Steve Wiebe started off his speech by explaining his thought process in deciding what topics to talk about that would be interesting to a group of gamers’. He acknowledged that he could get philosophical and talk about how overcoming the odds changed his outlook or he could treat the event as a Donkey Kong 101 college lecture. He finally decided that the best way was to talk about how he got started playing games, and go from there. In the end, his speech was a combination of all these topics, mixing his experience making The King of Kong with his gaming biography. He then concluded by showing off his skills on a Donkey Kong arcade machine set up on stage. As a teenager in the 1980’s, he recalled the era of arcades and talked about the first games he played; Asteroids, Space Invaders, Pac-man, Ms. Pac-man, Defender and finally Donkey Kong. Wiebe explained that Donkey Kong was state of the art, Mario’s movements looked amazing, the game had a story, the variety of levels and above all the simple control scheme had him hooked.

Wiebe starts off by talking about his video game biography.

After taking quite a few interesting questions from the audience, including a question about whether he was thinking of starting his own brand of hot sauce, Wiebe took his time and answered each question very thoughtfully. He talked about how Twin Galaxies had given many gamers’ the opportunity to have their scores recorded and he still respects their efforts even after all the drama that is showcased in the film. He also talked about how he has an upcoming cameo in a new movie playing Donkey Kong on the Wii Virtual Console, and his experience learning that New Line Cinema bought the rights to make a fictional movie based on the documentary. He said that he has only been recognized a few times since making the movie, so being a celebrity isn’t all that bad. Wiebe then wrapped up the talk by giving a small Donkey Kong 101 sort of demonstration for the audience. Hit the play button to see some of the highlights:

Overall, the speech was very interesting and included some great tips for those interested in joining the ranks of the Donkey Kong elite and crossing that million point mark. Wiebe did a great job of engaging the audience and taking the time to answer all the audience’s questions. He even took the time to be around after the speech to sign autographs and pose for pictures. Wiebe’s seminar was very organized yet very calm and enjoyable to watch. The atmosphere was very relaxed and as the audience brought up funny and interesting facts related to the documentary, Wiebe was right there with a funny tidbit to add as well. Wiebe even brought up the fictional trailer for The King of Kong 2, in which the plot is turned into the story of Terminator 2! Destined to set a Donkey Kong world record in 2024, a warrior has been sent back in time to protect Steve from a robotic Billy Mitchell. Wiebe apparently does not set the record until 2024, so the timeline of this plot seems to go on for a few years. While far from true, the trailer is good for a few laughs and shows that the documentary is growing in popularity. Stay tuned for more event coverage here on the Pink Godzilla Blog!