Your "High Score Table" Initials of Choice?

[Wavelflack]

Just out of curiosity, how many of you actually enter your own initials when playing an arcade game? How many use "funny" initials? How many use a distinct code?

From the time that I managed to make my way onto high score tables (Defender, believe it or not!), I have always used "XRX". Why? Because those letters are fucking cool, that's all. I felt that it was my personal stamp on a machine, even more so than my legitimate initials, to use XRX. Not only are they cool letters, but the fact that they could not possibly be "real" initials would lead to a mystique of sorts. "Who is 'XRX'?" (etc.)...or something like that.

Of course, whenever I encountered a late model (1986-up) Atari machine, I would circumvent my normal "XRX" routine and take advantage of the full sentence worth of space those machines allotted you. "FUCKING DICKHEAD" was a top scorer at Hard Drivin', at least in my my neck of the woods. Unfortunately, around the time that Steel Talons came out, Atari wised up, and entering an expletive in the high score table resulted in a generic "PLAYER" entry (or did it just leave a blank? I can't remember now..)

One fun little anecdote of mine: A local convenience store had a Merit Pit Boss machine, with Trivia Whiz as one of it's selections. I can't believe how many quarters I spent on god-damned Trivia Whiz, but it was a LOT! Anyway, my cousin and I liked the game, but a completely annoying acquaintence also played it religiously. Suffice it to say, we hated the guy for being so irritating, but I couldn't manage to get rid of him! We had a plan, though: We would get very high scores on all of the categories, and stage our scores so that we could enter long messages down the length of the score tables!
(Quick note before proceeding: The irritant in question was named "Dave", but was universally referred to as "Nacho". Moving on..)
Well, it took awhile, but we finally managed to pull it off. End result? No matter which category you selected (sports, entertainment, science, etc.), the high score table (which allowed 10 characters or so per entry) would read :

1. NACHO IS A
2. FUCKING FAG
3. WHO EATS
4. DICKS
5. AND BALLS

Of course, there were variations in the messages between categories, but the fact remained that not only did the guy have a machine slandering him 24 hours a day, on multiple games, but the scores themselves were high enough that his meager talent couldn't get in to change them! The machine stayed that way for nearly a week, desecrating the guy with every attract screen cycle, until someone reset the power to the machine and ruined it. Oh well. It was worth it.

Anyway, what do you put in your high score slot?

[hydr0x]

i use JAN, because my name is Jan and it fits nicely

[maxlords]

I use "MAX". Go figure

[digitalpress]

I LOVE that story, Wavel. You know, when the next book comes out I'm expecting you to turn some of these in as LORE. Great stuff.

[GENESISNES]

At my old babysitters house, my friend and I played enough NBA JAM for Sega Genesis to get the #3 slot(beat all 26 teams) and i was about to put my initials in, (GJG) when my friend told me to put in GEF on account of it shows some of my first name. Needless to say, I always use those initials in arcade games, and my babysitters son erased my game and was mad at me for taking his spot on the top 3.

[stonecutter]

For the 3 letter entries I use my first initial, first letter of game title, and last initial.

[Oobgarm]

OOB - see my AIM name for the origin. I used to put my actual initials DAC in games, but I like OOB much better. Looks unusual and different.

EDIT: Silly me, look at my damn handle for the origin as well! *hits self in face for being a dumbass and forgetting his forum name*

[Chunky]

I use Chunk or Chunky if i can...but on only 3 for some reason i use 'BIZ'

i don't know why either I like the BIZ


You..............you got what I neeeeeeeeed but you say he's just a friend, And you say he's just a friend.

[Captain Wrong]

Usually "ROB", sometimes "ZAP" sometimes "FAG" (if I'm feeling juvenile.)

[den68]

I've always used DEN, even if more characters are allowed.

[buttasuperb]

I use BKO, it's my last name shortened, and it rhymes with TKO, which means that your high score JUST GOT KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT!

[Britboy]

POT

[NE146]

I remember the early days some games (notably Space Invaders Part II), where you get to put your full fame on display. Unsurprisingly this provided an obvious incitement to obscenity.. and the fact that it was obscenity in neon made it all the more irresistable. Instead of seeing KEITH MILLER or PAUL CHURCH or whoever up there on the honored line, you were more likely to be confronted by FUCK OFF or UP YOURS or SHITHEAD in a wide variety of spellings.

There isn't much the dirty minded graffitist can do with three letters, though of course you get many a COQ, FUC, and ASS and all the other configurations I remember BUM being pretty popular. AAA was the "cool" thing to mark up for the simple reason that it requires least effort (three quick taps on the Fire button), showing the person's contempt for the whole convention.

(ok the above aint me.. it's paraphrased from some book. Just thought you'd like it )

Anyway, Me? These days I just put "NE"..

[Iron Monkey]

Iron Monkey High Score Initial of CHOICE!
Is "IRONMONKEY".
Is Top Score on All game Okinawa.
Champion I!
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!

[TheRedEye]

I'm a COK man myself.

[Nature Boy]

How can I compete with Wavel's story? I can't. So I won't.

But I like the topic so I'll contribute anyway.

For myself, I use one of three: JAS, JGG, or SKP. The first is the first three letters of my first name, the middle are my initials proper, and the last is my nickname without the vowel. These days I usually use SKP.

Awhile back a friend of mine had a contest of sorts to see who could come up with the 'best' names for another friends first child. My entries into the competition all revolved around ensuring that, when a 3 character initial was used for a high score table, that the end result would be ... well funny. Luckly the last name I had to work with was Kasunic.

My favourite: Francis Ulysses Kasunic... (I can't even spell Ulsysejfa anymore...)

[jonjandran]

ACE Because I just bumped your high score down.

MOO HOO HA HA
MOO HOO HA HA
(Evil Laugh)

[Kid Fenris]

I use "KID," "FEN," and "RIS" in rotation, and recently I've been adding a "COM." Every now and then, the top four scores will line up just right.

And if I see "FAG," "ASS," or similar attempts at cleverness on the high scores list, I'll play until they're booted from the rankings. I'm not a straight-edge, but it reminds me of those people who rented RPGs and erased someone's 30-hour quest to make way for a save slot that they would dub "FAGUT" or "BUTTHED."

[NE146]

it reminds me of those people who rented RPGs and erased someone's 30-hour quest to make way for a save slot that they would dub "FAGUT" or "BUTTHED."

hahaha yknow oddly enough any RPG throughout the years (after Phantasy Star) that I had the opportunity to name myself, it was always something like "you ass" or similar. My whole Chrono Trigger party was "the slut", "you ass", and a whole bunch of other dufus names. It just tended to make inject the game with a little more goofiness especially in the "tender" Final Fantasy segments. e.g. It's more fun during a supposedly heartwrenching moment when someone talks to you saying "help me you ass!"

[gamergary]

I put GMW or ASS if the game wasn't going to well for me.