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Richard Piatt ReportingA 22-year old University of Utah student is the current world champion of a video game called 'Geometry Wars'. But even he admits that could change soon. We sent Richard Piatt to Nathan Platt's home today to catch him while he's still on top.
When he sits there, mild-mannered Nathan Platt becomes Billy Blaze 3-14.
Nathan Platt: "I just take out wave after wave without getting hit."
It's an X-Box 360 game that's a cross between Asteroids and Defender, if you remember those. In the game deadly shapes chase and shoot at your ship. You defend yourself and rack up as many points as you can. BillyBlaze 314 has 65,435,255 points---the best score in the world.
Nathan Platt , "BillyBlaze314": "When I first got the game, it was really hard; I didn't think I'd get a million points."
Nathan spends a lot of time--at least eight hours a week--keeping sharp, defending his spot. Closing in fast is the guy he unseated about a week ago, a New Yorker calling himself 'Carnage'. Nathan chats with him thru the Internet.
Nathan Platt: "I think it was a cool achievement, so I enjoyed my time at the top. But I'm not going to worry if I go down to second..."
Nathan says it's a bit stressful at the top, but there's an upside, too.
Nathan Platt , "BillyBlaze314": "To me it's a really fun thing. To say I'm a world champion at anything is pretty cool."
Games like this take practice and time, but the world champ is quick to point out, he still has a life away from the game, too.