Via Roy, "How Billy Mitchell became a video-game superstar and achieved Pac-Man bliss." Starts out a tad slow, but I found it riveting once it got into the story. The guy seems mildly autistic, and shares insights I never recognized, like:
Mitchell places a quarter in the slot and begins to dominate the game, giving an extemporaneous lecture on strategy as he goes. “See, each ghost has a unique personality,” he says. “The red one, he’s a complete headhunter. He’s constantly trying to zero in on your position. The blue one is more complicated; his movement is based on your position versus the red ghost.” He holds the joystick loosely with his left hand, maneuvering it with precise flicks of his thumb and index finger. “I use their personalities and put them in places, positions, and patterns advantageous to me.
Definitely makes me want to restore my thrashed Ms Pac-Man MAME machine. Check out some of these videos after reading the article too. Amazing.
You should watch "The King of Kong" (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0923752) for another perspective on Billy Mitchell. He doesn't come off so nice.
Posted by Kevin on August 31, 2007 at 06:37 PM PDT #
king of kong is a kick but butt movie. ive got 100,000 on my first man
Posted by 71.55.139.2 on November 09, 2008 at 01:41 PM PST #