I just watched the trailer for "King of Kong," and I'm glad to know that the average Donkey game only lasts for a minute. I'm terrible at Donkey Kong. Thank you for the information on Thor and the movie referral.
I enjoyed it but I didn't like the undeserved attention they gave some people who definitely weren't of the same class as others... the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS. I swear, my landlady is better than most of them (watched her play endlessly when we were kids). It made me feel bad that people like her go unnoticed and this other woman gets featured and followed just because she's different in ways that already receive massively disproportionate attention on mainstream media and have nothing to do with the game.
Loved picking Thor's brain about this on Anandtech.
...the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS.
To be fair, I also didn't know that till I watched the movie. People get comfortable; it happens. I remember popping in Tetris when I saw this just to check. I always rotate the same way, it's habit now.
Love the movie. Made a trip to PRGE because of it and now sponsor the CTWC with a regional qualifier for their ongoing tournament. Great documentary.
...the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS.
To be fair, I also didn't know that till I watched the movie. People get comfortable; it happens. I remember popping in Tetris when I saw this just to check. I always rotate the same way, it's habit now.
Love the movie. Made a trip to PRGE because of it and now sponsor the CTWC with a regional qualifier for their ongoing tournament. Great documentary.
Right, but for anyone pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the game to compete on a world-class level, there's no excuse for not knowing it... especially when it has such a clear impact even for much lower-level play. There are maneuvers where you must know which way to flip to get it in certain places and you are severely handicapped if you play like it doesn't exist. It isn't just some curiosity that doesn't affect the game!
I strongly believe that she was there because of her alternative lifestyle and because she happened to play it a lot (like many self-described Tetris addicts)... not because she was particularly good at the game. Her alternative lifestyle was a deliberate and blatant attempt to get the daytime TV crowd interested in a documentary about an old video game that they could not care less about otherwise.
It's not really such a big deal except that it kinda ruined the purity of the thing and made me realize that I was just being pandered to as much as her audience. It took away the magic for me.
...the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS.
To be fair, I also didn't know that till I watched the movie. People get comfortable; it happens. I remember popping in Tetris when I saw this just to check. I always rotate the same way, it's habit now.
Love the movie. Made a trip to PRGE because of it and now sponsor the CTWC with a regional qualifier for their ongoing tournament. Great documentary.
Right, but for anyone pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the game to compete on a world-class level, there's no excuse for not knowing it... especially when it has such a clear impact even for much lower-level play. There are maneuvers where you must know which way to flip to get it in certain places and you are severely handicapped if you play like it doesn't exist. It isn't just some curiosity that doesn't affect the game!
I strongly believe that she was there because of her alternative lifestyle and because she happened to play it a lot (like many self-described Tetris addicts)... not because she was particularly good at the game. Her alternative lifestyle was a deliberate and blatant attempt to get the daytime TV crowd interested in a documentary about an old video game that they could not care less about otherwise.
It's not really such a big deal except that it kinda ruined the purity of the thing and made me realize that I was just being pandered to as much as her audience. It took away the magic for me.
Damn dude, you harshing on her because of which way she swings her block? How do you stack up against her?
I felt it was a pretty accurate documentary to the folks playing the game with scores on twin galaxies, Thor being the wild card. If NintendoAge was to make a follow up I think it would be very interesting to see where those players are at now and if others players from outside of the USA would be willing to compete. Esports have come along way since 2011 and I think a follow up could get a ton of support.
In a documentary about slingin' blocks? Yes. Yes I am.
Having seen the process of the documentary in motion, and knowing how the players in the film were followed, how the tournament qualifiers worked, etc... She would have been the only tournament player without coverage if she hasn't had back story shown in the documentary.
She was good enough to have a high score of something like 680k only flipping the block in o e direction! That is a neat Tetris skills story, in and of itself.
But from the standpoint of the documentary, that side story also offered an entry point for explaining some of the more nuanced aspects of Tetris play to an "everyman" audience member.
