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Video Game Documentary Stirs Up Controversy 49

Posted by Zonk from the wonder-what-game-the-submitter-is-running dept.
Game Master writes "Billy Mitchell has long been one of the gaming industry's most recognizable players. He appears in a new documentary, King of Kong, which has been screening to very positive reviews at film festivals around the country, and has been picked up by a major motion picture distributor. The movie, which portrays Billy in a very negative light, has come under fire recently in an article posted at MTV.com, where Billy and others spoke out about what they believed to be an unfair portrayal in the film. 'Ultimately, the documentary hasn't settled the Mitchell/Wiebe debate, which has been going on for nearly a half-decade. Mitchell, Day, Mruczek and several other arcade aficionados are now compiling a response to the film, a timeline they plan to post on TwinGalaxies.com in June. An early draft of the document lists [what they refer to as] KOK fiction, like, "Billy Mitchell will stop at nothing in order to keep his DK score," and promises facts that will prove those assertions wrong.' The end of the article seems to imply that legal action may follow."
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Video Game Documentary Stirs Up Controversy More

Video Game Documentary Stirs Up Controversy

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  • Um, context? (Score:5, Informative)

    by The One and Only ( 691315 ) <[ten.hclewlihp] [ta] [lihp]> on Thursday May 31, 2007 @01:44PM (#19340469) Homepage
    I've read this summary six or seven times and I still have no fucking idea what it's supposed to mean.
    • I agree, this is difficult to comprehend.

    • Re:Um, context? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Timesprout ( 579035 ) on Thursday May 31, 2007 @01:52PM (#19340633)
      Let me summarize for you.

      Loser claims documentary makes him look like a loser and infers he may not be the best Donkey Kong player in the world. Several people are believed to have been injured by toys thrown from prams.

      • Re:Um, context? (Score:5, Informative)

        by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) * <akaimbatman AT gmail DOT com> on Thursday May 31, 2007 @02:05PM (#19340877) Homepage Journal
        Having actually read the article, it's more like this: Video portrays latest hotshot in the classic gaming scene as a hero who's being put down by the old guard. In the process, it portrays the older gamers as being petty in an attempt to suppress the rightful crowning of the new hotshot. The old guard replies that they did nothing to suppress the young hotshot, and that his problems stem from a failure to adhere to the rules of gaming championships. (e.g. His Donkey Kong machine was a later twin-board system for playing both DK and DKjr rather than an original DK machine that the rules call for.) Young hotshot thinks that the real case is that the judges and other gamers want to protect the scores of the older gamer. Media circus ensues.

        • Re:Um, context? (Score:5, Funny)

          by Timesprout ( 579035 ) on Thursday May 31, 2007 @02:26PM (#19341319)
          Having read your comment I still think it's more like this:

          Video portrays latest hotshot loser in the classic gaming scene as a hero who's being put down by the old losers. In the process, it portrays the older losers as being petty in an attempt to suppress the rightful crowning of the new loser. The old loser replies that they did nothing to suppress the young loser, and that his problems stem from a failure to adhere to the rules of gaming championships. (e.g. His Donkey Kong machine was a later twin-board system for playing both DK and DKjr rather than an original DK machine that the rules call for because this somehow changes the game itself. They cited the new International Athletics rules which state that all athletic events can only be considered valid if they are held on the site of the original olympics in Greece, using 1000-750BC era equipment.) Young loser thinks that the real case is that the judges and other losers want to protect the scores of the older loser. No one gives a toss.

      • And the true irony (Score:5, Funny)

        by Colin Smith ( 2679 ) on Thursday May 31, 2007 @02:40PM (#19341547)
        A competition where even the winners are losers.
         
    • Summary of the summary: There's this gamer. Someone made a documentary about him. He doesn't like it. He might sue!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Animats ( 122034 )

      The original article provides the context.

      It's a typical sports story, except it's about video games. Donkey Kong, of all things, a coin-op arcade game from 1981.

    • -- I've seen this film -- (Score:5, Informative)

      by SydShamino ( 547793 ) on Thursday May 31, 2007 @02:14PM (#19341049)
      Since the responses so far seem to not understand, let me put it in context. I saw this at the SXSW Film Festival in March. It was one of the best films of the festival, and one of the best documentaries I've seen.

      This is a documentary about Steve Wiebe, a down-on-his luck man who tries to achieve the high score in Donkey Kong. He picked this particular game almost at random, noting that the old high score had stood for almost 20 years. The old score was set by Billy Mitchell as a teenager in the early 80s.

