It's Done

So, friends, when I said in the last entry on this blog that I would “report shortly”, you understand, of course, that I was using the word “shortly” to indicate that I would get back sometime in the next year or two.

And now, true to my word, here I am!

In case you were wondering, it’s been an interesting and productive interlude, sprinkled with some national and international travel, a solid half-marathon at the Gold Coast, stints at Harvard and the LSE, cancer surgery, some sensational trekking (especially New Zealand’s Milford Track and England’s Coast-to-Coast walk), and other highlights too numerous and irrelevant to mention in a blog about a simple arcade video game.

But the standout moment occurred on a sunny Tuesday morning - on 15 July 2014 - on a table-top video game terminal in a café in Newtown (an inner suburb of Sydney) adjacent to the Dendy cinema.

For it was on that day in that place, that probably the highest ever score in a single game of Pengo up to that time was achieved - by me!

That score, ladies and gentlemen, was a magical - 1,237,950. A full 20,300 points ahead of the official Pengo world record established by my countryman almost exactly two years previously, in July 2012. I clocked the machine at 654,840 and reached 583,110 the second time around.

But there’s more …

Just two weeks later, on 31 July, at the same venue, I managed to beat that score by over 200,000 points - with a total of 1,452,130.

And again on 6 December, when I passed the monumental 1.5 million barrier, with a score of 1,548,250. At an average of around 9,000 points a minute, it took almost three hours solid play and two pots of green tea (happily, without inducing a need for a natural break) to get there.

That said, I still haven’t figured out the logistics around recording the games, so Paul Hornitsky’s position atop the official Twin Galaxies table is safe.

Since I started on this quest early in 2013, I’ve managed to exceed 1 million ten times - twice with the Powerhouse Museum machine which had four Pengos, and the rest at the Newtown machine, which has six (five to start with, and a bonus Pengo at 50,000).

The scores ranked as follows:
1. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
2. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
3. 1,237,950 - 15 July 2014
4. 1,164,090 - 22 October 2014
5. 1,077,940 - 12 August 2014
6. 1,059,670 - 19 December 2014
7. 1,017,250 - 8 June 2013
8. 1,016,940 - 15 August 2014
9. 1,005,030 - 26 May 2013
10. 1,002,130 - 19 October 2014

A few too many 900,000+ scores in recent months have left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth, but all up, very pleased with progress.

Compliments of the season to you all!

Game changer

Those of you who have been paying attention will recall that back in June, I wrote:

… I am quietly confident of soon eclipsing Mr Hornitsky’s 1,217,650 world mark (the first anniversary of which is coming up). That is, as soon as (a) I can get a bit more time to focus on it, and (b) I get my hands on a machine that has the regulation six Pengos, not the four I’ve been confined to on the museum’s machine since this quest began a few short months ago.

And on both those fronts, dear reader, I expect to be able to report to you some very good news in the very near future.

Well, dear reader, “the very near future” has finally arrived.

First, I have just started a period of leave from my job - 12 months to be exact. I’ve been heavily engaged in a senior position in a government agency over the past few years and the opportunities for taking time off have been severely limited. As circumstances have unfolded, that opportunity has now presented itself. So while I have no designs on becoming a full-time gamer, I will have much more time available to devote to this little quest of mine.

Second, I have today taken delivery of my very own table-top Pengo machine. It’s actually a multi-game machine with all the old arcade games loaded up - except, sadly, Moon Patrol. But my one and only requirement was that it meet the specifications that Twin Galaxies mandates before it will certify high scores for Pengo. I am assured it does. It’s also the first time I’ve ever played with six Pengos. All my games to date have only had four - three to start with and a fourth after 30,000 points.

Exciting times indeed.

I will report shortly on my first experiences with the new machine.

Pengo rage

It’s something that describes exactly my feelings this afternoon. I’d just completed Act 16 for the fourth time, had amassed over 660,000 points at quite a clip, albeit with one Pengo left, and was about to launch confidently into the fifth set with ambitions of at least another quick 100,000 points before being seriously challenged. Alas, too confidently as it turned out. A case of appalling complacency in Act 1 and it’s all over - at 665,730.

