Protoman: Todd Rogers is the Pro Gamer's Archetype

My very first interview was with none other than the creator of competitive gaming, Walter Day. However before Walter laid down the foundation for what is now known as eSports, there was a gamer who took his abilities to the next level in the gaming industry. This gamer played video games professionally to where he was paid to display how games were ought to the played to the public. He also set a video game world record before the inception of Twin Galaxies with Activision and has been published in several gaming magazines not to mention a long list of accomplishments throughout his gaming career. This pro gamer is none other than Todd Rogers.

The Gaming Industry's First Professional Gamer

Thank goodness for the network power of the internet as I was able to contact Todd for a very informative interview. I learned a lot from what he told me about his 30 years plus gaming career and I would like to share his story with all my readers.

CN: When did you first start playing video games and what was the first game you played?

TR: Well i would say respectively that the first game that I remember playing was Pong in 1972. There were others that I played early on but Pong was the first.

CN: Was there anyone Who inspired you to start playing video games?

TR: I don't seem to recall anyone in particular who per say inspired me at that time, but I think that my Father's way of entertaining his children was to offer them an alternative to board games and back then any video game was cutting edge. Who ever had a gaming system in their living room back then was revered as the house to go to for gaming.

CN: So gaming has always been in your family's blood? If so that's cool!

TR: Well I'd like to say I've been around before gaming....you do realize there was no games before the 60's and i was born 1964.

CN: Technically there wasn't. The first "video game" ever was Naughts and Crosses but that was not considered a video game for various reason. I personally think its because it wasn't on a proprietary system like a console. It was created and later executed via a computer by MIT students as a project and that was back in around 1952. It wasn't until 1972 PONG came around and in the same year Ralph Baer made the Brown Box aka the Magnavox Odyssey. I don't know if there was any other games that came before the Odyssey but after X and O's.

Naughts and Crosses

TR: Actually Higenbothem had developed a pong like game on an oscilloscope back in 1958, SpaceWar 1961 and several more.

CN: Well I just learned something right there.

CN: With gaming being a family activity, what made you decide to take it seriously and want to make a profession out of it?

TR: Well I was always a sort of loner at school and someone who collected and studied spiders was not so to be liked by most of his school classmates. But back to your question it began as any other gamer...just playing video games with relatives and neighbors and such....I do credit the Activision company with giving me the incentive to make something of my gaming ability. So in 1980 when Activision published Dragster, in their brochure they mentioned that if you beat a certain score that it for sure would make great news so I took that as my golden opportunity to make something of my life.

source: Atari Age

Here is an earlier variation of that score where they said 5.74 and in the second revision when I beat that high score they republished the manuals with the new World Record high score of 5.61

source: Atari Guide

CN: Your accolades and accomplishments pre-dates the formation of Twin Galaxies. Can you tell me a bit about your first world record and the date you achieved it?

TR: My first score that was verified was on the Activision title Dragster with the score of 5.64 that published on December 1st 1980. After that point as I re-broke my own world record several times Activision had to republish their quarterly newsletters with the new records that i kept achieving. With in that two years of playing Dragster is when I finally reached my Guinness certified world record of 5.51 on Dragster Sept 1st 1982, which Guinness recognized twice. First for man vs. machine and again in 2012 for holding the longest held video gaming world record.

32 Years and counting

CN: I had a discussion or two trying to define what is a professional gamer is and what qualifies one to that position. The claim is, that you are the first. Can you explain why?

TR: Well there is a simple and in-depth answer a professional gamer is one who makes a profit or a gainful living off of the gaming that he/she does for companies that want to hire them. 

I am the first paid pro gamer because I steadily worked from 1980-1993 for 42 software publishers endorsing , promoting, and testing their lines products and that lead to working with celebrities among other things such as doing gaming reviews for magazines such like, Joystik and Electronic Gaming Magazine. I made more playing video games then i did my real job at those times. Those times were also a bit different then today's ideals of what a pro gamer is, since the people of today play on teams rather then just solo as i did for so many years.

The qualifying part would be 1st, Why would a company want their monies into you 2nd, why would that company want you to endorse their product. 3rd, What stands out about you then the rest of the gaming universe. Then 4th, Would you be able to maintain that level of gaming standard AND the level of professionalism in front of the camera? Finally 5th, DO you take defeat well in competitive gaming respectively and would you continue to support the company that has placed money into you with out looking childish when you loose at a gaming event?

CN: Did these companies pay you to test and display their games? If so was it enough to sustain your living situation?

TR: Yes I did sustain a living and  the monies that they paid was quite lucrative one time i had 7 paychecks in a week from 7 different companies. Like I mentioned above, I made more money playing video games then I did at my real job at that time. An example when I worked for Activision and there was an event like the CES show "Consumer Electronic Show" they paid me $1,000 a day and if the event was four days I made $4000. It wasn't just Activision who paid nice sums of money Playboy magazine offered me over $100,000 to endorse their adult entertainment themed joystick. I turned them down even though that money could have been invested.

