Man vs Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler (2015)

If you ever played the game "Snake" on your early model Nokia cellphone, then you're familiar with "Nibbler," the original "snake" game. MAN VS SNAKE tells the story of Tim McVey (the gamer... See full summary »

Directors:

Tim Kinzy, Andrew Seklir

Stars:

Tim McVey, Walter Day, Dwayne Richard

5 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim McVey	...	Self
Walter Day	...	Self
Dwayne Richard	...	Self
Enrico Zanetti	...	Self
Billy Mitchell	...	Self
Joshuah Bearman	...	Self
Tina McVey	...	Self
Tom Asaki	...	Self
Rick Carter	...	Self
Joe Ulowetz	...	Self
John Jaugilas	...	Self
Mark Hoff	...	Self
Richie Knucklez	...	Self
Patrick O'Malley	...	Self
Glenn Thomas	...	Self

Storyline

If you ever played the game "Snake" on your early model Nokia cellphone, then you're familiar with "Nibbler," the original "snake" game. MAN VS SNAKE tells the story of Tim McVey (the gamer not the bomber) who in 1984, on a single quarter (and over forty-four hours of non-stop play) was the first person in history to score over one billion points on a video game. This historic accomplishment led the City of Ottumwa to declare a civic day in Tim's honor (Tim McVey Day) and present him with the key to the city. Twenty-five-years later, when rumors of a higher score surface online, attributed to Italian kick-boxing champion Enrico Zanetti, it calls into question everything Tim McVey has believed for decades and forces him to make a decision: either set a new world record, or risk losing his legacy forever. Now middle-aged and out of shape, Tim discovers that reclaiming the Nibbler title will not be easy. Packed with unexpected twists and turns, the film documents one of the epic ...

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Plot Keywords:

competition | championship | champion | india | drugs | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

MS-DOS 5.0, released in June of 1991, featured a game called Nibbles, written in QBasic and embedded in the software. It was a game in which a snake moved around a board eating numbers 1 to 9 and getting longer. The game ended when the snake ran into itself, another optional player controlled 2nd snake, or hit a wall.

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Connections

References Repo Man (1984)

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Soundtracks

Persischer Marsch Op. 289
written by Johann Strauss
performed by Armonie Chamber Orchestra
courtesy of Chicago Music Library

User Reviews

Enjoyable, but a bit over-long.

Before I saw this documentary, I can't recall ever hearing about a video game called 'Nibbler'. This surprised me a bit, as I grew up during the heyday of coin-op video games in the late 70s and through the 80s and played quite a few. Somehow I missed Nibbler. I also missed the insane record that some odd people have pursued...trying to score a billion or more on this game. This feat takes almost two days to do...and is grueling...though you do wonder why!

This film is specifically about a guy from Ottumwa, Iowa who was the first to break the billion mark. While Tim McVey (not THAT one) did this, what's interesting about him is that decades later, he's STILL playing that accursed game in an effort to have the highest score ever, as his unbeatable mark has been beaten.

Unlike "King of Kong", this documentary looks like it must have taken about a decade to make. Some of this might have been due to financing...and some due to Tim's continued obsession with the game. Regardless, it is interesting and I am glad I saw it...but I also felt that it was too long and my interest was waning a bit near the end.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uomo contro serpente: la lunga e contorta storia di Nibbler

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD