Did you just watch King of Kong? Were you secretly jealous of the players that frequented Twin Galaxies? Ever wanted to be the undisputed master of a game? Sure, we can’t all be Steve Wiebe or Billy Mitchell, but after listening to a bunch of old masters discuss their techniques (including Leonard Taylor, Jonathan Koolpe, Mark Alpiger, Todd Walker and Franz Lanzinger), I think that there are a couple of fundamental core principles that are crucial to success.

Sure, every game is different. You need some sort of local knowledge. For instance, in Galaga, sometimes it is smart to allow one of your ships to be captured or to leave the boss ships alone. It might put you in a better position to attack. In Tempest, the key to winning is to find a key angle of the figure and to mostly stick there. Knowing when to attack an enemy – Tempest’s fuse balls should be shot as they travel back down the slope – is far more important than just firing wildly.

As I watched these masters discuss their games, I realized that this specific knowledge really boils down to one principle. Pick a game and memorize it. Memorize every enemy pattern. Practice until your movements in the game happen as fast as you can think them. Timing is everything. When you take an action in the game, it must have a reason. Don’t just shoot enemies because they are there on the screen. The most important lesson, however, came from Taylor, “Keep cool, have patience, stay in touch with the game and keep shooting.” As he poetically put it, if you’re about to lose, “try to blow some bubble gum before it happens.” If you’re determined to be a master, you can’t get frustrated. You will lose time and time again before you win.

Honestly, I didn’t learn much from these guys. They gave their little demonstrations and talked about how to win, but I don’t think I could actually repeat many of their tips back to you. The same is probably true of every person in that room. I guess that wasn’t the point. The audience didn’t go in to find out how to win at Frogger. They were there to hear these guys speak about their passion. It is rare to see that kind of insane dedication to a single game, and honestly, it is pretty damn fun to see them pull off those incredible feats of gaming.