March 31, 2000
Hample sets Arkanoid record
By Daniel Fleishman
STAIT WRITER
Old news: Senior Zack
Hample owns a full-size, coin-op
erated arcade game called
Arkanoid. He plays it in his Milner
room and enthusiastically wel
comes all passersby to give it a
whirl.
New News: Hample, who pre
viously self-titled himself the
"world's best Arkanoid player,"
broke the all-time record shortly
after midnight on Tuesday, Febru
ary 16th.
Twin Galaxies' Official Video
Game & Pinball Book of World
Records lists the record as
1,466,460. Hample scored
1,536,450, nearly 70,000 points
higher, a staggering feat almost
unheard of in the arcade world.
"I expected that if I did beat
the world record I might simply
edge out the former score by a few
thousand points, but I really
eclipsed it by a wide margin, which
surprised me," said Hample. "This
game has teen around for, now, 15 i
Baseball begins
By Chris Brown
LLFIL STAXTWIUTER
The optimism shines
brighter then the sun in major
league baseball's spring training.
Every veteran is revitalized and
every young kid has a chance to
make it if they play well enough.
Managers endlessly fiddle with
possible line-ups and pencil in a
new rotations or possible closers,
hoping that each change will be
the one that puts his team in po
sition to win their respective di
vision.
In what has seemed like a
few short years since the World
Series was cancelled due to a pro
longed strike, baseball has soared
back on the bats of Mark
McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Since
the strike, baseball's biggest mar
ket, New York, has seen three se
ries titles come home and
watched some great playoffs se
ries in both the National and
American leagues.
Perhaps the optimism is a
little brighter this year with the
teams that haven't made the Se
ries in a few years than with the
traditional powers. And why not,
considering the aging of the play
ers who powered the teams of
nineties and some big time
trades?
Sports
years, and you have to think of the
tens of thousands of players that
have played it. And to think that
I'm the best of all of them—that's
very shocking." Indeed.
Hample, notorious on cam
pus for his quirky hobbies, is an
expert in and has written a book
on, of all things, snagging major
league baseballs; he founded
Guilford's Scrabble club; he has be
come known for his incessant soap
boxes in this publication's Forum
section. Hample is unique, opin
ionated, and unafraid to be exactly
as he wants to be, with a candor
that sometimes draws disfavor.
Hample honed his skills as an
Arkanoid player about eight years
ago at home in New York City at a
Times Square arcade, where he
devoted five hours a day to the
game for one full week. Last No
vember, he purchased an Arkanoid
machine through an ebay.com auc
tion, fulfilling a long-sought dream.
"I hadn't made many serious
attempts at the high score because
at that point I didn't know what
the world record was; I had noth
ing to aim for," said Hample. "Once
How big? Ask Cincinnati,
they only picked up the most pro
ductive hitter of the last decade.
In what might turn out to be the
biggest trade since Boston dealt
Ruth to New York, Seattle finally
let Ken Griffey, Jr., join his father
in Cincinnati. Griffey is currently
on pace to break the all-time
home run record before his 40th
birthday. As for the rest of the or
ganization, unlike Mark McGwire
and St. Louis, the Cincinnati Reds
know how to win games and
should be poised to make a run
for the pennant.
Other than Griffey, the big
news around the league is old
news, that both Atlanta and the
New York Yankees are banking on
their mostly aging veterans.
Atlanta's one-time colossal start
ing pitching staff showed signs of
rust last year and the Mets are
hoping this is the year they get
to play David and knock down the
perennial Goliath.
In the American League
East, the Red Sox are hoping a
new century means they can fi
nally lift "the curse" and win then
first series title since Ruth was
sold to New York to pay off gam
bling debts. The Yankees might
have trouble defending the cham
pionship from the Sox and their
upgraded out field.
The Guilfordian
|yKwwjuK Wf T9 ■
Hample rejoices in his conquest.
I found out what the world record
was, it kind of lit a fire under my
ass, you could say, and I was moti
vated to try to beat it."
And so he did—less than two
weeks later. At least 13 fellow
Guilford students gawked in
amazement as Hample made his
tory that memorable night in his
remarkable wall-to-wall postered
room. And of that bunch, two wit
nessed the entire hour and 40
minute game. Approximately six
others saw the majority of it, while
another five came in briefly just to
see what the large gathering was
about.
The room was cramped and
muggy, but the large crowd did not
bother Hample; rather, he thrived.
"I was nervous and excited to have
an audience. I definitely play bet
ter in front of people—l know that
to be a fact," he said.
With his door propped open,
Hample carefully beat each level,
one through 33, racking up every
point with delicate nervousness, as
any confident expert would. The
atmosphere in the room bordered
on out-of-control restlessness for
the duration of the game. Hample
knew, however, that a record would
be difficult unless the audience
became completely silent for the
last level, allowing him to maintain
the required intense concentra
tion.
"At the end, people were very
respectful. I said, about five min
utes before I reached the last level,
that I really wanted it to be quiet,"
explained Hample.
Jacob Noble, a senior,
watched most of the game. "It was
like he knew he was going to break
the record. That's what was so un
believable," said Noble of Hample's
request for silence.
First-year student Adam Wil
liams viewed the game in its en
tirety. "At first everybody was talk
ing like normal, but then, when he
got to the end, everybody—even
Jake Noble—managed to shut
their mouth for a little while," he
said as if surprised that the crowd
had hushed.
Stephen Krogman, a video
game technician from Boca Raton,
Florida, held the previous record,
but took 13 years to reach that
peak. He seems mildly embar
rassed and frustrated that one of
his many video game records has
gone down, but refuses to admit
anything but the contrary
Krogman, who is in periodic con
tact with Hample via telephone
and e-mail, now claims to have bro
ken his left hand. This untimely
impairment, he says, does not pre
vent him from playing Arkanoid,
but does hinder his true gaming
abilities. Broken hand? It sure
seems like a pretty convenient ex
cuse.
"Looking through the various
records for video games, [Krogman
is] at the top of the list for dozens
of games," said Hample. "He may
be the best video game player in
the world, but as far as Arkanoid
is concerned, he's second best."
Noble made his own candid
guesses regarding Krogman's cur
rent mental state. "Krogman has
put everything on hold: Mortal
Kombat's one through four includ
ing Tournament Edition, Grand
Prix Derby, Jackpot Pinball. Every
thing is on hold now because
Krogman has been shocked and
stunned by this Arkanoid record
allegation."
Ryan Taylor, a first-year stu
dent, and witness to the record
breaking game, put it simply and
soundly: "Krogman is the past,
Hample is the future."
Rumor has it that someone
might soon offer a prize of $l,OOO
to anyone who can break 1.63 mil
lion points, but that is of little in
terest to Hample; his motivations
are not monetary in nature. He
plays for the love of the game,
strives for nothing but perfection,
and hopes to break the 1.6 million
point mark someday, prize money
or not.
Only time will tell what
Arkanoid adventures are in store
for him.
Page 9
COLIN ROACH-BENTLEY