Making and Remaking Karateka (1982-2012)

In 2012, Jordan Mechner was about to release a remake of his classic 1980s game Karateka. He asked me if I’d like to make something to help promote it, and in passing, he mentioned he had boxes full of materials from the original game.

And I said, “show me the Apple II.”

And this series is the result.

Jordan has recently released an illustrated harcover of his journals from the making of Prince of Persia (the smash follow-up to Karateka). The journal is an amazing read. I highly recommend it.

In “Inspiration,” we covered the early days of Karateka, and what made Jordan decide to make it today.

“Animation” covers the fascinating and painstaking process of converting filmed footage into animated frames.

In “Sound and Music,” you’ll see how Jordan worked with his father to create the original Karateka with Apple II tones, and then we talk to Christopher Tin about how he adapted that score into the interactive soundtrack for Karateka 2012.

In the final entry “Gameplay,” we talk about how Jordan’s game design changed from the 1980s to modern day, and the impact that had on the story.

With each person I interviewed for this series, I collected another pronunciation of “karateka.” So Jordan and I made this tongue-in-cheek bonus video to “clear the air.”