Unlocking The Secret Mechanics Of Donkey Kong 

When I started learning about this game, I heard about barrel steering and that alone instantly painted a picture of how good and complex it can be

"Donkey Kong: That old game that weird guy cheated on"

I never thought I'd watch a 20 minute video on Donkey Kong strategy, let alone enjoy it, yet both just happened.

"By the end, Donkey Kong won't just be that old game that weird guy cheated on" LOL

"Donkey Kong: That Old Game That Weird Guy Cheated On" Yep - the most quoted and most remembered part of the video. That "weird guy" has put so much effort trying to silence the issue that he cemented his name in with the game - but not in the way he wanted.

Imagine being that lady at the top waiting for you to save her and all she gets to see is you jumping relentlessly over barrels like she's no big deal.

What I find most impressive about your series of videos Karl, is actually the amount of courage it takes to step into a gaming community around a game that has been played for SO LONG, with minimal knowledge going in, and end up producing a really insightful, respectful and enjoyable video about it. It's a testament to your passion concerning competetive gaming I believe, that you manage to do this again and again. Great show as always.

I find achievements help a lot with giving retro arcade games the kind of goal-oriented play modern games rely on, and especially make the player pay more attention to their mechanics. I recently played DK on Retro Achievements, and it's the first time I ever even played a full level set in the arcade game, let alone worked in barrel control.

This reminds me of the time I also decided to look deeper into Donkey Kong's mechanics. But it wasn't because I wanted to speedrun it or anything like it, but it was for a university project where we had to make a multiplayer Donkey Kong game (an elimination tournament where players competed to reach Pauline three times in 5 minutes; if the time was over and they rescued her the same amount of times, the player that died less times won), and I wanted to make it as close to the original as possible (although with some liberties - like the fireball enemies getting faster the more they lived, or Mario being able to throw the hammer in order to kill all enemies, and potentially the other player, in a straight line). It was a fun experience.

This is a really cool one, it's always fun learning how a game's speedruns work!

The fact that barrel steering exists is a revelation, and it really makes me admire the game all the more. I love hidden depth!

Played this game for hours on the Donkey Kong 64 in-game arcade machine. A mate and I challenged ourselves to hit as many pies as possible; with the hammer on the conveyor belt level. We pulled an all nighter just to get the right RNG and ended up decending into madness. There was something really satisfying about smashing 6 pies in a row with that hammer, good times!

"Donkey Kong won't just be that `Old game that weird guy cheated on`. " _Cue Regular Show floating head explosion_

Love this, like you say at the end, don't let a few bad apples ruin your image of this community. All you ever hear about Donkey Kong is "Billy Mitchell this, Billy Mitchell that.", so it's really nice to actually see a video about everything but Billy about this game.

Hey Karl, can you make a video about NES Tetris? It's some of the most interesting mechanics of an e-sport ever. Most people would think that the footage you've shown of it in this video would be simple but it's far from it.

I'm glad that Billy has officially became a meme in this channel.

Surprised Todd Rogers never claimed a 10 million point pac-man score at any time lol

"but this video would be hours long if i did", implying that i wouldn't be willing to watch karl explain donkey kong for hours

Love that subtle jab at Billy Mitchell in the introductory segment, that was gold.

Karl calling me an absolute legend makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside

Pretty amazing break down and video. Also very respectful that you took the time to understand and learn about something you thought you didn't like. I was born in 1986 as well but something about DK I've always loved. At my peak of DK competing in April 2014 I hit 628,100 points at 1 Up in Denver, CO. I really wish that I recorded that game because it would have broke top 25 at the time. This video's timing is freaking perfect because I recently started talking to sellers to buy an original cabinet because I've wanted to get back into competing but due to COVID I obviously can't go to arcade/barcades. Now I'm even more inspired to break more records, thanks you absolute legend!

old and "simple" games are some of the best because they have deeper levels of play just playing casually may not be obvious.

