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interview :: an interview with walter day
An Interview with Walter Day
Starks continues his feature on the history of competitive gaming with this exclusive interview with Walter Day, founder of Twin Galaxies.
Introduction | The Past | Walter Day Interview | The Rise of Nintendo | Conclusion
Walter Day is the founder of Twin Galaxies, an organisation who to this day remain one of the top resources for gamers seeking to find out the highest scores to a game. He is an oil executive who became addicted to Pac-Man, and his own obsession with video games started when he went to Utah on a work trip in 1981 and ended up stopping to record the high scores of roughly 50 Pac-Man machines before returning home.
Day himself states that he ‘...became embroiled in a long campaign to prove my manhood by beating the machines.’
1. What first attracted you to video games, and why?
I loved playing the games. So I got into the industry as an excuse to play more video games. I loved the rivalries and I loved the challenge to beat the games and become the best player in the world. And that's what Twin Galaxies is all about: identifying the best players in the world and then crowning them.
2. What was your inspiration to start the Twin Galaxies Scoreboard?
My local arcade, Twin Galaxies, in Ottumwa, Iowa, was the site of a high-score attempt on Defender back in February, 1982. When the player broke 24 million points, we tried to determine if this was, indeed, the new world record. We learned that no one was keeping track of the world records on videogames, so we volunteered to take on the responsibility of scorekeeper for the worldwide video game industry. Interestingly, the game manufacturers accepted our offer and we are still keeping score 27 years later. Of course, as the founder of the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard, I automatically found myself in the role of "Chief Referee."
3. Of all the games during the 'Golden Age', which was the best suited for competitive gaming and why?
Robotron is the best for competition. That's partly because it is a "Golden Age" game. The older games did not have the blessings of modern graphics, so, therefore, they relied solely on their game play. The older games were deeper, containing more levels of intelligence than modern games. An expert gamer today can learn everything about game in 100 hours whereas it may takes years for an expert player to learn everything about a classic game. That's because the "laws of nature" that govern the programming in the older games have more layers to them. Once you learn the game to a certain degree, there is always something more to learn in order to boost your score even higher. And Robotron was among the toughest; requiring fast reaction time, great eye-hand coordination and extreme mental clarity.
4. Who would you rank as the best arcade game player?
There are about five players who rank as the best today. Here they are, listed in no particular order: Don Hayes, Martin Bedard, Dwayne Richard, Abdner Ashman, Greg Sakundiak and Billy Mitchell. Among the greatest players from the 1980s were Phill Britt, Ben Gold, Todd Walker, Eric Ginner, Tim Collum, Mike Sullivan, Jack Gale and Billy Mitchell. All of these players are from Canada or the USA. There were undoubtedly many top players in other countries that never had a chance to shine.
5. What was your favourite arcade game of all and why?
I used to be the world record holder on Make Trax, a game created by Williams' Electronics in 1981. This was my best accomplishment. However, I was also good at Gorf, Galaxian, Berzerk and Centipede .In later years I liked Crazy taxi and Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
6. How do you feel about the evolution gaming has taken? I.e. From arcade to home entertainment units to PC?
The evolution has hardly begun. Technology, bandwidth and interconnectivity will allow anybody and everybody to compete against each other -- no matter where they are. Also, the cyberspace, which presently only encompasses the space found on the screen of the gamers’ computer, will extend into the real world and the player will become immersed in the cyber environment.
The gamer will be surrounded by a holographic environment, completely immersed in a 3-D world generated by the power of tomorrow's computers. In that setting, every conceivable game or "life situation" will be possible.
7. Did you ever think the competitive gaming community would progress to the stage where players can win tournaments with cash prizes in 6 figure sums?
When I started the U.S. National Video Game Team on July 25, 1983, I created history's first professional video game team. Our dreams are now realized by today's worldwide gaming culture that recognizes professional gamers as sports athletes. All my work and dedication in the 1980s has come to fruition. The remarkable successes of today’s organized gaming are a clear manifestation of the dreams we tried to bring into reality 25 years ago.
8. What do you think about the current popular arcade games, such as Daytona and Time Crisis?
I think they are wonderful and I enjoy watching the greatest players shoot for world records on these and other titles. In fact, I hope to come to Australia and watch your top arcade players and console players go for world records sometime soon.
9. Where did the name 'Twin Galaxies' come from?
We were driving along and suddenly I said: "Yes, and we should call it Twin Galaxies." But then I thought, "No, I can't call it Twin Galaxies because that is someone else's business name." However, it eventually turned out that "Twin Galaxies" was an original name so we went with it.
10. If you could do it all again, would you change anything?
I think it was my destiny to do this, so I no longer think how I would do it differently. However, Twin Galaxies is not over, so I still have lots of stuff in store for me to face in the future -- things that I can attempt to do differently. For instance, Twin Galaxies will be launching a 15-20-year plan to crown the champions on every game ever created, which may be as many as 100,000 different games. To do this, we have brought each game title through this five-step process: 1. create the rules of game play. 2. Monitor the game play submissions. 3. Verify the game play. 4. Identify the champions. 5. Crown the champions. By the end of this 15-year period, we should have 100,000 champions. If it takes longer -- that's OK, too, because we are all dedicated to the task. And, even more importantly, we are expanding our support of all the modern consoles as well as PC legends like Call of Duty and other top shooters. We will probably do some major promotions with Super Smash Brothers Brawl, too. We also hope to increase our activities in Australia and help your local players improve their standings in our high-score rankings at www.twingalaxies.com.
Although I had only supplied 10 questions, Walter was kind enough to point out to me that Australia has its own celebrity that has gone missing.
