AtariAsteroids.net

On Friday, February 8, 2013, at 7:00 pm PST, Bruce Glick begins his uninterrupted 48-hour session of Atari Asteroids at Mama's on 39 in Huntington Beach, California, also streaming live on Twitch.

Glick is working up to a world-record attempt. He’s got his eye on John McAllister's 2010 high score of 41,338,740, although beating it won't be an easy feat. Before that, Asteroids was the longest-standing unbeaten arcade game record, set in 1982 by Scott Safran.

But Glick isn't just doing this for personal glory. He's doing it for the kids. We spoke with him to find out more.

Atari Asteroids: How did you first come up with the idea for this marathon session?

Bruce Glick: I guess it was just a natural progression. I needed to do something in a live setting and I want the experience before I make the attempt at the record.

AA: Why is a live setting important?

BG: It's the way Scott Safran did it back in the day, and that's how it should be done now. Too many people are doing these exclusively on the internet. Takes the coolness out of it. Plus there's way more pressure.

AA: Last year, you completed a 36-hour-straight session where you scored 18,000,000. What was that like?

BG: It was awesome! Never attempted anything like this before. All my neighbors and some friends came over at different intervals to watch and cheer me on.

AA: How have you been preparing for this upcoming 48-hour session?

BG: My actual game play is sporadic due to my heavy work load. When I do play it's more for an hour or two at a time, working on technique and reflex. My real training has come in the form of exercise for physical health. I felt this was extremely important for me. I was definitely overweight and not in the best shape. I am proud to say since October 30th I've lost 40 lbs and exercise regularly.

AA: I hear you’ve gotten involved with the McKenna Claire Foundation for this event.

BG: The McKenna Claire Foundation raises money for pediatric brain cancer research. I figured if I’m going to do something that’s going to attract attention and people will be watching, then I might as well make it worth-while. They have made a huge impact in our town, and it's for a great cause.

I met with Dave and Kristine Wetzel [the foundation’s Co-Founders and McKenna’s parents], and they were nice enough to give my wife and me a jacket with the MCF logo on it. I will be wearing it in the morning during my runs. It is very inspiring to me.

AA: It sounds like kids' health is very important to you.

BG: Yes, it’s the future of our country. “The Biggest Loser” has really touched on the subject this season. The fact that video games are being blamed for a large portion of the epidemic doesn’t sit well with me. I know it defiantly plays a part in it.

I want to show kids that doing something like a 48-hour marathon actually takes physical training and good health to achieve. Kids shouldn’t spend countless hours gaming. Even when I was a kid and we had our Atari 2600 and our local arcade we still rode bikes, skateboards, built forts. We did stuff.

AA: You have your own Asteroids machine. What other arcade games do you own?

BG: I currently have two Asteroids machines, Gauntlet 2, Galaxian, Missile Command, and a MAME system (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator). It has pretty much every game you can think of plus all the ones you forgot about.

AA: What do you look for in an Asteroids machine, for an event like this?

BG: I just play it and if she’s smooth it’s good. These games are so old they’re either in good condition or they’re not. One thing to consider is the PCB basically the heart of the game. If the PCB looks good no cracks in the solder, no blistering of capacitors or burn spots any where then it’s probably good. It’s really just luck to get one that works well.

The machine that I will be doing my 48-hour on is the biggest piece of crap ever. Seriously it’s embarrassing how messed up it is. The reason I play it is because its internals are nice. It’s basically the Millennium Falcon.

AA: So what can people expect on February 8-10? If they're in the area, can they stop by Mama's?

BG: Yes, yes! It’s open to the public -- it’s a live forum. I will have all my games down there for people to play so anybody, even McAllister, could roll up and go head to head with me. Mama’s has great service, food, and atmosphere. They have a nice bar and big screens for watching your favorite sporting event. Anybody is welcome to walk up and talk to me. I may not be able to make good eye contact but I will definitely be able to answer any questions anybody has or just talk about whatever.

I don’t know if McAllister has seen your site or knows anything about me, but it sure would be cool if he was in the area that weekend. I would love to meet that guy. He is a legend in the vintage video game world, and if anybody doesn’t know, the current world record holder.

AA: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

BG: Just for the record I’m not looking for personal notoriety. I just want to raise money for the foundation and play my game. It’s really not about me -- it’s about everyone else involved. Without all the great people that have been helping me I wouldn’t be answering these questions or doing the 48-hour at Mama’s. Generating interest in vintage games is always cool though.

It's the 2012 U.S. presidential race, and one topic is glaringly absent from the public discourse: where do the candidates stand on asteroids?

Let's look at the incumbent's record. Two years ago, at the "Conference on the American Space Program for the 21st Century" at Kennedy Space Center, President Obama said that by 2025, "We'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history." Perhaps the most important goal set by any U.S. president in decades.

Well, Mitt?

Both candidates recently answered 14 questions about science, asked by ScienceDebate.org. Steven Salzberg at Forbes has a good review.

Romney on space: "A strong and successful NASA does not require more funding, it needs clearer priorities. I will ensure that NASA has practical and sustainable missions."

But what priorities can we expect from a man who would smile at Big Bird while sinking the knife in? Salzburg says, "If I worked for NASA, I’d be worried."

Meanwhile, Obama re-states his goals for a manned mission to an asteroid: "This exciting work will lead us to important new discoveries and take us to destinations we would have never visited."

Now why should the U.S. voter care about asteroids? Aside from the obvious (blowing them up for entertainment), reasons include Learning Things, Getting Stuff, and Saving the Planet.

The latest in Awesome Actual News Related to Spaceships and Asteroids comes from the Scottish University of Strathclyde's Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory, where researchers have proposed using asteroid dust to shield our planet from the Sun, reducing solar radiation enough to slow global warming for a bit.

The plan is to push a nearby asteroid -- the best candidate being 1036 Ganymed -- to Langrange point L1, where the gravitational pull of the sun and the Earth balance each other, and then BLAST THE ASTEROID INTO EARTH-SHIELDING SMITHEREENS.

Now this is what we're taking about! What with Scott Manley's recent HD video of asteroid discovery, AtariAsteroids.net will gladly buy any Scotish astronomer a pint or a dram.

The Atlantic has a good article with more details.