      Twin Galaxies is the organization that "officially" tracks world record scores in video games. (I say officially because they are recognized in the field, and because Guinness "subcontracts" this record tracking to them.)

      In the film, Billy Mitchell is not portrayed as an asshole. Billy Mitchell is an asshole. The film just portrays him in his natural habitat. It also shows how Twin Galaxies has its own "Good Ol' Boy Network" to identify who it trusts regarding scoring. This comes into play because most high scores are earned at homes, where the proof is a video camera pointed at the screen. Theoretically, someone could modify their boards so that the game acts differently, thereby cheating to win.

      Wiebe is portrayed as a very nice, down-to-earth man. I have no reason to believe otherwise. He seems the same way in person. And yet, his attempts are continually scorned, while Mitchell's new, shady high scores are immediately accepted without question. Put this together with Mitchell's on-screen arrogance, and you'll agree that these documentary film makers filmed more drama than a weeknight on TNT.

      In my history of video games book (which I just happened to be reading during SXSW), on the Donkey Kong page, you'll find the signature of man who has earned the highest score ever in Donkey Kong. It's signed Steve Wiebe.

      ---------
      If you see the movie:
      At one point a film of Billy Mitchell's game is submitted to Twin Galaxies, and almost immediately accepted. Yet, the film has static and glitches that make it hard to see the score, and at one point the score seems to jump while covered by static. After the movie, during Q&A, the film makers noted that they have viewed the original tape of the game (not just copies), and the static and jump are present there as well.

      This wouldn't matter so much if Twin Galaxies hadn't already explained up how strict they were when judging tapes, and rejected Wiebe tapes with much less uncertainty.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by AdmiralWeirdbeard ( 832807 )

        In the film, Billy Mitchell is not portrayed as an asshole. Billy Mitchell is an asshole. The film just portrays him in his natural habitat.

        because if its a documentary, then there's no portrayal, just the facts? what a load. He comes off as an asshole in the movie, and as a regular dude in the MTV interview. Truth's probably somewhere inbetween. Also, given that the refs also think the movie was unfair and contrived, maybe there's something to it. yes, they were also criticized. fine. seems like th

        • You've clearly not seen the film.

          Anyone can play nice for their grandmother or for the cameras. However, there are some things that a person simply does not do if they are a polite, non-asshole person.

          It's not like the film editors put words in his mouth, or manipulated long continuously-filmed scenes where he acts like a dick. It doesn't matter how many kittens he saves during the day, if he does certain things, he's an asshole.
          • not entirely sure I've claimed either to have seen the film or that he's not an asshole, actually.

            My point was merely that the MTV article also pointed out some areas where he seemed to be getting the shaft. Like things that *could* be edited out/around. Like the conflicting rendition of how gameplay went down at an exhibition they both attended, or his reasons for not jumping out and meeting a thrown-down gauntlet. All I'm saying is that the film and filmmakers had a very explicit message, one they were o
      • And one thing the film left out is that Mitchell's score had been broken in 2002 and that is the score that Wiebe actually broke.
    • 6-7 times, and still posted first? Either you are lying, comments were moved by staff, or a subscriber(ha right). :)
      • I don't have an asterisk by my name and I'm not lying, so I guess the staff moved my comment. Either that or I'm a fast reader, and no one cares about petty little fights between video gamers over who really got the high score to actually try commenting first. The days of the "frist psot" are pretty much over on Slashdot.

  • Summary of the Summary (Score:4, Insightful)

    by killjoy966 ( 655602 ) <michael.harte@gmail.com> on Thursday May 31, 2007 @01:49PM (#19340569)
    The guy who formally set the world record for Donkey Kong (considered a stand-up guy) feels he was unfaithfully portrayed in the new movie King of Kong which apparently paints him as a bit of dick (despite the fact that he plays himself).

    • (despite the fact that he plays himself).
      I guess that's because it's a documentary.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by miowpurr ( 1004277 )
      It's all in the editing. If they shot 100 hours of film, they still have to edit it down to something that the average person is willing to sit through. Which means under two hours, for the most part. Out of that original 100 hours, how many different versions of the film can they concoct? Probably one or two that the guy would like, and several more that make him look like a prick.

      • Re:Summary of the Summary (Score:5, Funny)

        by gEvil (beta) ( 945888 ) on Thursday May 31, 2007 @02:16PM (#19341117)
        It's all in the editing. [T]he average person is...a prick.

