Reaching the end of a computer game, i.e. playing through it, is a monumental task for many. Whether it’s Super Mario Bros. in the 1980s or Elton Ring in 2024, games can be very difficult. Anyone who achieves a goal celebrates it – the really good ones don’t shy away from comparing themselves to others.
Since the late 1990s, players have been comparing their best times online, giving rise to the “fast running” trend. The principle behind it is simply explained: it’s about reaching the end of the game as quickly as possible. While the average player in the first “Super Mario Bros” needed two hours to save the princess from the villain Bowser’s castle, the current world record holder, Niftsky from the United States, needed exactly 4 minutes, 54 seconds and 631 milliseconds.
Everything is allowed
However, instead of bitter competition, there is great unity in the Speedrun community, and we are always looking for faster ways to play games. Almost anything is allowed: runners, as they call themselves, use programming errors to overcome invisible walls and reach their destination even faster. As in other sports, the goal here is: practice, practice, practice. Niftsky restarted his game more than 15,000 times.
The summit is held twice a year in the U.S.: the winter “Great Games Done Quick” and the summer edition “Summer Games Done Quick” (“SGDQ”) is currently running. The main event will be played around the clock for seven days and the event will be streamed live on the Twitch platform. As with other sporting events, you don’t need any special skills to enjoy this spectacle.
The dog plays Super Nintendo
Titles run from gaming history – “quickly”. There are game series like “Super Mario”, “Sonic” and “Zelda” in which players present their skills. Some “runs” can be completed in a few minutes, some last a few hours, especially when it comes to not only reaching the goal, but also solving each additional task in the respective games.
And even those who know computer games only from stories will not miss such events. For example, on Thursday through Friday (CEST) nights, crowd favorite “Peanut Butter,” the Shiba Inu dog, must play baseball on the Super Nintendo to win. Or the German streamer “PubGia” blindly playing “Super Mario 64” on a Saturday evening with forty minutes to spare.
However, it is not easy to explain the attraction of the event: at first glance, there is a lot happening on the screen, and the action often ends faster than you can see. You can follow players better after two or three games because the game is giving feedback. The event was featured in the online culture magazine “Wired”. Once explained more theoretically: Games pretend to be worlds, but are actually just machines. “By breaking down and manipulating these machines, speed runners help us see how the world works.”
46 million euros in donations have already been collected
Participants come from all over the world, of all ages, and the event has long been considered an LGBTQ-friendly event. The community always invites interested players to try speed runs and usually offers support via the Discord chat platform. The only requirement is patience.
Also: “Games Done Quick” is purely a charity event – supported by the US NGO Prevent Cancer Foundation in the winter and Doctors Without Borders in the summer. ORF.at said 49.4 million USD (about 46 million euros) in donations had been collected since 2010. Because viewers can have a say in what happens to their contributions: for example, the level of difficulty can be increased if a certain donation goal is reached.
The gaming community likes to show its best side
The aim was to become anti-social in the often darkly portrayed game. The event is set up and managed by players who are now focused on ensuring that controversial statements – similar to the Eurovision Song Contest – are not made. Unlike eSports events, where primarily first-person shooters are played competitively, the focus is on community and good humor. It’s the streaming equivalent of Feel Good TV — only faster.
The “Games Done Fast” isn’t the only big name: the European counterpart of the “European Speedrunner Assembly” takes place twice a year. The small event in Sweden includes competition for a good cause.
