The father-and-son of Karateka: how family anchored a classic game's innovations

gamedeveloper.com:

Gaming history has its share of stories where parents get in the way. Where computers, arcades, and consoles are misunderstood by an out-of-touch generation, and where passionate young designers and coders get into the hobby–and even become famous–in spite of their parents' wishes.

Jordan Mechner had a much different version of this gaming origin story, in that his family was central and essential. This week, the creator of the original Prince of Persia series takes fans into one of the most intimate historical documents of a video game ever made. The Making of Karateka is less of a game and more of an interactive museum exhibit, and it’s special for many reasons—most of all because of how prominently his father figures into it.

There's a lot to say about both Karateka—a landmark 1984 game for Apple II, Mechner's debut retail game that launched when he was only 20 years old—and this week’s new retrospective release. The Making of Karateka, out this week from Digital Eclipse on all major consoles and PC, is a testament to how the game was made and why it matters so many years later. Its content is exhaustive and then some: Playable prototypes, playable pre-Karateka experiments, modern interviews, and an astounding pile of written, typed, drawn, and filmed documents from the game's development process.

The thing that gets Mechner choked up while calling to talk about the new retrospective from his home office in France isn't the wealth of documentation. Rather, it’s his father’s place in Karateka'sstory.

"I really feel fortunate to have been able to do that together," Mechner says about his working relationship with his father. “In that way then, and also, you know... to have the chance to revisit it now. That Digital Eclipse