An Interview with Eric Akeson, Turbo Pac-Man Champion and IVGHOF Inductee

Eric Akeson, International Video Game Hall of Fame Inductee, took a few minutes to answer some interview questions for us regarding his induction and gaming history.

Eric Akeson, Turbo Pac-Man Champion, was inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame Aug. 7 alongside 28 other individuals.  Inductees at the event included members of the X-box design team, Ralph Baer, Nolan Bushnell, and many others that are key to the history of gaming.
 
Eric took a few minutes to answer some of our questions in this exclusive interview.
 
Grace: Tell us a bit about yourself, who you are, what you do, what you're famous for?
Eric: I’m 39 years old and live in Puyallup, Wah.  I am married to a great woman,Susie, and we have two daughters, Mercer and Addisyn.  I am the Operations Manager for a trucking company in Tacoma, Wash. 

I’m most famous for being the first gamer to have a verified split screen on Pac-man Turbo.  Even though I’ve submitted a bunch of scores to the Twin Galaxies scoreboard, my accomplishments on Pac-Turbo mean the most to me.  Since I did my first split screen in 2008, I’ve done a bunch more including public performances at Ground Kontrol in Portland, Ore.; Funspot 10 and 11 in Weirs Beach, N.H.; and the Northwest Pinball and Gameroom Show in 2009.  I have yet to notch a perfect game, but I am still working towards that goal.  I’ll get it someday.
 
Grace: How old were you when you started gaming and what drew you to be a gamer?
Eric: I was 9 years old in 1980.  I remember trying to play games like Asteroids and Space Invaders, but I wasn’t very good.  I received an Intellivision for Christmas that year and never looked back.  Astrosmash, Lock ‘n Chase, and all the sports games were the cartridges that really got my attention.  When arcades really took off in 82-83, that’s when I really fell in love with games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, but I give the Intellivision credit for creating my obsession.  
 
Grace: You have set world records for three games: Turbo Pac-Man, Death Race and Woodpecker. What were your high scores for each game? Do you still hold the high scores?
Eric: My first Pac-Man Turbo split screen was a modest 3.149M.  I held the record on it for a few weeks before an insanely talented gamer named Donald Hayes came along and put up a perfect score.  Since then, David Race has also achieved a perfect game on Pac-Man Turbo, so I now sit in the #3 spot on that title.  I’ve since set higher scores, including my highest verified score of 3.206M at Funspot in 2009.  As for Death Race, I achieved 26 kills at Funspot this year and still hold the record.  My score of 119k on Woodpecker was also set at Funspot this year, and it still stands.  I have a video recording of a much higher score on Woodpecker, which I may or may not submit sometime in the future.  

Grace: What made you decide to attempt, and succeed, in achieving the world record scores for each game?
Eric: For Pac-Man Turbo, seeing the movie The King of Kong is what really got me interested in Twin Galaxies and their scoreboard.  When I logged onto the Twin Galaxies site and saw what the record was for Pac-Turbo, I knew I could beat it and decided right then and there that I would set up my video camera and play until I broke the record.  The record was only around 1.2M, so it didn’t take long to achieve that.  Once I actually held the record, I really buckled down and started practicing on a daily basis for a split screen run.  After practicing for a couple of hours per night, I sat down at my Pac-Man cocktail on a Saturday afternoon and hit the split on my first real attempt.  When I got to the split screen, it was kind of a shock as I had no idea what board I was actually on.  

In 2009, I went to Funspot and saw Woodpecker for the first time.  The game was donated to ACAM by a collector in the Northeast named Mark Spaeth.  I tried the game and was instantly intrigued, as it was obvious that the game had been created with borrowed code…from Pac-Man!  I played Woodpecker all weekend during Funspot X, but didn’t get a score on the scoreboard because the dip switches were mistakenly set for 5 men, plus a bonus which did not match the official settings for the game tracked by Twin Galaxies.  Fortunately, I was able to locate a Woopecker pcb locally, and had a friend make a JAMMA adapter so I could play it on my Multicade cabinet.  I practiced for a few months leading up to Funspot XI, and was able to set a respectable score while I was there.  Since then, I have developed much more efficient patterns for Woodpecker, and have scored much higher on this title.

Death Race was honestly just a fluke.  I honestly do not think that 26 kills will stand as the record for long. 
 
Grace: Do you still game? If so, what is your favorite game and why?
Eric: Yes, I still play games quite regularly.  I have a small game room in my house, and it’s nice to be able to go in there and escape from reality for a while.  
 
