Former Lynner a video visionary

LYNN – Some may make the trek to Ottumwa, Iowa, to see the boyhood home of actor and comedian Tom Arnold.Soon that trip can include the newly established Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum.Walter Day Jr., 61, a Lynn native, is the spearhead of an initiative to grow the fledgling institution into the world’s first video game-based amusement attraction. It would include specialty museums, statues, events and, if all goes as planned, a resurrected Twin Galaxies Video Game Parlor.How this town of 27,000 became the focal point of video gaming can be traced to the early 1980s.Day, founder of Ottumwa’s Twin Galaxies arcade, watched in awe as one of his customers achieved an outstanding score on Defender.As the story goes, Tony Mattan stunned bystanders by racking up what was thought to be the highest score ever achieved on the game. His curiosity primed, Day contacted the Chicago-based manufacturer, Williams Electronics, only to learn nobody there had considered recording or archiving game scores.Sensing a need and a business opportunity, Day began visiting video arcades. On Feb. 9, 1982 he released a database dubbed the Twin Galaxies National Scoreboard, essentially making himself the official record keeper of high scores for video gaming worldwide. The following November, then-Ottumwa Mayor Jerry Parker declared the city the “Video Game Capital of the World,” an event documented by LIFE magazine.The proclamation was backed up by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, the Atari game manufacturing company, and the Amusement Game Manufacturers Association. The official ceremony was held at the Twin Galaxies arcade on March 19, 1983.As the years ticked by, Day continued to keep stats. The 984-page “Twin Galaxies Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records” was published in 1998, compiling scores dating back to 1981.According to Day, a second volume, as yet unreleased, will contain records for PC games as well as seventh-generation gaming systems such as the Wii, the PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360.”I’m living out here where there are nothing but rolling cornfields in every direction,” he told The Item last week. “I fell in love with video games and I have been here ever since. I came back to Lynn in late May this year because two aunts and a cousin died back-to-back. The city was so beautiful, with the rocks and trees and the ocean. I found out how much I really love Lynn. It was like my heart swelled. I felt that it is my true home.”Day, a 1967 Lynn English High graduate, grew up on Lockwood Road, the son of Barbara and Walter Day Sr. He later attended North Shore Community College and Salem State, planning to pursue a career as a high school English or history teacher. In 1979, he moved to Fairfield, Iowa, neighbor to his current hometown of Ottuwna, to join the Transcendental Meditation movement.In addition to his role as founder and full-time volunteer for the Hall of Fame, Day composes music. “I have 138 songs written so far,” he said. “But I’m still at the very beginning of doing something with them.”Although the museum will consider recognizing pinball games, its major focus will be video games, like Pac-Man, released in 1980, and Donkey Kong and Centipede, unveiled the following year.”Just like before the Rock ?n Roll Hall of Fame was built, there were a lot of promotions and induction ceremonies. That’s where we are now,” said Day, noting that many of the vintage games are stored at his home or at the Ottumwa Chamber of Commerce.Once constructed, the museum will be to video gamers what the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. is to baseball fans.The Video Game Capital Awards at the Bridge View convention center in Ottumwa on Aug, 6 will see all six cheerleaders and half of the 16 gamers featured in the 1982 LIFE magazine photo. Day’s company, Twin Galaxies, is on the list of award recipients.While the awards honor the past, video gaming continues to make national news, such as last week’s announcement that former Red Sox pitc