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.