# Donkey Kong: reconstructing arcade gameplay from descriptions and video

> The Donkey Kong arcade remake recreates the 1981 game's four stages in C++ with Allegro5, using published descriptions of original mechanics and observations from play videos. The author reports that rolling barrels are close to the original while other behaviors and movement timing differ; the repository contains the game logic without its assets.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-09
- Original resource: <https://github.com/ianmurfinxyz/donkey_kong_arcade>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/ianmurfinxyz/donkey_kong_arcade/blob/cb8510a743fa7fa27f8986cef501b422b4fc7c8b/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/donkey-kong-arcade-remake-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/donkey-kong-arcade-remake-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/donkey-kong-arcade-remake-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** Allegro5 and a C++20 build environment with CMake for Windows or Linux.
- **Scope:** Game assets have been removed from the repository.
- **Limits:** The author reports imperfect behavior for wild barrels and player movement, plus remaining high-score bugs.
- **License:** No licence file in the repository.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/ianmurfinxyz/donkey_kong_arcade/blob/cb8510a743fa7fa27f8986cef501b422b4fc7c8b/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/ianmurfinxyz/donkey_kong_arcade/blob/cb8510a743fa7fa27f8986cef501b422b4fc7c8b/CMakeLists.txt>

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## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.