King of Kong

1. Mitchell is unabashedly cocky and fond of self promotion, proclaiming himself the "Sauce King" of Florida for his successful line of homemade hot sauces. Next to his family, Mitchell considers his arcade scores his greatest achievements in life.

How typical are these types of values and attitudes among 'core' gamers and how important is it to understand these values if you are a game designer? What *are* these values, exactly?

Hyper-competitive, manipulative, self-aggrandizing and overconfident. These are all aspects of Billy Mitchell's character. He doesn't want to be good; he wants to be better than everybody else. His value of self is based on a sense of superiority he gets from holding a world record. He literally hides his competition in one scene to make more room to display his own product. His tactics are morally questionable, but he accomplishes his objective: success. Many core gamers have similar character traits, but they are not representative of core gamers as a whole.

To appeal to core gamers, a developer must create seemingly insurmountable challenges that a gamer can learn to "unlock." The classic arcade games were designed to make you lose, and only those most familiar with the patterns can learn to work around them. Every enemy has a vulnerability that the player can learn to exploit. However, the challenge increases with the speed of gameplay, and only the most adept gamers can keep pace with the action of the game.

2. Steve Wiebe has been laid off as a Boeing engineer, and now spends his time as a science teacher. His friends and his wife, Nicole, describe him as a tragic figure who always comes up short, despite being proficient at music, sports, art, and mathematics.

Is Weibe's 'tragic' aspect typical of core gaming 'types'?

What role does self esteem (high or low) play in the culture of hard core gaming and such subcultures as competitive vintage or 'classic' game playing? How would you best describe the relationship between low self-esteem and videogame mastery?

I believe Wiebe's "tragic" aspect is typical of core gamers, though he appears to have a more complete skill set than most. His athleticism is atypical of the set, but his attitude is very common. Wiebe doesn't play to prove he's better than everyone else. He has had a lot of near successes in his life, and plays for a sense of pride to know he's the best at SOMETHING. Core gamers devote a lot of time to learning the games they want to master.

3. Despite Wiebe's protests that his own first score was disqualified for being submitted via unsupervised videotape, Twin Galaxies accepts Mitchell's score over Wiebe's and proclaims that Mitchell is still the record holder.

How valid do you think videotaped gameplay should be in establishing videogame playing records?

If valid, why? If not valid, why not?

Video editing programs and technology have advanced to the point that a recording cannot be accepted as authentic. For instance, Mitchell's tape had several aberrations that went unquestioned because of his standing within the community, whereas Wiebe's tape was much clearer but came under heavy scrutiny by TG. A friend of mine holds an unofficial world record for a Nintendo Entertainment System game, but even we agreed that none of us present at the record breaking would have accepted a video he sent of the score being achieved.

4. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, wondering "Who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at Donkey Kong would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization?"

What do you think of the film?

Is it an accurate portrayal of what makes videogames so compelling for those who play them?

I believe it is a fitting analogy. Mitchell is compared to G.W. Bush by his colleague because of his attitude. He's incredibly cocky, but his allies back him up enough that he doesn't ever have to literally stand toe-to-toe with his opponents. He's able to continue talking himself up and conniving to stay on top.


As far as the movie being an accurate portrayal of what makes videogames compelling, yes and no. It covers a more old-school approach of completionism. Classic gamers have a slight propensity for "going OCD" with a game, seeing just how far they can push the limits of the game. Since technology of old had clear limits to its potential, it was always fun to reach a "kill screen" of sorts, which manifested differently for each game. Some machines would overload with sprites, some would just freeze up, but the achievement was that of Man over Machine. In effect, the victor broke his opponent and could wear his victory as a badge of pride, just as hunters would pride themselves on their kills. Reaching the DK kill screen is the only way the player gets to tell the machine, "Game Over."

