The Classic
Arcade Gaming (dot com)
Hall of Fame
|
The Classic
Arcade Gaming (dot com) |
Everyone has seen or heard about a Hall of Fame for the various sports (and for the entertainment industry too). But, what about our sport - video gaming ?? I consider myself, and my fellow players, to be video athletes, and we too deserve a Hall of Fame.
Well, there actually is one (sort of), and it appears in the 1986 Guinness Book of World Records, which has the only known mention of this "Video Hall of Fame". The idea behind it came from Roy Shildt, who says that Twin Galaxies worked with the editor, David Boehm, on the listing in the book. It reads as follows: "The first person elected to the Video Hall of Fame was Roy Shildt (b July 2, 1955) of W Los Angeles, whose official record score on the tournament-set "Missile Command" machine of 1,695,265 points on July 3, 1985, confirmed that he was entitled, without dispute, to this honor. Phil Britt of Riverside, Calif, and Donn Nauert (b 1965) of Austin, Tex, were the second and third to be inducted."
Well, as deserving as all of the above three players may be, my view of a Hall of Fame is that it takes a well-rounded player who has some high placing finishes in major contests, plus world records (and, place and show) on numerous games (of reasonable popularity). So, players like myself, Roy Shildt, and even my gaming friend Frank Seay (who had a masterpiece of a game with his 910,722 world record on Crystal Castles) do not qualify, by my definition. That's why I decided to create the Classic Arcade Gaming (dot com) Hall of Fame, and include those players whose résumés 'have it all'. Note that, in general, only games from the late 70's to the early 90's will be considered, tho some games outside that range might qualify, if they fit the CAGDC definition of game-play, and design.
I have had semi-regular conversations with (now former) Twin Galaxies referees Rob Mruczek, and Mark Longridge, and have talked with various other gamers via phone, and in person (such as at the annual Funspot summer tournament). I always drop a number of names of great gamers that I consider to be Hall of Fame material, and ask for names that they consider 'best of the best'. In these various conversations, I have garnered a shared opinion on the below gamers, such that I believe them to be truly worthy of being listed on this page. Read on for the (alphabetically ordered) names, and the details, and feel free to your own idea of a worthy video athlete !
Format:
Name (pronunciation) / initials, birth date; primary residence during the years of main game play; known contest results (if any); current world records; world-class games (meaning, having a world-class skill level on the game, and / or a capability of getting very close to, or setting, the world record); and various other details and commentary.
Chris Ayra (air-uh) / CFA, b 09-24-1963; Miami, FL
contest results: 1984 Video
Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Tempest
1985 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Ms. Pac-Man
1986 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr kept on Ms. Pac-Man
1987 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Pac-Man
wr kept on Ms. Pac-Man
world records: Berzerk (fast bullets), Head
On, Pac-Man score (5-way tie), Pac-Man time
world class: Crystal Castles, Ms. Pac-Man, Pole Position, Tempest
Chris' ability to set his mind on a game, pursue it, and really max it out is impressive. He has great scores on a number of really popular 80's titles, and that alone makes him a worthy HoF'er.
Phil Britt / JPB, b 11-21-1965; Riverside, CA
contest results: 1985
North American Video Game Challenge: winner
1985 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Paperboy
1986 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr increased on Paperboy
1987 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr kept on Paperboy
world records: Paperboy (grand slam)
world class: Cheyenne, Inter Stellar, Marble Madness, Return of the Jedi, Track & Field
I saw Phil play in the 1985 NAVGC, and he impressed me immediately with his control and mastery of numerous games. I also saw his ability to quickly learn and master a new game, among other gaming feats. His Paperboy grand slam score of 1,136,435 points still stands as one of the greatest gaming performances of all time.
Eric Ginner (jen-ner) / EDG, b 05-04-1962; Mountain View, CA
contest results: 1981 Centipede World
Championship: winner
1983
North American Video Game Olympics: 5th place (out of 19)
1984 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Crystal Castles
world records: Moon Patrol (6 cars total)
world class: Millipede (marathon), Popeye
I had the honor of meeting Eric back in 1986, and even played doubles on Millipede with him (guess who won ?? Not me...). He was probably the most famous arcade game player (to the general public) in the early 80's, and deservedly so, with him holding about a dozen world records at one time or another on classic games.
