Interview with Donald Hayes:

Donald Hayes of Salem, NH is a world record holder for 11 classic arcade titles, including Centipede, Dig Dug, Domino Man, Frogger, Lode Runner, Millipede Marathon and Tournament, Space Invaders, Super Cobra, and Super Zaxxon. Donald's resume' also includes a perfect game of Pac-Man! Donald took a time out from the pursuit of arcade game perfection to answer some questions for the High Scores Arcade.
 

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HSA: How long have you been playing arcade games?  

DH: I think the first time I played an arcade game was either late 1979 or early 1980 so it's been at least 25 years now.  I think the first game I played was Space Invaders as I vaguely remember riding my bike several miles with a couple friends to play a new game in the next town over from where I lived.  The game wasn't in an actual arcade, though, as it was just a single machine (might have been a pizza shop...it's been too long for me to remember exactly).  A couple real arcades opened up soon after that and basically I was hooked.

HSA: What is the longest time you have ever played one game to earn a world record?

DH: My Centipede world record game took 9 hours, and my Millipede record is not far behind at 8 hours.

HSA: What is your favorite arcade game from the classic era? What about the modern era?

DH: Centipede has always been my favorite.  As for modern games, I rarely get a chance to play them so I don't really have a favorite among them.

HSA: What do you consider to be the most important skill or trait for mastering an arcade game?

DH: There's a lot of things that go into mastering a game.  You have to have good concentration and be very focused and determined.  It helps to be able to recognize behaviors, patterns, and techniques that recur in the game.  For me personally, I have to enjoy playing the game.  If the game doesn't interest me then I'll have more trouble trying to master it.  And, of course, lots of practice!

HSA: What sort of things do you do when you're not breaking world records on arcade games?

DH: You mean there's other things to do?? :-)  Actually, I have a couple other pretty serious hobbies.  The first is playing table tennis (yup, ping pong).  I've been competing in local and national tournaments for almost 20 years and am one of the top-ranked players in New Hampshire.  Another favorite pastime of mine is watching hockey, especially the UNH Wildcats!

HSA: What is your favorite non-arcade game to play?

DH: Well, I'm not sure if sports count as a "game", but if so then I'd say table tennis.

HSA: What game are you best at? What game are you worst at?

DH: My best game is Centipede (gee, there it is again :-)  My worst game??  Hmm, I never really thought about it, but there's plenty of games that I'm not very good at.  If I had to pick a well-known classic game, I'd probably say Pole Position is one of my worst games.

HSA: Which player would you say can beat you at your best game? Which player do you think you can beat at his or her best game?

DH: That's tough to say.  I have yet to actually watch anyone else who could match me on Centipede when I'm playing at my best.  I have heard of a couple players here and there that could possibly challenge my current record, but I'm confident I could match whatever they put up.  As for the other side of the question, I definitely believe that I can take back the Tron record from David Cruz.

HSA: What games do you own in your home arcade?

DH: I own a Centipede, Millipede, Mr. Do, Joust, Zaxxon, Space Invaders, Robotron, Ms Pac Man, Asteroids mini, Defender, and Missile Command.  I also have PCB's for Mr. Do's Castle, Super Zaxxon, Pac Man, and a 4-1 Pac/Ms Pac/turbo board.  I'm also babysitting a Galaga, Track and Field, and Tron for a friend of mine.  The first game I obtained was the Asteroids mini way back in either 1981 or 1982 (I don't remember...I must be getting old).  A local convenience store which had a small arcade put it up for sale as a Christmas special for $99 so I just had to convince my parents that it would be a good present for me :-)  I bought my Zaxxon from the same place the following year for $100.

HSA: What do you see in store for the future of arcade gaming?

DH: The future is always a tricky thing to predict.  There are so few true arcades left out there which leaves the majority of arcade gaming to privately-owned collectors.  I am very fortunate to live so close to Funspot which has around 200 classic arcade games in their native habitat.  The main obstacle I see in the coming years are that the real arcade machines themselves are getting older and harder to maintain.  As the years pass by, there will be fewer and fewer actual arcade cabinets that still run properly.  But, there do seem to be a number of dedicated people who are committed to keeping the tradition of playing arcade games alive, so I think the hobby will be okay for a while.  Another encouraging thing for me is the renewed interest in classic games due to the various emulators and availability of games for the modern gaming consoles.