4 ms·

The movie The King of Kong is a good intro to the sordid side of the world of competitive arcade gaming. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Kong https:/

by sowbug 2y ago

The movie The King of Kong is a good intro to the sordid side of the world of competitive arcade gaming. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Kong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Kong

mwidell 2y ago
This is one of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen. The story is so intriguing, interesting and entertaining. Highly recommend.
- alt227 2y ago
  Make sure to follow up with the much lesser known Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade It covers a lot of the same material but gives a much wider context about that whole retro gaming scene which is shown in King of Kong
- jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
  There's another with the same vibe for Tetris. I believe it's called fistful of quarters. Not nearly as good, but great soundtrack.
  - jmarcher 2y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Order:_The_Tetris_Masters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Order:_The_Tetris_M... ?
    - jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
      That's the one I meant, great soundtrack. So I'm confusing names with something else.
      - pathartl 2y ago
        Fistful of quarters was the subtitle of King of Kong
  - mega_dean 2y ago
    The youtube channel Summoning Salt made a great video that covers the history of Tetris world records: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOJlg8g8_yw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOJlg8g8_yw
    - EvanAnderson 2y ago
      Highly recommend Summoning Salt in general. I never thought I'd find video game speed runs, records, etc, interesting, but his videos end up being very entertaining. His pacing, tone, and the way he works in music are very effective.
- BeetleB 2y ago
  It's actually the example I give on why one should not watch documentaries. It's extremely misleading (without actually lying): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944741 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944741 (I mean yes, Billy is a jerk for sure, but the documentary was way out of line).
  - acomjean 2y ago
    They did show Mitchell delivering a frogger(?) arcade machine so a senior could practice for a tournament, which was nice. I think it was an extra in the dvd. Billy to my mind is a bit annoying but he’s a mild “villain” in the documentary. I mean it’s video game high scores and very compulsive people.. I should watch it again.
  - throw4847285 2y ago
    You should definitely watch documentaries, as long as you first watch Orson Welles's masterpiece F for Fake as a pre-req. That or Abbas Kiarostami's Close Up. Then you are free to watch as many documentaries as you please.
snickerbockers 2y ago
it needs a sequel to cover the last 7 years.
- sowbug 2y ago
  18

by sowbug 2y ago

The movie The King of Kong is a good intro to the sordid side of the world of competitive arcade gaming. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Kong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Kong

mwidell 2y ago

This is one of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen. The story is so intriguing, interesting and entertaining. Highly recommend.

alt227 2y ago
Make sure to follow up with the much lesser known Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade It covers a lot of the same material but gives a much wider context about that whole retro gaming scene which is shown in King of Kong
jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
There's another with the same vibe for Tetris. I believe it's called fistful of quarters. Not nearly as good, but great soundtrack.
- jmarcher 2y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Order:_The_Tetris_Masters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Order:_The_Tetris_M... ?
  - jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
    That's the one I meant, great soundtrack. So I'm confusing names with something else.
    - pathartl 2y ago
      Fistful of quarters was the subtitle of King of Kong
- mega_dean 2y ago
  The youtube channel Summoning Salt made a great video that covers the history of Tetris world records: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOJlg8g8_yw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOJlg8g8_yw
  - EvanAnderson 2y ago
    Highly recommend Summoning Salt in general. I never thought I'd find video game speed runs, records, etc, interesting, but his videos end up being very entertaining. His pacing, tone, and the way he works in music are very effective.
BeetleB 2y ago
It's actually the example I give on why one should not watch documentaries. It's extremely misleading (without actually lying): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944741 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944741 (I mean yes, Billy is a jerk for sure, but the documentary was way out of line).
- acomjean 2y ago
  They did show Mitchell delivering a frogger(?) arcade machine so a senior could practice for a tournament, which was nice. I think it was an extra in the dvd. Billy to my mind is a bit annoying but he’s a mild “villain” in the documentary. I mean it’s video game high scores and very compulsive people.. I should watch it again.
- throw4847285 2y ago
  You should definitely watch documentaries, as long as you first watch Orson Welles's masterpiece F for Fake as a pre-req. That or Abbas Kiarostami's Close Up. Then you are free to watch as many documentaries as you please.

snickerbockers 2y ago

it needs a sequel to cover the last 7 years.

sowbug 2y ago
18