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[strange headache]

Several weeks ago, Todd Rogers was caught cheating and faking several of his world record high scores. Twin Galaxies, an organization that tracks video game world records, removed Rogers' long standing high scores and his Guinness World Record was consequently revoked. Rogers, aka Mr. Activision, is considered by many to be the first pro gamer and is a well known personality in the history of gaming. Seeing him disqualified from the world record after 35 years is kind of a big deal for me.

In the wake of the controversy, Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong's scores are now being contested. The concerning thread over at Twin Galaxies is over 100 pages long with many of its members accusing Mitchell of cheating. Billy Mitchell is best known for his appearance in the video game documentary 'The King of Kong'. Let me refer to the videos from Apollo Legend who also did a couple of videos on Todd Rogers, outlining the events as they unfold:



It's pretty sad to see these former legends of arcade gaming fall from grace.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Billy is hilarious. Such a good villain.

 

[strange headache]

Billy is hilarious. Such a good villain.

Yeah, he always seemed a bit like a cartoon villain. Hence why I firmly rooted for Steve Wiebe during the whole King of Kong showdown. It was kinda weird that Mitchell's score was so quickly approved, despite it being sent in on a pretty suspicious video tape. Certainly doesn't shine a good light on Twin Galaxies either.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

That video was sketchy as hell. Twin Galaxies certainly didn't come out of that in a good light. Basically looked like Billy's lackeys.

 

[Petrae]

This stuff is straight-up embarrassing and hurts the players who competed and earned their scores legitimately. Now Twin Galaxies is a farce, players who we thought were impressive have turned out to be frauds, and there’s a pretty distinct black eye on the group of players who were really talented back in that era.

It’s akin to the steroid era in baseball. People who set records— most of them on the up and up— have their legitimacy questioned. There will be suspicion and doubt as to whether the scores should count, because Twin Galaxies adjudicated them as so and can’t be considered a trusted source.

As someone who still holds a recognized Twin Galaxies record score, and held another for nearly a decade before it was beaten, I’m saddened, ashamed, and kind of angry about this.

 

[The Sane Psycho]

This stuff is straight-up embarrassing and hurts the players who competed and earned their scores legitimately. Now Twin Galaxies is a farce, players who we thought were impressive have turned out to be frauds, and there’s a pretty distinct black eye on the group of players who were really talented back in that era.

It’s akin to the steroid era in baseball. People who set records— most of them on the up and up— have their legitimacy questioned. There will be suspicion and doubt as to whether the scores should count, because Twin Galaxies adjudicated them as so and can’t be considered a trusted source.

As someone who still holds a recognized Twin Galaxies record score, and held another for nearly a decade before it was beaten, I’m saddened, ashamed, and kind of angry about this.

Really? That's pretty awesome. Which games?

 

[strange headache]

As someone who still holds a recognized Twin Galaxies record score, and held another for nearly a decade before it was beaten, I’m saddened, ashamed, and kind of angry about this.

I concur with The Sane Psycho, that's pretty cool! Would also like to know more, especially what motivated you to go for a high score in that specific game. I could never play a good so much in order to become so good at it. That's kinda what fascinates me the most, the sheer tenacity that some of these players have, playing the same thing over and over again.

 

[Petrae]

Really? That's pretty awesome. Which games?

My Mania Challenge (spinoff of Mat Mania) still stands. http://www.twingalaxies.com/game/mania-challenge/arcade

I owned the Sea Wolf record from 2001-2010, then the fellow who beat me was beaten himself a year later. http://www.twingalaxies.com/game/sea-wolf/arcade

I concur with The Sane Psycho, that's pretty cool! Would also like to know more, especially what motivated you to go for a high score in that specific game. I could never play a good so much in order to become so good at it. That's kinda what fascinates me the most, the sheer tenacity that some of these players have, playing the same thing over and over again.

Living in New England as I do, going to what used to be an annual Twin Galaxies-sponsored event at FunSpot in New Hampshire (it was seen in King of Kong) was a trip I made for three years (2000-02). The first year was just for a half-day; I played Track & Field mostly, and dabbled in a few other games.

In 2001, I focused on Sea Wolf, and was the first player to “roll the score” from 9900 points back to 0000 (hence the 10,800). You only get a set amount of time and targets to shoot, so you have to be accurate. There are also a few different patterns of ships, and certain patterns lead to higher scores if you hit them all.

In 2002, Mania Challenge was the game I keyed on. I loved Mat Mania in arcades, but it wasn’t at FunSpot. I practiced for a day before putting together my huge run. I got to meet both Todd Rogers and Billy Mitchell that year— and it was really cool to be a multiple record holder and in that company. At least, it was at the time.

 

[bronk]

That segment from the East Side Dave Show was unbearably cringey.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Mine and my wifes favourite line of that movie is when that one guy calls him silly bitchell gets us everytime lol im glad the are looking into them tho cheaters never win