Back in the 80s my family and I lived overseas and like many of my
classmates we wanted to be back in the states at the mall, theme parks,
concerts, arcades, watching MTV, and generally doing the stuff we saw as normal. The fact that we were thousands of miles from home and with limited access to modern Pop Culture, caused us to spend many hours watching whatever videos we could get our hands on and playing on our Apple II computers.
New games would make the rounds on our compound and if someone had a color monitor versus a monochrome; they would become a legend if they had the latest games. In an area of text and graphic adventures, action games were
limited by the scope of modern games but our enthusiasm and imagination filled in the gaps.
This changed with the arrival or Karateka which brought graphics, action, and a narrative that had not been seen before and issued in a new era of gaming as it set new standards as to what was possible.
The new interactive documentary The Making of Karateka arrives in
interactive form and provides a deep and satisfying look at creator Jordan
Mechner. The documentary is available is on various game platforms and using the controllers viewers can move through video segments talking about the creation and history of the game as well as view artwork, journals, letters, and other behind the scenes content from the path the game took from inception to creation and the impact it had on gaming.
Being able to play early versions of Mechner’s games as well as being able to play the Apple II version of the game on a PS5 was great nostalgic fun.
Digital Eclipse plans future releases in their Gold Master series as they
plan to feature more influential games in this fashion. As someone who not only fondly remembers the classic games and who has been in a game documentary; I cannot wait to see what comes next as this was a very clever and enjoyable look at the history of this iconic game.
