In this ongoing look at significant moments in the history of video game design, we have already taken a look at Nintendo’s Kid Icarus, Bethesda’s Fallout 3, Valve Software’s Half-Life 2 and several others. The goal of this series is to go beyond simple gaming magazines and iPhone Apps, and take a closer look at what defines memorability and quality in game design. In this thirty-first part of the series we will examine some more of those classic moments where video game designers undoubtedly got it right and delivered a memorable, enduring and progressive gaming experience.

Donkey Kong – This is the game where Mario was introduced to the world, where the giant gorilla Donkey Kong made his first appearance and it was the first entry in a series that has endured for almost thirty years. Donkey Kong, on the surface, is quite a simple game. The bad guy (gorilla) has captured the girl, and it is the job of a simple plumber to get her back. Playing as Mario, the player must ascend a series of floors until they reach the top of the level, at which time Donkey Kong grabs the girl, climbs up, and the player must start over again. During this ascent the player will have to overcome barrels being rolled at him by Kong, navigate various lifts, and use power-ups to their advantage. A game with no actual ending, Donkey Kong is considered to be finished when the player reaches the ‘kill screen,’ which is the point at which the game runs out of levels and simply locks up, essentially killing the game, and the player along with it.

Donkey Kong was one of the most popular arcade games of the 1980s, with cabinets being found in nearly every arcade, as well as most secondary locations such as pizza parlors, ice cream shops and convenient stores. Nearly everyone has played at least one game of Donkey Kong at some point in their life, and the characters in the game have gone onto become some of the most recognizable, not only in video game culture, but all of pop culture. The game enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity thanks to the release of the documentary ‘The King of Kong.’ In this movie a man named Steve Wiebe chases after the Donkey Kong high score set by video game legend, Billy Mitchell. Why has this game endured for so many years? Why are people still chasing after the record scores? And how did this game that appears so simple on the surface, become the ultimate challenge for gamers everywhere?

The answer to all of these questions is the same. Donkey Kong is a simple, fun, addictive game that anyone can play and immediately enjoy. The game starts off simple, and gradually escalates in difficulty to the point that it challenges even the most skilled game players. Where many games offered a large amount of buttons, a significant time investment, or an abstract challenge, Donkey Kong merely challenged the player to climb. For being such a simple game that provided fun to all who played, introduced the world to two of the most beloved characters of all time, and continues to excite gamers worldwide, Donkey Kong demands its place alongside the greatest games of all time.