Not to dig up something old

Tronic

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Not sure if this has been talked about in all the old King of Kong threads that I used to pass by, but I just read something today that shed new light on the documentary.

In this TG article written in 1999 (before King of Kong) it seems that Billy was offering a reward for the first person to break a million in Donkey Kong. See below:


http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=19&id=305


"High scores on titles other than Pac-Man can also win players large sums of cash. Rickey's World Famous Sauce will give $10,000 prizes to the first persons to score over 1 million points on any of eight different games following Twin Galaxies' official rules. The games are: Ms. Pac-Man, Carnival, Berzerk, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Rally-X, Hypersports and Tutankham."


I didn't see an expiration date on this reward. So it makes me think that is why Billy worked so hard to get the video tape from Steve disqualified and he was very fast at getting his million point score into TG. I think Billy owes Steve some money.
 
An additional $95,000 is set aside for players who, before January 1, 2000, can break decades-old high scores on fifteen other classic video games.
 
This is OT too, has anyone here met Bill and like him? I mean they make him out to be an asshole in that movie - I think it's mostly just protecting himself and putting on a show. Personally I'd like to meet him and Weibe. I'm sure this horse has been beat to death here as well.

Also, did some of those guys seem creepy to you, or was that just me?
 
This is OT too, has anyone here met Bill and like him? I mean they make him out to be an asshole in that movie - I think it's mostly just protecting himself and putting on a show. Personally I'd like to meet him and Weibe. I'm sure this horse has been beat to death here as well.

Also, did some of those guys seem creepy to you, or was that just me?

Except for Wiebe,they ALL seem creepy.Walter Day,Billy Mitchell,that guy who rides Billy's cock in King of Kong....Most of them look like deviant pedophiles.And don't get me started on that sleazebag baseball coach from Chasing Ghosts who actually was a pedophile.

I could care less to meet any of them.So what if they can score a lot on a certain game,they put their pants on one leg at a time like everyone else.
 
there's been threads on the twingalaxies forums, i believe, and steve and bill are actually friendly in real life. the editing and cut of the movie was done in such a way to promote the image of billy as a big bully. and i'm not trying to make him look like a saint; i thought he was a jerk after seeing the movie. but after doing the research, it proved otherwise.
 
there's been threads on the twingalaxies forums, i believe, and steve and bill are actually friendly in real life. the editing and cut of the movie was done in such a way to promote the image of billy as a big bully. and i'm not trying to make him look like a saint; i thought he was a jerk after seeing the movie. but after doing the research, it proved otherwise.

Yeah - I figured, and Gutsman I'm with you on the dudes. Chasing ghosts even takes the creepy up a notch. Of course, when your life highlights still revolve around events that took place when you were twelve, you might have some quirks later on in life. After seeing those movies a few times I am positive I would never be part of a production like that. Hoping my friends and family don't see the movies and think I'm creepy like some of those guys. Of course, I'm a shitty player most of the time, unlesss we're talking Mega Man or Double Dragon 2.

I'm sure Billy's ego is as large as it is portrayed in the movie, but aside from Steve W now, he's the most successful guy out of the bunch. I know designers that have egos like his, probably worse inside their heads.lol I'm sure he's not in total jerk mode 24/7 and at non-competition events he's nice to folks.
 
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after meeting both Steve and Billy in Ottumwa Iowa and speaking with Billy on numerous occasions on the phone I can verify that

-Steve is a really nice down to earth guy

-Billy Mitchell is deep down a caring guy (but isn't blatant about it) but the arrogance and persona he displays in the movie wasn't far from the truth. He was very awkward to talk to over the phone when we tried to figure out how to get my Space Invaders Deluxe machine out to Iowa...

whenever I said "Hey Billy, hows it going?" his response was always "its always going good"...completely serious.

pretty funny stuff
 
billy and steve are friends. steve held the record before he hit his one million plus record. so when they denounced his video, it reverted back to steves own record. Not billys.
King of Kong is just a movie.
Also, Billys taped score was removed moments after it was put up. So Weibes score I guess should get the 10,000.
 
after meeting both Steve and Billy in Ottumwa Iowa and speaking with Billy on numerous occasions on the phone I can verify that

-Steve is a really nice down to earth guy

-Billy Mitchell is deep down a caring guy (but isn't blatant about it) but the arrogance and persona he displays in the movie wasn't far from the truth. He was very awkward to talk to over the phone when we tried to figure out how to get my Space Invaders Deluxe machine out to Iowa...

whenever I said "Hey Billy, hows it going?" his response was always "its always going good"...completely serious.

pretty funny stuff

I got a chance to meet all of these guys in Ottumwa also.