Dr Zackomba, noting my fairly obvious frustration, diagnosed it as a case of Pengo-rage - although very well contained, I should add. No museum exhibits or other paraphernalia were harmed in the immediate aftermath of the game.

Looking back, it was probably exacerbated by some lacklustre scoring over the past week or so. Last weekend, it was a 293,330, followed by a 303,220, a very promising 672,570, but then a 296,130. Yesterday, it was 114,680, and then 287,490, and then 382,540, followed by a 213,130, and finishing with an exceptionally strong 425,440. The tragedy of that final score was that it was achieved with only one Pengo down. Unfortunately, the security guard at the museum - nor, for that matter, the person on the museum’s loudspeaker - don’t seem to be Pengo fans, and were insistent we leave so that museum staff could get home to their families at the end of their working day.

Today’s first game (130,780) was as uninspiring as yesterday’s opener, but the subsequent 600K effort made up for it. The breakdown was 196,300 after the first set (with a Pengo lost in Act 9), 368,180 after the second set (with the second Pengo lost in Act 7), 517,290 after the third set and 665,300 after the fourth set (having lost the third Pengo in Act 14). Overall, it was a very solid per-Act average of just under 10,400 over 64 completed Acts. And again, the machine clocked at 655,350.

So after that run, my total number of games with scores exceeding 500,000 is now up to 17, including two 1,000,000 point games. But with more to come, I'm sure.

Happy Anniversary, Mr Hornitsky!

For a blog like this, today is a day worth celebrating.

It was exactly one year ago - on 10 July 2012 - that the great Paul Hornitzky, like me a resident of Sydney, Australia, managed to eclipse one of the longest standing records in video game history. That was the iconic million-plus effort achieved on a Pengo machine in a Canberra bowling alley, and then formally recorded, by big Rodney Day way back in 1983. (Of course, as someone who is somewhat less than svelte myself at the moment, I mean ‘big’ in the nicest and most respectful-ist possible way here, Rod.)

Much less is known (by me, at least) of the circumstances of Paul’s new record 12 months ago, but I’m sure it’s a moment, or more likely 3+ hours, that’s seared into his memory.

My job now - nay, my quest - is simply to make sure that Paul’s mark of 1,217,650 doesn’t live to see its second anniversary atop the Twin Galaxies scoreboard, let alone its twenty-ninth.

To that end, and while I hadn’t planned on playing again for a period while I finalised some work matters, I couldn’t help but drop by the museum for a quick game last Saturday morning before heading into work. I didn’t appreciate how quick the game was likely to be when I lost my first Pengo in Act 5 and the second later in the first set. I also didn’t bother keeping track of the set scores as I was going along. As it happened, my third and then the last Pengos performed extraordinarily well and took me to a final score of 736,430 - my fifth best. As before, the machine clocked at 655,350, while I lost my final Pengo in Act 12 of the fifth set.

The quest continues.

End of month high scores - 30 June 2013

My top 5 scores since comeback:

   1.   1,017,250   8 June 2013

   2.   1,005,030   26 May 2013

   3.   991,350   5 May 2013

   4.   806,980   22 June 2013

   5.   684,970   7 April 2013

 

Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds

Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 24 seconds

Total scores over 500,000 - 14

 

Top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores:

 

   1.   1,217,650   Paul Hornitzky   10 July 2012

   2.   1,110,370   Rodney Day   13 August 1983
   3.   809,990   Kevin Leisner   25 February 1983
   4.   723,950   Frank Lupia   20 September 2008
   5.   694,030   Paul Elia   31 March 1983

 

As you will see, I decided to add to these statistics the total number of times I’ve scored over 500,000 since my comeback, given that the half million mark seems to be a barrier of sorts for the more skilled Pengo player. I note particularly that the sixth highest score on Pengo - as recorded by Twin Galaxies - is only 460,650 made by a gentleman named Terry Tanaka on 2 July 1985. This is some 200,000 behind the fifth highest scorer.

 

So with that in mind, I am now up to 14 scores over 500,000. The two most recent occurred yesterday, with a 594,730 (ending in Act 13 of the 4^th set), and a 568,860 (ending in Act 9 of the 4^th set). Reasonably good scores, I suppose, but both were a few steps down from my more substantial efforts earlier in the month.

