Development
Karateka was developed by Jordan Mechner while he was a student at Yale University as a side project between his classes. Originally, in learning how to program on the Apple II, Mechner had developed clones of other popular coin-op games at the time, including higher-resolution version of Asteroids (which was pulled due to Atari's legal stance on direct clones) and a modified version he titled Deathbounce. He had submitted Deathbounce to Brøderbund for publishing, and while the company appreciated his work at the animations, they declined to publish the title; in their response, the publisher provided Mechner with a copy of Choplifter, then one of the top selling games from Brøderbund. Mechner recognized from this game that he could pursue original game concepts instead of having to remake existing titles.
In addition to some of the graphic features that Choplifter provided, Mechner centered on a karate-themed game as a result of numerous factors, including his current studies as a film student, his involvement in several film clubs at Yale, and having recently taken lessons in karate at the time. Other inspiration drew from Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock print art, and, from cinema, the works of Akira Kurosawa, early Disney animated films, and silent pictures; he claimed that such works "convey such powerful emotion and atmosphere without a word being spoken". A goal was to combine cinematic techniques with game elements to create, at that time, a novel experience, and Mechner programmed some of the screen wipes used in Seven Samurai as game elements. In reflecting on the game, Mechner stated that he did not consider the game as a "fighting game", but instead that of "a story-based game where the gameplay mechanic is fighting".
Developing the game for the Apple II proved to be challenging. Mechner wanted to create fluid animations within the limitation of eight frames per second that the Apple II could support, but this itself would be hampered by the presence of any 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 movies. Mechner credits his father with creating the music for the game. Work to complete the game took approximately two years, with Mechner submitting the game to Brøderbund during the later part of his sophomore year at Yale.
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