Walter - One of the nicest and most caring guys I've ever met. He was very personable and made sure he gave attention to anyone who walked up to him. I took a game to the Big Bang this year and Walter treated me like a VIP. He even remembered my son's name from a phone call several days prior even though he was swamped getting ready for the event. He was far from the "puppet" he was portrayed as in the movie. He was extremely busy and worked his tail off keeping the event flowing. I was very impressed with him.

Billy - I thought Billy was a pretty nice guy. He does carry his "image" while out in public, but is not the jerk that he was portrayed as.

Steve W. - Very nice and humble guy. Very down to earth.

Steve Sanders - Billy's friend from KoK. I got to know Steve very well as we shared several things in common. We spent a lot of time playing Joust together and he shared a ton of strategy with me. He was very encouraging to me as I've been trying to improve my Joust playing. I also really enjoyed hearing some of his stories from BITD.

Joel West (Chasing Ghosts) - Another guy I spent a lot of time with. He is another normal guy who likes to play games.

Ben Gold (Chasing Ghosts) - Ben is no longer a game player and has only gotten recent attention due to CG and the IVGHOF. He was another guy who had great stories, and was grateful that he was being honored.

I met and got to know several others. There were several guys there like Eric Akeson, Chris Mansfield, and a few others that are into this as a hobby like we are and they were great to get to know too! Overall the majority of the guys there were not the kind of guys where "games are their life". There were a few odd characters there but overall these guys are just like us. We read these forums every day and that's probably odd to people who don't collect games.

I think some people here are quick to think people are douchebags or creepy based on what you've seen in movies. That's just part of being on forums. I'm glad most of you don't do this or I wouldn't want to be on these forums.
 
I got a chance to meet all of these guys in Ottumwa also.

Walter - One of the nicest and most caring guys I've ever met. He was very personable and made sure he gave attention to anyone who walked up to him. I took a game to the Big Bang this year and Walter treated me like a VIP. He even remembered my son's name from a phone call several days prior even though he was swamped getting ready for the event. He was far from the "puppet" he was portrayed as in the movie. He was extremely busy and worked his tail off keeping the event flowing. I was very impressed with him.

Billy - I thought Billy was a pretty nice guy. He does carry his "image" while out in public, but is not the jerk that he was portrayed as.

Steve W. - Very nice and humble guy. Very down to earth.

Steve Sanders - Billy's friend from KoK. I got to know Steve very well as we shared several things in common. We spent a lot of time playing Joust together and he shared a ton of strategy with me. He was very encouraging to me as I've been trying to improve my Joust playing. I also really enjoyed hearing some of his stories from BITD.

Joel West (Chasing Ghosts) - Another guy I spent a lot of time with. He is another normal guy who likes to play games.

Ben Gold (Chasing Ghosts) - Ben is no longer a game player and has only gotten recent attention due to CG and the IVGHOF. He was another guy who had great stories, and was grateful that he was being honored.

I met and got to know several others. There were several guys there like Eric Akeson, Chris Mansfield, and a few others that are into this as a hobby like we are and they were great to get to know too! Overall the majority of the guys there were not the kind of guys where "games are their life". There were a few odd characters there but overall these guys are just like us. We read these forums every day and that's probably odd to people who don't collect games.

I think some people here are quick to think people are douchebags or creepy based on what you've seen in movies. That's just part of being on forums. I'm glad most of you don't do this or I wouldn't want to be on these forums.

I've met Walter Day and have seen him again on several occasions. I like the guy a lot. One of the nicest, most genuinely caring people I've ever met. He's a blast to talk to, as he is so charismatic and full of great stories. His "big dreamer" personality always shines through.