3:11 Loving that arrangement of "Eyes on Me"

The more videos I see regarding speedrunning from you, the more I picture speedrunners like the card counting scene from the Hangover with all the numbers flying all over the place. This is fascinating to watch, and terrifying to a point. On an unrelated matter, we're both from '86! That's pretty neat!

DK it's a masterpiece and it never have been taken by less than it is: an absolute challenge. The Point Pressing category on vintage arcade games makes the things way interesting, not only DK, also other games such as Burgertime, Dig Dug, Defender among others. That category can make the simple things trutly deep and complex, and the primitive factor makes the challenge something that worth the mastering. I would like to see more vintage games on this channel, the people could be amazed.

i really have to commend you for putting in the work it would be so easy to just make these videos based on available fact, but actually sitting down with the game for dozens of hours to understand it is next level

That piano makes me wanna go to space.

This is one of the things I love about your videos. I always assumed there had to be some complexity to a game like Donkey Kong to keep people competing all these years, and then you go and explain in laymen's terms exactly what that complexity is for idiots like me to understand.

I really like the decision you made to talk about your hesitance with this game and the running of it, then play the game yourself, talking about the top players and the top strategies then trying them yourself and showing us. That's a really cool thing, man. Love this stuff, never stop!

Playing Eyes On Me during the skillshare ad was such a god-tier move.

I love how well you explain all the mechanics. Detailed, yet never in such a way that a complete noob would get confused.

Funny that... the only time I ever got to play DK 1981 it was from an easter egg from Donkey Kong 64 as you can play one of the arcades there. I wonder if you could get into DK64 or even the Country series as they've evolved quite a bit. Got to say I really liked the presentation on this one, you've continued to improve and maintain a steady pace by the minute. Something I think is very difficult to reach for both educators and entertainers these days. I hope to continue seeing the legends you dive into, you absolute legend.

Such an interesting video. I love the focus being on mechanics, rather than the records themselves, especially for a game that's so deceptively difficult

I remember watching Donkey Kong and thinking it was boring, but I tried it out, and it was pretty fun. It had its own charm and the game itself was pretty complex.

I fell in love with this game as a kid, not in the arcade, but as an unlock able in Donkey Kong 64. I hated it first, but I had to play it in order to get a collectible. By the time I met the requirement (Think it was either clear the 4 boards or a score) I loved it and would just boot up DK64 to play it. When I go to Barcade, it’s a mandatory play for me.

Glad you got to enjoy this game. I was born in 86 as well and didn't get to really play Donkey Kong until a few years ago. Its an absolute blast and a real gem of a game. Hopefully more people check it out!

No Karl, you're the absolute legend.

Last time I was this early Billy Mitchell didn't fake his high score

What were the two games he said he played for nostalgia. I recognize the last one but can't remember the name for the life of me. Also I appreciate that Karl never talks bad about passions he doesn't understand. And instead strives to learn the appeal.

This was posted on my birthday! Now I really feel like an absolute legend!

Love the Prince of Persia clip, I sent many an hour playing that game back in the 90's

I can't help it, this is the one of the greatest content creators out there such effort and dedication just for one video thank you karl for such an amazing video.

The music from Mass Effect 1 brings back the memories

“Donkey Kong won’t just be that old game that weird guy cheated on” lmao 😂

The trick to high scores in Donkey Kong was swapping boards and using an eight-way red joystick.

Another legendary video, made by the legend himself. For all of his legends!

I really enjoy your content Karl. I remember watching some of your speedruns a loooong time ago. I really appreciate how in many cases, you actually try to play the games you talk about to try and understand them better.

