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To that framework, Mechner added gameplay structure from the two games he'd recently been enjoying: Brøderbund's own Lode Runner and The Castles of Dr. He eventually settled on the fantastic Middle Eastern world of One Thousand and One Nights. ironically rare in the U.S., even from Asia-produced games. Part of Karateka's success, he believed, was the exotic Asian setting. They wanted another game out of Mechner, and he started thinking about locations. Half a million in sales made Karateka a big win for Brøderbund. Karateka also included an early regenerative health system, something that wouldn't fully catch on until nearly two decades after its release on the Apple II. Combatants bowed before pasting each other in the face. Running sequences, of which there were many, were strangely mesmerizing. It looked fairly stunning for a 1984 side-scroller, showing off a fluid array of character movements. Karateka sent gamers on a karate-fueled mission in feudal Japan to save Princess Mariko from evil warlord Akuma and his pesky eagle. Most other game designers stuck to using spaceships or oddly static creatures, and didn't put much effort into animating either. His big idea was to put equal focus on graphics and gameplay, and give some priority to animating the human avatar's moves. Mechner was a psychology major who grew up in love with animation, but couldn't draw well enough to make cartoons of his own. They found one in Karateka, a surprisingly advanced undergrad project put together by Yale student Jordan Mechner. A few half-hearted attempts to expand the company fell through, but the Carlsons kept looking for new properties to boost their profile. It only took ten for Brøderbund to conquer their share of the industry with powerhouse franchises Choplifter and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.
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Brøderbund was a made-up word roughly translating as "band of brothers" from mashed-up German, Swedish and Danish, and Galactic Empire, the first game in the Galactic Saga, gave players 999 years to conquer the known universe. YES NO When Doug Carlson finished writing his first computer game in 1979, he and brother Gary founded a company solely to market it. Time, this hero - this Prince - will tell you, is an ocean in a storm, and he sails those dangerous waters with the grace of a dancer, the potency of a sword. Always, there are consequences for the unwary traveler, and traps take on many forms. This man, who fights the corruption of gods, re-arranges the threads of history to his liking on a whim, only to find history changing him as well. He sees the face of it, struggles against it, uses it as a weapon on his enemies. Most people think time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction, but this dashing young adventurer has a very special relationship with time. The path to save his Princess is treacherous, and there is no time to waste. A jealous Vizier imprisons them both, one in the highest tower, the other in the lowest dungeon. A nameless traveler climbs the palace walls of Persia merely to glimpse the Sultan's daughter, more beautiful than the new moon.