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?
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.
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.
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.
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