The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters Page #2

who is getting his screws put to him.

When I got laid off

and I had time on my hands

I was thinking:
"What can I do?...

To kind of feel that I have

control of something?"

I looked at Twin Galaxies.

Well, I typed in "Donkey Kong

world record"

Some spreadsheet came up

and saw what the score was.

It was held by Billy Mitchell

it was like 874000.

and I go:
"Yeah, I can beat that. "

Almost there.

I am not the kind of wife that's needy.

That I need him sitting on the couch with me every night.

I don't need that.

What I need is him in the house

helping me with the kids

or I need him being with the kids.

So he would want to come out here and play

And that would drive me crazy.

Cause he is definitely OCD

When he is obsessed on something...

He is so focused

and I have to be like "Hello!"

So then I just said:

"You will have to do it at night. "

Is level 2 easy?

Yeah, it's pretty easy.

I've dreamed of being

a musician for a living.

That what's my dream was.

It was brought back to me,

that he was smart...

...he was an athlete, he was talented...

and, for whatever reason,

he could never get those to fit.

Steve was in one of the original

starving grunge bands

Here in Seattle,

just starving.

The only people who came to see him was us.

With his music it's almost like...

he didn't want people to know

he was doing it.

He is a total paradox.

He has maybe a little social hang-ups

here and there, that...

that haven't allowed him to be as successful

on one end as in other ends.

They got to the state finals,

and Steve couldn't pitch.

I have probably seen Steve with tears in his eyes

More than any other guy I know...

because of the frustration

that would build in him.

and half the time

it was on the pitcher's mound.

He had hurt his arm.

I had pitched him too much.

I was the manager of the team.

It was a chance for him to shine

in front of thousands of people.

That killed him that he couldn't pitch,

Because it is that competitiveness in him.

I envisioned him as

an engineer at Boeing.

My dad worked for Boeing

for 30 some years...

And the plan was to go to Boeing

and be a "lifer".

As they call them.

But things didn't work out.

I don't know if he told you he was laid off

the day we signed papers for our house? Yeah.

He never has quite reached that pinnacle.

He never quite in any of his endeavors

Was regaled as the number one guy.

The guy that was better then the rest,

and was on top of the mountain.

Oh, he has just come up short

in a lot of things in his life

And just I think, you know...

nobody wants to do that all the time.

It has my highest score

saved on there, the last.

What plunged me into competitive gaming

never to come out, was Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong.

Well that was THE first ever Mario game.

The whole thing is a construction sight.

There's all these girders

and elevators with ladders.

Going from one girder to the next.

The whole goal the whole time

is to get pass the obstacles

that Kong is throwing at you.

And get the girl.

Well Donkey Kong, without question,

is the hardest game.

It's ridiculously difficult

on the first screen.

Donkey Kong is releasing these barrels.

You got to jump over the barrels.

You got to duck to the barrels.

You can grab a hammer,

and hammer the barrels.

OK, the secret about the barrel board

is that you can

actually control the barrels.

Right above this ladder...

You do a quick left

and then a hard right turn.

See how it went down, it went down again.

You gotta get pass all the barrels,

the fireballs,

get up the ladders,

and as soon as you get to her

Donkey Kong takes her away

to the next level.

The average Donkey Kong game

doesn't last a minute.

It's absolute brutality.

Each of the 18 elevator boards

...represents the greatest challenge

in video game playing.

The average gamer of Donkey Kong...

will never get pass

the third elevator stage.

The slightest touch from one of these

springs kills you.

There is no hammer for them,

there is no way to defeat them.

All you can do is avoid them. That's it.

The secret to the third elevators

is knowing which spring to go on.

And then knowing

which spring to move up the ladder on.

And recognizing when you must retreat.

If you don't time it just exactly right

you will die.

It boils down to hardcore skill.

So I go on that one,

Because it's lined up with the dashed line.

And now I'm waiting for one

to line up with the sawed line.

I have said that from the day I met Steve

that his talent is in his hands.

He pitched. He was a basketball.

He is a phenomenal drawer.

And if you ever seen pictures

that he's drawn...

He is very artistic.

It's operating on some subconscious level

with him, I think.

When we were driving to Kansas

or whatever family trip.

He would sit there and for a 100 miles

would bang his head

In 4/4 time against the back of the seat.

Five, six, seven, eight, nine...

Well I have often thought

that maybe he is a little autistic.

It's just this obsessive compulsive...

Because he would get something on his mind.

He wanted to play drums

I don't even know where he got that idea.

This is Derek's drum set.

And it's not too bad.

It's does the trick.

The actual gameplay involves

so much eye-hand coordination,

mind and body coordination

Fast reaction time

and comprehensive thinking.

And such a high level of

precise execution

so much skill...

involves so much learning

You have to have

deep comprehensive intelligence.

For years and years it was believed...

that Billy's record of 874000 in 1982

was really the highest score

anyone would ever get.

In fact, some of us have played this game...

Every day, or every week,

or every month since then

and no one has gotten even close to that.

No one across that big length of time

will never be able to beat his world record.

Derek, look. You are on TV.

See yourself? Say Hi.

No.

I was having the game of my life

I think I got 600000,

and I hadn't died yet.

And I started hearing some noises

coming downstairs, screaming...

It's all on tape.

That's the tape I had to send in

to Twin Galaxies.

Everything I'm all about...

by practicing transcendental meditation...

And I like to see that mirrored

In the way I apply myself

to the videogame world.

that I seek to find champions

And watch them grow and

become even greater...

as they begin to unfold more and more

of their full potential.

Which is what we do when we do TM!

If Walter, through all

these years, all the way since 1982...

Hadn't continued,

as a labour of love,

then there would be no central organization for

competitive video game playing.

Why do we do it?

Because we actually love this.

Because we enjoy this.

We are fascinated by this.

it is just something in our genes,

That my group, Twin Galaxies,

raise the banner high to do this

And move organized video game playing

into the future.

Walter opened the door to truly,

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