Video Games

A coupla years ago I stumbled on this article in the Oxford American, about a guy who played the first ever "perfect" game of Pac-Man, taking it to a level even the game designers didn't seem to know existed. I found it fascinating, that early-80s world of video games that included minor celebrities that somehow found out about each other throughout the country, and phone lines where you'd call in scores etc etc.

Now, I have posted my feelings on grownups playing video games HERE. To recap, you are a homo. A loser homo. However, as in any field, I am interested in those who are the best in the world at what the do - people who do something so ridiculously better than anyone else and are seemingly born knowing how to do it. To quote the OA article:

Mitchell also seems to possess a genius for recognizing patterns in space and foreseeing the way complicated scenarios will play out—his intuition is set to some higher frequency. “Think about a great centerfielder like Mickey Mantle,” Day says. “He had some deep inner intuitive sense. When the bat cracked the ball, he immediately knew where the ball was going and he’d take a few steps in the right direction before he even realized it. That’s like Billy playing video games. I get confused by all the action and colors and light. He sees the whole pattern immediately. His mental experience is heightened; he has a more comprehensive and clear vision than the rest of us.”...“Everything is perfect timing,” says Mitchell. “When you don’t execute, it alters your routine and puts you in a dangerous situation. You can’t mess up once. Just sit there and try to touch your knee 29,000 times and you’re going to miss eventually.”

And just now I stumbled on Chasing the Ghost: Beyond the Arcade, a documentary on these people and their world. Video games are one of those things I have no interest in, but reading articles and watching this documentary about these freaks who play them better than you and I do ANYTHING is pretty fascinating - to say nothing of their own insular world of cattiness and jealousy. A must-watch!!