Polygon - Summer Games Done Quick 2015 - the art and science of the speedrun https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/42931/favicon.ico2015-07-31T13:30:02-04:00http://www.polygon.com/rss/stream/88146202015-07-31T13:30:02-04:002015-07-31T13:30:02-04:00Watch a speedrunner take on The Legend of Zelda (mostly) swordless
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<p>How do you beat <i>The Legend of Zelda</i> without a sword, in just an hour? Use bombs wisely, take advantage of the game's screen-scrolling teleportation glitches and have a friend helping out on a second NES gamepad. Oh, and also be really, really, <i>really</i> good at the game.</p>
<p>During this week's charity speedrun event <a target="_blank" href="https://gamesdonequick.com/">Summer Games Done Quick</a>, speedrunner "jkoper" and friends worked their way through the classic Nintendo adventure mostly swordless. For the first 40 minutes of the speedrun, jkoper does it without swinging a sword once, defeating the game's bosses and collecting every piece of the Triforce using Link's other tools: the candle, bombs, magical rod and bow and arrow.</p>
<p>But for all their effort, it's actually impossible — as far as we...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/31/9078807/the-legend-of-zelda-swordless-speedrun-sgdq-2015">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/31/9078807/the-legend-of-zelda-swordless-speedrun-sgdq-2015Michael McWhertor2015-07-30T13:00:02-04:002015-07-30T13:00:02-04:00The Prince of Persia speedrun where absolutely everything went wrong
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<p>At midnight last night, a speedrunner by the name of Joe "Henneko_" Usher kicked off a run of <em>Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time</em> that was expected to last a breezy 80 minutes.</p>
<p>By 12:11, the run had gone straight to Hell.</p>
<p>Though <em>Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time</em> has been around for nearly 12 years, there's been a lot of activity in the game's speedrunning community for the past few months. That's because of a new exploit discovered in February, which has allowed runners to shave about one hour off of the game's former world record time — a colossal improvement that the game's runners have been practicing since its discovery.</p>
<p>The exploit works like this: The player executes an action (usually a jump or lunging attack), and then a series...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/30/9073717/prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-sgdq-speedrun-henneko">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/30/9073717/prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-sgdq-speedrun-hennekoGriffin McElroy2015-07-29T19:30:02-04:002015-07-29T19:30:02-04:00Must-watch SGDQ speedruns for Thursday, Friday including a catch-'em-all Pokemon run
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<p><a href="https://gamesdonequick.com/">Summer Games Done Quick 2015</a>, the week-long <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/24/9031807/what-is-sgdq-summer-games-done-quick">biannual speedrunning marathon</a> which raises millions for charity, has already seen some pretty outstanding highlights. But the event is only a little over halfway done, meaning we've got a few days of expert game-breaking still ahead of us.</p>
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<span class="s-must-read__article-title"> <a href="http://www.polygon.com/features/2014/1/9/5280786/making-money-zelda-speed-runner">Making money as a Zelda speedrunner</a> </span>
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<p>What follows are our recommendations for runs to catch during Thursday and Friday; we'll post our most anticipated runs for Saturday, the last day of SGDQ, later this week. As always, if you missed a stream you wanted to see, they're being archived on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI3DTtB-a3fJPjKtQ5kYHfA">Games Done Quick YouTube channel</a>.</p>
<p>The full schedule for SGDQ can be found <a href="https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule">on the event's website</a>. All of this year's proceeds...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/29/9068375/sgdq-2015-speedrun-pokemon-mario-boshy-fallout-ocarina-of-time">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/29/9068375/sgdq-2015-speedrun-pokemon-mario-boshy-fallout-ocarina-of-timeGriffin McElroy2015-07-28T16:00:03-04:002015-07-28T16:00:03-04:00BioShock Infinite speedrun vastly more complicated than the game's own plot
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<p>You don't see many first-person shooters played by the speedrunning community, and you see even fewer make an appearance at the biannual Games Done Quick charity marathons. But early this morning, during the third day of <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/24/9031807/what-is-sgdq-summer-games-done-quick">Summer Games Done Quick</a>, an epic run of <em>BioShock Infinite</em> occurred.</p>
<p>It was a thing of beauty, committed by <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/fearfulferret/profile">FearfulFerret</a> — <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyyQtplSbvg">the current world-record holder for the game</a>. You've never seen Booker DeWitt move this fast before, so let's spend a little time breaking down the two strategies that made it possible.</p>
<h3>Booker, catch!</h3>
<p>In <em>BioShock Infinite</em>, just about every time Booker dies he's revived by Elizabeth. Her aquiline features are the first ones that you see as she casually reaches across time and space to resurrect you...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/28/9060885/bioshock-infinite-speedrun-vastly-more-complicated-than-the-games-own">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/28/9060885/bioshock-infinite-speedrun-vastly-more-complicated-than-the-games-ownCharlie Hall2015-07-27T17:00:02-04:002015-07-27T17:00:02-04:00Must-watch SGDQ speedruns for Tuesday, Wednesday including Zelda — without a sword
