Speedrunners, gather once again: Jordan Mechner, the creator of the original Prince of Persia and one of gaming’s pioneering game designers, has announced a challenge for the original title.
The Jordan Mechner Prince of Persia Challenge tasks players with playing through the original title with default game settings as fast as possible both on the free, internet-based version of the game as well as the MS-DOS edition of Prince of Persia. Players can enter the competition by recording their progress, uploading the video of their run with the remaining time on the in-game clock visible in the capture, and then submitting the run on the official website for Mechner’s challenge.
The winners will receive a signed copy of Mechner’s award-winning graphic novel Replay! Memoir of an Uprooted Family, as well as a Steam key for the interactive documentary The Making of Karateka, another one of Mechner’s early titles.
Replay! is a graphic memoir of Mechner’s family history, recounting both his own experiences as an early game developer in the United States as well as his family’s story of living in Europe through both World Wars. The memoir is Mechner’s first graphic novel, and in 2023 it won the Chateau de Cheverny prize for history graphic novels.
Players who wish to enter the competition must submit their speedrun by July 4 at 1:59pm CT. Those listed on the top 20 leaderboard will win prizes. No major glitching is allowed in runs.
For more information on the content, visit the Mechner Challenge’s official website.
UPDATE June 14, 7:49pm CT: By popular request, organizers of the contest will also allow players to also take part in the challenge with the MS-DOS version of the game and not just the free web browser version of Prince of Persia. This article has been updated to reflect this change.
