The Making of Karateka is an interactive documentary, which may sound a bit off-putting at first, but I assure you it's not. This indoc will allow you to experience the development cycle of Karateka through the life of its creator, Jordan Mechner. It's split between five chapters, each focusing on a different time in his life: his first attempts at making games, the initial lead up to Karateka, the development of Karateka, its success, and lastly its legacy.
One of my favorite moments are when he and his father, Francis, are discussing the past and what was being done to create the game. Francis was very involved in helping his son get this game off the ground, by acting as a rotoscope capture model and the composer for all the music. Francis genuninely cared for his son's success, and it's charming to watch them talk about the game's development.
Also included are about 2 hours of video footage from Jordan and Francis Mechner, as well as other industry figures, who discuss the game's impact on the video games as a whole. There are also several photos and document scans, showcasing the development and reception for Karateka.
And don't worry, the game is included, alongside a remastered edition that is faithful to the original (and includes its own commentary track by Mike Mika of Digital Eclipse). There are also several playable and complete prototypes of Karateka to play, along with the original and remastered versions of Deathbounce, a game Jordan never got published, despite his best efforts. There are also a couple of clone games, based on Asteroids, which were his first attempts at making video games.
As a complete package, it's a phenomenal first entry in Digital Eclipse's Gold Master series. If you enjoy video game history at all (even if you haven't ever played Karateka), you should pick this up. It's a history of a video game, in a way that is easily experience and enjoyed. As a source of game preservation, The Making of Karateka really hits the mark.
If you want an even more interesting fact: look at Francis Mechner's Wikipedia page.
One of my favorite moments are when he and his father, Francis, are discussing the past and what was being done to create the game. Francis was very involved in helping his son get this game off the ground, by acting as a rotoscope capture model and the composer for all the music. Francis genuninely cared for his son's success, and it's charming to watch them talk about the game's development.
Also included are about 2 hours of video footage from Jordan and Francis Mechner, as well as other industry figures, who discuss the game's impact on the video games as a whole. There are also several photos and document scans, showcasing the development and reception for Karateka.
And don't worry, the game is included, alongside a remastered edition that is faithful to the original (and includes its own commentary track by Mike Mika of Digital Eclipse). There are also several playable and complete prototypes of Karateka to play, along with the original and remastered versions of Deathbounce, a game Jordan never got published, despite his best efforts. There are also a couple of clone games, based on Asteroids, which were his first attempts at making video games.
As a complete package, it's a phenomenal first entry in Digital Eclipse's Gold Master series. If you enjoy video game history at all (even if you haven't ever played Karateka), you should pick this up. It's a history of a video game, in a way that is easily experience and enjoyed. As a source of game preservation, The Making of Karateka really hits the mark.
If you want an even more interesting fact: look at Francis Mechner's Wikipedia page.