Donkey Kong (game): Difference between revisions

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Development on ''Donkey Kong'' began in March 1981 when [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], under the supervision of the late [[Gunpei Yokoi]], was assigned by Nintendo to convert ''{{wp|Radar Scope}}'', a poorly selling arcade game in North America, into a game that would have more appeal to more gamers. Shigeru Miyamoto later admitted that he did not focus on the story of the game, instead creating a basic plot with colorful characters and music that he himself penned<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz0P_TcikwA&t=27m24s A Discovery Channel documentary on video games] reveals that Miyamoto wanted to make ''Donkey Kong'' tell a story, and also wrote the music for the game. ''YouTube''. Referenced March 22, 2015</ref>. He said that Mario and Lady were not intended to have a relationship, and he did not know where the idea came from, but he thought that it did not matter much.{{ref needed}} The game was also originally designed to have Mario escape from a maze, and jumping was not yet implemented, making platforming too difficult.<ref>[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2009/11/25/news-miyamoto-mario-initially-couldn-t-jump.aspx GameInformer interview with Shigeru Miyamoto]</ref> In a time where arcade games took around two to three months to build, ''Donkey Kong'' was built in four or five months and Shigeru Miyamoto was focused on developing it for a global market rather than just for Japan.<ref name=NESClassic>[http://web.archive.org/web/20220425234630/https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic/donkey-kong-developer-interview Donkey Kong Developer Interview]</ref> The working title during development was ''Table Kong Game'' until export manager Shinichi Todori came up with the name for both the game and the antagonist at the end of May.<ref>[https://youtu.be/aTyxQfpOEbE?t=749 How the Mario Characters Got Their Names | Gaming Historian] Retrieved October 25, 2021.</ref><ref name=GHTwitter>[https://twitter.com/GamingHistorian/status/1220101899455692801?s=20 Gunpei Yokoi deposition, 1983]</ref>  Due to the late name change, the printed circuit boards (PCB) retain the "TKG" part numbering. The final version of the game was a major breakthrough for Nintendo and the video game industry, becoming one of the best selling arcade machines of its time. Its platforming gameplay also distinguished it from most other arcade games at the time.  
Development on ''Donkey Kong'' began in March 1981 when [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], under the supervision of the late [[Gunpei Yokoi]], was assigned by Nintendo to convert ''{{wp|Radar Scope}}'', a poorly selling arcade game in North America, into a game that would have more appeal to more gamers. Shigeru Miyamoto later admitted that he did not focus on the story of the game, instead creating a basic plot with colorful characters and music that he himself penned<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz0P_TcikwA&t=27m24s A Discovery Channel documentary on video games] reveals that Miyamoto wanted to make ''Donkey Kong'' tell a story, and also wrote the music for the game. ''YouTube''. Referenced March 22, 2015</ref>. He said that Mario and Lady were not intended to have a relationship, and he did not know where the idea came from, but he thought that it did not matter much.{{ref needed}} The game was also originally designed to have Mario escape from a maze, and jumping was not yet implemented, making platforming too difficult.<ref>[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2009/11/25/news-miyamoto-mario-initially-couldn-t-jump.aspx GameInformer interview with Shigeru Miyamoto]</ref> In a time where arcade games took around two to three months to build, ''Donkey Kong'' was built in four or five months and Shigeru Miyamoto was focused on developing it for a global market rather than just for Japan.<ref name=NESClassic>[http://web.archive.org/web/20220425234630/https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic/donkey-kong-developer-interview Donkey Kong Developer Interview]</ref> The working title during development was ''Table Kong Game'' until export manager Shinichi Todori came up with the name for both the game and the antagonist at the end of May.<ref>[https://youtu.be/aTyxQfpOEbE?t=749 How the Mario Characters Got Their Names | Gaming Historian] Retrieved October 25, 2021.</ref><ref name=GHTwitter>[https://twitter.com/GamingHistorian/status/1220101899455692801?s=20 Gunpei Yokoi deposition, 1983]</ref>  Due to the late name change, the printed circuit boards (PCB) retain the "TKG" part numbering. The final version of the game was a major breakthrough for Nintendo and the video game industry, becoming one of the best selling arcade machines of its time. Its platforming gameplay also distinguished it from most other arcade games at the time.  


