The problem of having Staal's score as a bar for being a decent player

[homerwannabee]

As I watched the latest stream I noticed that Jeremy had Alan Staal in mind as he was progressively getting a higher, and higher score.    It seems as if his score is the score that one right now needs to beat in order to become part of the brotherhood of Donkey Kong players.  Here is my major problem with that.   This is probably a moveable target! 

What I mean by that is it is very possible that since Alan is still playing this game that he most will likely up that score.   I mean he is getting 400k scores on a regular basis, and in my mind it is only a matter of time before he has another breakthrough game.   When he does finally do this, it means a certain set of scores that were part of the fraternity of Kong will soon be kicked out of the illustrious fraternity.  So my solution is to make the score on someone who is no longer playing the game.   I do have a couple of people that would make better score candidates.

1st  Donald Hayes and his 420,500 Donkey Kong score.  Hayes is considered by many to be one of the greatest if not the greatest Arcade gamer of all time.  He readily admits that he "Sucks" at Donkey Kong.  Of course what he thinks of as bad for himself is entirely different than what others think of bad game play.  His score is actually a really decent score.  The only problem it maybe a tad bit too low for a standard of excellence.

2nd Brian Kuh with his 697,500 Donkey Kong score.  He became an instant movie villain, and even to this day has been a tad bit stand offish.  His score is definitely a great score to go for, but then again it maybe a tad bit too high at the present moment to be the requirements to make the club.

3rd Here is an off the wall one.  How bout Eminem.  His claimed Donkey Kong score is 465,800.  I don't think of him as someone that takes the game uber seriously anymore.  It was probably a passion of his for a good 3 or 4 months before his hectic career took over.   I see this as more of a good standard because it is stationary, and never was really hard core about this game in his life.  I do think this score is more of the score that a player needs to pass in order to get what I would call a decent score.

So does anyone else have any other score suggestions that would make good scores to be the standard for entrance into the cult of Donkey Kong?

[xelnia]

To be honest, I think Allen's score will always be a "bar" for people shoot for regardless of how high he pushes his personal best. For me, it's not so much that his score represents a certain amount of skill (that's left for better players than myself to determine), it's that his score represents "Allen Staal!" How many streams have we heard him say "I'll never get a high score!" or "I can't play this game!"? Allen is an important figure in the DK community so to be associated with him in some small way is an honor.

When I was playing my 415k game awhile back someone in my stream chat mentioned that Don Hayes' score was coming up. It might have been Ben Falls. I am nowhere near the caliber of gamer that Don is so I'm thrilled to have achieved a higher score in ANY game than him. The first person I thought of when I reached 421k was Don Hayes.

That being said, Allen is DK royalty in my book and I hope we all have to work at beating his eventual 900k killscreen score, whether that's tomorrow or 10 years from now.

[JNugent]

There are several benchmarks along the way during the climb up the great DK ladder.  Donald Hayes (420,500), Allen Staal (539,600), Brian Kuh (697,000), Billy Mitchell's original score (849k), Wiebe's old score of (985,600), and others in between, like Rick Fothergill.  And even George Riley's 600k score.  I recently broke 400k, and I'm in awe of so many of the great players and scores which are ahead of me.  The DK community rules!

[Svavar]

I think it is not necessary to make any kind of "bar" to be in some kind of "cult of kong". Honestly, why does it matter? It may be fun to compare scores that players get to Allen's score fx., but I will still always think a 300k Donkey Kong player is decently good

[up2ng]

I hope that enough players are reading this thread so that I can make my point here . . .

I think it's high time that the "Allen bashing" stops at DKF.

I know most players think they are just joking around with it, but the sheer volume of it reads like literally everyone in the community is ganging up on him all the time.  I'm pretty confident that somewhere along the way a line has been crossed and it needs to be uncrossed.  I met Allen personally at the KO2 and he was a great guy.  He should be made to feel welcome within the community like everyone else.

[Scoundrl]

I hope that enough players are reading this thread so that I can make my point here . . .

I think it's high time that the "Allen bashing" stops at DKF.

I know most players think they are just joking around with it, but the sheer volume of it reads like literally everyone in the community is ganging up on him all the time.  I'm pretty confident that somewhere along the way a line has been crossed and it needs to be uncrossed.  I met Allen personally at the KO2 and he was a great guy.  He should be made to feel welcome within the community like everyone else.

Hey Dean. I dont think anyone is bashing Allen. In fact everyone I know and talk to love the guy. Allen can take the harmless teasing and is no stranger to dishing it out.

You may be confusing Allen Staal with Brian Allen. Brian Allen gets quite a bit of well deserved bashing, mostly for his incessant negative postings and attitude towards other gamers.

Allen, we love ya buddy!

-Ken

[philt80]

I hope that enough players are reading this thread so that I can make my point here . . .

I think it's high time that the "Allen bashing" stops at DKF.

I know most players think they are just joking around with it, but the sheer volume of it reads like literally everyone in the community is ganging up on him all the time.  I'm pretty confident that somewhere along the way a line has been crossed and it needs to be uncrossed.  I met Allen personally at the KO2 and he was a great guy.  He should be made to feel welcome within the community like everyone else.

Yeah, I agree with Ken on this one for sure. Allen makes fun of himself in jest, the community laughs along. I don't think anyone would ever say or do anything toward Allen that would be intentionally harmful('cept Brian Allen). I seriously think Brian is the only one that takes it a bit too far with his (un)intentional trolling of every post the man makes, but what are you gonna do?

I've watched Allen from what feels like the beginning and have been fortunate enough to have been tuned in for each PB increase he's put up. I hate to think about how many streams I've watched, but I can say each one has brought absolute entertainment regardless what his score is.
The man seriously needs his own show. He could literally film himself watching paint dry and people would pile in in droves to watch along...and not only watch along, but be totally entertained the entire time.

I think we all know Allen isn't giving up on his quest any time soon....I actually think he's just getting started now that he's got his own cab. He's put up several 380k games in the past week or two alone...only a matter of time before he shatters his current PB and wows us all once again with a BIG BIG BIG score increase!

If he can continue to rise above the bullying from Brian, he'll be good.

+1 on "Allen, we love ya buddy!"

[VON]

Allen's stream rules!!

[konghusker]

I agree with phil. Allen is a good player, and needs people talking him up, not down. I cant wait for him to ks the game. Allen is entertaining to watch, but you can see his love for the game and the friends he/we have all made. He is not the benchmark of a good player, as he is already way past that level.

[hchien]

It's not necessarily a bad thing to have your scores "targeted" by someone.  In a lot of ways, it's a compliment.  It means people respect your gameplay and consider it an accomplishment to beat you.  Lots of people target my DK and non-DK scores.  That's fine.  I say 'Bring it.'

[JNugent]

When I was approaching Allen's score last night, I said, "I'm coming for you Allen!", and everyone in the chat mentioned about beating Allen's score as well.  I agree with Hank... it is a sign of respect.  Love it!  Yer Buddy!