Barbie Benton "Hugh Heffner's" ex-wife

CN: As the first pro gamer what teams have your played for or have you been a solo act all your life?

TR: Well the very first time that i played on a team was in 1986 for the U.S. National Video Game Team. This was a team that boasted the best of the best when it came to Arcade level of game play. After that there were a small hand full of local teams that i participated on but for the most part the companies just wanted me because solo as I was the larger name that they could capitalize on for them making their monies return. Currently I am with Empire Arcadia and have submitted several scores in their behalf as a team effort.

source: US National Video Game Team

CN: You have an extensive history for being in a lot of different films, tv shows and interviews. Lately you've been in a few documentaries like Space Invaders, The Video Craze and now the NES Club. Could you tell me tell me what your agenda is in media for gaming if you have one?

TR: Well the image of gaming that I like to convey to both media and documentaries is that nothing is out of reach if you put your mind to it. Years ago video games got a bad rep because many where taking money from all sorts of sources to feed the video gaming craze but i was different I had a job , a B+ average in school and I played video games successfully and made a living at it....I try to instill that same kind of intensity to others so they can fulfill their dreams and desires to make it big one day. Lately I've played for charities as well so others can benefit from my gaming skills. What makes me happy is to see others makes their dreams come true and if I can do that through gaming to show people its possible ...then what else is there to say.

CN: What games are you playing now competitively or even casually?

TR: Well nothing so much currently competitively unless you consider League of Legends a contender for that.  I play for fun several Facebook apps just to remain current and for the PC area of gaming i play Wizard 101, Conquer Online, Star Trek Online and World of Warcraft. Since I have 76 gaming systems and over 11,000 games in my house, its never a dull moment to choose what I would like to dive into when it comes to the world of gaming.

"gamer's don't retire" ~ Todd Rogers

CN: Longest World Records held by a pro gamer, Historic eSports teams, Multiple Documentaries; so what's next for Todd Rogers? Any events, films, competitions etc? 

TR: Well realistically I do not know whats next for me, as there is always so much going on at one time. There are gaming events now almost every week or at least from March -  October every week there is a gaming event. As for documentaries as long as I can serve a useful purpose to others and inspire them I don't mind participating in documentaries. I guess for me in the long run perhaps a documentary and a book about me but for now I'm not done gaming. I was asked a few years ago when will I retire...and I said retire to what?,....I'm a gamer....gamer's don't retire...so I've lived a life of excitement and rubbed shoulders with celebrities and became one myself. I think its a good example to show others that gaming isn't just about gaming its about making friends and relating to life time experience that we all share. 

I would like to thank my parents & my son Chad for being so supportive of me and all the friends that I've ever gamed with at live events or online. I would like to also thank Rob McCallum & Jay Bartlett of "Nintendo Quest" formerly "TheNesClub" for taking the time to get to know me even on that extremely hot day in Houston when we filmed, sorry guys that you ran out of gas in bringing me to the airport. I would also like to thank Triforce Johnson & Empire Arcadia for including me into their fold of multi-talented pool of gamers.

CN: Thank you for your time Todd, it was a honor and experience interviewing you.

With my interview complete something profound and indelible resonated with me in regards to gaming. The world once saw this activity of playing video games simply as a hobby. The truth of the matter is, it was always a culture from it's birth. The very fact that gaming had different types of gamers from casual to professional is the evidence needed to solidify it as a culture. Todd Rogers was 1 of many different types of gamers then and now as he was undoubtedly the Archetype for what professional gamers are today.

My ambition to dig deeper and go further into journalism for competitive gaming has been strengthened. I look forward to speaking with competitive gamers of all walks as I continue to piece together its history so that we can understand what the future will of eSports will be.

Genesis: In the Name of the Father

I'm very proud to announce that my very first interview as an aspiring journalist is with none other than the Father of competitive gaming himself, Walter Day. I did an extensive background check on Walter's history in gaming and he certainly deserves the title Father of eSports. Walter has single handily laid down the founding ground work for what we now know as eSports today as well as being featured or starred in 10 different video game documentaries and a couple of TV programs.

Walter Day

I got a chance to ask Walter Day a few questions about his life work in competitive gaming through Twin Galaxies and here are some of the answers that he gave me that will enlighten most of you who are not aware about the history of this pioneer in eSports.

IN: What is Twin Galaxies and what inspired you to create it?

