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  2. The Old Twin Galaxies Documentary Archive


The Old Twin Galaxies Documentary Archive


Dating from its establishment in 1981, Twin Galaxies has engaged in a range of promotional activities to support video game competition and to foster awareness around player achievement over time. As a result, Twin Galaxies created or acquired a range of materials that form the TG Documentary Archive. To make these materials more widely known and accessible, scanned copies of TG awards, posters, and news clipping will be made available on the site for the benefit and interest of the gaming community.

Collections of the Documentary Archive

1. The International Registry of Historic Video Game & Pinball Arcades

2. Achievement Awards

3. Posters



THE INTERNATIONAL REGISTRY OF HISTORIC VIDEO GAME & PINBALL ARCADES

The Registry was created by Twin Galaxies' founder Walter Day to honor “neighborhood arcade's historic contribution to the culture of our modern times.” Originally limited to continuously operating arcades dating from the late 1970s/early 1980s, the registry's criteria was altered to recognize historical arcades as well.

Space Station Arcade - Pinball Expo (Chicago, IL) 1998

The Registry was formally established on October 24, 1998 with an evening induction ceremony of three arcades - Friar Tuck's Gameroom in Calumet City, IL; Launch Pad Arcade in Capitola, CA; and Space Station Arcade of Anchorage, Alaska. The certificate for Pamela Iverson of Space Station Arcade represents one of the original three registry awards granted by TG.


Grand Prix Race-O-Rama - CGE 99 (Las Vegas) 1999

Although not strictly speaking a part of the registry, the "Arcade of the Year Award" served as a related method for TG to celebrate the role of arcades in gaming culture. Although now closed, Grand Prix Race-O-Rama first opened in 1972 and was a premier arcade destination in south Florida for decades, assuming a new name -- Boomers -- in 2001. The arcade was ultimately demolished in 2015 for a new strip mall.

Star Base #1 Arcade - Convention for Golden Age Arcade Owners 2011

Hosted by the Twin Galaxies Video Game Festival, Robert "Video Bob" Albritton was recognized as a "Golden Age" pioneer for his contributions to the arcade community as a survivor of the arcade downturn of the 1980s and one of the rare examples of a continuously-operating neighborhood arcade. However, after almost 32 years, Star Base #1 closed its doors in 2013 due to rent increases.


ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

In its efforts to celebrate player achievements, Twin Galaxies created a series of awards to recognize world records, tournament rankings, or related accomplishments in competitive gaming. The Documentary Archive contains nearly 100 unique examples of awards spanning 15 years of TG history. Where duplicates of the same award exist, the specimen with the most intrinsic qualities (eg. signed versus not signed) was selected for display here.

Therese Edwards - Allentown Gameroom Show 1998
Awarded to Therese Edwards for achieving a world record of 2,353 points on Gottlieb's pinball game Flying Carpet on May 1, 1998, this certificate qualifies as the oldest example of a TG issued award in the Documentary Archive.

Larry Larson - Fairfield, Iowa - 1998

This certificate granted to Larry Larson represents the second-oldest award in the Documentary Archive for his score of 8,888 on Gottlieb's Majorettes pinball achieved on October 24. 1998, and possibly the first award granted by Twin Galaxies in its new home of Fairfield, Iowa on March 30, 1999.

Calligraphy World Champion, John Stimson [1998-1999]

Although not formally issued by Twin Galaxies, this award was preserved as part of the TG Archives over the years. The style of the award reflects the common format used by Walter Day during this time period.

Mark Jasper - College Station, Texas, 1997-1998

In 1997, Mark Jasper earned recognition from Twin Galaxies for being Nintendo Champion as one of 14 people to finish Street Fighter 2 for SNES as well as securing his name in the 1998 edition of Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, Edited by Walter Day. The certificate was presumably issued in late 1998/1999.

Veronica Garcia, Chicagoland Arcade Championship, 1999

With a score of 2,794,450 points on Level 6 of Neo Geo's Bust-A-Move, Veronica Garcia achieved second place in the world on January 30, 1999 at Friar Tuck's Gameroom in Calumet, IL.

Paul Luu - California vs. New England Playstation Championship, 1999

In conjunction with Game Square, Twin Galaxies presented the Playstation Champion award to Paul Luu for winning second place at the tournament on 11 April 1999.

