It's More than Just a Game

    After becoming unemployed, a man by the name of Steve Wiebe soon finds himself hooked on the world of Donkey Kong and becomes fixed on breaking Billy Mitchell’s world record for the highest score achieved in the arcade game. Unknowingly, Wiebe is thrown into vicious video game competition; going head to head with the world champion, Billy Mitchell. The film, King of Kong, opened my eyes to the intensity of video game competitions and how seriously gamers dealt with their games. I have played traditional arcade games before like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong but I would have never imagined adults battling hour after hour to beat the game. This concept amused me and I shamelessly chuckled at these grown adults, even at the elderly woman, fighting for some recognition for their high scores. Yet, this documentary showed the hard work that gamers put into these games and I realized that, according to Steve Wiebe, “it’s not even about Donkey Kong anymore”. The drive that motivates gamers to spend countless hours creatively trying to crack into the secrets of an arcade game amazes me. I started feeling a sense of respect for these gamers especially Steve Wiebe who tried to beat Billy’s high score. I never thought I would feel so many emotions of irritation and aggravation towards Billy Mitchell and happiness when Steve Wiebe finally reached the world’s highest score. If these adults could attain so much information about this simple arcade game, imagine what we could learn from the complex video games that are available today! King of Kong has given another reason to study video games.