Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the Kong family of simians. (via Wikipedia)
The genre Donkey Kong helped define
Platform game. jumping across obstacles and ladders introduced the core verb the whole genre is built on.
The game mechanics of Donkey Kong
Contact DamageCombatTouching an enemy or environmental hazard deals damage to the player without any explicit attack trigger from either party.
Real Time Action CombatCombatCombat resolves continuously in real time; player inputs compete directly with enemy behavior each frame.
Lives SystemResourcePlayer has a finite number of attempts; losing all lives resets progress to a defined point or ends the game.
Linear LevelsWorldWorld consists of discrete stages played in a fixed sequence; stages are self-contained with no backtracking between them.
Time PressureNarrativeA countdown timer or depleting resource creates urgency and forces prioritization of actions within a session.
Each mechanic links to how to build it in Godot, with the retro games that share it.