Game of the Century Award, 1999

Presented to Namco at the Classic Gaming Expo (1999), the award acknowledges Pac-Man as the most influential game of the 20th century. It was later presented to Namco in September 1999 during the occasion of the Tokyo Game Show Autumn '99.

Aaron Leavitt - Ogden Video Game Championships, 2000

Recognized as "one of the top scores in Utah," Aaron Leavitt earned his award with a record time on San Francisco Rush 2049 while competing at Cyberstation Arcade (Ogden, Utah).

John Morrison - Ogden Video Game Championships, 2000

John Morrison also earned an award for his performance on San Francisco Rush 2049 at Cyberstation Arcade (Ogden, Utah).

Robert Davidson - Ogden Video Game Championships, 2000

A copy of this certificate was awarded to Robert Davidson at Cyberstation Arcade (Ogden, Utah) for his performance on the Atari's driving video game San Francisco Rush 2049, released in 1999.

The Video Game History Award - Asteroids [January 2000]

Twin Galaxies continued its recognition of individual arcade game titles that began in August 1999 with the designation of Asteroids as "History's First Competitive Video Game." It is believed that this award was presented during the January 2000 "Coronation Day" Twin Galaxies/Funspot Tournament.

The Video Game History Award - Reactor [January 2000]

Following Asteroids, the arcade game Reactor was recognized as a "Legendary 'Golden Age' Video Game.

The Video Game History Award - Space Invaders [January 2000]

The third arcade game recognized by Twin Galaxies was Space Invaders, which was dubbed "History's First Modern Video Game."

Funspot-Twin Galaxies International Classic Video & Pinball Tournament, 2000

The 2nd Annual Funspot Tournament was held at Weirs Beach, NH on 3 June 2000. This certificate pronouncing a yet-to-be-named "Classic Video Game Champion" was signed by Gary Vincent, who serves as President of the American Classic Arcade Museum.

Midwest SF2K Championships - SF Alpha 2 Champion, 2000


Midwest SF2K Championships - SF Alpha 3 Champion, 2000


Midwest SF2K Championships - First Place, 2000


Midwest SF2K Championships (Larges size) - First Place, 2000


MAME2K Decathalon - Fifth Place, 2000


Alvaro Marques - MAME2K Decathalon - Sixth Place, 2000


Richard Ross - 1982 Tron World Championships - CGE 2K


Kevin Ruddy - Video Arcade Preservation Society - Video Game History Achievement Award - CGE2K


Steve Ozdemir - Video Arcade Preservation Society - Video Game History Achievement Award - CGE2K


2nd Place - Atari Coleco Decathlon - CGE2K


Second Place Champion - NES Burgertime Championship - Philly Classic 3


Third Place Champion - Wizard of Wor Championship - Philly Classic 3


Enrico Zanetti - Twin Galaxies Certificate of Achievement - June 2013

Italian gamer Enrico Zanetti was awarded a TG certificate in recognition of his high score on the arcade game Nibbler although his record was largely unknown in North American classic arcade circles over the intervening decades. He was ultimately featured in the documentary Man Vs. Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler.


POSTERS

In addition to the granting of awards, the creation, issuance and preservation of posters became a primary method for TG to recognize significant events or people in the gaming community.

Tim McVey Day - Ottumwa Iowa 1984 (Yellow)

Playing continuously for over 44 hours, Tim McVey made history by achieving the first arcade score over a billion points at Walter Day's original Twin Galaxies arcade location in Ottumwa. This example is believed to be an original poster marking McVey's achievement and represents the oldest poster in the Documentary Archive.

Tim McVey Day - Ottumwa Iowa 1984 (Blue)

A rare example of a blue version of the Tim McVey poster.

US National Video Game Team - 1st Annual Video Game Challenge (1986)

One of the final posters sponsored by the original Twin Galaxies before it ceased operations as a scoreboard, this 1985 Red Cross Napa Chapter fundraiser event featured the participation of Perry Rodgers at a special Centipede score contest alongside the larger tournament featuring cash prizes on three different arcade titles: Kung-Fu Master, Karate Champ, and Gridiron Fight.

Twin Galaxies' 1997 Video Game & Pinball Masters Tournament


In the lead-up to the release of the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records in February 1998, Twin Galaxies sponsored tournaments through 1997 offering gamers the chance to have their name featured in the book with high scores on console and arcade games.