Rodney Day, formerly of Canberra, Australia, is the world record holder on Pengo. Except he doesn't know it. And he appeared in the Guinness World Records Book -- but he doesn't know it. Here are the links to go to learn more about the amazing, missing Rodney Day, who we have not been able to find in 25 years. He is Australia's longest-standing video game champion, but no one in Australia knows this yet. Click here for the link.
I’d just like to thank Walter for the interview.
Day himself states that he ‘...became embroiled in a long campaign to prove my manhood by beating the machines.’
1. What first attracted you to video games, and why?
I loved playing the games. So I got into the industry as an excuse to play more video games. I loved the rivalries and I loved the challenge to beat the games and become the best player in the world. And that's what Twin Galaxies is all about: identifying the best players in the world and then crowning them.
2. What was your inspiration to start the Twin Galaxies Scoreboard?
My local arcade, Twin Galaxies, in Ottumwa, Iowa, was the site of a high-score attempt on Defender back in February, 1982. When the player broke 24 million points, we tried to determine if this was, indeed, the new world record. We learned that no one was keeping track of the world records on videogames, so we volunteered to take on the responsibility of scorekeeper for the worldwide video game industry. Interestingly, the game manufacturers accepted our offer and we are still keeping score 27 years later. Of course, as the founder of the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard, I automatically found myself in the role of "Chief Referee."
3. Of all the games during the 'Golden Age', which was the best suited for competitive gaming and why?
Robotron is the best for competition. That's partly because it is a "Golden Age" game. The older games did not have the blessings of modern graphics, so, therefore, they relied solely on their game play. The older games were deeper, containing more levels of intelligence than modern games. An expert gamer today can learn everything about game in 100 hours whereas it may takes years for an expert player to learn everything about a classic game. That's because the "laws of nature" that govern the programming in the older games have more layers to them. Once you learn the game to a certain degree, there is always something more to learn in order to boost your score even higher. And Robotron was among the toughest; requiring fast reaction time, great eye-hand coordination and extreme mental clarity.
4. Who would you rank as the best arcade game player?
There are about five players who rank as the best today. Here they are, listed in no particular order: Don Hayes, Martin Bedard, Dwayne Richard, Abdner Ashman, Greg Sakundiak and Billy Mitchell. Among the greatest players from the 1980s were Phill Britt, Ben Gold, Todd Walker, Eric Ginner, Tim Collum, Mike Sullivan, Jack Gale and Billy Mitchell. All of these players are from Canada or the USA. There were undoubtedly many top players in other countries that never had a chance to shine.
5. What was your favourite arcade game of all and why?
I used to be the world record holder on Make Trax, a game created by Williams' Electronics in 1981. This was my best accomplishment. However, I was also good at Gorf, Galaxian, Berzerk and Centipede .In later years I liked Crazy taxi and Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
6. How do you feel about the evolution gaming has taken? I.e. From arcade to home entertainment units to PC?
The evolution has hardly begun. Technology, bandwidth and interconnectivity will allow anybody and everybody to compete against each other -- no matter where they are. Also, the cyberspace, which presently only encompasses the space found on the screen of the gamers’ computer, will extend into the real world and the player will become immersed in the cyber environment.
The gamer will be surrounded by a holographic environment, completely immersed in a 3-D world generated by the power of tomorrow's computers. In that setting, every conceivable game or "life situation" will be possible.
7. Did you ever think the competitive gaming community would progress to the stage where players can win tournaments with cash prizes in 6 figure sums?
When I started the U.S. National Video Game Team on July 25, 1983, I created history's first professional video game team. Our dreams are now realized by today's worldwide gaming culture that recognizes professional gamers as sports athletes. All my work and dedication in the 1980s has come to fruition. The remarkable successes of today’s organized gaming are a clear manifestation of the dreams we tried to bring into reality 25 years ago.
8. What do you think about the current popular arcade games, such as Daytona and Time Crisis?
I think they are wonderful and I enjoy watching the greatest players shoot for world records on these and other titles. In fact, I hope to come to Australia and watch your top arcade players and console players go for world records sometime soon.
9. Where did the name 'Twin Galaxies' come from?
We were driving along and suddenly I said: "Yes, and we should call it Twin Galaxies." But then I thought, "No, I can't call it Twin Galaxies because that is someone else's business name." However, it eventually turned out that "Twin Galaxies" was an original name so we went with it.
10. If you could do it all again, would you change anything?
I think it was my destiny to do this, so I no longer think how I would do it differently. However, Twin Galaxies is not over, so I still have lots of stuff in store for me to face in the future -- things that I can attempt to do differently. For instance, Twin Galaxies will be launching a 15-20-year plan to crown the champions on every game ever created, which may be as many as 100,000 different games. To do this, we have brought each game title through this five-step process: 1. create the rules of game play. 2. Monitor the game play submissions. 3. Verify the game play. 4. Identify the champions. 5. Crown the champions. By the end of this 15-year period, we should have 100,000 champions. If it takes longer -- that's OK, too, because we are all dedicated to the task. And, even more importantly, we are expanding our support of all the modern consoles as well as PC legends like Call of Duty and other top shooters. We will probably do some major promotions with Super Smash Brothers Brawl, too. We also hope to increase our activities in Australia and help your local players improve their standings in our high-score rankings at www.twingalaxies.com.
Although I had only supplied 10 questions, Walter was kind enough to point out to me that Australia has its own celebrity that has gone missing.
Rodney Day, formerly of Canberra, Australia, is the world record holder on Pengo. Except he doesn't know it. And he appeared in the Guinness World Records Book -- but he doesn't know it. Here are the links to go to learn more about the amazing, missing Rodney Day, who we have not been able to find in 25 years. He is Australia's longest-standing video game champion, but no one in Australia knows this yet. Click here for the link.
I’d just like to thank Walter for the interview.