(Also, I seem to recall a mention in the movie about how much her score went up after she retrained prior to the tournament with knowledge of two directions of spin -- it really is a side item that helps the typical viewer or player better appreciate what is involved with higher level play)
It is too bad that you were distracted by her "alternative lifestyle", as you put it.
You say that as if I have something against her lifestyle. I don't. It just seems that standards were blatantly ignored to include her as if it makes the production more interesting. I guess it does for some audiences, which is why it feels like pandering.
I accept that her inclusion offered an "entry point" for explaining that aspect but, if anything, it made it feel more trivial and less nuanced if someone could make it that far with such a handicap. It doesn't help that I personally know a woman who could easily compete with the others and she had never heard of Ecstacy of Order or the tournament until I mentioned it last year (just someone I've casually known since childhood who's now my landlord. Not even sure if she still has a game system). Of course, none selected for the documentary measured up to Thor either. Makes it seem to me that the documentary was interested in finding the best players for the documentary to follow around, not actually the best players. Of course, the reality is that they couldn't possibly identify the best players and follow them all around even if they limited it to just the USA. It's that dose of reality that ruins it for me.
It's my personal hang up. I still recommend it to people all the time. That's why it came up with my landlord last year.
You say that as if I have something against her lifestyle. I don't. It just seems that standards were blatantly ignored to include her as if it makes the production more interesting. I guess it does for some audiences, which is why it feels like pandering.
I accept that her inclusion offered an "entry point" for explaining that aspect but, if anything, it made it feel more trivial and less nuanced if someone could make it that far with such a handicap. It doesn't help that I personally know a woman who could easily compete with the others and she had never heard of Ecstacy of Order or the tournament until I mentioned it last year (just someone I've casually known since childhood who's now my landlord. Not even sure if she still has a game system). Of course, none selected for the documentary measured up to Thor either. Makes it seem to me that the documentary was interested in finding the best players for the documentary to follow around, not actually the best players. Of course, the reality is that they couldn't possibly identify the best players and follow them all around even if they limited it to just the USA. It's that dose of reality that ruins it for me.
It's my personal hang up. I still recommend it to people all the time. That's why it came up with my landlord last year.
Jonas and Harry were both masterful players at that time, with Jonas having some accomplishments that definitely rivaled what Thor is/was capable of.
Many of the people involved were current official records holders (either by line count or by high score).
There were about half of the tournament spots left available for entrants that competed in the qualifiers during the day of the competition.
(original net was cast for existing records-holders, where the top couple of ranks, I think, granted an automatic seat at the table)
Since the first couple of years of the tournament, quite a few others have been inspired to train at a serious level and reach max-out status.
The original tournament was publicized to the extent that could be afforded at the time the documentary was being made. (and to the extent that Robin Mihara and Vince Clemente were able)
There was a sort of "write-in" phase, where the net was cast as broadly as possible to encourage people with scores > 600k to make submissions/applications, if they were interested, and they were invited to attend the qualifiers in LA.
That was how Dana was "found", as far as I know, and like I said, by tournament time, with her knowing that she could flip both ways, her scores were up in the 800k+ range (AND she qualified against an extremely competitive field for the qualifier round)
Now that the tournament has been going on for awhile, I think there are regional qualifiers, and the tournament is able to be held co-located with decent sized gaming conventions, so it has grown a bit, each year.
Keep in mind, the documentary was originally about Robin trying to establish the FIRST of these tournaments.
As such, the tournament structure, and level of reach, is going to be a bit rough around the edges.
Adam Cornelius had something like 400 hours of footage to sift through to create his documentary.
It evolved away from a story about what Robin was doing, into a story about the players themselves.
A chunk of that is Thor's story, but some light is shed on the backgrounds of each of the tournament participants.
