donkey_kong_arcade

About

The README refers to the original as "the 1981 arcade classic Donkey Kong," the coin-op release this project reimplements for modern desktop hardware. donkey_kong_arcade is a feature-complete recreation of the 1981 arcade Donkey Kong for modern x86-64 Windows/Linux desktops, written in C++ with the Allegro5 library. It reimplements all four original stages (barrel, factory, elevators, rivets), the menu and title screens, cutscenes, a lives system, and local high-score tracking. The author researched the original's behavior from community breakdowns of its source code and from YouTube footage, so some mechanics (like rolling barrels) are described as accurate while others (like wild barrels and overall movement feel) are close but not exact. Game assets have been stripped from the repository to avoid infringing Nintendo's copyright, and the author states the project is non-commercial, made for their own entertainment.

How it differs from the original

Wild-barrel behavior and the player character's run/jump speed are described by the author as similar to the arcade original but not perfectly accurate, and controls were intentionally changed to feel less clunky than the original. The game also renders to a fixed 224x256 buffer that's dynamically scaled to any window size or fullscreen, which the arcade cabinet didn't need to do, and includes an unfinished "classic mode" level-reordering option plus a debug/invulnerability mode for testing.

Getting started

The game can be compiled from source: on Linux via Allegro5 installed through a package manager (e.g. pacman) followed by CMake and make, or on Windows via MSYS2/mingw64 with Allegro5 installed, then CMake and make. A configuration file lets players adjust window size, toggle fullscreen, and switch between built-in control schemes.

Known issues & limitations

• gameplay: High score table has some bugs that the developer intends to fix.
• The author acknowledges a few known bugs remain, notably in the high-score table.

Media