…on Barnstorming (Atari 2600). His claimed best time of 32.04 seconds is provably impossible.
Hello, everyone! As most people know, there’s an ongoing debate around Todd Rogers, the “first professional gamer,” and his long-standing high score on Dragster. (See this and this if you don’t know what I’m talking about.) It’s been over four months since Omnigamer first raised the question of whether that claimed score, dating back to 1982, is actually possible within the confines of the game. Current head of Twin Galaxies Jace Hall has stated the decision of whether to strike that record is still under consideration.
In these community discussions, old claims have resurfaced that Rogers has fabricated multiple high scores, sometimes to ridiculous extents. One particular incident, while it has been mentioned, has not been given its due reflection, and in fact looks quite interesting in the current light. To be clear, what follows here is all old news found on the Internet, but hopefully even people who are familiar with all the details below will find this an entertaining read.
Before I continue, I should address that this sub has a rule against personal attacks. I wish to honor that rule here as much as possible. I could go into a long sidebar to justify the use of the word “dishonest” (as opposed to simply “mistaken”), but suffice to say, when it comes to a claim of a world record in competition, negligence in exactitude is dishonesty, and the situation below is, at the very least, negligence in exactitude, and perhaps far worse. Aside from that, I hope the rule does not exclude frank discussion of the historical record.
So what exactly happened in July 2002? The key piece of evidence is this thread from the AtariAge forums. You can read it for yourself, but I’ll summarize the key events. (Stop me if any of this sounds familiar!)
- The thread opens with a July 10 post by user Jeffy Arensmeyer, simply expressing shock and disbelief that someone could possibly get 32.04 seconds (the then-current world record) on Barnstorming. (Here’s an example of the game in action.)
- User Thomas Jentzsch gives the first reply: “That score is coming from Todd Rogers (like many many other top scores), so you better believe it.” But soon after, Thomas decides to play a hacked version of the game where all the obstacles have been removed, and curiously discovers that flying the plane at a straight line can only produce, at best, a time of 32.07 seconds. Jeffy comes to the same conclusion: a purely linear flight will result in a time of 32.07 seconds.
- The question is then discussed as to whether the score of 32.04 was the result of faulty equipment.
- At this point, Ron Corcoran, then Twin Galaxies’ chief editor, addresses peoples’ concerns. He reassures people that TG has a videotape of Rogers’ live 32.77 performance the previous year (although given poor wording, it sounded to some as though he was saying TG had a tape to verify Rogers’ claim of 32.04, which was not his intention). Ron suggests people come to the Classic Gaming Expo in August and watch Todd play live if they have any doubt of his capabilities.
- The question is then discussed as to whether Rogers was playing on a prototype version of the game supplied by Activision.
- Ron Corcoran continues the discussion. He tells everyone, after that weekend’s event in which Todd is serving as TG referee, Ron will ask Todd to visit the forum and will ask for permission to release his taped performance. He does remind everyone that Twin Galaxies has a confidentiality policy about submitted scores and tapes. (This is a long-standing policy of TG. Basically, many of their top gamers are “VERY protective” – emphasis Ron’s – of their play patterns and strategies, and it is TG policy not to divulge them. Submissions are reviewed privately to protect these players’ “proprietary knowledge.”) Thus, it is Todd’s choice whether to publish proof of his performance or not. A debate then begins on the wisdom of that policy.
- User “Goochman”, a member of Twin Galaxies, assures people that Todd Rogers’ scores are rarely questioned due to his known game accomplishments, such as his record time on Dragster. Goochman had seen Todd play Barnstorming and confirms he uses a special strategy to get the high score. He later adds, “When you hear of Todds ‘strategy’ you will kick yourself not having thought of it before (I know I did when he showed me)!”
- People are reminded that Todd never received any prize for his claimed achievement (the implication being he would have no reason to fake a score).
- At this point, Twin Galaxies head referee Robert Mruczek (pronounced “Mroo-sack”) shows up. If you’ve seen King of Kong, you’d remember Robert as the guy gesturing toward a pile of VCR tapes that represented Dwayne Richards’ two-day-long high score on Nibbler. Mruczek testifies that Todd Rogers is “the real deal,” while assuring everyone that Rogers’ submissions are “subjected to the same scrutiny and verification process as those for other 2600 gamers.”
