| TEMUKA: "This arcade has been like a second home to me," quipped Wilson and it's hard to disagree. Every day after work at Temuka Sports and Fishing the 32-year-old Wilson would head down to Temuka Takeaways to play his all time favourite game Pac Man.
Yesterday all this hard work and commitment payed off with Shane recording his first ever perfect score, that is, gobbling every blue dot, every energizer, every man and piece of fruit without losing a single man, and knocking up a score of 3,333,360 points in the process. Only one other has achieved such a feat, and seen the Holy Grail of video gaming, the 256th level where the game turns into a split screen - with half of the screen static while the other half remains dedicated to the game. "One in a million people have seen that screen," a starry eyed Wilson told me this morning. After spending a little time with this man it's hard not to be impressed by his personality and charm, and to have some of his enthusiasm for the game rub off on you. A game he mastered almost by chance, "You know Pac Man wasn't always my favourite, Donkey Kong was when I was working at Reid Farmers, but the arcade swapped the Donkey Kong machine for Pac Man one day, and I haven't looked back since." In Temuka, Wilson is now regarded as somewhat of a legend. Word of his feat has spread like wildfire through the streets of this small country town. Walking with him now to the tearooms where we will have our interview, people are stopping him to chat about his achievement. Later over a pot of tea and some cream buns at the tearooms, Wilson relives the game with me. His voice takes on a reverential tone as he talks about the game, describing the near misses and close shaves in graphic detail. "I just about fell apart at the 1.9 million point mark, as I suddenly realised that I still had 100 boards to go," he revealed to me "But you know, it was just a day when all of the elements came together for me, I got myself into that zone, and nothing could touch me. It was perfect." As I leave Temuka for my flight back home, that sentence sticks in my head. Thank you Shane, you really are perfect.  Shane Wilson. Champion. |
| Shane Wilson, man on a mission |
Sunday, 01 July 2001 12:00