Donald Hayes / DBH, b 12-11-1965, Salem, NH; inducted October, 2004
contest results: 2001 Funspot Classic Videogame World Championship:
2nd place
2002 Funspot Classic Videogame World Championship: 2nd place
2003 Funspot Classic Videogame World
Championship: winner: color challenge, and
Player of the Year; 2nd on monochrome challenge
2006 CAGDC Tournament:
2nd place
2007 CAGDC Tournament: winner
world records: Centipede (TGTS & 3
minute timed version), Dig Dug
(marathon), Domino
Man,
Joust (TGTS solo & team play), Lode Runner (4-way tie), Millipede (marathon & TGTS),
Pac-Man score (5-way tie), Pac-Man Turbo, Q*bert's Qubes, Space Invaders, Super Cobra,
Super Zaxxon
world class: Berzerk (slow bullets),
Elevator Action, Star Castle, Timber, Tron, Tutankham
(TGTS)
Well, here we have a 'modern-era' player, versus the others in this list, who mainly made their 'mark' during the 80's (with one or two exceptions). While Don certainly did play in the 80's (as evidenced by his clever personal 'scoreboard' here), he has attained most of his fame in the second incarnation of the 'Golden Era', brought about by both Twin Galaxies, and the Internet ! Since he made his mark with Centipede in 2000, he has accumulated twelve other world records, more than half of which are on major titles. His score on Millipede (marathon play) is a particular standout, given that he made half-again the points of the second place mark ! All this, coupled with some impressive 'work' on MARP, means that Mr. Hayes is the first player to be inducted with records made exclusively in the modern era of gaming.
Billy Mitchell / B M, b 07-16-1965, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
contest results: 1984 Video
Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on BurgerTime, Donkey Kong Junior, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man
1985 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Donkey Kong
wr kept on BurgerTime, Donkey Kong Junior
1986 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr kept on BurgerTime, Donkey
Kong, Donkey Kong Junior
1987 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr kept on BurgerTime, Donkey
Kong, Donkey Kong Junior
world records: Pac-Man score (5-way tie),
Donkey Kong
world class: BurgerTime, Donkey Kong
Junior, Ms. Pac-Man
Billy has been playing at a very high level for over 20 years, and was crowned the Video Game Player of the Century while at the Tokyo Game Show in September, 1999 (and also had the honor of being selected co-player of the year at the 1984 Twin Galaxies' Coronation Day ceremony). While his mainstay DK and DKJ records were eclipsed in 2003, after being held for two decades, insiders told me that he had some things 'cooking'. After it being reported (around 2004) that he was "planning something big and unprecedented" in response to Steve Wiebe, the person who officially beat Billy on those two records, it turned out he had topped 1M on DK. After Twin Galaxies took forever to examine Steve's DK tape submissions, he and Billy have exchanged the record between them a number of times, both officially, and unofficially, into the present (2007). Rumor has it that Billy, in his ever-mischievous ways, is sitting on world-record tapes for both DK and DKJ that top the current records (he supposedly has 1.12M+ on DK, and 1.2M+ on DKJ). In addition, the idea's been circulating about the possibility of someone (could it be him ?) getting past the split-screen on Pac-Man. Keep in mind that this is the player who delivered history's first perfect Pac-Man score, so, we'll see if he can next deliver... the impossible.
Donn Nauert (now-ert) / DWN, b 03-21-1965, Austin, TX
contest results: 1985
North American Video Game Challenge: 4th place (out of 22)
1985 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Cheyenne, Crossbow
1986 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Vertigo
wr kept on Cheyenne, Crossbow
1987
North American Tournament of Champions: winner
1987 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr kept on Cheyenne, Crossbow
(Vertigo is not included above, as it was not made part of the 1987
tourney)
world records: Alien Syndrome, Cheyenne,
Crossbow, Danger Zone, Gridiron Fight
world class: Night
Stocker, Rygar, The
Speed Rumbler, Vertigo
Here's another great all-around player, who has numerous world records under his belt, and is also a great contest player. Like a couple of other HoF'ers in this list, I saw Donn play at the 1985 NAVGC, but I didn't take much notice. This wasn't because of a lack of skill, but more reflective of the fact that he is a pretty soft-spoken, non-flashy guy. Still, you better believe that he lets his scores and game play do the talking, and he's still the same way today.