- Here it gets interesting. After all the testimony assuring people of the score’s validity, Twin Galaxies referee Wolff Morrow arrives, saying he and his brother (at the time 3rd and 4th on the Barnstorming leaderboard) had previously questioned Todd Rogers’ score of 32.04. At first, he “got in a little trouble” and felt the need to apologize for raising the question. But the question nagged on him, so he did hours of frame-by-frame examination of the game, and had also independently come to the conclusion 32.04 was not possible on a glitch-free run. Morrow provides a link to all his research data, which unfortunately is no longer available today. Morrow then reviews the new data from the thread and confirms 32.07 as the fastest theoretical time with all impediments removed. Morrow is clear to say he accuses no one of fraud, he simply believes it was an honest mistake he would like to see corrected. He also apologizes to any referees he offended by posting his doubts. At no point does anyone, including present brass from TG, challenge Morrow’s claim that he had previously called the score into question.
- The following day (now July 14), Ron Corcoran returns, having researched the matter further. Todd Rogers’ score on Barnstorming, eventually recognized by Twin Galaxies, had originated from Activision’s own high score newsletter. As cited elsewhere in the thread, Activision required an analog photo of the TV screen as proof of a score. Earlier material from Activision cited Rogers’ score as 32.74, all the way up to a letter from Activision in February 1986, but a later letter in July 1986 now listed his score as 32.04. It is presumed by Corcoran that the change was effectively the result of a typo. That third letter was used by Twin Galaxies to certify Rogers’ legacy high score when Rogers later began submitting his old scores to Twin Galaxies. Given the information provided, Corcoran enacts Twin Galaxies’ “Challenge Rule”, citing the importance of preserving the integrity of the scoreboard. Corcoran says he had contacted Rogers about this matter, and has asked Todd to try to recreate his time of 32.04 in a public forum, and if he cannot, his scoreboard record will be replaced with a time of 32.50, which three TG judges had witnessed the previous year.
- Twin Galaxies member Goochman, who had been defending the score, is now offering that, regrettably, TG inherited many scores from the ’80s from sources that weren’t as scrutinized as perhaps they should have been.
- Aside from one troll, everybody is very careful not to impugn the integrity of Todd Rogers or Twin Galaxies, simply saying that this one recorded time has been cast into doubt by an examination of the facts. But this did not stop Rogers’ fiercely loyal web designer, April, coming in with guns blazing, accusing almost everyone in the thread of participating in a “massive Todd bashing.” (Her actual message was posted offsite and is no longer accessible.) The other participants disagree with the characterization, and reiterate that they in no way mean to discredit Rogers, just that they are interested in an explanation for his score. April later states her belief that the way the situation was handled was disrespectful to Rogers, Corcoran and Twin Galaxies, suggesting the whole matter could’ve been resolved privately.
- Morrow responds to April that he had indeed tried to privately challenge the score several months before, which resulted in harsh rebuke, adding “I was made to feel like I had made a terrible error in even questioning the record.”
- The organizer of the upcoming Classic Gaming Expo joins the discussion, confirming he will have videotape set up to record Rogers’ live play of Barnstorming at that event. It is later agreed that people will bring multiple data-verified copies of Barnstorming for Rogers to play at the event. (Note that this seems to be under the presumption that these measures are not intended to challenge Rogers, but rather to remove all doubt from Rogers’ scores.)
- Corcoran then issues a correction to his previous statement, saying that Rogers’ score of 32.50, although witnessed, cannot stand as the record until reproduced on tape, and thus if the 32.04 score is removed it will revert to the taped performance of 32.77. This spurs a discussion of what the preferred method of verification is, with Wolff Morrow being the loudest (but not the only) voice on why it’s so important to have videotaped proof for scores, which can later be reviewed and scrutinized multiple times, rather than one-time witness accounts.
