Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 122+ hours!
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Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 122+ hours!
TCW Podcast Episode 236 - Jordan Mechner and Karateka
This episode explores the early life of Jordan Mechner and the making of Karateka. We cover his Jewish family’s escape from Nazi Europe, his years at Yale, and his struggle to choose between careers in film, art, and game design. Drawing on lessons from arcade games, Mechner formed core design principles that shaped his approach. He also worked closely with his father, Francis Mechner—best known for composing the game's music—who served as a creative sounding board, contributed gameplay ideas, and performed movements used in the game's rotoscoped animations.
Francis Mechner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Mechner
Replay - Memoir of an Uprooted Family: https://www.jordanmechner.com/en/books/replay/
Jordan Mechner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Mechner
Jordan Mechner Website: https://www.jordanmechner.com/
TCW 071 - A Story of Brøderbund! :https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/a-story-of%C2%A0br%C3%B8derbund/
TCW 072 - The MYSTeries of Brøderbund!: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-mysteries-of-br%c3%b8derbund/
Choplifter (Apple II): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvDnUHW_pjg
Seven Samurai Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XMJY0hYJEw
The Making of Karateka journals: https://www.jordanmechner.com/en/books/the-making-of-karateka/
The Making of Karateka (Game + Documentary: https://www.jordanmechner.com/en/games-movies/karateka/
The Making & Remaking of Karateka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq31IwKZkt0
Karateka Rotoscoping 1983: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nqp6U1GYI8
Karateka (Apple II): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKqk9kosCs4
New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!
TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com
Twitter: @tcwpodcast
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds
Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com
Alex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1
Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode
Outro Music: RoleMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love
Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
They Create Worlds
Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 122+ hours!
