Gamers as Addicts

While watching The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, I found myself focusing on the characters and their odd personalities. Of course, as Preston noted in his blog post, the editing process has a large effect on the portrayal of people in documentaries. Yet, I could not help but notice that the actions of these men promoted the stereotypes of gamers as seen in James Newman’s “Everybody Hates Videogames.” Newman states that gamers are seen as isolated, maladjusted people with considerable obsessions, and the gamers in this movie certainly seem to fit this statement!

            In the documentary, Steve Wiebe is repeatedly shown hunched over his Donkey Kong video game alone in his basement. As seen in his tape sent to Twin Galaxies, Wiebe is so obsessed with winning that he tries to ignore his infant son’s pleas to stop playing and wipe his butt (that came out weird, but still). His best friend says that he cries more than any man he knows, and his students even call him strange. The prospect of beating Billy Mitchell takes over his life as he spends more and more time alone honing his Donkey Kong skills.

            Meanwhile, Billy Mitchell’s obsession with winning is even stranger to me. The fact that he has people call him every second with updates on Wiebe during the contest also shows his obsession. Add in his numerous death glares and you get one creepy egomaniac that does not want his status to be challenged.

            Brian Kuh also stood out as a stereotypical video game addict. He even admits to retiring at age 30 so he could play video games all day and hopefully make it to the “kill screen” level of Donkey Kong. His obsession with video games is so intense that he seems to be heartbroken when Wiebe makes it to the kill screen before him, as if it was one of the greatest losses he has ever experienced. Well maybe it was, to him.

            I do not mean to come off as rude and mean-spirited by calling these men weird (I know I’m weird, and I’m sure many people think of themselves that way too), but, according to the critics quoted in Newman’s essay, I think they truly demonstrate the image of the obsessed gamer. One gamer in the movie even states that he does not smoke, drink, or do drugs because video games are his addiction. Critics may say these gamers are maladjusted, socially awkward individuals, but there is also no doubt that they are truly passionate about what they love.