Met Bill Mitchell for the first time at the Big Bang event this past August when we were both being inducted. I liked him. He is very aware of his image in public though. Funny story... all of us inductees are sitting in a private room across the hall from the auditorium waiting to enter. All of the folding chairs are in a line along one wall, and Bill is sitting several seats down from me. He's wearing a suit, as always when he's in public, but he's hunched over with his elbows on his knees like many of the rest of us. A short while later a few photographers come in the room to get some shots while we're waiting to be led in to the auditorium. A couple of minutes later I happen to glance over at Bill and he is still sitting in his chair but is now sitting bolt upright with his hands on his knees, looking at the cameras. I did not hear the photographers asking anyone to pose; they were just getting shots as they saw opportunities. But Bill was very aware of the cameras and his posture and demeanor showed it. :) I don't think it's because he's vain or anything; I just think he is aware that he is more famous than most in this hobby and that people are always watching him, and he wants to set a good example. His son was with him for the event and it was very clear to me how much his kids mean to him.

Steve Wiebe I had met briefly once before but never got a chance to talk to. Several of us (Eric Akeson, Steve Wiebe, Andrew Laidlaw, John McAllister, Brian Cady, and myself) were on the same flights from Seattle to Des Moines for the Big Bang induction ceremonies, and as Ottumwa's and the IVGHOF's guests we were provided complimentary shuttles between the Des Moines airport and Ottumwa (about a 2 hour drive). So we all got to talk the whole way, and that was a lot of fun. A little of the discussion was about The King of Kong, but most of it was about competing on video games in general and about other things we do. We talked about playing poker (Steve and Andrew play regularly) and other hobbies, and about the collecting of old arcade games that some of us do (Eric and I in particular). We traded stories and had a lot of laughs. It was cool to get to talk to Steve in a relaxed atmosphere where he isn't being hounded with questions about Bill. Later that month Steve's wife Nicole and a couple of her friends were trying to raise money for breast cancer research and we held a "Gamers for Gazoongas" event (name was not my idea, but I thought it was funny) at a bar in the University District of Seattle on a Saturday. Eric and I transported my Donkey Kong and my Qix 60-in-1 to the bar and Steve, Eric, and I signed autographs and played games with the public and raised some bucks. It was a lot of fun.

Steve Sanders I met briefly at the Big Bang event this year. I tend to be a little shy around people I don't know. Steve was cool enough to notice and approach me to break the ice. I know people give him a hard time even today for being "that guy" who lied about his arcade scores back in the day, but people need to let that go. He was 18 and a lot of people were lying about their scores to get into Guinness or their local newspapers. Steve just had the misfortune of meeting Bill Mitchell and promptly getting outed. :D Instead of disappearing he fessed up, apologized, and has spent his life since becoming a better person, which is to be commended. I liked Steve immediately and I think he is a great guy.

Joel West, one of the two Berzerk players from Chasing Ghosts (not the one now in prison), was also in attendance at Big Bang 2010. Late on the last night we were there, Saturday night after the induction ceremonies, Joel and Phil Younger, two of the best Berzerk players on the planet, were playing doubles Berzerk on MAME on the computer in the hotel lobby for several hours, where several of us were hanging out. I got to talk to Joel for a while and we reminisced about the golden era. Another awesome guy.

Ben Gold. You know him from Chasing Ghosts as the implied loser with the geeky laugh. I'm here to tell you that this guy makes most of us look like slackers. He is incredibly intelligent and accomplished. You should see the guy's resumé. He has multiple degrees, speaks several languages, has lived in several countries, learned Romanian to court his girlfriend (now wife), and knows a thing or two about business, economics, and politics. He takes occasional long road trips in an RV with his wife and kids, and if I'm not mistaken he still owns the Millipede upright he won in a contest many years ago. If you ever get the chance to meet him and talk for more than a minute you will hear some very cool stories. You'd like him a lot. Check out this great recent article on him.

Eric Akeson is a friend of mine and is one of the most respected guys I know in our hobby. He is genuinely helpful and selfless. I've found most people in this hobby are at least a little socially awkward. Not Eric. He seemingly knows everybody and can make more friends in a day than I make in six months.

John McAllister is the nut who marathoned Asteroids for nearly 58 hours last Easter and just marathoned Joust for almost 54 hours in my basement arcade last week. John is pretty handy when it comes to mechanical repairs and is quick to help. Watching him play almost any game is a treat. He has superhuman reflexes, and seems to pick up games he's never played before at a very fast learning pace. I watched him score nearly 300,000 on Bosconian at Richie Knucklez' arcade back in March after only an hour or so of practice, and he'd never played the game before. Bosconian isn't the hardest game in the world, but it's not exactly easy either.

