What is speedrunning?

With Summer Games Done Quick fast approaching, it can be worthwhile to help people new or unfamiliar to the community understand what exactly speedrunning is, why it’s interesting, and some of the more intriguing history behind it. Let's explore speedrunning together in all its glory.

---

Speedrunning 101: Gotta go fast

Sonic Mania Encore Chemical Plant Act 1 Speedrun. (34'62)Sorta messed up near the end though.#SonicActsUnder140 pic.twitter.com/gw012c1DXv

— Metal Mugen (@MugenSonic) August 9, 2020

The best way to think of speedrunning is as a race. Sometimes that race is a sprint, a marathon, a relay, or a triathlon, but ultimately the end goal of speedrunning is to accomplish some set of goals in the fastest possible time in competition with other speedrunners.

Speedrunning can be more or less popular based both upon the game and whichever ruleset is followed.

---

Speedrunning 201: Games and Rules

After speaking with someone who guided me through the speedrun rules, I CAN DO THIS WITH DSFIX ON DSPTD!!!! #praisethesun and #praisethecookies!!!!#Speedrun tests will commence in Jan with my first attempt at official run in Feb/March. If I can even hit top 25 I'd be happy.

— The Cookie Pope (@AgentConradTV) December 12, 2018

For example, a common speedrun would be something like “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Glitchless Any%,” which translates to playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time without using glitches with any percent of the game completed (usually as little as possible). The “Glitchless 100%” category, however, is a much less popular ruleset.

Very popular games will have multiple rulesets that effectively change how the race is run, whether it allows for the use of glitches, or just some, or none, and how much of the game needs to be completed to count.

The most popular games, such as Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, or classic DOOM, are frequently large enough to have entire communities dedicated to a specific ruleset, not just the game as a whole.

Further rules include what the game can be played on, such as which console or emulator, what frame rate the game can run at, which character is used, which difficulty, and so on. Check out any game you’re interested in and scope out the rule sets to see how the speedrunning community divides it.

---

Speedrunning 301: Rule Enforcement

A critical point when it comes to keeping speedrunning fun and exciting is that the community is willing and capable of enforcing their community rules. This dedication to the legitimacy of their competition is part of why speedrunning has lasted as long as it has.

Each game, and sometimes each rule set, has a series of moderators who are frequently speedrunners themselves, who hold their community responsible. This comes in the form of investigating suspicious activity, verifying runs, and collecting data, and creating rules.

Oftentimes the rules they create are meant to explicitly prevent cheating, such as requiring a camera on a competitors hands during the game. These experts have caught some very blatant attempts to falsify runs, but they have the tools and expertise necessary to catch even more well disguised attempts.

SGDQ is coming in just a few days, so if you’ve never checked out what speedrunning has to offer, make sure to give it a watch. Even if you’re new, SGDQ features detailed commentary to make sure everyone can enjoy it.