Rotoscoped animation in video games
Who
Max Fleischer invented the rotoscope; Jordan Mechner brought it to games
When
1915 and 1989
Where
New York, then California
Max Fleischer patented the rotoscope in 1915 — tracing over filmed footage frame by frame — and used it for Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman. Seventy years later Jordan Mechner applied the same method to Karateka and Prince of Persia, and video game characters began to move like people.
Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.