I've been perusing a new title for the Switch called The Making Of Karateka. It traces the development timeline of the game, which was programmed by a college student named Jordan Mechner. It's really fascinating because he employed a lot of innovative techniques like rotoscoping to get the animation smooth. It was also one of the first games to feature a cinematic storyline.
If you're a Karateka nut, this has everything including interviews, sketches, diagrams, and playable prototypes. The game made a big impression on me in school, as I would watch the older kids play it in the computer lab.
The cart lets you play the Apple II version (the best in my opinion) along with the Atari XE and Commodore versions. You can also play a reimagined version of Karateka, as well as some of Jordan's early unreleased games.
When watching some of the interviews, I was taken aback to hear Jordan refer to the game as Ka - ra - TEK - a. I have always pronounced it Ka - RA - tek - a and will continue to do so. There's actually a little video dedicated to the various pronunciations. None are "wrong" so no hard feelings!
The Making of Karateka
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RatsTheDonkey
- Posts: 181
- Joined: March 22nd, 2024, 5:44 pm
Re: The Making of Karateka
Truly one of the best retro game rereleases ever! Digital Eclipse's collections in general are great (Atari 50 is a must have) but their Gold Master "Interactive Documentary" series is such a great idea that helps breath new life into these old games by providing in-depth historical context to them while giving them the lavish respect they deserve! Their Tetris Forever and Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story collections are likewise well worth your time! I'm really excited to see what they're gonna do for their next Gold Master entry! I hope it's a Prince of Persia (Classic) collection, because that would be a perfect follow up to The Making Of Karateka!