Donkey Kong - A Confession
There are some games that are such classics that you just have to own a version of them. You have to have a space invaders clone and you have to have a Donkey Kong clone. This particular one was by Ocean in 1986.
As you can tell by the date I'd had the Spectrum for a little while by now, I knew what games I liked and which ones would give me problems. But I also knew everyone played Donkey Kong , it was a classic. If friends came over and you didn't have a version of this ( rather like Pacman) you were looked at as if you were a three headed alien. Besides it is just jumping over things , climbing ladders and rescuing the damsel in distress, how hard could that be? (Spoiler - if you scroll down through the pictures in this blog , you will notice they are all from the first level.)
Before I come to my own experiences , let me tell you about the wonderful colours in this game , how it's colour scheme fits the Spectrum palette so beautifully. How it introduces us to 'jumpman' or as he came to be known Mario. All these things are positives. To a skilled game player, or to one with even a few gaming skills it was a chocolate box of opportunity. The first level was easy enough to give challenges but still be easily beatable after a few goes. From then on , the difficulty increases gradually , more screen colours are introduced and more obstacles. It's a classic .
For those who perhaps don't want to know my real story, stop reading here. Go and play the game!
For those who perhaps don't want to know my real story, stop reading here. Go and play the game!
For those still reading, firstly thank you, secondly , not everyone experiences games in the same way. We all have different skill sets, different abilities and that's what makes life interesting.
My first play on this game was appalling, I just couldn't get myself to move quick enough. I was panicking , thinking too much. Slow down and think Julie, splat - barrel on the head. This was just a learning curve, so I persevered. Seriously, how hard could this be? Get myself up a ladder , then as soon as I thought the path was clear , up I went and another barrel came down.
My first play on this game was appalling, I just couldn't get myself to move quick enough. I was panicking , thinking too much. Slow down and think Julie, splat - barrel on the head. This was just a learning curve, so I persevered. Seriously, how hard could this be? Get myself up a ladder , then as soon as I thought the path was clear , up I went and another barrel came down.
I discovered the hammer, but , of course you can't climb ladders with the hammer . Perhaps I was just tired. I came back to the game the next day, my father proved to me just how easy the first level was. In fact in the next few weeks various friends did the same, I just avoided my turn when the joystick was passed around. I still couldn't get past the second ledge. To my mind there was too much moving on the screen , too much to think about, I was almost on the verge of panic when playing this. Now, dear reader, you may think this is absolutely ridiculous and reading it back I can see your point of view. But how could I ever confess to not being able to play one of the all time computer game classics?
Well, I never did confess to it , until now. These days I know the reason why there are just some games that are too difficult for me to play, but there are far, far ,far more games that I can play and really enjoy. But for younger Julie , it was annoying and frustrating.
For a while it felt like her favourite little black box with the rubber keys had turned against her. The ZX Spectrum had become Donkey Kong throwing down games she would never be able to play because of some random genetic twist that meant that parts of her brain worked far better than they should do and that meant that sounds\colour\movement all sploshed around like a washing machine. Should she stop trying to play games? Should she just give in?
For a while it felt like her favourite little black box with the rubber keys had turned against her. The ZX Spectrum had become Donkey Kong throwing down games she would never be able to play because of some random genetic twist that meant that parts of her brain worked far better than they should do and that meant that sounds\colour\movement all sploshed around like a washing machine. Should she stop trying to play games? Should she just give in?
NO, just because I couldn't play all the classics didn't mean I stopped playing. I learnt which games I could cope with, the games that I couldn't I began to realise that I loved watching others play. I get so much enjoyment from watching someone else play Donkey Kong , Pacman ( dare I say it Manic Miner as well ) , knowing that they are doing something that would be incredibly difficult for me to do. Sharing in their victories as they get to new levels, rescuing damsels in distress.
Me, I'm not a damsel in distress , I have my games I can play Atic Atac, Sabrewulf, Underwulde, 3D Death Chase to name a few. The more systems I learn about , the more games I realise I can play. The more genres that I presumed would be too difficult I suddenly find I can play, watching someone else play them first gives me the ability to discover what I need to do , how I need to play them .
Possibly my brain is learning as well , how to circumnavigate the bits that are faulty, learning to stop worrying, stop fretting and beginning to learn to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
And one day , just perhaps , I will finally complete level one of Donkey Kong.
Me, I'm not a damsel in distress , I have my games I can play Atic Atac, Sabrewulf, Underwulde, 3D Death Chase to name a few. The more systems I learn about , the more games I realise I can play. The more genres that I presumed would be too difficult I suddenly find I can play, watching someone else play them first gives me the ability to discover what I need to do , how I need to play them .
Possibly my brain is learning as well , how to circumnavigate the bits that are faulty, learning to stop worrying, stop fretting and beginning to learn to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
And one day , just perhaps , I will finally complete level one of Donkey Kong.