Donald Duck's Playground
Encyclopedia
Donald Duck's Playground is a computer game for the Commodore 64
, based on the Walt Disney
cartoon
and comic book
character Donald Duck
. It was also ported to the IBM PCjr
, Apple II
, Atari ST
and Amiga. It was designed by Al Lowe
, who went on to create the Leisure Suit Larry series.
The player takes the role of Donald Duck, whose job is to earn money
so that he can buy playground items for his nephews. To do this, Donald can get himself a job in any of four different places: a greengrocer
's, a railroad, a toy shop
or an airport
. Each job shift lasts from one to eight minutes, as the player wants, in which time Donald has to earn as much as he can.
The greengrocer's : Donald is responsible for sorting vegetable
s thrown to him from the back of a pick-up truck
in three different boxes. One of the boxes is for watermelon
s, one is for pumpkin
s, and one is for cantaloupe
s. Each vegetable gets thrown at a randomly chosen distance. Donald has to catch it and put it in the correct box. Failing to catch the vegetable or putting it in the wrong box results in it being squashed and no money earned. Donald earns 1 cent for each vegetable correctly sorted.
The toy shop : Donald is responsible for putting toy
s given to him from a conveyor belt
in the correct place on a shelf
. Every 80 seconds or so, a train
will pass on a nearby railroad. If the shelf is open at the time, the train will cause toys to drop from the shelf, losing money. Donald has to close the shelf for the time the train is coming. Donald earns 5 cents for each toy placed on the shelf.
The railroad : Donald is at a switch console, responsible for putting switches on the tracks in the correct order, so that cargo trains
can pick their cargo up from the correct city and deliver it to the correct city. Donald earns 15 cents for each delivery routed.
The airport : Donald is responsible for sorting cargo given to him on a conveyor belt into the cargo vans for flights going to different airports across the United States
. Each item of cargo bears the three-letter abbreviation of some U.S. airport. Donald has to throw it into a passing cargo van with the matching code. Near the end, the aeroplane leaves, and Donald has to stop sorting cargo. Donald earns 3 cents for each item sorted.
s and swing
s for a playground
for his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie
to enjoy. They can be bought from three different stores where the player must be able to count the amount of coins needed (25, 10, 5 and 1 cent) for an item and, if the total is not even, the change.
Each item bought can be placed at a specific place on the playground. By going across the railroad, Donald can call up one of his nephews (in practice, the player character switches from Donald to his nephew), and he can then play on the playground.
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, based on the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
and comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
. It was also ported to the IBM PCjr
IBM PCjr
The IBM PCjr was IBM's first attempt to enter the home computer market. The PCjr, IBM model number 4860, retained the IBM PC's 8088 CPU and BIOS interface for compatibility, but various design and implementation decisions led the PCjr to be a commercial failure.- Features :Announced November 1,...
, Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Amiga. It was designed by Al Lowe
Al Lowe
Al Lowe is an American musician and game designer/programmer who developed several adventure games, mostly for Sierra On-Line. He is best known for his creation of Leisure Suit Larry and the long-running series it spawned....
, who went on to create the Leisure Suit Larry series.
The player takes the role of Donald Duck, whose job is to earn money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
so that he can buy playground items for his nephews. To do this, Donald can get himself a job in any of four different places: a greengrocer
Greengrocer
A greengrocer or fruiterer is a retail trader in fruit and vegetables; that is, in green groceries. Greengrocer is primarily a British and Australian term, and greengrocers' shops were once common in suburbs, towns and villages...
's, a railroad, a toy shop
Toy Shop
Toy Shop is a simulation/role-playing video game developed by Seed Studios and published by Majesco Entertainment for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is often compared to the Harvest Moon series but with a Toy Shop theme....
or an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
. Each job shift lasts from one to eight minutes, as the player wants, in which time Donald has to earn as much as he can.
The jobs
Donald has a different task at each job. He earns a set amount for each part of his job; on the Intermediate level, these wages are doubled; on the Advanced level, these wages are tripled.The greengrocer's : Donald is responsible for sorting vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s thrown to him from the back of a pick-up truck
Pick-Up Truck
"Pick-Up Truck" is a song written and recorded by Belgian acid house musician Praga Khan. It is the third single from Praga's eighth studio album, Soundscraper....
in three different boxes. One of the boxes is for watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
s, one is for pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
s, and one is for cantaloupe
Cantaloupe
"Rockmelon" redirects here, for the band see Rockmelons. See also Cantaloupe .Cantaloupe refers to a variety of Cucumis melo, a species in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes nearly all melons and squashes. Cantaloupes range in size from...
s. Each vegetable gets thrown at a randomly chosen distance. Donald has to catch it and put it in the correct box. Failing to catch the vegetable or putting it in the wrong box results in it being squashed and no money earned. Donald earns 1 cent for each vegetable correctly sorted.
The toy shop : Donald is responsible for putting toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s given to him from a conveyor belt
Conveyor belt
A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
in the correct place on a shelf
Shelf
Shelf may refer to:* Shelf , a flat horizontal surface used for diplay and storage* Shelf , a user interface feature in the NeXTSTEP operating system* Shelf, West Yorkshire, a village in England...
. Every 80 seconds or so, a train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
will pass on a nearby railroad. If the shelf is open at the time, the train will cause toys to drop from the shelf, losing money. Donald has to close the shelf for the time the train is coming. Donald earns 5 cents for each toy placed on the shelf.
The railroad : Donald is at a switch console, responsible for putting switches on the tracks in the correct order, so that cargo trains
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
can pick their cargo up from the correct city and deliver it to the correct city. Donald earns 15 cents for each delivery routed.
The airport : Donald is responsible for sorting cargo given to him on a conveyor belt into the cargo vans for flights going to different airports across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Each item of cargo bears the three-letter abbreviation of some U.S. airport. Donald has to throw it into a passing cargo van with the matching code. Near the end, the aeroplane leaves, and Donald has to stop sorting cargo. Donald earns 3 cents for each item sorted.
The playground
Donald can spend his hard-earned wages by buying various items such as ladderLadder
A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps. There are two types: rigid ladders that can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rope ladders that are hung from the top. The vertical members of a rigid ladder are called stringers or stiles . Rigid ladders are usually...
s and swing
Swing (seat)
A swing is a hanging seat, usually found at playgrounds for children, a circus for acrobats, or on a porch for relaxing. The seat of a swing may be suspended from chains or ropes. Once a swing is in motion it continues to oscillate like a pendulum until external interference or drag brings it to a...
s for a playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
for his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional, anthropomorphic ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first...
to enjoy. They can be bought from three different stores where the player must be able to count the amount of coins needed (25, 10, 5 and 1 cent) for an item and, if the total is not even, the change.
Each item bought can be placed at a specific place on the playground. By going across the railroad, Donald can call up one of his nephews (in practice, the player character switches from Donald to his nephew), and he can then play on the playground.
SCUMM VM
The popular emulator for old adventure games recently added AGI engine games, and despite this game being slightly older than officially supported games, this too works with SCUMM VM and the Nintendo DS port of SCUMM VM.External links
- Donald Duck's Playground at '80s DOS Games
- Donald Duck's Playground at AlLowe.com