Donkey Kong Private Beta 0.12a

This is a screen shot of the game Donkey Kong, during its original development in 1980. I've had the privilege of getting to play this version of an iconic classic, and I must say, it is quite different. First off, on the title screen you can see that Donkey Kong is not present, and the logo isn't there. Instead, it just says "DK.P.B. 0.12a." This is, it would seem, due to the game being in a very rudimentary state, right? Well, I suppose that's the case, but the levels and gameplay look...quite finished! I'll be getting to that stuff now.

Yes, level one. Definitely an icon in gaming history, the alterations made from the beta to the final are slight! The main differences are game mechanics. Hammers are completely absent from this beta, so I'm assuming they were a later implementation. That white splotch is something that occurs when you die; if you walk over it during the next life (it disappears on the one after, leaving another in the place you died on the LAST life), it will give you 5000 points and a shrill ring will play for about a second. Another more minor thing is that some of the ladders aren't broken in the beta, which honestly doesn't make the game feel all too different to me. The oddest thing about this beta is that you can hear Pauline saying "Help!" occasionally throughout the level, and when you reach the end she says "Thanks!" Both of those sounds are very muffled.

Here we go, level two! This one is a bit odd, and seeing its image reminds me of something I forgot to mention when writing about the first level: Donkey Kong's eyes are a solid red, the same color as his fur. Another thing you will clearly notice is that Pauline looks...fractured. I'm not really sure what the deal is with that. The sound clips of her saying "Help!" from the first level are also absent, so I think maybe Pauline was a bit of an ambitious object to have in the game. Her sprite does have a very high pixel count, and, those sound clips were astonishing at the time. I'm sure these side-effects were remedied with the removal of her sound clips.

Level three is much the same as its final counterpart, as all of the other levels have been up to this point. The main thing you'll notice is that Pauline is completely missing and the ladder she once stood in front of looks oddly damaged. In this level, sometimes a random jingle would play. The jingle was nothing special, it sounded much like any other little jingles you'd hear in the game. An oddity, though, is what Donkey Kong would do. Occasionally, he would jump slightly, and make this muffled gorilla noise. When he did this, Mario would instantaneously die. This made level three completely unbeatable, and, unfortunately, there is no level four. I tried to access it through the machine's menu, and it's just not there. There is a hidden screen you can see though - I think it was originally to be accessed with a code such as Up Up Down Down Up Down Up Up - and it's quite unusual. Here it is :