Speed run Mario to prevent cancer and help developing countries
Gaming, for quite some time, has gotten a pretty bad rep from non-gamers. We’ve all seen the sensationalised headlines in the news about videogames encouraging violence in kids, causing ADD and, worst of all, making your eyes go square from staring at the screen for too long.
You might also remember your parents criticising how much time you spent playing games. Classic lines included:
“Your brain is going to turn to mush”
or
“You’re never gonna get anywhere playing those all day.”
You may even have had that one friend whose parents wouldn’t let them play video games under the argument that they’re bad for his brain (Press F to pay respects).
Now for me personally, I think a lot of these claims were simply scaremongering tactics by the parent-archy to get kids to play less games and do more chores. However, imagine being able to conclusively say to these people:
“You know guys, gaming has actually been proven to help prevent cancer and aid people in developing countries.”
You pause, allowing them time to scoff as you prepare yourself for sweet, sweet vindication. They exclaim:
“What nonsense are you on about?!”
And then, like Fallout has taught you for all those years, you drop…..
“The Fat Man”
For those unfamiliar with what’s being shown in the picture, that number is the earnings generated by the most recent Games Done Quick charity speed running event.
Yep. That much.
The Event
Games Done Quick (GDQ for short) is a long running, American based event where gamers from all over the world meet to both spectate and play their favourite games in unique and interesting ways.
The event lasts for around one week in early January, with a separate summer version in June/July and is streamed throughout the entire process. The whole thing is run in a marathon format, so once the starting gun sounds, it’s non-stop games till the end.
Remember that thing about games helping to prevent cancer and kids in third world countries? That comes in the form of the charities the event helps sponsor.
The Prevent Cancer Foundation (literally in the name) and Doctors Without Borders are frequent beneficiaries of GDQ, and almost every single year the events make more money for them than the last.
Now, the major draw of these events are, as the title implies, the speed running. The world’s most nimble fingers and thumbs gather here en masse to display and test their skills. Over the years this has led to some truly astounding displays of talent and hard work (and possibly some carpel tunnel).
Old games, new games and games more obscure than Russia’s political connections are all represented here, so you’re bound to find something you’re interested in. What is a little different, however, is the sheer variety of categories on offer.
People can run anything, including 2 minute long game skipping glitch runs, blindfolded Zelda playthroughs or even 9 hour long marathons of Chrono Trigger (and people said video games give you ADD).
Included below is a highlight reel of some of the best bits of this year’s GDQ to give you a little taste of what goes on there.
Like with “real sports”, some games attract greater crowds than others. For instance, whenever Super Mario 64 is to be run, you can bet your Gameboy Micro that people are going to turn up. It is currently (and has been for quite some time) the most popular game in the speed running community.
Playing this game has truly become a form of art (insert video games can’t be art joke). The best in the world currently spend hours grinding away just to gain a few extra seconds. The world record for one of the most popular categories, the “120 star” run, was recently brought down to under 100 minutes by a runner known as Cheese05.
This run is considered a landmark in the speed running community. For years, people speculated if it was even possible, and Cheese05 was the guy to finally prove that it was. Below you’ll find a link to the run.
If you have the time, I’d highly recommend watching it. Even if you’ve never played Super Mario 64, you can still appreciate just how incredible the reactions and skills are on display.
What’s even more important to notice, however, is just how much it means to Cheese05 once he finally gets it. Sure, it might just be a game, but the effort he put in to better himself and achieve is incredibly real.
And with that, we get to what is at the heart of these events. Despite initial notions, GDQ is about much more than who can make Mario twerk the fastest backwards through a wall. Probably.
The People
What really makes this event such an amazing experience is the people. By the people, I mean you. I mean me. I mean everyone who enjoys playing video games, alone or with friends. I especially mean that one guy who speed runs The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time blindfolded and moves through the game entirely on sound-based cues.
Dear god man, if it’s anyone I mean, it’s you.
But seriously, the beauty of GDQ is that it doesn’t work without everyone getting involved. It brings us together as a community, to rise up and help each other for a common cause.
Every year the event raises incredible amounts of money for charity, and this is all done while simply enjoying ourselves watching and partaking in a hobby we all love. How freakin’ cool is that?
And it doesn’t.
Stop.
There.
The event gears itself towards creating donation incentives for viewers. What that means is that some speed runners will undertake unusual or challenging tasks once a certain donation amount has been reached.
This can be literally anything and has developed into some delightful occurrences over the years. For instance, a staple of GDQ is to donate for the Super Metroid run asking to “Kill” or “Save” the “animals”.
As a little bit of background, at the end of Super Metroid, players can choose to fate of the animals they find there. Choosing to kill them saves time on the run but saving them is the canonical “good” ending. This run frequently results in large donation wars and is always an entertaining part of the event.
Sometimes the incentives can be a little more esoteric. One such example is that of Ratchet and Clank speed runner Xem. Xem is a great guy, a recurring runner at GDQ and currently holds world records across numerous games. He’s also a pretty kick-ass operatic singer.
Xem frequently has donation incentives regarding his singing, and it’s always a delight when it occurs. His beautiful voice has sent to our ears such catchy tunes as “Mein Sehnen, mein Wahnen”, the household favourite “Nessun Dorma” and even the American national anthem.
Included below is a lovely short video demonstrating those magnificent vocal chords of his.
Along with Xem, numerous runners have stood out to become popular faces of the community. As mentioned before, Cheese05 for his technical mastery, Henneko_ for his calm and humble demeanour, and the never ending entertainment of Bonesaw577 are just a few examples of the great personalities that attend these events.
If you have the time, go ahead and check out any of these guys performances (particularly Bonesaw577’s infamous Jak and Daxter 2016 run). Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
There’s no need to worry about being unfamiliar with the games they’re running either. Each runner does a pretty good job of explaining everything they’re doing to break your favourite games as they go.
Most runs are also supported by a couch of experts to cover anything else you might want to know. Coupling this with the donation messages being read aloud during runs, you really can feel like you’re a part of what’s going on no matter where you are.
The Message
So, in the end, what does this event demonstrate to us? Well, for anyone making a PowerPoint presentation to their parents, I’ve provided some handy bullet points below:
· Games aren’t as bad as people think
· Everyone can feel included and bond over a common love
· If we help each other, we can make the world a better place and have fun while doing so
· That dude playing Zelda blindfolded is a freakin’ Jedi
With that said, hopefully events like GDQ will continue growing in popularity. Anything that can bring people together while helping those in need is not something terrible (despite your parents and the media’s claims to the contrary).
If you’ve got a particular game you love to death, have run 10,000,000 times and fancy trying your hand at speed running, why not get involved? It’s as simple as choosing a category, picking up your controller and timing yourself. Who knows, you might be one of the best there is!
…….Or you could be a hapless scrub like myself. Either way, all that matters is that you’re having fun and hopefully making some friends along the way.
After all, that’s what life’s about.