Right now, my lineup includes a 40-in-1 Multicade (with adapters and pcb’s for Woodpecker and Crazy Kong), Ms. Pac-Man Turbo, Make-Trax, a Pac-Man cabinet with Jr. Pac-Man Turbo, Pac-Man Turbo, and Pac-Man Plus pcb’s, D2K: Jumpman Returns, Donkey Kong, Popeye, and Mario Bros.  I’ve also got some restoration projects out in the garage that I’m working on at the moment…. Jump Bug, Lock ‘n Chase, Pole Position, and a Konami driving game from 1990 called Over Drive.  I’ve also got a Nintendo Wii, Sega Dreamcast, and an original Nintendo Entertainment System.

Grace: What is your favorite classic arcade game?
Eric: My all time favorite has to be Donkey Kong.  The randomness and difficulty of the game is what keeps me coming back.
 
Grace: Which console games do you enjoy the most?
Eric: My favorite right now is the Nintendo Wii.  I like the sports games the best, and my favorite game is Wii Sports Resort.
 
Grace: Do you think you'll ever not enjoy video games?
Eric: No, I see myself playing video games until pass on to the Big Arcade in the Sky.
 
Grace: Now, you also have children, if I recall our discussions correctly. Do they enjoy gaming? Do you encourage them to game? What are their favorite games?
Eric: Yes, they love to play video games!!  Mercer’s favorite games are Donkey Kong, and Donkey Kong Jr.  She can pass the first few boards on both of them, and it is really cool to see the excitement in her face as she improves and continues to go farther into the games.  Addisyn’s favorite game is Ms. Pac-Man Turbo.  She can get to the fifth or sixth board, which in my opinion is pretty darn good for a 5 year old!  Both of them enjoy playing the Wii too.  They like to play Sword Fighting on Wii Sports Resort.  They get ultra competitive!
 
Grace: You were inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame on Aug. 7. What was your reaction when you found out you were going to be in the first class inducted into the Hall of Fame?
Eric: There are so many people that deserve to be recognized by the IVGHOF, so when I found out that I was chosen I was very honored and humbled.  This was a once in a lifetime experience in which I will never forget.  To be in the first class, and actually the FIRST person ever inducted (sometimes it pays to have a last name that begins with the letter “A”) means so much. I can’t really put it into words.
 
Grace: In our discussions since the event, you mentioned that you plan to return for next year's event and have already made your reservations. What made you decide to come back when they announced next year's event dates?
Eric: Like I said before, being selected for the first ever induction class for the IVGHOF was something very special to me.  I want to help the IVGHOF and Big Bang organizers in the years to come so that others can share in that special moment.  The Big Bang has a GREAT group of organizers, and has the potential to make the event a yearly destination for all generations of gamers to come together and celebrate the gaming culture.  The atmosphere at this year’s event was so positive, how could I not support this going forward?
 
Grace:  Now, you also officiate for Aurcade in their Classic Arcade Tournaments and were an official Score Keeper for Twin Galaxies in the past, both of which are volunteer positions. Explain to us what it is you did for Twin Galaxies, what you do now for Aurcade and why you do it.
Eric: When I was a referee for Twin Galaxies, I officiated submissions on the Nintendo Wii and Arcade platforms.  I received video recorded submissions from gamers all over the world, and took pride in timely and accurate verifications.  I got to officiate some of the biggest Arcade world record submissions in history during my time with Twin Galaxies, which was a heck of a lot of fun.

Aurcade was founded by David Hernly in 2008, and tracks thousands of coin op games at locations all over the world.  Want to find out where you can go in your hometown to play a game of Donkey Kong on a real arcade machine?  Yep… check out www.aurcade.com and there’s a good chance that the information will be right there at your finger tips.  Also, if there’s a game in your area that is not yet recorded in our database, please be sure to drop us a line so it can be added!  There have been so many good people that have volunteered their time to building the games and location database…it’s really turned into something quite extraordinary. The Aurcade Tournament System was also unveiled at this year’s Funspot tournament and has fast become the “standard” in regards to the most accurate and user friendly tournament tracking in history.  Aurcade’s focus is on arcade coin-op games, which is right up my alley.  It was a very easy decision to join the organization, as there is so much positive potential to not only keep track of the most high profile tournaments moving forward, but to have a scoreboard that is free and clear of  bogus scores; a scoreboard that upholds the utmost amount of integrity and accuracy.

Why do I do it?  Because I enjoy competitive gaming, classic arcade games, and all of the great people that I’ve met and now call my friends.  I do this because I want to do my part in continuing the resurgence of the classics and to reach out to others so our hobby continues to grow and move in the right direction.  I do this because I believe our hobby should be an inclusive endeavor, where everyone that wishes to participate is welcome to do so without pre-conceived notions or bias. Most of all, I do this because it’s fun!  Ultimately, isn’t that what gaming is all about?
 
Grace: Anything else you'd like to add?
Eric: A huge thanks goes out to Walter Day.  Walter, if it wasn’t for your vision and perseverance, none of this would be possible.  Thank you my friend.

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A huge thanks goes out to Eric for taking time to answer our questions and we congratulate him on his induction to the International Video Game Hall of Fame