분야
hwp Therell always be
the argument
that video games
are meant to be played for fun.
Believe me,
some of its a lot of fun.
Video games are meant
to be played at home,
relaxing on a couch
amongst friends.
And they are, and thats fun.
But competitive gaming,
when you wanna attach
your name to a world record,
when you want your name
written into history,
you have to pay the price.
With this, its just
like me and the machine.
l can--lt doesnt matter if you,
you know--lf you let me down
or someone else,
it doesnt come through.
l can always go out there.
lm in control.
And lm glad
you touch on this.
Do we have enough tape?
This is important.
Everybody, even Grandma,
games--meaning checkers, cards,
if not now, in the past.
Show me even
a freakin nun or a hermit
who hasnt done cards
or checkers.
l dont drink. l dont smoke.
l dont do drugs.
l play video games,
which l think is far superior
an addiction
than any of those other ones.
l wanted to be a hero.
l wanted to be the center
of attention.
l wanted the glory.
l wanted the fame.
l wanted the prem girls
come at me and say,
Hi. l see that youre good
at Centipede.
l had somebody draw
an analogy for me once
that l always remembered.
The top French pilot in World
War l shot down 24 enemy planes.
The top American pilot--
you dont know his name, do you?
Nobody does.
But its Eddie Rickenbacker.
Shot down 26 enemy planes.
The German Ace, the Red Baron.
Everyone knows
who the Red Baron is.
Thats cause he shot down
87 enemy planes.
l mean, he was the best.
Theres just--Theres a level
of difference between people,
and it translates
into some games.
Donkey Hong and Pac-Man
and Ms. Pac-Man
and Galaga and Defender,
these are the games
that caught the public eye.
These are the games
people cared about.
And so if you wanna be known
as being world-class,
you gotta master
one of those games.
l like the simplicity of it,
and thats what
youll probably hear
from a lot of people
that like retro games
is that its the simplicity.
Those games challenge
eye-hand coordination,
mind-body coordination,
fast reaction time,
and comprehensive thinking,
on a level
that modern games dont.
Memorization and
pattern recognition is key.
Because for you
to get a single point further
in an old game
from the early eighties
meant a tremendous increase
of skill.
lf you do not know
the next pattern coming up
in a Tron light-cycle event,
you will lose your life.
Only the die-hards
who, for some reason,
really love those games,
continue to stick with them.
But what weve done is had the
mayor tie off the entire street
so that LiFe magazine
could come to town
and photograph the worlds
greatest video game players,
whove been flown in
especially for
this LiFe photographic session.
All these great superstars
are coming from North Carolina,
California, Canada,
many other places,
to be photographed
as the official world champions
on many different games.
That was the first time
two world-class players
went head-to-head for
a competition was LiFe magazine.
_
Without a doubt
l met players
that were amongst the best
in the world
and maybe even would say
or do whatever they could
to make people believe
they were the best in the world.
Well, at that time,
he was the world record holder
on Centipede.
But also at that time,
he was the world record holder
on Donkey Hong.
But we didnt know that,
because someone else
was invited there
from Hansas City
who, because of a claim
they had made,
it was presumed that they
were the Donkey Hong champion.
Donkey Hong was the one
that l first lied about.
But he had submitted
a bogus score,
and l finally met him there
at LiFe magazine,
and l finally sat down
to play him.
We had not been there long,
and Bill said,
Come on. Lets play.
l went in the arcade
and sat down with Donkey Hong,
and l beat him to a pulp.
Well, l was better
than the best.
And l got--
l got 200,OOO against Bill.
Bill got 800,OOO
on his first man in that game.
He shellacked me.
He shellacked me.
Basically, he walked away
with his head down and humbled,
and that brought him
to the truth.
And from there,
we worked together.
Well, the Bible--
Proverbs says,
As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.
Bill made me a better person,
and did so
by basically making me confess.
lve pointed out to Steve
that hes the person he is today
because he came under the wrath
of Bill Mitchell.
ln front of the 19 top players
in the nation,
actually North America,
he did the highest
Donkey Hong score possible
and also found out that the game
ends on the 22nd board.
Since, l so-called
debuted on the scene
at LiFe magazine in 1982,
there hasnt been anybody
whos played even close.
When Billy Mitchell
walks into an arcade,
you know, everything stops.
Theres electricity
around Billy Mitchell.
Everybody wants
to crowd around him.
Everybody wants to see him.
You know, everything about him
is perfect, you know?
Billy is just that person.
You know, he wants to represent.
lf you could hack
into the machine
and program it to
