A strange little side quest
Here is a rabbit hole for the next loading screen in The Paladin´s Adventure: Donkey Kong arrived in 1981 with a character called Jumpman, who would later become one of gaming's most recognizable figures: Mario. It also connects to a different milestone: Early computer role-playing games helped turn rules, inventories, exploration and character progression into systems that could support long-form digital adventures. That long chain of experiments is part of why platform games still feels fresh when a game finds the right twist.