- The question is then discussed as to whether Rogers’ mysterious technique consists of some form of glitch abuse. Ron Corcoran confirms that a special trick, such as one that allows Rogers to go faster than anyone else, would be disallowed by Twin Galaxies. Robert Mruczek, while assuring everyone that “senior Twin Galaxies officials are already well into the process of ‘due diligence’ with the score in question,” assures everyone that faster times through glitch abuse are not possible on Barnstorming in particular.
- David Yancey, then second-place on the Barnstorming leaderboard having a videotaped time of 32.77, now joins the discussion. His opinion is that 32.04 could’ve been a typo, but he believes (without citing data) that 32.50 is attainable.
- On July 17, a mere seven days after the question of the score’s legitimacy was first raised, Robert Mruczek announces the results of their investigation:
Hello fellow gamers:
Speaking on behalf of my fellow Twin Galaxies senior referee and worldwide Atari editor, Mr Ron Corcoran, I formally announce that, after performing due diligence and after serious consideration of all sides and information and facts at hand, the previously recognized score of 32.04 seconds on game 1B of Barnstorming by Mr Todd Rogers, has been officially rescinded on the Twin Galaxies online scoreboard.
Further, we officially and accurately recognize Todd’s achievement of 32.77 seconds, same game/difficulty, as the score is captured on VHS videotape, and via recording off of an authentic, original, unmodified Atari 2600 home console system, and an authentic, original, unmodified Atari 2600 cartridge.
We recognize and acknowledge that the earlier score of 32.04 seconds was likely to have been the result of either a clerical discrepancy or other circumstances. Due to the extreme longevity of the record trail, it is impossible to validate certain aspects of that achievement. Therefore, based on our own standards of score validation and authentication, the score has been removed.
I hope that this brings a final sense of closure to this matter. Thank you.
- Soon after that announcement, Todd Rogers finally does make an appearance. I’ll let his words speak for themselves:
Hello and Greetings to all fellow ATARI gamers, The word that comes to mind after reading all these posts is WOW!!!! Matter of fact i sort of felt like the posts on this forum were alot like playing BARNSTORMING or a merry-go-round of the same over and over and over again..I am glad that we are finally putting some needed rest or resolve to this unfortunate matter.. I NEVER felt that i was above anyone but just doing the best that i can do as a gamer, Sometimes in the jog of things second and third partys handeling such delicate information like high scores and employees who work for major companies do not have the 1) passion as we gamers have ,and 2) the will to obsserve what material that they are forwarding …..The idea at hand is that i have no problems what so ever letting anyone see my accomplishments live or on tape to prove a fact and if anyone who reads this post has the ability and funds to come out to the CGE in Vegas they will see first hand what i am talking about and what seperates me from the average player. I have dedicated YEARS of my life to perfecting games one after the other and BARNSTORMING is just one of many. If it were not for other players as yourselves playing these video games and keeping the idea of FUN included in the games . Then this forum and other entities who thrived on purity and the sport of competition would surely be lost . I hope that after all this that went on we will still stick together as a video gaming family and keep the idea of video gaming alive just as we have for the past 20+ years ….These are my thought and opinions solely not of T.G. Thank you again for reading ………Todd Mr Activision Rogers.
- Jeffy, the original poster, then asks Rogers what the time span was from when he submitted his Barnstorming score to Activision to when he received the letter stating the incorrect time. Rogers does not reply.
- The thread trails off through July 19. In late August, it is revived by people asking what happened at CGE, where it was promised that Rogers would give a live performance of his Barnstorming technique. The organizer responds, expressing his disappointment that they were all so busy running the event (with Rogers acting as a TG referee) that they weren’t able to provide that live performance.
- Ron Corcoran returns in early September, reiterating that the event was too hectic to allow time for a public performance, but states that Rogers did have time after the event on Sunday to play, and that he achieved a time of 32.50 that was captured on VHS. Despite previous assurances that a tape of his performance at CGE would be made publicly available for peer review (having already received permission from Rogers), this video has never been published.
