Bloganuary writing prompt: What are your favorite sports to watch and play?
People Speedrunning Video Games.
No, seriously.
It’s very awesome to see people become so good at the game that they beat it in record time. They have an intimate knowledge of not only how the game itself works, but the quirks and nuances of not only the format the game is in, but also the system the game is played on. It can get pretty technical when you think beyond speed, though that alone is still pretty impressive. I personally enjoy the runs where glitches are exploited and the game is utterly broken– that takes time and dedication.
When a speedrun tournament is happening, I block off my evenings and not move from the couch. The outside world ceases to exist. I’d have a spread of finger food, hookah, drinks, and other friends that enjoy video game content (but if it’s just me, the spread is much smaller). I cheer on my favorites, jump up when a hard trick is pulled off, and you know I’m shouting when someone breaks a world record! I laugh, I cry, I wish I wasn’t hand-eye-coordination impaired.
These events are my Super Bowl.
Funny story: I watched speed running videos to beat the last level in the Super Mario DS game. I didn’t know there were competitions. That’s pretty neat.
It’s fascinating! And if you really wanna deep dive into some speedrunning history, Summoning Salt on Youtube has various video essays about the big names and milestones in the community.
Thank you for the recommendation!