Pac-Man World Record holder David Race shares his thoughts

Late last summer, a man from Beavercreek, Ohio made international headlines, including the front page of Yahoo!, for breaking a decade old record on the original arcade Pac-Man. 

David Race was suprised, as was I, having no idea a press release about Pac-Man written at my little desk in Denton, TX would make a man in Ohio a worldwide news item. 

In the time since David Race took the speed record for a perfect Pac-Man game from Chris Ayra, he lost the record to another long-time Pac-Man gaming legend, only to now regain the title with a time of 3 hours, 34 minutes, 8 seconds, according to Twin Galaxies.  A perfect Pac-Man game requires players to eat every dot, energizer, blue ghost, and bonus item through all 256 stages of the game.  Since the perfect 3,333,360 score, first done by Billy Mitchell in 1999, cannot be beaten, Twin Galaxies added a time category to keep competition in Pac-Man moving foward.

David took some time to sit down and give this Examiner columnist his thoughts on his Pac-fame.

Q - First of all, congrats on regaining the record. First you beat Chris
Ayra. Now you beat Rick Fothergill. How do you feel
about not only taking the record on a timeless classic, but competing
with some of the most famed Pac-Man players ever?

A - Thanks Scott. When I first beat the record it
really was just an added bonus to what my goal was, and that was to
simply achieve a perfect game. I saw that my first perfect game would
have been the 2nd fastest so I thought to myself, “I am not that far
behind the top spot. I may actually be able to better that time.” I
played again four days later using a faster 9th key pattern that was
developed by Don Hodges and, sure enough, the time was fast enough to
claim the number one spot. First of all, it felt really good to
accomplish my goal since I have always considered Pac-Man to be “my
game” and secondly, it was cool to be counted as a member of the
perfect Pac-Man club.

It is an honor to compete with the likes of Chris Ayra and Rick
Fothergill. I have spoken to both of these gentlemen and from
everything I have heard, they are upstanding and decent fellows.
Both of them are Pac-Man pioneers and I am sure the competitive spirit
we share will continue to drive us to greater heights. There is
always a rush in setting a world record and even more so with
reclaiming it. My first record was short lived so hopefully this one
will last a tad bit longer. 

Q - Did the press and public reaction the first time you took the record
suprise you?

A - I had a notion that it was something pretty big in the classic gaming
community, but I was pleasantly surprised at the international media
coverage it received.

Q -  Do you feel that this time could still get faster? What do you think
the "Perfect Perfect" would be?

A - Definitely! If I would have continued with a modified version of Don
Hodges’ “Tornado” I could have rang in with a sub 3:33. Theoretically,
if one could consistently duplicate the synthesized “unpattern” that
Todd a.k.a. “qnz”, a member of the Twin Galaxies community,came up
with, then I could see a time below 3:20. I do have a faster 9th key
pattern and have calculated a sub 3:32 to be realistically within reach.

Q - Have you considered taking on any other Pac-Man titles?

A - Someone, not too long ago, challenged my grouping skills in Pac-Man and
offered to send me a PCB (printed circuit board) for almost any Pac
arcade game if I could demonstrate this ability. I chose Pac-Man Plus,
a title you featured in an article not too long ago. After I set my
record on Pac-Man, I switched out the boards and have been practicing
on Pac Plus. I am not really looking to set a record right now, just
setting goals for split-screen run.

Q - Are there any other game titles outside of the Pac-Man family that
you'd like to aim for at a later point?

A - Back in the day I was unstoppable on Rush ‘N Attack. Who knows if that
would be something to shoot for in the future? I also liked playing
Tempest, Tron, Space Ace, Lady Bug, Gyruss, Sinistar, Zaxxon, Crystal
Castles, Commando, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior. Actually, I used
to have a Donkey Kong machine but I sold it to a friend and co-worker a
few years ago. I have no delusions of a world record, but some day
perhaps a kill screen.

If I may, I would like to acknowledge my late father, David Alfred
Race. He loved playing Baby Pac-Man because it incorporated both
pinball and video. I remember us going to see the Cincinnati Reds play
and afterwards stopping off at Malibu Grand Prix, not for the racing
but for the video games. Good times !!!

Q - Any advice for others out there who might be interested in chasing
down a long-time World Record on a video game but might feel
intimidated in doing so?

A - My advice is to set a goal and stick with it. There is no need to be
intimidated. No matter who holds a record they were once in the same
boat as you. The first Pac-Man score I submitted to Twin Galaxies was
2,195,650 in 2004. I remember at one time being ranked number 6, then
I slipped down to number 10. Around this time is when I first heard of
the idea of a “perfect game”. The next score I submitted was in July
of 2009. One month later my goal was realized. It takes determination
and patience but it will pay off in the end. If you fall short of
your goal, then it is still a good idea to submit your score(s). It
announces to the gaming community that you are a contender on a
particular title and made a serious effort to document your gameplay
and skill. Hey, look at Steve Wiebe. He decided to go for the Donkey
Kong record and decided nothing would stop him. Sure the record has
changed hands a few times, but that hasn’t kept him and others from
going for the title.

In closing I would like to thank my children, Jonathan and Emily, as
well as my girlfriend Lori Brunsky and her kids, Molly and Matt for
their love and continuing support. I would also like to thank you
Scott, for taking time out of your busy schedule to interview me. I do
appreciate it. The staff of Twin Galaxies deserves a lot of credit and
thanks. Eric Akeson, David Nelson and yourself are consummate
professionals.