An old game collection, a documentary, and a remastering combine to create The Making of Karateka. It is an excellent example of how far we can go with game preservation, as well as the gold standard for how classic game collections should be handled going forward.
During the olden days of 1984, Karateka was an influential game released on the Apple II. A side-scrolling karate game in which your protagonist must fight foes to save a princess, it may seem quaint today, but it was at the time an unparalleled cinematic experience.
A Yale student at the time, Jordan Mechner created Karateka, one of the best-selling video games of 1984. The Making of Karateka is an interactive documentary presented in the form of a timeline — essentially a menu — that lets you explore at your leisure, tracing Jordan’s early days dreaming of game design to his first attempt at a game, rejection letters from publishers, Karateka, and Karateka’s remastering.
In addition to storyboards and planning documents, there are letters from publishers, fan mail, and family photographs. People like Gary Whitta, a former gaming journalist who later wrote Rogue One, and John Tobias, one of Mortal Kombat’s creators, talk about their experiences with Karateka in videos.
Karateka animations were previously unheard of, so Jordan and his father talked about their creative process in several videos. Jordan’s father wrote the music for Karateka, and the explanations he gave for using leitmotifs because of Apple II’s technical limitations are fascinating.
Seeing Jordan’s first video game and playing it, despite frame rate dips included, is a truly extraordinary experience. It’s a fascinating time capsule and a fascinating insight into the creative process, even though many of these games are little more than curiosities on their own. Video game historians will love this book.
Pros:
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A couple of hours is the perfect length.
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An insight into the early stages of game design.
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It is a great remaster of Karateka.
Cons:
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There is a difficulty in reading handwritten notes.
This game gets a 9 out of 10.