 

Now with an otherwise quiet June out of the way, I am looking forward to a significantly more active and productive PengoQuest in July and August.

 

And finally, a very happy anniversary, in advance, to Paul Hornitsky. His world record Pengo score turns one on 10 July 2013. I doubt very much that I'll get the opportunity to play - or blog - again before that date, so your record is safe from me, at least.

 

Good job!

 

Chipping away

Managing to fit in just one game of Pengo in over two weeks - which is what I did yesterday - has been a little disappointing, although I suppose you take it when you can get it.

The moment I finished the opening Act in yesterday’s game in a new record time (for me) of 11 seconds, I could feel immediately I was onto something. Perhaps the two week break had freshened me up. Whatever it was, I ended up with a very respectable final score of 806,980.

What’s more, as I sensed going along, it turned out to be quite an aggressive scoring game. My average Act score of about 10,090 points sustained over 80 Acts for this game compares very favourably with an average Act score of slightly under 9,250 points in my highest scoring game of 1,017, 250, which lasted for 110 Acts. An average of over 10,000 points per Act for that length of game is no mean feat (even if I say so myself!), and requires the diamond blocks to be lined up (to get the 10,000 point bonus) in just about three out of every four Acts.

The individual set scores this time around were 171,700 for the first 16 Acts, 136,960 for the second, 176,700 for the third, 173,690 for the fourth and 147,930 for the incomplete fifth set.

This time, the machine ‘clocked’ at 655,350, slightly higher than the high-score on its counter of 655,310, which I'd set previously. So the final score was 655,350 + 151,630.

I lost my Pengos at Act 6 in the third set, Act 16 in the fourth set, and - annoyingly - twice in Act 16 just as I was about to make a start on the sixth set and perhaps get my third seven-figure score in almost as many games.

Overall, it was a strong effort, and with my heavy scoring over the last six weeks whilst having only played a handful of games, I am quietly confident of soon eclipsing Mr Hornitsky’s 1,217,650 world mark (the first anniversary of which is coming up). That is, as soon as (a) I can get a bit more time to focus on it, and (b) I get my hands on a machine that has the regulation six Pengos, not the four I’ve been confined to on the museum’s machine since this quest began a few short months ago.

And on both those fronts, dear reader, I expect to be able to report to you some very good news in the very near future.

Another million

A new high score, and my second million point game since the comeback. This time - 1,017,250.

 

It came in the fourth game I’d played in the past week or so. On the first weekend, I reached scores of just 289,560 and 294,430, and in the first game this weekend, scored a very modest 331,990. I gave myself one more game to get a decent score, and that’s what happened.

 

That million point game ended in Act 14 of the seventh set. Overall, I’d completed 109 Acts and died for the fourth and final time in the 110^th. While I didn’t make a note of it, the entire game must have lasted around two and a half hours.

 

It was also probably the biggest winning margin in the history of Pengo. Zackomba was Player 2 in the game, but when his turn came around, he was engrossed in his iPad game. He did manage to break himself away when his third and final Pengo came up, and chewed an ice-block just to get some points on the board. But I’d be surprised if there’s been a more lop-sided scoreline in a two-player game than 1,017,250 to 30!

 

For the aficionados, the set scores were 131,760 for the first 16 Acts, 150,500 for the second, 173,840 for the third, 132,090 for the fourth and 151,010 for the fifth. Probably because I was so relieved to have cleared it, I forgot to record the score at the end of the sixth set, albeit it was 900,890 after Act 2 of the seventh set. Again the machine ‘clocked’ at 655,310, so the final score was 655,310 + 361,940.

 

I lost my Pengos at Act 14 in the first set, Act 13 in the third set, Act 6 in the sixth set (a stupid mistake - too greedy looking for the 10,000 bonus), and finally at Act 14 in the seventh set. As it happened, the end of the game coincided with chucking-out time at the museum, so if I hadn’t died when I did, the increasingly stern look on the security guard’s face suggested that the machine was going to be switched off very quickly afterwards.

 

The icing on the cake during the game was breaking my record for the fastest completed Act while achieving the 10,000 point bonus. My new record of 24 seconds (down from 25 seconds) was achieved during Act 2 of the fifth set.