Luck in Donkey KongI think "luck" in DK looks something like this:
[ZERO]-[2]-----[5]-----[8]-[10]
A spectrum of sorts that scales out logarithmically from 5(in this crude example), wherein 5 represents "average luck", 0 represents "shit luck", 10 represents "miraculous luck", and the range between 2 and 8 is meant to stand as “survivableâ€.
I feel that DK demonstrates behavior in the “survivable†range, between 2 and 8, with greater frequency than it demonstrates behavior in the 0 to 2 or 8 to 10 ranges (the “extreme†ranges), and I chose a logarithmic scale to express this idea. Also, it's relevant that the “extremes†have a smaller range than the “survivable†range – i.e the variety of ways in which things go “survivable†well, far exceed the variety of ways in which things go either fantastically super or disastrously poor.
Many players, myself included, get bent out of shape rather easily when, for example, a series of barrels won't steer, or a rivet board doesn't “make it easy†on them, when, in fact, the problem board at hand may only be exhibiting type 3 or type 4 behavior on the spectrum of “luckâ€. Point being, “average luck†is the best any player can hope for over the course of an entire game, and while it may seem at times like all you're getting is 2's and 3's, those 7's and 8's might be just a round the corner.
But there are games when that “luck†just never levels out to 5, or never has a chance to because the first 30 boards were 1's and Jumpman is dead. There are games pinned at 7 the whole time, only to be botched by the player. And there are many games cursed for “if only that pie factory hadn't been a 1!â€, which had, in actuality, provided greater than 5 “luck†up to that critical point.
The same scale can be applied to “paceâ€, only the “pace†range is separate from the “survivable†range, with the actual range of “pace†dependent on the “pace†itself, obviously. A JRTFBDN game has a “pace†range equal to that of the “survivable†range. Whereas a 1.2 million game has a “pace†range considerably smaller than the “survivable†range. As “pace†increases, so do the variety of ways in which boards can be corrupting of the goal, thus, the range of “extremes†increases. However, the frequency of type 5 boards is the same regardless of “paceâ€.
So, this is all nonsense, of course, because there's no one way to quantify what constitutes a 0 and what constitutes a 10. Yet, just for fun, I'll throw out a few benchmarks.
Barrel Board- Aggressive fireballs shooting straight to the top is shitty enough to warrant a 2. These situations can be stressful and often deadly.
- Scoring 17K+, no matter how it's done, is a 10.
Pie Factory- Impassable pie factory of ultimate ass gets a 0.
- Free pass gets a 6 or 7. After all, an entire game of free passes would be above average.
Elevators- Infinite long springs equals 4. The elevators may never breach the range between 4 and 6. They're always pretty much the same, and always, always, “survivableâ€.
Rivets- Scoring 8K or higher is 6ish, maybe 7ish.
- Fireballs preventing access to the top left rivets is type 3 behavior.
