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?
Many core gamers consider their scores and progress in games as real accomplishments, whereas non-core gamers just see them as numbers on a screen. Their attachment to their scores can vary, but every single one feels something when there is proof that they have done better than someone else. Understanding this addiction is absolutely crucial knowledge to the game designer if they are making a game for the core crowd. If the core gamer cannot use their skills to make consistent progress in a game, they will move on.
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 think core gamers come in all shapes and sizes of character. Self esteem doesn't matter so much, it doesn't change the euphoric feeling gained by core gamers when they accomplish a high score, which is what drives them forward. This couldn't better be represented by Mitchell and Wiebe, polar opposites in terms of self-esteem, yet competing at the extreme core-gamer level.
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?
Perhaps 15 years ago this would be viable, however it's too easy to seamlessly edit video with modern software.
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?
It doesn't really explain the characteristics of an addicting game, just that there are people addicted to them.
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?
Considering how competitive core gamers get, an organization for official score keeping would eventually rise out of necessity, or the gamers would just pummel each other over whose score is legitimate. Twin Galaxies acts as the goto place for core gamers wanting recognition (in vintage games), which adds much more significance to the scores, since they are officially validated.
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?
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?
Dexterity and pattern matching and recognition absolutely ties into serious gaming. When you get into that trance state of gaming, where your skills are challenged, but you are still making progress, it's a great feeling.
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?
Gordon is saying that Mitchell is extremely obsessed with his public image, and knows exactly how to control it. Mitchell is able to sacrifice other individuals to better himself-- without a second thought he would have 10,000 people killed in front of him to save himself. The typical core gamer may exhibit such behavior when playing a game, but not carry it over into their real lives.
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 more about the clash of two skilled competitors, who come from opposite ends of the narcissist spectrum. It is basically played as a typical good versus evil plot.
9. Have you ever played "Donkey Kong"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?
Yes, and I failed miserably. I played it at one of my cousins houses, about 10 years ago.
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