Beyond Fortnite and League of Legends players, Twitch hosts a very particular corner of the video game world: speedrun enthusiasts. "But Jamy, what is Speedrun?" Don’t panic, Blacknut will explain it all, step by step.
Finishing Super Mario Bros in 5 minutes is possible. No, we're not cheating; this achievement is achieved under normal game conditions, you can even do it at home. All you need to do is launch your game of choice and go as fast as possible.
Let's start from the beginning, that is to say a few lexical clarifications. A person who speedruns is called a Speedrunner, the term doesn't really have an equivalent in French (speed: vitesse, runner: coureur). A Speedrunner doesn't just play, they launch a run and if they are the fastest, they grab the World Record (world record).
To reach their goal, the latter will use Glitches, the bugs in the game that a casual player won't encounter, because they require performing very precise actions, in the right order. A glitch can have many outcomes, such as passing through a closed door, or teleporting you to the end of the game just as you start your game.
Some even allow you to go beyond the game's bounds; we call these glitches Out of Bounds (OOB for the insiders) which means "outside the limits".
Now that you have the basics, we can dig a little deeper. It is virtually possible to Speedrun any game, but not all are finishable in a few minutes.
Although retro games are generally glitch-prone, some games, such as role-playing games (RPGs for the initiated) can require several hours of run. Count on about ten hours for a Final Fantasy 9 speedrun. Some lesser-known games, like Baten Kaitos require a staggering number of hours; the current world record is at "only" 341 hours.
Speedrunning is a practice that can seem hard to access, and it's true that some games are not "speedrunnable" for everyone. It is entirely possible to find an easier game to run. It all depends on the zeal of the programmers. The better the code is written, the harder glitches will be to find.
By searching, simply. This involves hours and hours spent running into walls, making manipulations in the inventory and many other actions more bizarre than the others.
Do you want to try the experience? Nothing could be easier, the Speedrun community welcomes you with open arms. Speedrun route sheets are available online; these explain in detail the steps to follow and the actions to perform. They will guide you in your quest for the optimal time. Be aware that these are most often in English.
The schedule of a speedrunner is fairly simple. Their days, often streamed online and live, are usually devoted to training. Streaming on Twitch lets the speedrunner earn a living and build a community.
But several times a year, events called "Marathons" are organized, often in convention centers. These are essentially Twitch streams that last about a week. A week during which speedrunners will string together performances live and without interruption. These events are mainly an opportunity to do good. They raise real funds for charities like the Prevent Cancer Foundation or Doctors Without Borders, in a manner similar to telethons. GDQ, one of the best-known marathons, is a biannual event and has raised over a million dollars in donations at each edition for many years.
So, how long did it take you to read this article?