News
Jordan Mechner Returns to His Indie Roots
Los Angeles, Calif.—February 15, in the year of our Lord
2012. Today, via his personal website
www.jordanmechner.com, celebrated game designer Jordan
Mechner confirmed that he will revisit feudal Japan with a
remake of his 80s blockbuster Karateka, available for download
this year on XBOX 360® and Playstation3™.
Mechner developed Karateka in his dorm room at Yale when he
should have been studying. Published by Broderbund in 1984 for
the Apple II, Karateka was one of the game world’s first
blockbuster hits. At a time when home computing was just taking
form, Karateka hooked hundreds of thousands of gamers with
simple, addictive 2D fighting mechanics that incorporated
cinematic storytelling through fluid, life-like animation.
Fans will be pleased to learn that, for the first time since the
making of Ubisoft’s blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Sands of
Time™, Mechner is taking an active role in the day-to-day game
development process as Creative Director of Karateka. Like
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the new Karateka is a
remake that reinvents Mechner’s classic gameplay for this
generation.
“Making the original Karateka was a labor of love. To have so
many people embrace it and share the impact that game had on
them has been incredibly fulfilling,” Mechner said. “In remaking
Karateka, I want to honor the original with a compact,
pick-up-and-play game that is fluid, atmospheric and beautiful.”
Karateka will be available for PSN and XBLA in 2012.