Yeah, we're all a little eccentric. To be so competitive and obsessive about games made nearly 30 years ago you have to be. But everyone needs a hobby. :)
 
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I think some people here are quick to think people are douchebags or creepy based on what you've seen in movies. That's just part of being on forums. I'm glad most of you don't do this or I wouldn't want to be on these forums.

Very true my friend! I don't think any of them are truly hideous people,but some of them do come off as grating to some people or are portrayed rather negatively.Anyway,your post compelled me to post this. :)

 
There's a handful of people in the Twin Galaxies classic gaming circle that have been put in prison for sexual crimes and it's unfortunate because we don't want the hobby to end up being viewed as such, but it's hard to deny all the crazy stuff that came out from a few folks...always best to disassociate from something like that if you want your site/hobby to not have a bad stigma attached to it.


I've known Walter for 14 years, the man selflessly promotes TG like nobody's business with no money....if it weren't for him and Billy, TG wouldn't be as big as it now...lots of guys on the site shed blood, sweat, and tears for all the scores and refereeing they do.



One thing I would love to see is someone from the classic gaming community become a force in a fighting game (Super Street Fighter IV as an example), it's not easy to cross over because as good as the world record holders are in these games, you need even FASTER reflexes to play fighting games at the highest level against human opponents and you are reacting to advanced intelligence that patterns and AI can not replicate.

I'm pretty proficient at a multitude of older games, I have some records on some of the later 80s stuff, but none of the major classics, though I can play most of them and get some pretty good scores on them, but changed over to fighting games because you end up learning more and more is required of a person to play them in tournaments against high level players...I'm no Justin Wong or Billy Mitchell, but I would like to see someone from the classic high score era try and play those types of games now and see if they can succeed, it would be very interesting to watch.
 
Yeah, we're all a little eccentric. To be so competitive and obsessive about games made nearly 30 years ago you have to be. But everyone needs a hobby. :)

Nice post. What the hell was the dude who made Chasing Ghosts agenda? He seemed to go out of his way to make people look weird, but in a bad way.

Thank god it pretty much fell apart. Had he done it in a positive way, like Trekkies, it may have become a cult classic.
 
There's a handful of people in the Twin Galaxies classic gaming circle that have been put in prison for sexual crimes and it's unfortunate because we don't want the hobby to end up being viewed as such, but it's hard to deny all the crazy stuff that came out from a few folks...always best to disassociate from something like that if you want your site/hobby to not have a bad stigma attached to it.

Unfortunately this is no different within any business, church or other organization open to the public.

Chris, I really enjoyed chatting with you in the lobby of the event hall after your induction. Congrats on hosting an excellent record breaking event last week, and I hope to see you play live sometime soon!
 
Going back to the score thing.. Seeing how all the high scores for DK use the American version, has anyone ever looked at how much of an impact on high scores it would be if players played the original Japanese version of Donkey Kong (with repeating 1-2-3-4 level progression)?

You figure it would have some kind of impact because you would get an extra two stages in Level 1, an extra stage in level 2, and also you would not get two ramp levels in the higher levels. Just something I was wondering about. :p
 
If it means anything, the top MAME score for the Japanese romset at TG is 662K by former arcade DK WR holder Hank Chien. Watching it, he point pressed most of the barrel and rivet boards, so I'm not sure how much higher it can be pushed. Possibly 700K? I don't know how common that boardset is. I've certainly never seen one in all my years of playing DK here in the US. The only game I've played with that board order is Crazy Kong (go figure :D )
 
Three quick notes:

1. Thanks for the insight, SanTe. I don't feel like I "need" to know anyone, but clearly some of these dudes have been misrepresented and it is nice to have someone that has actually met them clear the air a bit.

2. I have always considered myself a collector and not a competitive gamer, but as I have gotten better at certain games I find myself checking the TG site to see how my scores stack up against the best. There is some "crossover" between collecting and competitive gaming, that I did not used to think much about.

3. Sitting on the live feed watching the Joust high score attempt is probably as much fun as I can ever remember having watching something on the internet (besides MILFHunter.com, of course). I popped in for a minute and couldn't stop watching. It was exciting and I wanted to be a part of it ... BECAUSE this community is a great community to be a part of. Yeah ... it takes all kinds, but that is part of what makes it great.

Anywho ... thanks for allowing me share.

Steve
MM
 
I heard that:

In the new rolling stone, Eminem says he is working at DK, going for the High Score.

I shit you not.
 
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