"I caught the bug" - Arda Ocal Talks NHL 94, Retro Games, & More

To say Arda Ocal has had an interesting career path is an understatement. A man best known for his appearances in the world of broadcasting, Ocal started his career doing part-time work on local access television. Eventually, he landed a job covering hockey, the sport he loved, then working for Canada’s Weather Network, then the WWE. The underlying theme throughout his entire career was his love for video games.

Now he finds himself at the center of his two passions in life, specifically in the world of NHL 94, where he recently secured not one, but two records in his favorite game. We had a great conversation with Arda on his journey to this point, starting from the very beginning.

Love for the Game(s)

Arda is the son of Turkish immigrants who came to Canada. In order to assimilate into the culture, his father started watching the Toronto Maple Leafs, because as Arda put it, “If you don’t love hockey in Canada, you’ll get deported.” Eventually, Arda joined his father in his love for hockey. While he was a Leafs fan growing up, one player that he always admired was Chicago Blackhawks forward Jeremy Roenick, who Ocal called, “egregiously good.”

Early in life, Ocal owned a Sega Genesis, and like any good Canadian, owned the various NHL games, like 93, his first dip into the series. He moved onto 94 and fell in love with it, then 95 and 96, but didn’t continue with newer games in the series, due to the shift from the aesthetic style of the older games. Throughout his time at the University of Waterloo, Ocal still played 94 with his friends, despite the presence of newer games like NHL 2000 and 2001. Eventually, his friends moved on, and Ocal did too (at least for the time being.)

Ocal told us he was re-introduced to NHL 94 from a YouTube video by high-level 94 player Raphael "kingraph" Frydman. Ocal then realized there was a whole online community based around the game, which prompted him to immerse himself in it and give the group a national spotlight. He even had Raph play NHL 94 against New Jersey Devils legend Ken Daneyko on the scoreboard of the Prudential Center, where the Devils play their games:

The Records

Arda told us the inspiration for going for his first tandem record came after meeting Raph at an expo where 94 was being played. Raph was already the owner of a number of NHL-related Twin Galaxies records alone, and Arda was familiar with TG from his love of the famous documentary King of Kong. “I used to monitor the Donkey Kong leaderboards for TG to see who was on top,” Arda said. At that point, the Arda and Raph got together and decided to pursue the record for Biggest Blowout by two players in NHL 93. Arda said because of Raph’s experience setting up his own record attempts, it was easier to go through the intense protocol to ensure the record was credible and would stand up to scrutiny. After doing a few attempts over a three-hour span, Arda and Raph submitted what was their second attempt to TG, which was approved on November 11, 2017. You can watch the full video of their attempt here:

At that point, Ocal said, “I caught the bug,” and mentioned he wanted to attempt to set as many records as he could. “In a perfect world,” he said, “I’d take this summer and try to set one record a week.”

Ocal’s second world record attempt wouldn’t be too far behind. At a tournament in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Arda and Raph set out to find some other players to join them in the chase to set an obscure record - one requiring four players. Eventually, the pair found two more pros, Jeremy Wark and Tyler Votaw, who were willing to give the record a shot. The first NHL game to allow four players was NHL 96, and the group decided they would try to set the record for Biggest Blowout with four players in 96. At first, Ocal told us, “It wasn’t going great. We didn’t score a goal in the first period, and we were actually down 1-0 in the second period.” The group decided to exit that game and establish a gameplan that would lead them to success. The newly minted team did end up setting the record they set out to as the Chicago Blackhawks, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1. Ocal acknowledged the less impressive score, and simply said to those who might discount the record, “Go ahead and try beating it. It’s not easy to coordinate all those guys.”

You can visit the group’s TG record thread to view the record-setting game.

The Record-Setting Strategies

Ocal told us that the key to setting these records was, similar to actual hockey, establishing a gameplan that maximized not just quick offense, but maximized coordination. In his first attempt, Ocal mentioned the difficulty of the dreaded “offsides.” In hockey, it is illegal for a player to cross the “blue line” before the puck. Should a player commit this infraction, play will be halted and they will be sent back to their end of the ice for a faceoff. Obviously, in an attempt to score as many goals as possible, precautions must be taken to ensure no offsides calls are taking place. KingRaph, in the record’s thread on the TG message board, said that the offside rule was kept on originally to, “...to prevent people from just hanging by the net and scoring long bomb one-timers. I think this makes sense for a teammates record.” You can read more about Arda’s recording process in this article he wrote for MSG.com

While Ocal let Raph take point for their first tandem record, things weren’t so easy for the second. It took Ocal to assume the role of captain and lay out an effective strategy to ensure their record would stand. “I told them that we needed to all take on roles for this to work,” Ocal said. “Raph would take the puck up-ice and be our main scorer. Jeremy and Tyler would hang by the net and rebound any missed shots. I would hang back and direct traffic to make sure nobody went offsides.”

Not Just a One-Tool Player

When he’s not playing NHL games, Arda fancies himself as an amateur Super Mario speedrunner. “I loved the Mario games, even Super Mario Bros. 2. I know about all the Doki Doki Panic stuff, but it was so different from the other games, which I really enjoyed. Plus, once I discovered the real Super Mario Bros. 2 (Called Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels in America) it made me appreciate it that much more.” Ocal also has a goal to beat every Mario game ever made. Arda loves Mario so much that he even started speedrunning the original Super Mario Bros. game after being inspired by the speedrunning community. “My goal was to get under the 10 minute mark,” he said, “and I got to 8:58 and said, ‘I’m good.’”

He’s also found a new love in his gaming life: The Legend of Zelda. “I have to admit, because I didn’t grow up with a Nintendo console, Breath of the Wild was my first Zelda game,” Arda said. “But I put at least 250 hours into it. It’s one of the best games I’ve ever played in my life.” He told us he then went back and played A Link to the Past with his fiance, just to see some of what he missed.

Ocal’s other gaming love is Tetris. The addicting puzzle game has been a part of his life for years, and he’s even hosted Tetris events in the past, and will host others in the near future.

Games Are the Future - For Arda, Too

After an expansive career covering hockey of all levels, professional wrestling, and even the weather, Arda tells us that gaming’s the niche he’d like to be in for the near future. Whether it’s commentating, participating, or breaking world records, he’s ready to be a part of it. “I really enjoy watching the best in the world compete at any game,” he said. Arda also wants others to try and break the records he and his friends have set as a means of friendly competition. “At the end of the day,” he said, “we love these games.”

For more from Arda, check out his Twitter account, where you’ll be able to track his whereabouts at events, expos, and more. For more NHL 94 talk, check out our talk with ZMan11.