Great video, super informative, i've always been interested in knowing the mechanics and how scores were accumulated

Awesome video as usual, very instructive, I never understood the appeal about Donkey Kong but your analysis and even practice of it give some great insights. Something I often wonder about those older games such as DK and Doom for example, is how much of their complexity is deliberated compared to the bugs found in the engine by the players. I'd be curious to know for a recent game like Celeste how the developers approached it. The numbers of unexpected behaviors detected during the creation and what was kept, what was specifically done for speedrunners, did they only added a few tricks knowing players may find an usage later with more comprehensive techniques using them. Anyways thanks for sharing your passion in such a positive way :)

Pac mans skill level is not relatively low, The dedication and mental capacity to control the joystick with pixel-perfect movements and to memorize either preset patterns or to do it based solely off of manipulating the ai of the ghosts requires a deep understanding and mental foreshadowing and predicting and I would say those who speedrun the perfect score are more creative and skilled than some people in many games today. For example in order to break the current records in 3 hours and 28 minutes you would need to experiment and develop new paths and patterns that manipulate the AI and to collect every pellet and power up and fruit and kill all 4 ghosts for every orb to shave time off of the record. Find a new 9th key pattern or something that would save time over the current world record. Crossing the desert is the longest and most difficult portion of the run and finding a new 9th key that would be faster than the general 42.xx time would save a lot of time overall throughout the hundred-plus times you complete the same level.

Great video. DK is clearly more complex than I ever imagined

Love how "Jump-man" became "Mario" for a split second :D

My first experience with Donkey kong was on a handheld foldable unit with 2 lcd screens (4x3 cm) and in black and white. 1979

This felt like a journey of self improvements, going from "Old games bad" to proper respect for your elders :P

Honestly the whole video includes so much warmth and relaxation which is needed. Fully explained, a nice plug for sponsors and of course great content. I hope to see many more videos in the future. Stay safe

Karl busted out "Eyes On Me" during the ad read. Caught me a bit off guard, I wasn't ready for that nostalgia bomb.

Hey Karl! Love your work and I'm glad you're back to making content! I wondered if you looked at speedruns of Portal and Portal 2? There's a built in challenge mode seeing how fast you can finish the puzzles along with those who simply SR the story mode, and with a gun that bends space there's bound to be glitches that exploit the ability to it's maximum potential.

Near the top! I love being called an absolute legend!

I just want to say, I've gone back to play some old games I never got the chance to in my childhood... and lots of them are fucking awesome. Probably most surprising to me was Zelda 2... it was so intense! I also loved the abstraction of learning new sword techniques; pretty creative.

This video was very very helpful. Lots of great tips. I would love to see more strategy explanations for this game in the future.

(It is called "leeching" and it is used everywhere.) True, need more people "seeding" though.

I really hope that "that weird guy who cheated" gets his comeuppance one day

I've been part of the Donkey Kong community for over 10 years. Thanks for the shout out to the community. :)

How am I enjoying watching this guys videos of games iv never played and don’t have any intention of playing? I can’t think of any other RU-vidr that lures me into videos I have no business with quite like Karl. His voice, how he puts the video together in a chronological order, the detail in the video and the climax to that perfect gaming moment go down like a very very fine wine. Excellent, I enjoy all of them to the last drop!

Love the Lands of Lore clip in the beginning.

That's the first I've heard it referred to as "coyote time"

this is a great concept, like a peek into prospective games for would-be followers and players please do more of these videos surreal having a legend break another games mechanics down

I've been playing this game since it hit the arcades all those years ago. It's still one of my favorites and I had to comment on the excellent job you did on this video. Especially your touching on the importance of controlling your barrels! This is what separates good players from great players. Well done! I hope this encourages a whole new group of gamers to give a go at this amazing game.

I'm 18 and my favorite generation of video games is the 70's and 80's, I appreciate the history

Do you have to grind jumps in order to rack up a score in DK? That’s always confused me

That was fascinating. Almost 30 years after I first played, I've learned loads of new things about what I originally thought was an incredibly simple game

*devotes thousands of hours to beating old games quickly* "Why would anyone spend so much time trying to get high scores in old games? Those guys are weird."

Hey I just speedrunned your video. My time is 7 seconds. Beat that!

Really excellent video. Hats off to you for going the extra mile to really understand it

This was really well done mate. Great job

Wait... Jump man? So you are telling me that it isn't mario??