(Dana is definitely not a "fan service" or "pandering" type of inclusion, though, despite your belief to the contrary)
All that said, I will definitely admit that the ORIGINAL tournament, in terms of who is involved at the player level, DOES have a sort of "90's California-is-the-center-of-the-universe" vibe to it. (it that it was an LA tournament, and a large number of the participants are west-coast or californians)
But when you have to get a ball rolling on something, in terms of developing a tournament and actually making the event happen, you have to start somewhere, and you don't necessarily have the funds and the reach to have well advertised regional qualifiers all over the world, right out of the gate.
Cool to see such crazy skill and speed, that's for sure. Also, I had never seen someone use their shirt over the d-pad while they play. Apparently that's a thing
...the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS.
To be fair, I also didn't know that till I watched the movie. People get comfortable; it happens. I remember popping in Tetris when I saw this just to check. I always rotate the same way, it's habit now.
Love the movie. Made a trip to PRGE because of it and now sponsor the CTWC with a regional qualifier for their ongoing tournament. Great documentary.
Right, but for anyone pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the game to compete on a world-class level, there's no excuse for not knowing it... especially when it has such a clear impact even for much lower-level play. There are maneuvers where you must know which way to flip to get it in certain places and you are severely handicapped if you play like it doesn't exist. It isn't just some curiosity that doesn't affect the game!
I strongly believe that she was there because of her alternative lifestyle and because she happened to play it a lot (like many self-described Tetris addicts)... not because she was particularly good at the game. Her alternative lifestyle was a deliberate and blatant attempt to get the daytime TV crowd interested in a documentary about an old video game that they could not care less about otherwise.
It's not really such a big deal except that it kinda ruined the purity of the thing and made me realize that I was just being pandered to as much as her audience. It took away the magic for me.
Damn dude, you harshing on her because of which way she swings her block? How do you stack up against her?
I felt it was a pretty accurate documentary to the folks playing the game with scores on twin galaxies, Thor being the wild card. If NintendoAge was to make a follow up I think it would be very interesting to see where those players are at now and if others players from outside of the USA would be willing to compete. Esports have come along way since 2011 and I think a follow up could get a ton of support.
His style will be to debate the blocks until they fall down out of boredom.
I also enjoyed the documentary, and I agree that a follow up one of some sort would be pretty cool?
It was on Netflix for a while; not sure if it still is.
You guys are talking about "From Russia with Love", right?
Because as far as I'm aware Ecstasy of Order has never been on Netflix.
It was very briefly available on Hulu, early on, as well as Crackle.
(had a Humble Bundle tie-in, at one point, as well)
Otherwise, it was iTunes, Google/Youtube, Amazon, or there is a DRM-free digital download directly available from the website.
I might be thinking of Hulu, but I could've sworn Robin made a big deal about it being on one of the streaming sites to check out.
And I'm not about to debate one of the executive producers...
We WISH we were able to get it on Netflix.
But unfortunately, we fell victim to timing where Netflix had basically JUST wound down their prolific licensing of tiny documentaries, and that prospect never came back up once Netflix started pushing hard again on content.
Basically we fell into a sort of year long bucket where Netflix was shifting gears.
Comments
Cool guy.
Watch "King of Kong" next if you haven't seen it.
Loved picking Thor's brain about this on Anandtech.
I much preferred "Tetris: From Russia with Love", though.
The BBC documentary. Incredibly informative about how Tetris made it's way to North America. Incredible story.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409371/
...the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS.
To be fair, I also didn't know that till I watched the movie. People get comfortable; it happens. I remember popping in Tetris when I saw this just to check. I always rotate the same way, it's habit now.
Love the movie. Made a trip to PRGE because of it and now sponsor the CTWC with a regional qualifier for their ongoing tournament. Great documentary.
...the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS.
To be fair, I also didn't know that till I watched the movie. People get comfortable; it happens. I remember popping in Tetris when I saw this just to check. I always rotate the same way, it's habit now.
Love the movie. Made a trip to PRGE because of it and now sponsor the CTWC with a regional qualifier for their ongoing tournament. Great documentary.
