DONKEYKONG GAME SERIES

The game ends when all lives are lost.Įach of the four single-screen stages represents 25 meters of the structure Donkey Kong has climbed: 25, 50, 75, and 100 meters. A life is lost when Mario touches Donkey Kong or any enemy object, falls too far, or lets the bonus counter reach zero. The player starts with three lives with a bonus life awarded at 7,000 points.

Points are awarded for the following: leaping over obstacles destroying objects with a hammer power-up collecting items such as hats, parasols, and purses removing rivets from platforms and completing each stage according to a steadily decreasing bonus counter. In addition to the goal of saving Pauline, the player has a score. With its four unique stages, Donkey Kong is the most complex arcade game of the time, and one of the first arcade games with multiple stages, following games such as 1980's Phoenix and 1981's Gorf and Scramble. As the first platform game to feature jumping, Donkey Kong requires the player to jump between gaps and over obstacles or approaching enemies, setting the template for the future of the genre. gaming press used 'climbing game' for games with platforms and ladders. The first stage, with Mario holding a hammer power-upįollowing 1980's Space Panic, Donkey Kong is one of the earliest examples of the platform game genre, : 94 even prior to the term being coined the U.S. Donkey Kong pioneered the platform game genre before the term existed, is one of the most important games from the golden age of arcade video games, and one of the most popular arcade games of all time. The game debuts Mario, who became Nintendo's mascot and one of the world's most recognizable characters. The success of Donkey Kong positioned the company for market dominance from 1981 through the late 1990s. Universal City Studios filed a lawsuit alleging Donkey Kong violated its trademark of King Kong, ultimately failing. Miyamoto's characters were mass marketed in multitudes of products, including breakfast cereal, toys, and television cartoons. Other companies cloned the game and avoided royalties altogether. It was ported to the Game & Watch, selling 8 million units, while Nintendo licensed the game to Coleco, a developer of arcade conversions for home consoles, selling 6 million cartridges the game's various ports sold more than 15 million units worldwide. They broke new ground by using graphics as a means of characterization, including cutscenes to advance the game's plot and integrating multiple stages into the gameplay.Īlthough Nintendo's American staff was initially apprehensive, Donkey Kong succeeded commercially and critically in Japan and North America, where it became the highest-grossing 19, respectively. Drawing from inspirations including Beauty and the Beast as well as 1930s American classics such as Popeye and King Kong, Miyamoto developed the scenario and designed the game alongside chief engineer Gunpei Yokoi.

Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo's president at the time, assigned the project to first-time video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

DONKEYKONG GAME SERIES

It is the first game in the Donkey Kong series as well as Mario's first appearance in a video game.ĭonkey Kong is the product of Nintendo's efforts to develop a hit to rival Pac-Man (1980) and break into the North American market. As Jumpman, the player runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline from the titular giant gorilla. Donkey Kong is a 1981 arcade video game developed and published by Nintendo.

Donkeykong game