If I can get on my own soapbox about this, aside from what may have happened behind the scenes, and aside from the issue of not publishing the videotape at the end, just going strictly by the above thread, I’d say Twin Galaxies handled the 2002 Barnstorming situation fairly and responsibly. It’s perfectly fine that they’re initially skeptical, and don’t overturn a long-standing record at the first sign of dispute. In the Barnstorming case, it took them reassuringly little time to realize the evidence that the score was impossible was unmistakable, that the evidence supporting the score was lacking, and that the record – a relic of a time when score verification was questionable – needed to be stricken from the board. (It should be noted, few of the Twin Galaxies personnel from that post are still with the organization today.)
However, there was likely much more going on behind the scenes than was revealed by that thread alone.
Here is the official Twin Galaxies leaderboard for Barnstorming (Atari 2600), NTSC, Game 1, difficulty setting “BB”. (Note how photographs are no longer accepted.) You’ll see some of the participants from the above thread, with scores verified in 2002. Interestingly, Rogers currently holds the recognized world record time, but not at 32.04, or at 32.50, and not even at 32.77, but at 32.74. This is slower than both his score of 32.50, which was listed as a certified world record in 2002, as well as his TG-certified score of 32.67 from the TG Atari Decathlon that same year; neither of those scores appear to be recognized today.
Two other things about that listing are quite curious. Look at the date of verification: July 15, 2002. That score is listed as having been verified within the exact eight-day window of the 2002 thread dispute (July 10-17), five days after the question was first raised and two days before Mruczek announced the results of Twin Galaxies’ investigation which included resetting Rogers’ Barnstorming record to the 32.77 they had on videotape. At that time, the only noted references to a time of 32.74 were from Activision’s earlier high score newsletters, before a typo changed it to 32.04. If that was the basis for the record’s certification, that would mean Activision is still today the one and only source for Rogers’ world record for Barnstorming. But that would raise yet another question, since the listed verification method for the Barnstorming record is “Video”, which is not consistent with Rogers’ other famous Activision-certified score (that of Dragster), which lists the verification method as “Referee.” (But hey, maybe it was all just another typo.)
In addition to scoreboard oddities, a number of testimonials have come out in the decade-and-a-half since, shedding more light on the Barnstorming situation. Many of these links have been shared around a lot lately, but are presented again here for purposes of wrapping up this story.
First, Wolff Morrow resurfaces a decade later, after having left Twin Galaxies years ago. Basically, while discussing behind-the-scenes flaws of TG in general, Morrow cites constant battles with the “old guard” of ’80s record-holders. Quoting Morrow, “The worst was ‘Mr. Activision’ (aka Todd Rogers), where I and several others were able to prepare a case and conclusively prove Todd had been completely fabricating world records for various Atari games.” Morrow then relates his experiences challenging Rogers’ questionable scores on Barnstorming, as well as Sky Jinx and Atari Donkey Kong. Morrow does claim that Twin Galaxies, confronted with the evidence, simply ticked up Rogers’ record score on Barnstorming by a couple seconds to make the score more believable. In the interest of the truth, that doesn’t seem to correspond to the public record above, where Rogers’ erroneous score was replaced by a taped performance of 32.50. This claim appears to be tantamount to saying the people involved straight-up lied about reviewing a taped 32.50 performance. (Though again, no tape was ever produced for the public, despite assurances it would be.)
In 2013, Rogers himself made a Facebook post (now only available on this AtariAge thread recalling the events of 2002. In the post, he discusses having played Barnstorming live at the Consumer Electronics Show in 1982, and offers that at that event it’s possible he was playing an early prototype version supplied by Activision. (It should be noted that there’s no indication anyone has challenged any score attributed to that event. It’s not even really clear if that’s supposed to be the time and place Rogers achieved his realistic score of 32.74. Rogers simply volunteers that perhaps he was playing a prototype cartridge on that day.) Rogers recalls playing at the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo (which he incorrectly cites as 2003) in the presence of three TG referees as well as over 30 witnesses and achieving a score of 32.50. (Note that the account in the 2002 thread on the matter said the playthrough was done after the day’s event had concluded.) Rogers went on to say that, years later, head referee Mruczek removed his score of 32.50. Rogers claims to have played it again to show that 32.77 was beatable using a method of flying in between the birds to attain a score of 32.67, which would be a world record today.
