The Making of Karateka
Play the history. Go behind the scenes of Jordan Mechner's landmark game Karateka in this interactive documentary from Digital Eclipse, with archival materials, video features, and more. Experience pixel-perfect versions of this legendary game, with all-new features.
Developer
Publisher
Release
August 29, 2023
2 years and 339 days ago
Steam Reviews
Very Positive136 reviews97.8%
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Game contextLatest: IGF Team
| ContextThe evidence factors used to assess whether this game belongs on IndieGame.Fan. | Status | Notes Latest Contributor: IGF TeamEdit notes |
|---|---|---|
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer. | ||
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher. | The listed publisher is publicly traded or part of a corporate group. | |
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Publisher statusHow the game's publishing relationship is classified. | The listed publisher is publicly traded or part of a corporate group. | |
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released. | The game was released through a separate publisher. |
Media
15 itemsAbout the Game
Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner was a college student when he created one of the biggest-selling games of 1984: Karateka. Now, in a new interactive documentary from Digital Eclipse, the story of how a teenager with an Apple II created one of the most groundbreaking, influential games of all time.
THE ORIGIN STORY OF A LEGENDARY GAME CREATOR
Discover how Karateka was made through an exhaustive archive of design documents, playable prototypes, and all-new video features. Like walking through a museum, you can explore the interactive timelines at your own pace.
PLAY THE ACCLAIMED ORIGINALS
Enjoy pixel-perfect versions of the original Karateka games and a variety of never-before-seen early prototypes, with rich quality-of-life features like save anywhere, rewind, chapter select, and director's commentary.
TWO REMASTERED GAMES
Karateka Remastered is an all-new version of the original game featuring cutting-room-floor content, commentary, achievements, and more. Deathbounce: Rebounded is a fast and frantic twin-stick shooter based on Jordan's unpublished prototype.
A GROUNDBREAKING MASTERPIECE
Discover how Karateka became one of the first games to include cinematic scenes, a moving original soundtrack, rotoscoped animation, and a Hollywood-style love story, influencing the decades of games that followed.
THE GOLD MASTER SERIES
New from Digital Eclipse (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration), the Gold Master Series presents iconic games in an innovative "interactive documentary" format, putting the shared history of games and their creators into one comprehensive package.
THE ORIGIN STORY OF A LEGENDARY GAME CREATOR
Discover how Karateka was made through an exhaustive archive of design documents, playable prototypes, and all-new video features. Like walking through a museum, you can explore the interactive timelines at your own pace.
PLAY THE ACCLAIMED ORIGINALS
Enjoy pixel-perfect versions of the original Karateka games and a variety of never-before-seen early prototypes, with rich quality-of-life features like save anywhere, rewind, chapter select, and director's commentary.
TWO REMASTERED GAMES
Karateka Remastered is an all-new version of the original game featuring cutting-room-floor content, commentary, achievements, and more. Deathbounce: Rebounded is a fast and frantic twin-stick shooter based on Jordan's unpublished prototype.
A GROUNDBREAKING MASTERPIECE
Discover how Karateka became one of the first games to include cinematic scenes, a moving original soundtrack, rotoscoped animation, and a Hollywood-style love story, influencing the decades of games that followed.
THE GOLD MASTER SERIES
New from Digital Eclipse (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration), the Gold Master Series presents iconic games in an innovative "interactive documentary" format, putting the shared history of games and their creators into one comprehensive package.