My nickname in college was “Donkey Dong”

Loved this video, always had a casual interest as a spectator in the world of kong high scores ever since the King Of Kong doco - never knew all the intricacies that went into the actual strategies of scoring points. Fastest 20 mins of my life !!!! Keep up the great work mate 👍🏻

Awesome video would love to see more on this topic with other games. I like finding out about the intricacies of games like these. You always do a nice job each video to. Thank you.

American Dad speed run video when?

What's Kari Lake doing there? 0:05

Really cool video . i started playing Dk on virtual console on switch recently to try it out and it surprised me with just HOW difficult i can be. Would love a part two going over more of the other stages.

I don't particularly love speed runs/running and I don't like old games, yet your videos keep me up at night for hours at a time. I just like how you explain everything in depth .

"I don't understand people that play old games", says man with dozens of videos about 25 year old games. Hmmm. :P

The best speedrun is liking and subbing to Karl

Love your video format and presentation. Great stuff

Very interesting video, it's really cool to see such old classics still in the spotlight. I had my first experience with this game in Donkey kong 64 (Frantic Factory), where the game's actually mandatory for completing the main game... Back then, it was really frustrating to a young kid...

He's calling these people weird for spending hours on an old game as a doom speedrunner

wtf is that kari lake?!

I always had a feeling there was more to Donkey Kong, but I only looked into the scene a few years ago and am continually impressed with what I learn.

I always saw Donkey Kong as a historical landmark of Gaming really, as it was the first game Mario appeared in, who would eventually save video games in 85 with SMB1, not so much for Billy the cheater

I always get an inexplicable urge to play Mass Effect when I watch Karl's videos.

Hey Karl, man o man do I appreciate the quality of your videos, thank you brother. You’ve given me endless entertainment, inspiration, and motivation. I was blessed to have this video in my feed today, always looking forward to your new content!

I was 11 when Donkey Kong came out in 1981 and I've been playing it on and off over the years. I've been playing it a lot on my Switch lately. I never noticed you only get 500 points for the 800 point triple barrel jump until now.

Oh my god, I have had one old game pop up in the back of my mind every few months or so for the last 5+ years (I remember it as that game with the lines for bullets and for some reason I associate headaches with it), I could never remember the damn name of it, and whenever I went searching for it, I'd always turn up empty. Today, I have finally found out that games name, so thank you Karl for including that snippet of Missile Commander, even though it was included to prove a point, it really made my day remembering what it was called.

Your videos are extremely informative and well done. They really hook the viewer in. Good job

7:47 - "I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite video on the RU-vid."

So as someone who has been playing the game for a few years and is currently ranked at 101 in the world (I was 82nd when I first killscreened in 2016, tells you how many people have improved!), and as someone who has trained at least four other people who have killscreened (one of them is a 1M+ point player), I'd say this video is surprisingly well done. It would take an hour to describe all the truly finite mechanics of every screen but this is a fantastic brief summary! In fact, 7 of the 120-ish people that have ever killscreened with verifiable evidence have come from the state of Arkansas (Wes Copeland the former world record holder, myself, and 5 others) I have people come to my arcade and say "Yeah, I beat Kong years and years ago" so I ask them "Cool? Do you know how to steer barrels?" They say "Wait, you can steer barrels? I tell them "Yeah, with all the randomness over an hour and a half run, you didn't beat Kong. Simple as that." Karl, I wish you the best on your journey through Kong. The best have all been where you are. I would love to see you join the ranks of those who have definitively beaten this classic :)

1:46 - 1:54 EPIC! Lol. *That is an extremely polite & professional way of saying these people are weird AF.* Lmao.

Interesting! :) Great job, Karl (you absolute legend). I remember seeing something like this about Pac Man (cornering, ghost manipulation + the 'bug' that messed up one ghost's ability to track Pac). It's also nice to know that SOME modern platformer games do indeed employ subtle nuances that are similar to these old-school mechanics. :)