David Palmer / DEP, b 05-01-1958, Auburn, CA
contest results: 1984 Video
Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Firefox (9000 mile), Tron
1985 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Battlezone, Red Baron, Star Rider, Star Wars, The Empire
Strikes Back
wr increased on Firefox (9000 mile)
wr kept on Tron
1986 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr increased on Star Wars
wr kept on Battlezone, Firefox (9000 mile), Red Baron, Star Rider, TESB, Tron
1987 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr kept on Battlezone, Firefox (9000 mile), Star Rider, Star Wars, TESB, Tron
(Red Baron is not included above, as it was not made part of the 1987
tourney)
world records: Battlezone,
Firefox (unlimited), Red Baron, Star Rider (single & multi-credit),
Star Wars
(TGTS), The
Empire Strikes Back (single & multi-credit), TX-1, Vertigo
world class: Firefox (9000
mile)
David Palmer was one of the 80's players that highly impressed me, along will Phil Britt, and, Donn Nauert. Obviously, his performance in the 1985 VGMT is legendary - he set contest records on six (!!) games, all of which (with the exception of Red Baron) also topped any other player's score in the entire history of those titles ! In addition, consider the fact that all of these scores were unbeaten in the next two year's tourneys (except for him topping his own Star Wars score), which is just as incredible a feat as setting so many records at a single contest in the first place. Well, amazingly enough, he's managed to exceed even those unmatched accomplishments; 20 years later (mid-2005), all of the original contest games that he set records on (in his pinnacle 1985 VGMT event) still have their world records held by David.
On top of all of that, the one record that still stands alone as an unbelievable feat, in and of itself, is his 31,660,614 points accomplished on Star Wars in the 1986 VGMT. Dave managed this God-like performance on the tournament setting of 6 shields to start, with no bonus shields. This historic performance was so incredible that it wasn't recognized as legitimate by the modern-day version of Twin Galaxies until 2004 (the full story on this is coming soon). He actually topped (and, in some cases, trounced) many of his tourney score records in the months and years around the 1985 tourney, so his mastery of many of these first-person perspective titles will likely live on forever, since most of these scores are essentially unbeatable.
Jeff Peters / YME, b 05-17-1966, Etiwanda, CA
contest results: 1984 Video
Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Time Pilot
1985
North American Video Game Challenge: 3rd place (out of 22)
1985 Twin Galaxies' Iron Man contest: 2nd place (out of 8), using Q*bert
( 52 hours)
1985 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Commando, Jungle King, Sinistar
wr kept on Time Pilot
1986 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Pole Position II (Seaside and Test),
wr kept on Sinistar, Time Pilot
1987 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Crackshot, Pole Position II (Suzuka and Test),
wr kept on Pole Position II (Seaside), Sinistar, Time Pilot
world records: Crackshot, Front
Line, Peter Pack Rat, Pole Position II (Seaside, Suzuka, and Test),
Side Arms, Sky Soldiers, Son Son, Time Pilot
(marathon), Turkey Shoot
world class: Commando, Domino Man, Return of the Jedi, Tron
I saw Jeff play in the '85 NAVGC, and while he came in third, he logged impressive performances on the contest games, and also walked away the winner (in a high score shoot-out between him and Phil Britt) on a (then) brand new title: Marble Madness. I've heard Jeff's name mentioned by numerous accomplished players as a guy who deserves to be in any listing of great gamers, even though he may not be as 'famous' as many others on this list (but, ironically, he holds more wr scores than anyone else here !). One final note; Dwayne Richard told me, during a visit in 2004, that Jeff was the only player that he was afraid of, gaming-wise. Now that's some kind of praise !
Dwayne Richard / DKR, b 12-22-1968, Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
contest results: 1984 Video
Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Tutankham
1985 Video Game Masters Tournament:
wr set on Major Havoc
1986
North American Video Game Challenge: winner
2001 Funspot Classic Videogame World Championship: winner
2002 Funspot Classic Videogame World
Championship: winner (color challenge)
world records: 005, Blaster (marathon - 20
wave, marathon & TGTS - 30 wave), Cosmic
Chasm,
Donkey Kong 3 (marathon & TGTS), Gunsmoke, Inter
Stellar, Lady Bug, Mayday, Minefield,
Slap Fight,
Space Duel (TGTS team play), Super Buster Bros. (panic mode),
Super Galaxians,
Turtles, Two
Tigers (single play & TGTS team play), U.N.
Squadron,
Warp & Warp
world class: 1942, Buster
Bros., Dig Dug, Joust 2, Major Havoc, Nibbler, Super Bagman,
Tutankham,
Turbo
Sub
Just like Jeff Peters, this long-time player's name has come up numerous times when I've asked great gamers for opinions on who they consider the greatest, but Dwayne has been more active in gaming, especially in recent contests, than Jeff. Perhaps of even more note is his incredible ability to drive... well, a lot ! He has logged so many miles in his car, going to contests, and even picking up video games located 1000+ miles away, that fellow players consider him the 'iron man' of the road, if not the arcade !
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