




Gilligan practicing his best Question Mark Pose.


Gilligan, frankly, being quite rude.


After a lot of fighting Claude and his turtle call a truce.


Well now, that didn't last very long.

Pirate a Day

Pirate a Day part deux


Our little hero managed to squeeze two of his fingers out of the ropes and hurriedly tried to use the fork to cut himself free.


The enraged, vile pig beast seemed to have grown twice in size since being burned with the hot liquid and was not happy to see his dinner attempting an escape.


This last weekend Rhys and I went out to see Prince of Persia The Sands of Time! Prince of Persia was probably the most influential piece of media in my young life, and I still love it to this day. Every day after school I would head home and pop on my Mac LC III and immerse myself in the most wonderful Arabian fantasy I'd ever seen. To me it wasn't about beating the game it was the characters and the atmosphere. Back then there was no game that compared to the amazing movements of the prince. He could run, jump, drink, walk up stairs, sword fight, and every single one of his movements was so smooth and lifelike. The beautifully rendered images, perfectly arranged music, and true to life sound effects reeled me in even more. As a kid what could beat watching the prince get cut in half, land in spikes, get stabbed, chop down your foes, jump from high platforms and of course save the princess. The new movie is about as close as you could get to having that same experience, even with Jake Gyllenhaal. Jordan Mechner was like a god to my 9 year old self, and he's managed to do it again 18 years later. Thanks for the inspiration!

Check out Jordan Mechner's old journal that follows the journey he took to make Prince of Persia! I spent most of my afternoon today reading it. It's so insightful and a great story. Most of all he includes some of his old concept images and idea sketches.