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<p>This year's Summer Games Done Quick charity speedrunning marathon set a blistering pace <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/27/9047665/sgdq-trihex-yoshis-island-2015">when it started Sunday afternoon</a> and shows no sign of letting up. Here's a quick guide on what to watch Tuesday and Wednesday. You can find the complete schedule <a href="https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule">here</a>.</p>
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<span class="s-must-read__article-title"> <a href="http://www.polygon.com/features/2014/1/9/5280786/making-money-zelda-speed-runner">Making money as a Zelda speedrunner</a> </span>
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<p>For our must-watch picks for Monday, head over to our explainer <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/24/9031807/what-is-sgdq-summer-games-done-quick">here</a>. And remember, all of the runs will be archived to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/gamesdonequick">Games Done Quick YouTube channel</a>.</p>
<p>All of this year's proceeds will benefit Doctors Without Borders, <a href="https://gamesdonequick.com/tracker/donate/16">and you can donate here</a>.</p>
<h3>Tuesday</h3>
<p>11:42 a.m. ET - <em><strong>Star Wars</strong></em><strong> </strong>by Striker. A sub 15-minute run of the classic NES title.</p>
<p>2:52 p.m. ET - <strong><em>Metroid Prime Hunters </em></strong>by Mr_Shasta. Kicks off the...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/27/9050307/zelda-swordless-sgdq-schedule-mega-man-metroid-castlevania-sonic">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/27/9050307/zelda-swordless-sgdq-schedule-mega-man-metroid-castlevania-sonicCharlie Hall2015-07-27T13:00:03-04:002015-07-27T13:00:03-04:00SGDQ's first run shows off the skill, community that makes it all possible
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<p>This year's Summer Games Done Quick kicked off Sunday with a stellar run of <em>Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island</em> by Mychal "Trihex" Jefferson. Not only was it a technical achievement, it was a great introduction to the showmanship and the rich community that supports the biannual Games Done Quick marathons.</p>
<p>Jefferson's <em>Yoshi's Island </em>clocked in at 2 hours, 42 minutes and 44 seconds, just 10 minutes off the current world record pace. But throughout the run, Jefferson thoughtfully narrated what he was doing, offering up not just a clinic on how the run was being done but on why the game itself is worthy of speedrunning attention.</p>
<p>He even found time for <a href="https://youtu.be/JhTnrMyH51c?t=7201">a little pilates</a>.</p>
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<p>The most difficult part of the run, called simply "the 5.4 skip,"...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/27/9047665/sgdq-trihex-yoshis-island-2015">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/27/9047665/sgdq-trihex-yoshis-island-2015Charlie Hall2015-07-26T13:00:02-04:002015-07-26T13:00:02-04:00Watch the fastest gamers in the world tear through amazing games all week long
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<p>It's that time of the year again! As of today, the speedrunning community is holding its annual <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/24/9031807/what-is-sgdq-summer-games-done-quick">Summer Games Done Quick</a> event for a full week.</p>
<p>Some of the most talented gamers in the world will be blasting through games such as <a href="/game/sonic-adventure/6749" class="sbn-auto-link"><i>Sonic Adventure</i></a>, <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/bioshock-infinite/2779"><i>BioShock Infinite</i></a>, <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night/8576"><i>Castlevania: Symphony of the Night</i></a> and <a href="/game/super-mario-64/4113" class="sbn-auto-link"><i>Super Mario 64</i></a>. It's not just for entertainment or showing off either. During the event, they will be taking donations to raise money for Doctors Without Borders.</p>
<p>You can watch the event live in the Twitch window above. We also invite you to join us in the comments. Various Polygon editors will be watching all week and chiming in with some of our favorite runs and moments from the event down below.</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/26/9040973/summer-games-done-quick-speedrun-marathon-live-livestream">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/26/9040973/summer-games-done-quick-speedrun-marathon-live-livestreamPhilip Kollar2015-07-24T11:00:02-04:002015-07-24T11:00:02-04:00What is Summer Games Done Quick?
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<p>This year's <a href="https://gamesdonequick.com/">Summer Games Done Quick</a> (SGDQ) starts this weekend and runs for 160 uninterrupted hours. The annual speedrunning marathon, and its sister event <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/1/2/7481937/charity-speedrun-marathon-awesome-games-done-quick-kicks-off-this">Awesome Games Done Quick</a> (AGDQ), are also fundraisers for worthy charities. To raise money, the events regularly push highly skilled players to their limits across dozens of games. So what is SGDQ? What is speedrunning? And what runs should you be on the lookout for next week?</p>
<h3>What is Summer Games Done Quick?</h3>
<p>SGDQ starts at 1:00 p.m. ET Sunday, July 26 and can be watched live on <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/gamesdonequick" target="new">Twitch</a>. The event runs through Saturday, Aug. 1. This year it's being held in St. Paul, MN where over 150 speedrunners will gather in a conference room at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront.</p>
<p>Of course...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/24/9031807/what-is-sgdq-summer-games-done-quick">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/24/9031807/what-is-sgdq-summer-games-done-quickCharlie Hall