City vs. City Team Tournament, 1998


First organized by the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard in July 1995 with proposed teams in Fairfield, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Washington, and Mt. Pleasant, the City vs. City League was a hallmark of TG efforts to promote organized competition in the late 1990s. In 1998, TG expanded its efforts with a new promotional "City vs. City" campaign that includes mention of the Twin Galaxies Professional Video Game Players League. The poster included here is a copy that is signed by Walter Day.

The Golden Age is Reborn Contest, 1999


Following the May 1999 Funspot Tournament, Twin Galaxies co-sponsored a large video game tournament that ran for "Golden Age is Reborn" with Rickey's Hot Sauce. It was the first tournament to feature significant cash prizes for various categories of competition. Dwayne Richard of Alberta, Canada made claimed two $1000 prizes for surpassing the existing world records on Dig Dug and Tutankham.

Otakon Gaming Contents, 2000


Held at the Baltimore Convention Center, the event featured 8 tournaments on a range of "modern" consoles including the Sega Dreamcast and Sony Playstation 2. This poster also is one of the earliest examples featuring the Twin Galaxies Electronic Gamers' League (TGEGL), a successor to the City Vs. City League. Launched in April 2000, the TGEGL came about with the merger of the Video Gamers League of Coppell, Texas with Twin Galaxies. League members competed against other members and were to be ranked based on their results. The first season of league competition was to "feature play on both console games and computer-based titles and will sponsor 15 major city-based championships during a five-month schedule stretching from June to October, 2000." Jeff Gross served as TGEGL Commissioner

https://web.archive.org/web/20001109...ments_rogue.pl

Twin Galaxies Video Game Festival, 2001 (Front)


On the twentieth anniversary of its establishment in 1981, Twin Galaxies organized the inaugural Video Game Festival held in Bloomington, Minnesota at the Mall of America. Held over three days, the event offered competition on a wide range of consoles and classic arcade games. The festival also offered the unique opportunity for members of the public to view video playback of world record scores.

Twin Galaxies Video Game Festival, 2001 (Back)



The reserve side of the poster featuring information about the history of Twin Galaxies and its aspirations as an organization involved in the promotion of video game competition.

Twin Galaxies Video Game Festival, 2002


Ron Mowry Trading Card Poster, 2009


Andrew Laidlaw and Ken House - New Superstars, 2007


Crowning MAME Players of the Year, 2006


Heartland Pinball & Arcade Supershow, 2008


CGE2K7 - Classic Gaming Expo, 2007


The 2nd Annual Grand Rapids Nintendo DS Championship, 2007


UK vs USA Galaxian Showdown, 2005


5th November Annual High Score Jamboree at Funspot, 2007


3000 World Records, 2007


British Invasion, 2006


Seventh Annual Midwest Gaming Classic, 2008


Pinball Expo 2012 - Steve Epstein - TG Trading Card Awards Ceremonies, 2012


Sixth Annual Texas Pinball Festival, 2008


Arcade Expo - Houston Area Arcade Group, 2007


Tom Duncan, 2000 World Records, 2006


Grace Snoke Trading Card Poster


European Premiere of High Score, 2006


Classic Video Game Championships - PhillyClassic 5, 2004


$1000 Cash Prize - George Costanza's Frogger Score, 2005


Magfest 7 Convention and Party, 2009


The King vs The Queen Q*Bert Smackdown, 2006


2011 Video Game Trading Cards - Superstars of 2011 - Series C


2011 Video Game Trading Cards - Superstars of 2011 - Series A & B


Space War 2008 Championships


Coronation Day - The First Family, 2007


Empire Arcadia Superstars, 2008


Houston Arcade Championship, 2005


Make Trax World Championships, 2009


Get Groovin', 2005


John Lawton World Record, 2007


Crowning the Classic Video Game Champions of Europe, 2005


City vs. City Team Tournament, April 1998


CGE 2K3 Classic Video Game Championships, 2003


Pin Maine-IA 2, June 2008


IVGHOF Launch Party - Paul Zimmerman, 2009


Planet Comicon, 2008


First Public Million on Donkey Kong - Apollo Amusements, April 2006


Trickman Terry's Fifth Annual Basement Bash, 2009
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