speedruns
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The Daily Grind: How patient are you with explanations?
I run a lot of random dungeons in Final Fantasy XIV. It's not uncommon to wind up grouped with someone who hasn't seen one of the newer dungeons, or even someone who just happened to forget the mechanics in a lower-level fight. That's fine, and I have no problem explaining the fight in detail to people. What gets my goat is trying to re-explain as someone either ignores the directions or does exactly the opposite time and again. Some people are far more patient than I am. I've watched players explain the same mechanics a dozen times without ever showing signs of irritation. And of course, there are people far less patient than I -- people who explain the fight only once in mangled shorthand or even outright refuse to explain anything. So what about you, dear reader? How patient are you with explanations about fights, areas, mechanics, or anything else in your game of choice? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Awesome Games Done Quick 2014 raising money for cancer research
You could probably trip your way into watching speedruns on the Internet at this point, but finding a week-long marathon of them in the name of charity? That's not an everyday thing! Awesome Games Done Quick has begun its crazy, fourth-annual set full of speedruns, which will take place from now until January 11. Donations will benefit the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit group that invests in cancer research and education. If you need an incentive beyond helping others, donations that meet or exceed the minimum bids listed for prizes will automatically enter you into raffles for all kinds of gaming-related things. You can also contribute to bids to make bonus games or unique events appear on the stream. Want to see a Small Mario Run of Super Mario World or a torturous, Very Hard run of F-Zero GX? Donate to make it happen! [Thanks, Ken!]
The Daily Grind: What's your best speed record?
At the core of most MMOs is the unspoken assumption that most things in the game can be completed by anyone, given enough time. But we gamers really don't work that way. With a higher level comes a sense that you're advancing into higher tiers than your fellow players, and the process is undeniably addictive. Star Trek Online has just released, and it's a safe bet that you're working to get your ship and crew built up as fast as possible, which might raise the question for some of why it took Picard seven years before he picked up a new ship. Even if you don't try to race for the ceiling every time the game raises the cap or goes live, there are doubtlessly tasks you've worked down to a science, quests or grinds that you blew through faster than you thought possible. Today we ask you what you consider your personal speed record. Was it leveling, crafting, working through a band of content or storyline, or even just a really quick jaunt through dangerous territory? Could you do it again if you wanted to? Was it something you were trying to do, or just a lucky collection of circumstances?
Five-minute Mario a world record? Yes and no
Is a new video of a five-minute speed run through the original Super Mario Bros. a world record? Well, it depends on who you ask.The Speed Demos Archive, which posted the video, certainly thinks so. In a recent news post, they talk up the video as the game being "beaten more quickly than is allowed by the rules of a certain other site which amusingly considers itself to be the authority on speed records." That other site is long-time video game scorekeeper Twin Galaxies, which currently establishes the record as a slower but still blazing 5:08 run by Scott Kessler.That gap is the result of some rather stringent rules set forth by Twin Galaxies -- esoteric glitches like wall jumps, pipe redirects and walking through walls are not allowed by the scorekeepers. These glitches aren't cheating per se -- they're all possible in the official, unaltered version of the game -- but they do go against what Twin Galaxies calls "programmer intent," and the spirit of how the game is meant be playedWhat's the difference? Well, eight seconds, which is a lifetime in the world of competitive speed running. Which view is more valid? Decide for yourself. Below, we've posted three videos: one from Speed Demos Archive; one of a slightly slower "TG legal" run; and one of an emulator-enhanced (but still technically possible) run from TASvideos.com. Let the battle begin.Previously: Mario racing minus the karts
