Karateka (Video Game): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 04:50, 9 March 2023

Karateka is a martial arts-themed video game developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1984 for the Apple II computer. The game was later released for a variety of other platforms, including the Atari 7800, Commodore 64, and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

The game follows the story of a lone warrior named "Karateka" who must rescue Princess Mariko from the evil warlord Akuma. The game features three distinct sections: the approach to the fortress, the fight through the fortress, and the final battle with Akuma. Players must use a combination of martial arts techniques and careful timing to defeat enemies and progress through the game.

One unique feature of Karateka is the use of rotoscoping, a technique in which live-action footage is traced to create realistic animations for the game's characters. Mechner filmed his younger brother David performing various martial arts moves, and then traced over the footage to create the game's animations. This technique helped to give the game a sense of realism and fluidity that was unusual for games of the time.

Karateka was a critical and commercial success upon its release. It was praised for its graphics, animation, and innovative gameplay mechanics. The game was also notable for its cinematic presentation, with cutscenes and a distinct storyline that set it apart from other arcade-style games of the time.

The game's success led to a sequel, titled Prince of Persia, which was also developed by Mechner and featured similar rotoscoped animation techniques. Prince of Persia became an even bigger hit than Karateka, and has since become a classic of the action-adventure genre.

In 2012, a remake of Karateka was released for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and other digital platforms. The remake featured updated graphics and sound, as well as new gameplay mechanics and a reimagined storyline. The remake was generally well-received by critics, although some fans of the original game criticized the changes made in the new version.

Overall, Karateka remains a beloved classic of the early video game era. Its innovative use of rotoscoping and cinematic storytelling helped to set it apart from other games of the time, and its influence can still be felt in modern action games today.

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-Karateka  (Apple 2)  1984
+<youtube width=“600" height=“360">wKqk9kosCs4</youtube>
-First rotoscoping animation, first animated ending
-===Trivia===
+Karateka is a martial arts-themed video game developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1984 for the Apple II computer. The game was later released for a variety of other platforms, including the Atari 7800, Commodore 64, and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
-Trivia:
+The game follows the story of a lone warrior named "Karateka" who must rescue Princess Mariko from the evil warlord Akuma. The game features three distinct sections: the approach to the fortress, the fight through the fortress, and the final battle with Akuma. Players must use a combination of martial arts techniques and careful timing to defeat enemies and progress through the game.
-# Inspired by Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock print art, and the cinematic works of Akira Kurosawa, early Disney animated films, and silent pictures; Mechner (creator of this game) claimed that such works "convey such powerful emotion and atmosphere without a word being spoken".
-# Developing the game for the Apple II proved to be challenging. Mechner wanted to create fluid animations within the Apple II's eight frames per second capacity, but this was hampered by the presence of additional on-screen elements, such as one of the palace gates. Mechner found that he could not animate and play music (limited to one-note tones) at the same time, forcing him to adapt to these limitations. To create the animations, he used rotoscoping, drawing over images taken while filming his karate instructor demonstrating various moves.
-#  Compute! called Karateka "a nominee for the Most Underrated Program of the Year. It's a program that must be seen to be fully appreciated".  It stated that the Apple II version "has by far the best animation I've seen in an Apple arcade game. The smoothness of the animation ... makes the game almost as enjoyable to watch as it is to play.
-# "Akuma'", the name of the evil warlord in Karateka (and many other games featuring a Japanese bad guy), is a Japanese word that roughly means 'devil'.
-# The Akuma Castle that appears at the beginning, seems to be inspired by the "Himeji Castle" that really exists in Japan, near Kyoto.
+One unique feature of Karateka is the use of rotoscoping, a technique in which live-action footage is traced to create realistic animations for the game's characters. Mechner filmed his younger brother David performing various martial arts moves, and then traced over the footage to create the game's animations. This technique helped to give the game a sense of realism and fluidity that was unusual for games of the time.
-# The Apple II version of Karateka came on one single-sided floppy disk. However, by booting Karateka up on the opposite side (Side Two) - the game would still load, but now the game was upside down (a visual gag on the part of someone at Brøderbund company).
-# The game's engine will be later used in Prince of Persia (1989).
-# Rotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over footage, frame by frame, for use in live-action and animated films. Originally, recorded live-action film images were projected onto a frosted glass panel and re-drawn by an animator. This projection equipment is called a rotoscope. Although this device was eventually replaced by computers, the process is still referred to as rotoscoping. In the visual effects industry, the term rotoscoping refers to the technique of manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another background.
-# First Terminator games (for Sega Genesis) used rotoscoping.
-# Emulated in: AppleWin
+Karateka was a critical and commercial success upon its release. It was praised for its graphics, animation, and innovative gameplay mechanics. The game was also notable for its cinematic presentation, with cutscenes and a distinct storyline that set it apart from other arcade-style games of the time.
+The game's success led to a sequel, titled Prince of Persia, which was also developed by Mechner and featured similar rotoscoped animation techniques. Prince of Persia became an even bigger hit than Karateka, and has since become a classic of the action-adventure genre.
+In 2012, a remake of Karateka was released for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and other digital platforms. The remake featured updated graphics and sound, as well as new gameplay mechanics and a reimagined storyline. The remake was generally well-received by critics, although some fans of the original game criticized the changes made in the new version.
+Overall, Karateka remains a beloved classic of the early video game era. Its innovative use of rotoscoping and cinematic storytelling helped to set it apart from other games of the time, and its influence can still be felt in modern action games today.
 [[Category: Video Games]]
 [[Category: The 1980s]]