Right, but for anyone pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the game to compete on a world-class level, there's no excuse for not knowing it... especially when it has such a clear impact even for much lower-level play. There are maneuvers where you must know which way to flip to get it in certain places and you are severely handicapped if you play like it doesn't exist. It isn't just some curiosity that doesn't affect the game!
I strongly believe that she was there because of her alternative lifestyle and because she happened to play it a lot (like many self-described Tetris addicts)... not because she was particularly good at the game. Her alternative lifestyle was a deliberate and blatant attempt to get the daytime TV crowd interested in a documentary about an old video game that they could not care less about otherwise.
It's not really such a big deal except that it kinda ruined the purity of the thing and made me realize that I was just being pandered to as much as her audience. It took away the magic for me.
...the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS.
To be fair, I also didn't know that till I watched the movie. People get comfortable; it happens. I remember popping in Tetris when I saw this just to check. I always rotate the same way, it's habit now.
Love the movie. Made a trip to PRGE because of it and now sponsor the CTWC with a regional qualifier for their ongoing tournament. Great documentary.
Right, but for anyone pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the game to compete on a world-class level, there's no excuse for not knowing it... especially when it has such a clear impact even for much lower-level play. There are maneuvers where you must know which way to flip to get it in certain places and you are severely handicapped if you play like it doesn't exist. It isn't just some curiosity that doesn't affect the game!
I strongly believe that she was there because of her alternative lifestyle and because she happened to play it a lot (like many self-described Tetris addicts)... not because she was particularly good at the game. Her alternative lifestyle was a deliberate and blatant attempt to get the daytime TV crowd interested in a documentary about an old video game that they could not care less about otherwise.
It's not really such a big deal except that it kinda ruined the purity of the thing and made me realize that I was just being pandered to as much as her audience. It took away the magic for me.
Damn dude, you harshing on her because of which way she swings her block? How do you stack up against her?
I felt it was a pretty accurate documentary to the folks playing the game with scores on twin galaxies, Thor being the wild card. If NintendoAge was to make a follow up I think it would be very interesting to see where those players are at now and if others players from outside of the USA would be willing to compete. Esports have come along way since 2011 and I think a follow up could get a ton of support.
In a documentary about slingin' blocks? Yes. Yes I am.
Having seen the process of the documentary in motion, and knowing how the players in the film were followed, how the tournament qualifiers worked, etc... She would have been the only tournament player without coverage if she hasn't had back story shown in the documentary.
She was good enough to have a high score of something like 680k only flipping the block in o e direction! That is a neat Tetris skills story, in and of itself.
But from the standpoint of the documentary, that side story also offered an entry point for explaining some of the more nuanced aspects of Tetris play to an "everyman" audience member.
(Also, I seem to recall a mention in the movie about how much her score went up after she retrained prior to the tournament with knowledge of two directions of spin -- it really is a side item that helps the typical viewer or player better appreciate what is involved with higher level play)
It is too bad that you were distracted by her "alternative lifestyle", as you put it.
I accept that her inclusion offered an "entry point" for explaining that aspect but, if anything, it made it feel more trivial and less nuanced if someone could make it that far with such a handicap. It doesn't help that I personally know a woman who could easily compete with the others and she had never heard of Ecstacy of Order or the tournament until I mentioned it last year (just someone I've casually known since childhood who's now my landlord. Not even sure if she still has a game system). Of course, none selected for the documentary measured up to Thor either. Makes it seem to me that the documentary was interested in finding the best players for the documentary to follow around, not actually the best players. Of course, the reality is that they couldn't possibly identify the best players and follow them all around even if they limited it to just the USA. It's that dose of reality that ruins it for me.
It's my personal hang up. I still recommend it to people all the time. That's why it came up with my landlord last year.
You say that as if I have something against her lifestyle. I don't. It just seems that standards were blatantly ignored to include her as if it makes the production more interesting. I guess it does for some audiences, which is why it feels like pandering.
