"The King of Kong" Questions

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?

Nothing is typical. Depending on the person, being cocky and shamelessly self-promoting is not a prerequisite of being a "core" gamer.

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?


Not at all is Wiebe's "tragic" aspect typical of core gaming "types". You gotta give some to get some. Sacrifices are always made because something's gotta give.

I don't believe self esteem was a greater issue than his confidence. Once Wiebe got into the "zone", he was open to competing publicly to have a fair, witnessed little competition.

Self-esteem is much more complex than just pitting it with its correlation with "videogame mastery".



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? 

These days, with powerful editing tools available, I would say videotaped gameplay should just be left invalid to avoid any cheating at all. However, with the exception that the machine has been verified and if there are witnesses.

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?

I object to that statement. Although I can see their point of view, this film is merely one of countless isolated incidents and not enough to make such a bold statement as THIS particularly being "the decline of Western civilization".

What makes video games compelling differ wildly from person to person, so the film is necessarily an accurate portrayal for those gamers involved.

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?

For their time, I believe organizations such as Twin Galaxies are very important in the vintage arcade gaming community. Although communities could exist without such organizations, it would have been harder to set anything up without such an establishment. Twin Galaxies founder, Walter Day, was essentially "The Scorekeeper" and the one who started it all, keeping track of high scores and records.

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?

Wiebe's ability with sports, music, and the arts could certainly have contributed to the focus and concentration along with his quick reflexes and great hand-eye coordination in gameplaying.

Yes, I have experienced such skill set transference to aid my ability in a game. For example, I'm fairly comfortable with the aspect of timing or rhythm. When paired with great reflexes, it's not difficult to, say, press a button with proper timing for a game.

It's hard to describe the nature of the inter-relationship between skills, passions, and abilities because a passionless player with great skill may not necessarily have any motivation to "win" or set a record. On the other hand, if you have no ability with all the passion in the world, that may or may not matter. It all depends on the individual.

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?


My interpretation of what Gordon's saying is that Mitchell was very sly in the way that he sent, let's call them, "henchmen" to keep an eye on Wiebe. He always knew what was going on, without being there. The information-control was played to Mitchell's advantage because he was deviously mysterious, while Wiebe's moves and play style were open for all to see. Wiebe didn't even get to see Mitchell's record-breaking tape at Funspot.

This type of behavior is a bit unacceptable. The videogame culture, in some areas, will always remain competitive, but that doesn't prohibit sportsmanship and respect. However, this can all vary based on culture, location, environment, etc.

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?

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was very interesting to see at what lengths people will go to for a record (whether they do it honestly, unfairly, through corruption, etc.). There's certainly a deeper level to this than just the game "Donkey Kong". There's the aspect of ethics, competitiveness, passion, drive, and so much more.

9. Have you ever played "Donkey Kong"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?

Super Nintendo Donkey Kong, yes. Arcade Donkey Kong, no.