It’s crazy to think that it’s been over 30 years since the first Mortal Kombat was originally released in the arcades back in 1992. Since then, 11 mainline Mortal Kombat games have been released with the latest being “Mortal Kombat 1” (which is technically the 12th entry in the series).
Shortly before the release of Mortal Kombat 1, Ed Boon appeared on an episode of “Hot Ones,” where he answered questions while eating hot wings doused with increasingly more intense hot sauce. At one point, he was asked about how development for Mortal Kombat has rapidly changed over the years.
“So, when we had Kumail Nanjiani on the show, he put forth this theory that video games are the only medium in entertainment that get better year over year because of the technological advancements,” begun Sean Evans of First We Feast. “As somebody who’s had their hands in the video game honeypot since the 1980s, does that at all resonate with you?”
“The first Mortal Kombat game we started in 1991 was four people — one programmer, two artists and an audio guy.” — Ed Boon
“It does,” initially responded Boon. “The first Mortal Kombat game we started in 1991 was four people — one programmer, two artists and an audio guy.”
Indeed, Ed Boon himself acted as the programmer for the original Mortal Kombat. Meanwhile, John Tobias and John Vogel worked as the game’s artists. Finally, Dan Forden functioned as the game’s sound designer.
Of course, that’s not counting the digital actors — Daniel Pesina as Johnny Cage, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Reptile, Richard Divizio as Kano, Ho Sung Pak as Liu Kang and Shan Tsung, Carlos Pesina as Raiden and Elizabeth Malecki as Sonya Blade — and additional voice actors.
This first game had a budget of around $1 million. It’s said that this was a relatively small budget compared to other arcade games, even for that time period.
“So the scope is just a hundred times, I’d say maybe, as the very first one, and it’s all technology’s fault.” — Ed Boon
“The newest one is literally in the hundreds,” said Boon in reference to the number of developers involved with Mortal Kombat 1.
“Technology has created an opportunity for us to make the most elaborate sets. We have actors, directors, animators, audio engineers… it just goes on and on. So the scope is just a hundred times, I’d say maybe, as the very first one, and it’s all technology’s fault.”
At this point, NetherRealm Studios has confirmed that post-launch content for Mortal Kombat 1 has wrapped up (though additional balance patches are still in the cards), resulting the studio shifting focus on their next project.
We have to imagine that the next NetherRealm Studios will be even bigger than Mortal Kombat 1.