CHATTING UP THE NEW DONKEY KONG CHAMP
Interview by Director of Editorial Matt Bradford
How does one earn both the respect and envy of an entire community of gamers overnight? Try breaking the most controversial and coveted videogame world record in existence.
Ok, maybe that's being too dramatic.
However the pieces may land, Hank Chien has certainly shaken things up by becoming Donkey Kong's newest world record champion as recognized by the proud (if not shell-shocked) referees at Twin Galaxies.
In celebration of Chien's landmark achievement, we pinned down the ecstatic 35 year old plastic surgeon from New York for an exclusive post-record chat:
You must have been aware how significant a game like Donkey Kong is to the score keeping community. What possessed you to take a shot at this particular world record?
Like many others, I started playing Donkey Kong after watching The King of Kong documentary. Before then, I had only played one game of Donkey Kong in my entire life, and that that was in 2006. I remember not being able to pass the first board and thinking, 'this game stinks'. The King of Kong piqued my interest in the game and after watching the documentary I started to play seriously in November 2008. Back then I wasn't shooting for any world records; I was just playing for fun. I had no idea I could even reach the killscreen. What kept me interested was that I kept improving. Otherwise, I would have quit a long time ago.
At what point in your 'training' did you realize a world record was possible? Were there any doubts?
I remember the exact day I knew I could get the world record: Sept 13, 2009. That was the day I first broke a million on Donkey Kong to reach 1,037,700. I didn't even realize how close I was to the world record. I was going on a business trip that day and had a flight to catch, but I had about 2 hours to kill and figured I had enough time for one game. So I fired up my Donkey Kong machine – I wasn't recording of course - and on my first game, boom! Too bad getting 1,000,000 takes about 2 1/2 hours. Still, I caught my flight without getting any speeding tickets, but I realized I couldn't speed and text.
Unfortunately there were many obstacles to getting the record at the time. The 'live' rule discouraged me from playing since I wasn't sure if I'd ever get good enough to do it live. When that changed in Nov 2009, the checklist for recorded scores was so intimidating that I didn't even want to start. That, the holidays, work and women – oops - a woman all got in the way. It wasn't until early Feb 2010 that I put my mind to it. After doing the pre-game checklist a few times, I realized it wasn't as bad as I thought.
I never doubted I could break the old world record [1,050,200] but I did have doubts if I would be the first to do it. There are lots of people capable of and trying for this record and I was worried that if someone beat me to the punch and pushed the score up very high, I wouldn't have a chance.
What was your strategy? Any patented secrets you care to share?
Well there aren't many secrets left in Donkey Kong and I'd be glad to share what I know. I think in the past there were some secrets, but these days it's more a matter of execution. First, getting the bottom hammer on the barrels boards is absolutely crucial for breaking 1M. Not just getting it either, but knowing when to get it and how to steer the rest of the barrels down after you get it. But what really pushed me to the world record is what I call "barrel grouping" and running down ladders to re-jump groups. You get more points by jumping barrels in groups than you would individually and you can run down ladders to re-jump the same group and get even more points. You have to get good at recognizing when the barrels will group and when it's safe to run down ladders. You can do that anywhere on the screen, but I find near the top of the screen to be the safest. Even there, it's not risk free.
This isn't your first brush with the TG scoreboards. Can you tell what initially drew you to Twin Galaxies?
I actually knew about Twin Galaxies long before I started playing Donkey Kong. I was always interested in video games and from internet searches I found Twin Galaxies. However, I never thought of submitting any scores or even thought of my video game playing as 'world class'. To me, it was more like reading through the Guinness book of world records; something you just look at out of interest and curiosity.
I submitted my first score to Twin Galaxies on Christmas 2008. And yes, I was playing Donkey Kong on Christmas. I had been playing for about a month and that was my first 'break out' game at a score of 640k. I also have the Twin Galaxies world record on the the Japanese Donkey Kong in MAME. That was around the time I started point pressing and my barrel boards were really weak, so I figured I'd practice point pressing on the Japanese Donkey Kong, since there are relatively fewer barrel boards.
How has your time with TG been since?
After the King of Kong, I was prepared for the worst, but I have to say that Twin Galaxies has been great to me. The referees have been impartial, quick, knowledgeable and professional. Of course, I preemptively invited them to New York to check out my machine in person if they wished.
Since we're on the topic of the infamous documentary...
You talked about King of Kong influencing your decision to get into Donkey Kong. Now that you've had time to play the game and get to know the people of Twin Galaxies, would you say the portrayal was accurate?
In the King of Kong, Twin Galaxies was portrayed as showing favoritism to established players and showing skepticism of any 'outsiders.' My experience has been the complete opposite. I couldn't be any more of an outsider and I have been welcomed with open arms at Twin Galaxies where no one has ever doubted any of my claims. In fact, the chief referee David Nelson told me how impressed he was with the thoroughness of my videos.
With one legendary game in the can, is there another record in your sights?
Yes, but that's a secret. It's nothing big, in fact it's quite the opposite; a very small title that I stumbled upon accidentally and have been playing while on Donkey Kong breaks. I will also push up my Donkey Kong score a bit before I retire. I'm still improving! But at the moment, I don't have plans to pursue any other big titles. I like competition, but fun and friendly competition. This world record stuff is too much pressure!
What about some of the newer games, is there any title featuring on the current systems that's getting your attention?
Well, before Donkey Kong, I was mostly not a classic gamer. The only classic I played with any regularity was Ms. Pacman. The game I was playing before Donkey Kong was Super Mario Galaxy (Wii). Unfortunately that's not really a game you can set a high score in, but it's certainly a lot of fun.
That does reminds me of a funny story....I have this video on YouTube of me doing a perfect speed run of the hardest board on Super Mario Galaxy. A mom and her daughter found the video and emailed me asking if I could pass that board for them if they sent me their memory card. I asked "Is this for you or your daughter?" She reluctantly told me "Both!"
Other than that, I may also try to take back some of my Lemmings (PS3) North American records. I had the record on all 45 boards before I started playing Donkey Kong and someone has taken advantage of the fact that I've been distracted and broke about half of them.
Given that you just beat one of the most sought after records, what could you tell other gamers who would otherwise shy away from shooting for the top scores?
As one notable Donkey Kong record holder says "It's in your DNA." While I do believe there is some truth to that, I also feel it's really a combination of DNA and practice. Don't be afraid to shoot for the stars, just stay away from my record.
Hey, no promises Hank (you are aware of where this is posted right?). Congratulations to Hank from everyone on the TwinGalaxies team. We hope to hear more from you in the future...