WD: Twin Galaxies is the landmark organization that originated eSports back in 1982, uniting the gamers of the world through a network of contests and promotions that crowned the champions of the video game industry. Twin Galaxies created the rules, enforced the rules and crowned the champions of the worldwide video game industry. Twin Galaxies became ground zero for the global culture and community and established its hometown, Ottumwa, as "The Video Game Capital of the World." The work that Twin Galaxies did was fully recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records between 1983-1986 (until they stopped carrying video game scores) and also during the last decade, too.

IN: As the founding organization for competitive gaming, how difficult was it to create and maintain?

WD: It was full-time work and full-time travel, mainly because there was not adequate sponsorship in those days and the Internet did not exist. At that time, the gaming universe was arcade-based, so Twin Galaxies united the arcade world and established a series of contests that would support the growth of the arcade culture. The gamers who lived during that ancient time were the equivalent of today's pro gamers in terms of skill-set and desire to become professional. However, the video game industry at that time did not support the development of a professional gaming environment because they were too busy trying to survive the collapse of the industry. So, Twin Galaxies was on its own yet managed to create many legendary contests and crown many legendary champions of the "Golden Age." 

IN: Did you have any expectations for what you created with Twin Galaxies?

WD: Twin Galaxies is the birthstone of the video game age. It embodies the spirit of the gaming age and is considered by historians to be the creator of eSports industry. However, money, sponsors, technology and the Internet was not available then, so our capabilities were limited.

IN: What kept you involved in the gaming industry for so many years?

WD: I didn't do it for money. I love the gaming industry and I love the gamers and i love video games. 

IN: What is your view on how competitive gaming is today?

WD: It has hardly begun to grow. The culture needs to go through a couple more phases in this transition before video game playing becomes so ingrained in the public psyche that fathers start their children in video game training at an early age, just like a father working to develop their son's skills as a golfer (Tiger Woods) or baseball player (Mickey Mantle). And, the final stage will be reached when all areas of marketing and industry see that gaming is bigger than Hollywood, Music or Sports. Then, the level of sponsorship will cause professional gaming to go into overdrive. Twin Galaxies understood the model 32 years ago, but, unfortunately, the supporting assets would not be in place for another three decades to come.

IN: Who are some of the people in competitive gaming today that you think will indirectly or directly carry on your work in the modern era now called eSports? 

WD: Probably the most committed and devoted are Jace Hall, new owner of Twin Galaxies, Isaiah TriForce Johnson, the founder of Empire Arcadia and Sundance DiGiovanni, founder of MLG. These are the three that I would bet on.

Thank you, Ishizu. I am honored to be interviewed by you.

Friendship,

IN: Thank you for giving this amateur writer the time of day for this interview. 

When you look at some of the things that Walter Day has done to set the foundation of gaming like his super stars of gaming trading card set, it’s no different for what has been done for traditional sports years ago. Although he never got the support he needed with Twin Galaxies years ago, I think he is so deserving of the support today with all of the tools that are available to help eSports. Here is a list of some of the trading cards events that he has lined up from now until the end of the year.

FreePlay Florida, November 21-23, 2015, Orlando

The Houston Arcade Expo, November 7-8, 2014

Galloping Ghost Arcade, Chicago, October 17, 2014

The Pinball Expo, Chicago, October 18, 2014

There is so much to research about Walter Day and so much more to study what he has done. To give you an example take a look at this video which comes off as a "ESPN" coverage of players and their stats in the games that they compete in back in the early 1980's. This is how far ahead of the game Walter Day was. 

Walter Day's ESPN Like eSports Casting

Before the media tools used for covering video games such as Twitch TV, YouTube or ESPN; Walter Day created the template of broadcasting video game news and scores in competitive gaming. A lot of what we see today in terms of organized competitions, award ceremonies, score adjudication, calculation and more have all been the design and product of this one man; earning himself the title "Father of Competitive Gaming" also known as eSports.

Playing the Game for the 1st Time

My name is Ishizu Nefertari and I'm an aspiring writer that is looking to make and leave a lasting mark for journalism in gaming. The field in gaming that I'm most interested in, is competitive gaming and the untold personalities, stories and events that are associated with it. There aren't many journalist out there that does this, if any. I think there is a huge audience out there that are interested in these stories being told. Although I'm an amateur writer but I have a knack for connecting the dots and socializing with the right people to get the stories out there.

The last couple of months in my life have been very exciting as I've come across a group of gamers here in Cleveland Ohio that have introduced me to the competitive gaming scene. Although I feel like an outsider, I am very interested in how eSports has great similarities to regular sports. In no way am I a professional gamer or think I could be at this time. I'm just a casual gamer who has taken a great interest in the competitive aspect of gaming as a whole.

Armed with ambition, a few key contacts through social media and my imagination I've decided to give it a shot and insert my coin into this game. Like the arcades of old that I've seen in some of the gaming documentaries this is my shot and I only have one shot so I have to make it count. Wish me luck everyone!