5. On November 10, 1981, Walter Day opened an arcade in Ottumwa, Iowa called Twin Galaxies. Though it was a modest arcade of merely 22 arcade games, it soon became known as the International Scorekeeper for the burgeoning video game industry. Under Day's direction, Twin Galaxies set rules for gameplay on hundreds of games, while maintaining a records database of competitive high scores. Twin Galaxies is considered by gaming historians as being the first organizer of professional gaming, putting competitive electronic gaming on the world map.

How important do you think organizations like Twin Galaxies are in the vintage arcade gaming community?

Could such communities exist without such organizations?

What role does Twin Galaxies play ultimately, and why is this significant to the film and its story?

I have a rather harsh view toward Twin Galaxies, especially after watching this film. I was already suspicious of the internal politics of it, and now I would rather have nothing to do with it. My initial thought when I learned of it was literally, "Anybody can say they have the last word, but it doesn't mean they do." His determination of the official records and rules for games is as flimsy as his enforcement of it within the community, and he doesn't seem like the type of person with a will strong enough to resist manipulation.

6. The film depicts Wiebe's skill at Donkey Kong being linked to his ability to deeply understand the title's game mechanics, particularly the way that rhythm and timing work to ensure a successful outcome.

The film in one scene compared his love of drumming and his abilities at basketball as well as his musical talent as part and parcel of his gift at playing Donkey Kong.

How would you best describe this set of inter-related skills?

Watch a muted game demo repeat ad infinitum, and eventually you will create a soundtrack for it in your mind. The rhythm of movement is directly correlated to music. Keeping time and counting beats is crucial for learning the next step in a repeating pattern. If the fifth barrel falls straight down instead of rolling, a simple 4 count will cue it on the next downbeat. Basketball also plays a key role by teaching Weibe how to judge an object's movement based on its arc of flight. He was able to judge how far Mario could jump, or how each spring would react.

Have you experienced anything like this yourself when playing games? Have you been able to associate the skill of playing games with similar related skills and talents and how would you best describe the nature of this set of inter-relationships between skills/passions/abilities?

I've used rhythm countless times while playing games. Anything that requires pattern recognition gets its own song in my head while I'm playing. The brain wants to make connections, and for me those connections are most easily created through music. From visual to audio, I can synthesize the information being output in a way that's easier for me to understand and remember.

7. In the film, Wiebe, while playing the game says hello to Mitchell. Mitchell didn't respond. As he's walking away from Wiebe, Mitchell says, "There's certain people I don't want to spend too much time with." Mitchell offered no explanation for his behavior towards Wiebe but did later explain that at the time of filming, he had not played video games for "more than a year", and that the filmmakers had not given him enough advance warning to train for a public record-breaking attempt. Seth Gordon, the film's Director, in referring to Mitchell's character says that Mitchell "is a true puppet-master", "a master of information-control".

What do you think Gordon means by this? What role does such behavior play in general terms in videogame culture?

Mitchell is a dick. He's a selfish jerk who needs to put other people down and make excuses to feel better about himself. He acts like an adolescent, and so do many other people in the world. For whatever reasons, he isn't comfortable with who he is and has to act that way in order to compensate for it. I think that many people involved in videogame culture are looking to escape, and it manifests differently for everyone. However, his attitude isn't limited to the video game culture. In all parts of the world and from all walks of life, you're bound to run into a few Billy Mitchells. 

8. What did you think of the film? Is it really only about the game "Donkey Kong" and those who seek to hold the highest score or is it really about something more?

The film is a great story. It involves betrayal, undermining, personal resolution to overcome past failures, manipulation of authority, competition, and many more human elements. It is well edited, and I felt it had a Classic feel to it. It could have just as easily been a Greek tragedy or Shakespearean play.

9. Have you ever played "Donkey Kong"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?

The last time I played Donkey Kong was a week ago today. There's an arcade machine with multiple games installed at Thieves (bar) on Guerrero at 16th St. I couldn't pass the first level. I remember being much better at it when I was six years old, which is extremely frustrating.