Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia is a platform game that was released by Brøderbund in 1989 for the 8-bit Apple II series. It was widely seen as a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games. Jordan Mechner, the author, studied many hours of films of his brother David Mechner running and jumping in white clothes to ensure that all the movements looked just right in a process called rotoscoping. Also unusual was the method of combat; protagonist and enemies fought with swords, not some sort of projectile weapons, as was the case in most contemporary games.

As the title suggests, the game is set in Persia. The sultan is away at war, and the evil vizier Jaffar plans to seize the throne for himself. Jaffar has imprisoned the princess and given her one hour to make her decision: marry him, or die. The player assumes the role of an adventurer, the princess's true love; he must escape from prison and rescue her before the hour is up, defeating the vizier and earning the princedom of Persia.