Speedrunning is the act of completing a game as quickly as possible. It gained popularity in the video game community with “GDQ” events. 2019 was a notable year, since the program raised a total of $3 million.
This past year, the streamer ZFG has broken the world record for “Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 100%” using a series of glitches and exploits, they beat the game in three hours and three minutes. A notable accomplishment since the game can take around an average of thirty hours to complete. So, what is the allure of speedrunning?
Speedrunning can be approached in three categories: a scholarly source, a competitive scene (as participant or viewer) and a hobby. Each idea is deeply connected and points to the complex allure of speedrunning.
In the video “Summoning Salt: The Quest for 1 Million Subscribers,” YouTuber Summoning Salt thanked fans for his support and active community. He describes his initial draw to speedrunning as the attempts to beat “Punchout!!” From here, he was drawn into creating detailed documentaries describing the history, innovations and story behind every run. Notable videos being on “The Quest to Beat Matt Turk,” “Castlevania” and “Mario Kart 64.”
Though Summoning Salt is not the only member of the community who has charted and popularized aspects of this community. Bismuth creates similar documentaries on speedrunning. While Lowest Percent goes into detailed research and answers complicated questions like “Who finds the glitches used in speedruns?”
However, speedrunning is not the only competitive challenge layered onto games. “Blitz Chess” is a rethinking of an age-old board game where time limits are reduced in-favor of quick action. Creating shorter, and more frantic games. A play style that directly mirrors one aspect of speedrunning: the records.
Records have been a core part of video games since the first arcade cabinet featuring Donkey Kong appeared. Billy Mitchell created a certain buzz around the game as he set new world records in-game. This record is the subject of the documentary “King of Kong,” as Billy Mitchell helped create a competitive scene around video games that carried on into games without scores.
As Nintendo conquered the home market with “Super Mario World” and “A Link to the Past” arcade scores were soon pushed to the wayside. Video games lost a certain competitive mystique in favor of story or experience. This changed by the early 2000s, as the internet became readily available and competitive communities formed around classic games.
Chris Tominkson describes this experience in an interview with NPR. He talks about visiting “SpeedDemosArchive” for the first time to see his childhood game “Super Metroid” had been completed 100% in under an hour. This motivated Tominkson to become involved in the community and actively speedrun the game. The game has become one of the most popular games to run at live events. A notable run is a four-person race.
Chris Tominkson is one of many stories within the community. Every runner has their personal history of a game and its community. Each adds their skill, commentary and records. New runners bring innovations and new games to the slate. Games like “Scooby-Doo! Night of a 100 Frights” or “SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom” have found new life in the speedrunning community.
Speedrunning as a hobby has become a way to draw a community together into a conversation. The content and history created around these games have become a part of our culture. A response to the interconnectivity of the world and the athletic challenges we impose on the games we cherish.
Benjamin Ervin is a senior studying English literature and writing at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Benjamin know by emailing him be425014@ohio.edu.