      • I was skeptical, too, but then I read this article [oxfordamericanmag.com] on Billy Mitchell. The guy is incredibly arrogant. Here are some quotes:

        "If I get recognized six times in a seven-day week," Mitchell says, "I call that a slow week."

        "Video games were something new and different and I don't like new and different," he says. "But they started getting more popular. Everyone was standing around the Donkey Kong machine and I wanted that attention."

        Wanting to clarify a point about hiding spots, I try to ask him, "So someone

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Jeff DeMaagd ( 2015 )
      Wow. Your post is concise AND has has actual content that can be deciphered, unlike "Game Master"'s submission. Game Master, if you are reading, please learn from this.

  • I mean, everyone who gives up after 50.000 at that game MUST be a GIGANTIC *loser*.

    shrug.

  • To settle this... (Score:5, Funny)

    by svendsen ( 1029716 ) on Thursday May 31, 2007 @02:11PM (#19340999)
    Take them to the hottest club in Miami, LA, and Vegas. Have each one try to pick up the hot chicks using their DK story. Person who gets laid the most wins. I mean shouldn't be hard, 1+ million points in DK.....chicks dig that
    • Exactly. So take that away from him and he's got nothing left.

      Is there honestly this much drama in other competitions? I suppose using a later board revision is akin to "doping up" for the triathalon.

      AFAIK, they're not making another "The Wizard", so, what's in it for the ex-champion except lack of bragging rights?

  • Who? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Orthodork ( 975038 ) on Thursday May 31, 2007 @02:15PM (#19341099)
    "Billy Mitchell has long been one of the gaming industries most recognizable players..." Really? Maybe I'm not that clued in, but I can't find anyone who knows who this guy is-- and we do a lot of gaming around these parts (and most of us can remember Donkey Kong when it was 'in the arcade'). That doesn't mean they can't make a documentary about him or whatever, but a little more context would help.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by 91degrees ( 207121 )
      Well, just look on wikipedia, and you'll find that he's a US General who was an advocate of air power [wikipedia.org]. Now clearly, without him, games such as Falcon 4.0 wouldn't be the same.

      Or maybe it's this guy [wikipedia.org] who holds some really high scores on a few classic games like Donkey kong and Pac Man. Quite honestly, it seems rather mean spirited to produce a documentary critical of someone who isn't really all that important.
    • I'm sure that there are plenty of people who are widely regarded in their respective fields who are largely unknown to the general public.

      Macky (Shotaro Makisumi) or the Mao brothers on Rubik's Cube?

      Buckethead on guitar?

      Thresh (Dennis Fong) on Quake?

      Maurice LaMarche or Billy West for voice acting?

      Sure, we might have heard of these people - I assume the last one is a real gimme for the /. crowd - but not everyone has, and I think that's precisely why a documentary about a person like this is interesting. It

  • Someone please rescue me from trying to wrap my brain around why this is important enough to care about.

    TLF

    • Someone please rescue me from trying to wrap my brain around why this is important enough to care about.

      You clicked on the link, and felt compelled to post.

      Clearly, you already decided it was important enough to care about. :-P

      Cheers
  • i can't wait until they start making documentaries like [youtube.com] these [youtube.com] about wow players..
    • Who do you propose these videos profile? There is no "high-score" for WOW and thus, no easy way to determine a world champion. There are so many servers that all run the same content that determining who is first or fastest at accomplishing something is a challenging task. Not to mention private WOW servers where players can cheat. WOW players are not recognized for in-game accomplishments. Just take a look at the most famous (or infamous) WOW players to date: 1) A woman who traded sex for an epic mount 2)

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by mythar ( 1085839 )
        as a former member of a top-notch pve raiding guild in wow, i can tell you there is usually a lot of drama surrounding the world-first this, us-first that, server-first something else, etc.. i won't even get into the server and battlegroup pve/pvp pissing contests, or the amount of controversy so far generated by the arena tournament. if you are blithely unaware of any of this, think of all the good laughs you're missing out on. and, if it all seems silly to you, take another look at my subject line.

  • Wow (Score:1)

    by anduz ( 1027854 )
    I never knew video gaming had so much drama! ^_^
  • "There exists an electron microscope so powerful it can see the atoms, the very building blocks of matter that control the universe. If I were to use that microscope, I would not be able to locate my interest in your problem. Good day!"

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