I accept that her inclusion offered an "entry point" for explaining that aspect but, if anything, it made it feel more trivial and less nuanced if someone could make it that far with such a handicap. It doesn't help that I personally know a woman who could easily compete with the others and she had never heard of Ecstacy of Order or the tournament until I mentioned it last year (just someone I've casually known since childhood who's now my landlord. Not even sure if she still has a game system). Of course, none selected for the documentary measured up to Thor either. Makes it seem to me that the documentary was interested in finding the best players for the documentary to follow around, not actually the best players. Of course, the reality is that they couldn't possibly identify the best players and follow them all around even if they limited it to just the USA. It's that dose of reality that ruins it for me.
It's my personal hang up. I still recommend it to people all the time. That's why it came up with my landlord last year.
Jonas and Harry were both masterful players at that time, with Jonas having some accomplishments that definitely rivaled what Thor is/was capable of.
Many of the people involved were current official records holders (either by line count or by high score).
There were about half of the tournament spots left available for entrants that competed in the qualifiers during the day of the competition.
(original net was cast for existing records-holders, where the top couple of ranks, I think, granted an automatic seat at the table)
Since the first couple of years of the tournament, quite a few others have been inspired to train at a serious level and reach max-out status.
The original tournament was publicized to the extent that could be afforded at the time the documentary was being made. (and to the extent that Robin Mihara and Vince Clemente were able)
There was a sort of "write-in" phase, where the net was cast as broadly as possible to encourage people with scores > 600k to make submissions/applications, if they were interested, and they were invited to attend the qualifiers in LA.
That was how Dana was "found", as far as I know, and like I said, by tournament time, with her knowing that she could flip both ways, her scores were up in the 800k+ range (AND she qualified against an extremely competitive field for the qualifier round)
Now that the tournament has been going on for awhile, I think there are regional qualifiers, and the tournament is able to be held co-located with decent sized gaming conventions, so it has grown a bit, each year.
Keep in mind, the documentary was originally about Robin trying to establish the FIRST of these tournaments.
As such, the tournament structure, and level of reach, is going to be a bit rough around the edges.
Adam Cornelius had something like 400 hours of footage to sift through to create his documentary.
It evolved away from a story about what Robin was doing, into a story about the players themselves.
A chunk of that is Thor's story, but some light is shed on the backgrounds of each of the tournament participants.
(Dana is definitely not a "fan service" or "pandering" type of inclusion, though, despite your belief to the contrary)
All that said, I will definitely admit that the ORIGINAL tournament, in terms of who is involved at the player level, DOES have a sort of "90's California-is-the-center-of-the-universe" vibe to it. (it that it was an LA tournament, and a large number of the participants are west-coast or californians)
But when you have to get a ball rolling on something, in terms of developing a tournament and actually making the event happen, you have to start somewhere, and you don't necessarily have the funds and the reach to have well advertised regional qualifiers all over the world, right out of the gate.
I thought EOO was okay.
I much preferred "Tetris: From Russia with Love", though.
The BBC documentary. Incredibly informative about how Tetris made it's way to North America. Incredible story.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt04093...
Thank you for the referal! It was better than EEO. I wouldn't had thought Tetris had such a story.
...the woman who didn't even know you could rotate different directions, for example, was clearly only there as some sort of diversity thing that appeals to insipid reality TV type viewers more interested in unrelated lifestyle BS.
To be fair, I also didn't know that till I watched the movie. People get comfortable; it happens. I remember popping in Tetris when I saw this just to check. I always rotate the same way, it's habit now.
Love the movie. Made a trip to PRGE because of it and now sponsor the CTWC with a regional qualifier for their ongoing tournament. Great documentary.
Right, but for anyone pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the game to compete on a world-class level, there's no excuse for not knowing it... especially when it has such a clear impact even for much lower-level play. There are maneuvers where you must know which way to flip to get it in certain places and you are severely handicapped if you play like it doesn't exist. It isn't just some curiosity that doesn't affect the game!
