My first intro to the #Macintosh was at a local computer store near Seattle around 1984-5 that I would frequent after school. The store owners would kindly let me tinker and test out programs like #MacPaint on it without objection.
It would be many years before I actually owned one.
It changed my life & career.
Thank you Steve & Steve
🥋🖌️🎨👨🎨🖥️
The Making of #Karateka is up for the @Official_GDC Audience Award -- and that means you decide the winner! We'd be honored if you selected us from this amazing list of nominees. https://bit.ly/GDCAKarateka
Io ho avuto un percorso di crescita videoludica molto strano. Ho ereditato un Atari XE proprio quando nel mondo si stava affacciando PlayStation. Nello scatolotto delle cassette a disposizione uno dei miei preferiti era Karateka di @jmechner
In questo pezzo c'è un bellissimo approfondimento.
>> For Your Consideration <<
"The Making of Karateka proves the best way to tell gaming history is with a game, and the rest of the industry must follow its lead." -PC Gamer
#TheGameAwards jury members, if you need access to the The Making of #Karateka, please reach out.
Back in July, I learned that the classic Apple II/Commodore 64 game Karateka was getting re-released as a playable game/documentary hybrid for Nintendo Switch. ("The Making of Karateka")
Circa 1984, I was an amateur computer nerd who was obsessed with crack screen intros and who routinely used a hole puncher to notch his blank floppy disks. (Doing so was a cheap albeit ill-advised way to increase their storage capacity by making them double-sided.)
And Karateka was the shit, which I guess lands me in the prime demographics for this peculiar and unanticipated re-up.
Karateka was a side-scrolling fighting game, with animation and cut-scenes that seemed light years ahead of its contemporaries. And yes, while I was driven to this re-release for the novelty of playing it again after 40 years, the accompanying documentary clips, playable rough versions, and scans of correspondence between the game's creator (Jordan Mechner) and the execs at the company who'd eventually release it (Broderbund) are all deeply fascinating diversions.
Especially thrilling is the way so many unique circumstances came together to bring this project to fruition:
Karateka was a groundbreaking game that is fondly remembered by a whole generation of computer gamers.
2.) Mechner's story was uniquely preserved by his comprehensive diary entries (many of which are included in "The Making of Karateka" as archival elements.)
3.) Early versions of the game, its antecedent and adjacent programs, and other technical details were actually rescued for this project from decades-old floppy disks, which adds a thrill-inducing undercurrent for professional and amateur archivists alike.
It’s this quirky backstory that animates the project, and it’s an approach that likely wouldn’t work if it were utilized for similar investigations of other early 80s video games (“Hunt the Wumpus”, anyone?) But the perfect storm of interest, nostalgia, and available archival content makes "The Making of Karateka" a super engaging experience.
I still have a short way to go before completing the documentary’s storyline, and I can't help but wonder if the problematic cultural issues with the game will be addressed. Among them: Karateka is supposed to take place in ancient Japan, and yet the original box graphics portray the hero and the princess he's meant to rescue as… blonde caucasians. Only the evil antagonist of the game appears Japanese.
Additionally, setting aside the regressive "damsel in distress" plotline, there’s also an issue with the objectifcation of the princess. (Her breasts and buttocks are greatly exaggerated, a detail which feels immediately creepy and unnecessary.)
Jeez, @DigitalEclipse is on a #RetroGaming roll:
• #MegaMan Legacy Collection
• #Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration
• The Making of #Karateka
• and now a 3-D remake of the first computer #RPG#DungeonCrawl, “#Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord”
North America: August 29
Europe & Australia: September 5
Asia: September 7
Physical edition: In the works from @LimitedRunGames, price and release date TBA
I've read @jmechner Jordan Mechner's making-of books a couple times over the years, and this is one of my favorite random bits. I identify with Dave. Long live Atari!
Ever ditch school? When @jmechner skipped classes, he did it to create one of the most influential computer games of all time. Discover his unusual path in the interactive documentary The Making of #Karateka. Available Tuesday on PC & console!
When space shooters were all the rage, @jmechner brought cinematic qualities like narrative, music & animation to gaming. Play #Karateka's evolution yourself with the interactive documentary The Making of Karateka on PC & console this Tuesday, August 29.
Disney animators used rotoscoping in film animation, but @jmechner brought it to gaming with Karateka. Blend the animation layers yourself in The Making of #Karateka, the first title in our #GoldMasterSeries of interactive documentaries. Available next Tuesday, August 29, for PC & console.
Where was the leopard in the original Karateka? Left out -- a sprite was created but the enemy was cut. #Karateka Remastered restores the big cat in a bonus level. Play it only in The Making of Karateka next Tuesday, 8/29! #GoldMasterSeries
Ancient, powerful ships known as "space trains" are blasting at light-speed towards Earth, transporting planet-obliterating bombs. Save the planet in Deathbounce: Rebounded, a modern take on @jmechner's unpublished game from 1983, only in The Making of #Karateka, out August 29!
Jordan Mechner's original version of #Karateka only featured Act I; when Brøderbund agreed to publish it, they asked for two additional levels. Play multiple prototypes (including this one, with a different approach to Akuma's temple) and learn the full history of @jmechner's masterpiece with the interactive documentary The Making of Karateka, part of the #GoldMasterSeries -- coming soon to major platforms!
#Karateka is notoriously difficult on any platform -- but our exclusive watch mode (with chapter stops!) lets you learn, rewind, then take control at any time with the Apple II, C64 & Atari 8-bit versions. It's another feature of The Making of Karateka, part of the #GoldMasterSeries.
Coming to major console platforms soon! Wishlist on PC today
Some early computer gamers owned color monitors; others played games in black & white or a single color tint. We've included green, amber, and white monochrome display options in The Making of #Karateka for that authentic old-school flavor.
In space, no one can hear you...bounce? @jmechner had high hopes for Deathbounce, but his Apple II arcade blaster never shipped. Play its unreleased prototypes in The Making of #Karateka, part of the Digital Eclipse #GoldMasterSeries.
"We had to push ourselves to create a format that tells the story of games within games themselves," says our studio head, Mike Mika. The result is the #GoldMasterSeries of interactive documentaries, led by The Making of #Karateka. We're so excited, we made a video.
The Making of Karateka is coming to all platforms, but you can wishlist on Steam right now: bit.ly/karatekasteam
#Karateka turning 40 this year and this looks really cool. I remember being blown away by the smoothness and then seeing how the rotoscoping was done. Played it a ton early mornings on the school Apple 2s my freshman year in 1983. @jmechner@DigitalEclipse https://www.digitaleclipse.com/games/karateka
Introducing the Digital Eclipse #GoldMasterSeries -- interactive documentaries about gaming's innovators and their creations. The series begins with The Making of #Karateka, Jordan Mechner's martial-arts masterpiece. Wishlist: bit.ly/karatekasteam