''Donkey Kong'' was originally conceived as a ''{{wp|Popeye}}'' game, with Bluto being in the spot of Donkey Kong, Popeye being Mario, and Olive Oyl being Lady. The particular ''Popeye'' short that inspired Yokoi is ''A Dream Walking'' which is set in a construction site.<ref>[https://thedoteaters.com/?bitstory=bitstory-article-2%2Fdonkey-kong&all=1 Donkey Kong & Nintendo - Let There Be Mario]</ref> Although Nintendo held the license to produce ''Popeye'' branded products,<ref>[http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/nsmb/0/0 Iwata Asks:New Super Mario Bros: Volume 1]</ref>  the characters ended up being changed for technical reasons.<ref name=GHTwitter/> A ''Popeye'' [[Game & Watch]] game was developed at the same time and was released only a few weeks after ''Donkey Kong''. The {{wp|Popeye (video game)|''Popeye'' arcade game}} came out a year later in 1982 and was followed by two more ''Popeye'' Game and Watch releases in 1983.
''Donkey Kong'' was heavily inspired by 1930s American media. Originally conceived as a ''{{wp|Popeye}}'' game, based on the 1930s comic and animation, with Bluto being in the spot of Donkey Kong, Popeye being Mario, and Olive Oyl being Lady. The particular ''Popeye'' short that inspired Yokoi is ''A Dream Walking'' which is set in a construction site.<ref>[https://thedoteaters.com/?bitstory=bitstory-article-2%2Fdonkey-kong&all=1 Donkey Kong & Nintendo - Let There Be Mario]</ref> Although Nintendo held the license to produce ''Popeye'' branded products,<ref>[http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/nsmb/0/0 Iwata Asks:New Super Mario Bros: Volume 1]</ref>  the characters ended up being changed for technical reasons.<ref name=GHTwitter/> A ''Popeye'' [[Game & Watch]] game was developed at the same time and was released only a few weeks after ''Donkey Kong''. The {{wp|Popeye (video game)|''Popeye'' arcade game}} came out a year later in 1982 and was followed by two more ''Popeye'' Game and Watch releases in 1983. The 1930s film ''{{wp|King Kong}}'' would serve as another inspiration<ref>[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,984568,00.html  The Spielberg of Video Games] (May 20, 1996). ''Time''</ref> and the setting of the game would be [[New York City]].<ref>[https://www.ndw.jp/mario-interview-230425/2/  インタビュー  マリオ映画公開記念!宮本茂さんインタビュー 制作の始まりから驚きの設定まで] (April 25, 2023). ''Nintendo Dream Web''. Retrieved April 25, 2023</ref> Certain American live-action commercials for Donkey Kong portrayed {{media link|Donkey Kong Commercial 1982.png|Mario in 1930s clothing with a fedora}} and Lady was given a period appropriate hairstyle to match.


[[Nintendo Research & Development 1]] worked on ''Donkey Kong'', multiple Game & Watch titles, and the arcade game {{wp|Sky Skipper|''Sky Skipper''}} simultaneously. Like ''Donkey Kong'', ''Sky Skipper'' is also about rescuing captives from gorillas. Miyamoto did cabinet artwork for both games.
[[Nintendo Research & Development 1]] worked on ''Donkey Kong'', multiple Game & Watch titles, and the arcade game {{wp|Sky Skipper|''Sky Skipper''}} simultaneously. Like ''Donkey Kong'', ''Sky Skipper'' is also about rescuing captives from gorillas. Miyamoto did cabinet artwork for both games.


Miyamoto envisioned Mario to be a young man at around 24 or 26 years old, describing Donkey Kong as Mario's pet who escaped and kidnapped his girlfriend.<ref name=NESClassic/>
Despite Mario being given the name ''Ossan'' (the Japanese term for "middle-aged man"),<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20101009201546/http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/mario25th/vol2_page4.jsp</ref> Miyamoto envisioned Mario to be a young man at around 24 or 26 years old, describing Donkey Kong as Mario's pet who escaped and kidnapped his girlfriend.<ref name=NESClassic/>
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