I strongly believe that she was there because of her alternative lifestyle and because she happened to play it a lot (like many self-described Tetris addicts)... not because she was particularly good at the game. Her alternative lifestyle was a deliberate and blatant attempt to get the daytime TV crowd interested in a documentary about an old video game that they could not care less about otherwise.
It's not really such a big deal except that it kinda ruined the purity of the thing and made me realize that I was just being pandered to as much as her audience. It took away the magic for me.
Damn dude, you harshing on her because of which way she swings her block? How do you stack up against her?
I felt it was a pretty accurate documentary to the folks playing the game with scores on twin galaxies, Thor being the wild card. If NintendoAge was to make a follow up I think it would be very interesting to see where those players are at now and if others players from outside of the USA would be willing to compete. Esports have come along way since 2011 and I think a follow up could get a ton of support.
His style will be to debate the blocks until they fall down out of boredom.
I also enjoyed the documentary, and I agree that a follow up one of some sort would be pretty cool?
The New 8-Bit Heroes is also a personal favorite of mine. Nope, no bias here!
I'm really glad you pointed this documentary out ot me. I litterally jumped when I found out this documentary was about making a NES game.
Thank you for the referal! It was better than EEO. I wouldn't had thought Tetris had such a story.
You're welcome. I was blown away by it when I firt saw it so I thought others would enjoy as well.
Yeah, I had no idea it was a cool/interesting story either.
Is this on Netflix or Hulu?
It was on Netflix for a while; not sure if it still is.
Also nice to see our main man Dain have a cameo. Can't have a Nintendo related documentary without him
Is this on Netflix or Hulu?
It was on Netflix for a while; not sure if it still is.
You guys are talking about "From Russia with Love", right?
Because as far as I'm aware Ecstasy of Order has never been on Netflix.
It was very briefly available on Hulu, early on, as well as Crackle.
(had a Humble Bundle tie-in, at one point, as well)
Otherwise, it was iTunes, Google/Youtube, Amazon, or there is a DRM-free digital download directly available from the website.
Is this on Netflix or Hulu?
It was on Netflix for a while; not sure if it still is.
You guys are talking about "From Russia with Love", right?
Because as far as I'm aware Ecstasy of Order has never been on Netflix.
It was very briefly available on Hulu, early on, as well as Crackle.
(had a Humble Bundle tie-in, at one point, as well)
Otherwise, it was iTunes, Google/Youtube, Amazon, or there is a DRM-free digital download directly available from the website.
I might be thinking of Hulu, but I could've sworn Robin made a big deal about it being on one of the streaming sites to check out.
And I'm not about to debate one of the executive producers...
Is this on Netflix or Hulu?
It was on Netflix for a while; not sure if it still is.
You guys are talking about "From Russia with Love", right?
Because as far as I'm aware Ecstasy of Order has never been on Netflix.
It was very briefly available on Hulu, early on, as well as Crackle.
(had a Humble Bundle tie-in, at one point, as well)
Otherwise, it was iTunes, Google/Youtube, Amazon, or there is a DRM-free digital download directly available from the website.
I might be thinking of Hulu, but I could've sworn Robin made a big deal about it being on one of the streaming sites to check out.
And I'm not about to debate one of the executive producers...
We WISH we were able to get it on Netflix.
But unfortunately, we fell victim to timing where Netflix had basically JUST wound down their prolific licensing of tiny documentaries, and that prospect never came back up once Netflix started pushing hard again on content.
Basically we fell into a sort of year long bucket where Netflix was shifting gears.
Of course, I recommend it with the caveat that there's a girl who lives an "alternative lifestyle," in it
since we're on the subject, Harry Hong just blew past max out with 1.2 million!
(check the vid for info, not mine of course)
King of kong made me want to bitch slap billy mitchell though