That 2013 thread includes many of the same people as the 2002 thread. On page 10, Jeffy, the person who in 2002 originally posed the question of how a 32.04 could be possible, reflected:
Looking back on the old thread about Barnstorming, it’s hard to believe that Todd didn’t know that the time on the certificate was bogus. All he did was play games. He knew every score and every time he ever made, so he had to know that someone made a mistake when he received confirmation.
The end of that same 2013 thread includes a personal account from a user named “Karbuncle,” former TG staff. (Karbuncle is likely another handle used by Wolff Morrow, though Rogers seems to believe Karbuncle is Mike Morrow, brother of Wolff Morrow and current recognized ninth-place record holder for Barnstorming. Between the two of them, the exact identity of Karbuncle is unclear at this time.) Karbuncle recalls the hardship he was put through when raising questions about Rogers’ Barnstorming score behind the scenes prior to the 2002 challenge, again establishing a claim that Rogers had been directly confronted about this illegitimate score. Here Karbuncle argues toward the point of Rogers’ awareness of the invalidity of the record: “Furthermore, I come to find out later that this score was floated as legit for DECADES. I’m sorry, but when you’re trying to shave tenths of a second off, you know exactly what your score really was, so it strikes me as just a tad dishonest to not even bother to pick up a phone or write a letter to get the record corrected.”
Finally, Todd Rogers recently addressed the question of his Barnstorming score during the discussions about Dragster:
Another game in the spotlight was the Atari 2600 “Barnstorming” (3-B) score that I had in the data base. It was proven to me that the method / pattern that I used at a live event was different then the cartridge that was sold commercially and that perhaps I played on a prototype. I agreed to have that score removed from the data base. I then went to a live event to show that the current world record at that time could be beaten on the commercially sold cartridge. I performed live at the CGE Classic Gaming Expo in front of three Twin Galaxies referees as well as 30+ on lookers who watched me beat the current world record at that show. Robert also ran a TIME Decca in 2002, “Barnstorming” (1-B) in which I attained a 32.67 via an AVI file sent to him and he personally verified and logged in the competition as valid. He stands by that to this day that I did a 32.67 for that event…a time that is disputed to this day by nay-sayers just as my 32.50 was. Robert no longer has the file as he sent all his TG property to Brien King and Kelly Flewin when he left TG in Dec 19/06.
Rogers goes on to say his tapes were later lost by Twin Galaxies. He speculates it happened either when Robert Mruczek left Twin Galaxies and, as Rogers claims, failed to provide all tapes in his possession over to TG staff, or else they were included in some material seized by police during Ron Corcoran’s later legal troubles.
TLDR: Todd Rogers’ original 1982 record for Barnstorming (originally cited by Activision), with an astounding time of 32.04 seconds, was proven to be impossible in 2002, resulting in an official challenge with Twin Galaxies. After seven days of diligent review, the head referee of Twin Galaxies agreed that the score had to be disqualified on the basis of its impossibility. Incorrect accounts of these events have surfaced over the years, but the original thread is still public and reviewable. While Rogers was publicly gracious with the invalidation of his score (over a decade after its first recognition), multiple accounts suggest this was not true behind the scenes. Former staff from Twin Galaxies said they had directly questioned Rogers about the validity of that score before the issue became public. His score of 32.74 (also originally cited by Activision) stands as the current certified record, despite repeated claims from Twin Galaxies in 2002 that they had a videotape of Rogers producing a score of 32.50, a tape which they promised to make publicly available and then never did.
(One day, in September 2017, I was watching a stream when I heard someone mention something called a “Dragster”. I started googling what they were talking about, and what a rabbit hole it was! It’s August 2021 as I write this addendum, and you could say I still haven’t found my way out to this day. I posted this write-up to Reddit, knowing on some level that hitting “Submit” to such a post was a point of no return for me. Since I wasn’t very plugged in to the ongoing drama, I had totally missed a Twitch interview of Todd Rogers, in which he maintained that he really did achieve the contested Barnstorming score that was removed, even though both he and his scumbag friend Corcoran had basically admitted it was a typo at the time. Oh, Todd. If only you had tried just a little harder.)