Introduction

Donkey Kong was the first video game I ever played. It looked like this:


I was four years old when my older brother got this game for his NES, and I couldn’t get enough of it! I sat beside him for marathon sessions and learned how to help Mario jump on barrels—and later, the more advanced skills he needed to beat those pesky gorillas in each level. We spent hours together on those tiny little screens (not the console itself!).

Let me tell you a story about what happens when you start building a life around a video game at such an early age…

Why do you think this game was your first?

You were a child. You were a kid. You were a teenager. You were a pre-teen. You were young, and so were the people who played this video game with you—or at least, they had enough sense to give you free reign of an all-ages arcade in hopes that you’d spend your money on something they could later use as an excuse for why they didn’t have any cash left over (plus, it was fun). This game was your first because it was accessible: there was no parental permission required to play it; no age requirement; and no financial investment needed beyond inserting coins into the machine itself.

This is what makes arcade games so special: they give us experiences we wouldn’t otherwise have access to if we weren’t willing or able to pay for them ourselves. And while some may argue that their simplicity prevents them from being considered true works of art or even entertainment products worthy of emotional investment (or much analysis), I would argue these qualities make them even more valuable as gateways into our collective history as human beings—and perhaps even more meaningful than certain other mediums which seem better suited for artistic expression due solely on their level of complexity alone

The game was really simple.

The game was really simple. You could understand it immediately, and you could get into it quickly (it’s almost like they wanted you to play it so they made it easy). It was an easy pick up and play experience.

You only need a few buttons to play the game.

The next portion of Smashy Smashy is a barrel game. In this game, you use the A and B buttons to move your barrel around and smash it into other barrels (which contain items like hearts and stars). The only thing you need to do when playing this part of Smashy Smashy is press A or B. There are no confusing menus or controls to master; all you have to do is press one button at a time! If there’s something that goes wrong during the game, don’t worry—you can use C button to change the color of your barrel so everyone can tell which one belongs to you.

In addition to these buttons, there are also other things in this section that don’t require any pressing whatsoever: D-pad, shoulder buttons*, analog stick* – none of these things will help you play this section better than just pressing A or B as fast as possible!

It’s easy to pick up but challenging to master.

When I first played this game, it was hard to understand. You see, the game is easy to learn but hard to master. It’s also difficult to win or lose this game; there are no clear cut objectives or rules that can be easily explained in a way that makes sense.

However, I enjoyed playing Smashy Smashy with everyone who tried it out—and they did enjoy playing when they realized how fun the game really was! But when asked why we were all playing such a frustratingly chaotic sport, none of us could give an answer beyond saying:

“Because it’s fun.”

Your dad always played it with you.

You remember the first game you ever played with your dad. You also remember your first game with your brother. The two of you often competed against each other as well, which only made things more fun.

When you were younger, your parents encouraged playing video games together as a family—whether it was an educational game or something more action-packed like Mario Kart 64 (which remains one of the best multiplayer games out there). As time went on and technology advanced, more and more people began to play video games—including women! This meant that girls weren’t left out when it came to having fun on their own or with friends in this new world created by Nintendo and Sega Genesis during the 90s through today’s PlayStation 4 console systems or mobile devices such as iOS devices running Apple’s operating system software version 9.

A lot of people played this game!

You might have played this game. If you didn’t, there’s a good chance that someone in your family or circle of friends did. This was one of the most popular games on the market for years, and it remains an enduring classic to this day.

This game had something for everyone: children, teenagers and their parents all played it together (and still do). It was easy enough for children to play without assistance from older players but still challenging enough to keep people coming back for more!

Even my mother played the game and she doesn’t usually like video games.

• Parents and siblings can play together.
• You can play in short bursts, or long sessions.
• It’s accessible on the go, so you can literally take it anywhere with you.
• You can play with friends and family members, as well as strangers online!

What do you remember about playing it? Like where did you play, who did you play with, what time of day?

That first video game you played was likely a part of your childhood, so it’s only natural to have fond memories of the time spent playing it. But what do you remember about that time?

If you’re like most people who grew up in the 80s and 90s, your first game may have been a Nintendo title. You might recall playing Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country, or maybe even Pokémon. If so, then congratulations! You’ve already made some progress towards becoming an expert gamer. But let’s delve deeper into the experience of gaming in its early days: when there were no sequels or spin-offs or fan websites—just one game and one screen (or two).

Now if you’re like me then this was also probably where we started our journey as gamers—a world before smartphones and tablets took over our lives forever—a world where we had less access to technology but more time for play.

I remember having marathon sessions with my brother in all kinds of places. We’d play at home, at the babysitter’s house, even at McDonalds on those little screens they had in their childrens’ menu back in the day. It was easy to play anywhere because all you needed was a tiny piece of real estate on any surface that could keep the machine steady while it fired barrels at us. (We were awesome at finding ways to prop up the machine.)

• I remember having marathon sessions with my brother in all kinds of places. We’d play at home, at the babysitter’s house, even at McDonalds on those little screens they had in their childrens’ menu back in the day. It was easy to play anywhere because all you needed was a tiny piece of real estate on any surface that could keep the machine steady while it fired barrels at us. (We were awesome at finding ways to prop up the machine.)

What made the game so special or memorable?

The game was simple to learn and easy to play, but it had enough challenge that it would keep you entertained for hours. You could play the game anywhere, which was great because I wasn’t allowed to bring a lot of things into my room as a kid. However, this also meant that if you wanted to play more than one round of Smashy Smashy before bed time, you had to make sure your parents weren’t home so they wouldn’t catch sight of the game and say “No! No video games!” But it wasn’t just fun when playing by yourself: Smashy Smashy was even more fun when played with friends or family members!

I don’t even know if I can explain what made it so fun, but we did it for hours on end, so… there’s that.

I don’t even know if I can explain what made it so fun, but we did it for hours on end, so… there’s that.

It was probably the first time we got to play video games together as a family. My brother and I had been playing video games since we were little kids (we were born in the mid-80s), but this was the first time our parents played with us. It also made sense that when my dad was younger he would play “Smashy Smashy” with his own friends instead of us—so it felt like an honor when he finally decided to play with us instead!

We all loved playing this game because it involved smashing things. We could smash anything: people, cars, buildings—you name it! And then you get the power ups where you could smash even more things at once or even bigger stuff! In addition to smashing things up yourself (which counted as murder), there were also tanks and helicopters that would help out by killing other people while trying not to kill themselves in the process: basically just like real life except less messy and no one actually dies!

How do you think your experience might have been different if you had been older/younger/a different gender/into a different hobby?

• If you were older, you might have been better at the game.
• If you were younger, you might have been more interested in the game.
• If you were a different gender, maybe that would change your experience with this game (for instance, if it was mostly marketed towards men or boys).
• If you were into a different hobby, maybe that would change your experience with this game (for instance, if it was marketed toward people who like strategy games).

Conclusion

I still think about Donkey Kong sometimes. It hasn’t haunted me the way some games from childhood do, but I can’t help thinking that it’s the game I played most in those formative years. That’s probably why all of my retro-gaming interests tend to begin in the early 80s. If I had been a little older, maybe I would have gotten into more of these games and dug deeper into this hobby. But in my mind, Donkey Kong is an excellent game that stands on its own as a classic.