Stallion83 is known on the Internet for one thing: having the highest Gamerscore in the world. You may think achievements on the Xbox 360 are worthless, but he chases them relentlessly. You may think having a high Gamerscore is a waste of time, but he's in the Guinness Book of World Records. He marks the progress of his quest on his blog, and he recently broke 500,000 points, gaining the attention of the gaming press. His quest is noble, ambitious, and simple. He wants to be the first gamer to reach a one million Gamerscore.
We tracked him down to find out why anyone would spend so much time on a pursuit that's so... ephemeral? Perhaps even decadent? "I don't have a very good answer for why I chase such a high Gamerscore," he told Ars. "You know in the movie Forest Gump when someone asked Forest why he was running? Forest replied, 'I just felt like running.' I just felt like scoring." What makes this story even better is that he seems to have no idea why he's doing it.
A series of terrible games
Playing "real" games and grinding out achievements is a big task, so of course our hero takes shortcuts where he can. If each game comes with 1,000 points for gaining every achievement, he has played at least 500 games and maxed out the achievements. Looking at his Xbox Live profile, we can see he's in fact played 684 games. This is a man who gained 1,000 points by mastering the game version of How to Train Your Dragon.
"The absolute lamest thing I've done for achievements is played the Disney Sing It games," he said. "Let's just say that isn't the best move to impress your significant other. She was giving me strange looks."
That's right, he has a girlfriend. I asked for a picture of the woman in question, and in a move I could only take as a sign of defensiveness, he sent me an image where he's next to a girl.
His knowledge of easy achievements is both deep and wide. I ask him for some pointers, and he gives me some Gamerscore-boosting starting points. "Avatar: The Burning Earth is the easiest game to complete. You can get all five achievements for 1,000 Gamerscore in a matter of minutes. A close second is Backyard Football, which takes maybe 10 minutes to get the full 1,000," he explained. He's also a fan of Japanese dating sim games, which are text-based. "You just have to slog through the text until you get to the end." Any more good ones?
"Some people would say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the best game for easy achievements. I prefer Fight Night Round 3 as one of the better games to be quick," he shared. "To be honest, most of the easier games to get achievements on are not that great. So I guess it's a good thing they are short."
He said that reactions to his Gamerscore are mixed, and that the people who claim he does nothing but play video games are often the gamers who spend hours online playing first-person shooters. He simply plays everything. "Sometimes I do go through stretches where I take it to extreme levels. That type of play can only last for so long; it really wears on you quickly," he said. Claims that he somehow cheated have all but died out. "First it was the Guinness World Record, then the Microsoft Gamer Spotlight that silenced most critics."
His goal is to reach one million, but why? There is no solid answer, nothing to quench my thirst for meaning in his Quixotic mission. "I'm not sure what my reaction will be once it is all said and done. It's too far away to say," he told me when I asked about his plans for the day he earns that magical achievement in a terrible game that will put him over one million points. "I do know my heart will probably beat out of my chest and there will be Carlton dancing."
He does have a message though: listen to your heart, believe in your dreams, and stick with it. "1,000,000 is my goal, but I would like to influence people in any way possible," he said. "Not influence them to game like crazy, but maybe get the point across that it takes dedication and effort to reach any goal. No cutting corners, no cheating, and lots and lots of dedication."
If I may quote Oceans 12, he's the modern man: disconnected, frightened... paranoid, but with good reason. Right now the Stallion sleeps, but since our interview he has gained over 1,000 more points.
No comments:
Post a Comment