Walter Day
Encyclopedia
Walter Aldro Day, Jr. is the founder of Twin Galaxies
, an international organization based in Fairfield, Iowa
, that tracks high score statistics for the worldwide electronic video gaming hobby. In March 2010, Walter Day announced his retirement from Twin Galaxies to pursue his music career.
called Twin Galaxies
. Though it was a modest arcade of merely 22 arcade games, it soon became known as the International Scorekeeper for the burgeoning video game industry. Under Day's direction, Twin Galaxies set rules for gameplay on hundreds of games, while maintaining a records database of competitive high scores. Twin Galaxies is considered by gaming historians as being the first organizer of professional gaming, putting competitive electronic gaming on the world map.
A former oil executive, Day left the oil industry and opened the arcade as an excuse to be able to play more video games. Twin Galaxies' role as a small-town arcade was forever altered when the January 15, 1982 issue of TIME
magazine carried a cover story on the growing popularity of video games. The story focused on the high-scoring exploits of Steve Juraszek, a 15 year-old Illinois
suburbanite, who had broken the world record on Defender
, with a score of 15,963,100 points. When a local Ottumwa boy, Tony Mattan, broke Juraszek's record with 24,565,975 points, Day was inspired to create the International Scoreboard.
After Mattan's record breaking accomplishment, Walter Day attempted to contact Williams Electronics, the creators of the game, to report Mattan's score. However, upon learning that neither Williams nor Namco
kept any records of high scores, he decided to set up his own scoreboard. He did so that same day, on February 9, 1982. Players from all around the United States
began sending in their scores. Within six months of launching the scoreboard, Day was receiving about 50 to 75 phone calls per day, with many coming from countries other than the USA.
.
, consisting of him and six of the nation's best players: Billy Mitchell
from Hollywood, Florida
; Steve Harris from Gladstone, Missouri
; Jay Kim from Miami, Florida
; "Cat" Cabrera from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
; Ben Gold from Dallas, Texas
and Tim McVey of Ottumwa, Iowa.
and The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
, Day is a singer and songwriter, and performs his own music on the stage. His songwriting aspirations are featured in a three part documentary filmed by VBS.tv
, published on the Internet on April 27, 2009, under the title Walter Day: Twin Galaxies and the Two Golden Domes. He plans to further pursue his musical career after his retirement from the video game sector in March 2010.
Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...
, an international organization based in Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,464 in the 2010 census, a decline from 9,509 in the 2000 census. - History :...
, that tracks high score statistics for the worldwide electronic video gaming hobby. In March 2010, Walter Day announced his retirement from Twin Galaxies to pursue his music career.
Involvement with Video Games
On November 10, 1981, Day opened an arcade in Ottumwa, IowaOttumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
called Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...
. Though it was a modest arcade of merely 22 arcade games, it soon became known as the International Scorekeeper for the burgeoning video game industry. Under Day's direction, Twin Galaxies set rules for gameplay on hundreds of games, while maintaining a records database of competitive high scores. Twin Galaxies is considered by gaming historians as being the first organizer of professional gaming, putting competitive electronic gaming on the world map.
A former oil executive, Day left the oil industry and opened the arcade as an excuse to be able to play more video games. Twin Galaxies' role as a small-town arcade was forever altered when the January 15, 1982 issue of TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine carried a cover story on the growing popularity of video games. The story focused on the high-scoring exploits of Steve Juraszek, a 15 year-old Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
suburbanite, who had broken the world record on Defender
Defender (game)
Defender is an arcade video game developed released by Williams Electronics in 1980. A shooting game featuring two-dimensional graphics, the game is set on a fictional planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts...
, with a score of 15,963,100 points. When a local Ottumwa boy, Tony Mattan, broke Juraszek's record with 24,565,975 points, Day was inspired to create the International Scoreboard.
After Mattan's record breaking accomplishment, Walter Day attempted to contact Williams Electronics, the creators of the game, to report Mattan's score. However, upon learning that neither Williams nor Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
kept any records of high scores, he decided to set up his own scoreboard. He did so that same day, on February 9, 1982. Players from all around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
began sending in their scores. Within six months of launching the scoreboard, Day was receiving about 50 to 75 phone calls per day, with many coming from countries other than the USA.
The Guinness Book of Records
Walter Day was designated an assistant editor in charge of video game scores for the 1984-1986 editions of the U.S. edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. Under Day's direction, Twin Galaxies wrote the first official rulebook for playing electronic games and established the rules and standardized settings for each game. Today, this rulebook has evolved into Twin Galaxies' most well known product: Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records (ISBN 1887472-25-8), a 984-page book containing scores from players in 31 different countries compiled since 1981. A second edition, totaling 1500 pages in a two-volume set released in 2008, updated with newer PC titles as well as 6th-generation video game consolesHistory of video game consoles (sixth generation)
The sixth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at the turn of the 21st century. Platforms of the sixth generation include the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox...
.
The U.S. National Video Game Team
On July 25, 1983, Day founded the U.S. National Video Game TeamU.S. National Video Game Team
The U.S. National Video Game Team was founded on July 25, 1983 in Ottumwa, Iowa, USA by Walter Day and the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard.-Members:Walter Day was the Team Captain and the first five members chosen by Twin Galaxies for the team were:...
, consisting of him and six of the nation's best players: Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell (gamer)
Billy L. Mitchell, born July 16, 1965, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, is best known for recording high scores in classic video games from the Golden Age of Arcade Games. He has been claimed by some as the "greatest arcade-video-game player of all time". His achievements include the first perfect score...
from Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
; Steve Harris from Gladstone, Missouri
Gladstone, Missouri
Gladstone is a city in Clay County, Missouri, founded in 1952 and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. Like nearby North Kansas City, the city of Gladstone is now completely surrounded by Kansas City. Prior to 1952 this area was known as Linden. The population was 26,365 at the 2000 census...
; Jay Kim from Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
; "Cat" Cabrera from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
; Ben Gold from Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and Tim McVey of Ottumwa, Iowa.
Music career
As portrayed in recent documentary movies: Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the ArcadeChasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade
Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade is a documentary film directed by Lincoln Ruchti about the golden age of video arcade games. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival and has also been shown at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival, as well as other film...
and The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a 2007 American documentary film that follows Steve Wiebe as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong from reigning champion Billy Mitchell...
, Day is a singer and songwriter, and performs his own music on the stage. His songwriting aspirations are featured in a three part documentary filmed by VBS.tv
VBS.tv
VBS.tv is an online television network owned by the Vice media conglomerate. The network produces original, short-form, documentary-style video content. Subject matter includes humanitarian issues, music, insider travel guides, and news. The creative director of the network is Spike...
, published on the Internet on April 27, 2009, under the title Walter Day: Twin Galaxies and the Two Golden Domes. He plans to further pursue his musical career after his retirement from the video game sector in March 2010.