Games Done Quick | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Status | Active |
Genre | Video game speedruns Video games and charity |
Venue | Various |
Location(s) | Various |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | January 1, 2010 |
Founder | Mike Uyama [1] |
Most recent | January 14, 2024 |
Next event | June 30, 2024 |
Organized by | Games Done Quick, LLC |
Website | gamesdonequick |
Games Done Quick (GDQ) is a semiannual video game speedrun charity marathon held in the United States, originally organized by the Speed Demos Archive and SpeedRunsLive communities. Since 2015, it has been handled by Games Done Quick, LLC. [2] Held since 2010, the events have raised money for several charities.
The two flagship events held by Games Done Quick are Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ), held in early January every year, which raises money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ), usually held in late June or early July every year, which raises money for Doctors Without Borders. Both events last for seven days. In addition to these events, GDQ hosts several other broadcasts throughout the year, including smaller marathons supporting different charities, one-off events for special occasions, and regular GDQ Hotfix programming throughout the year.
The events are broadcast live on Twitch. Viewers are encouraged to donate for incentives during the stream such as selecting the file name or main character's name in a run, having the runners attempt more difficult challenges, and entering sweepstakes for the chance of winning prizes. [3] As of July 2024, over $51 million has been raised across 46 marathons through more than 911,000 separate donations. [4]
Speedrunners take turns demonstrating their prowess at beating various video games in the quickest possible time, done in front of an audience as well as a livestream through Twitch. [5] [6] [7] Sometimes these runs may be executed in an unusual or specific way, such as fully completing every level, completing a game blindfolded, [8] or featuring multiple runners racing against one another to complete a game first. [9] Video games run in Games Done Quick events include both retro and modern titles. The runs typically feature commentary from the runner(s) or experienced commentators, as well as donation messages read by an announcer.
Most of the popular runs feature video game glitches [10] and discussion between the runner and the commentators, most frequently describing techniques or using observational humor and banter. [11] Humor and banter is especially used for non-interactive or repetitive sequences that don't require the runner to use much or any skill. Donations from viewers may feature humorous comments that contain inside jokes among the speedrunning community, as well as more personal acknowledgments concerning the charity donated to. Because of the live broadcast and wider audience, runners and commentators are encouraged to refrain from using strong profanity and offensive behavior. [12]
When donating, donors have the option to put their money towards a particular incentive. These incentives can be in the form of bonus speedruns, showcases of additional tricks or glitches, or an in-game decision such as naming the player character.
Writer and speedrunner Eric Koziel identifies two important precursors to Games Done Quick: the "Desert Bus for Hope" donation drive organized by LoadingReadyRun in November 2007, and a series of charity speedrun marathons held by TheSpeedGamers starting in March 2008. [13]
Users of the site Speed Demos Archive decided to hold a charity marathon in January 2010, [14] during MAGFest 8. It was themed around 8-bit and 16-bit video games and thus dubbed "Classic Games Done Quick" (after the 1990s speedrunning project Quake Done Quick). Internet connectivity problems at the MAGFest hotel forced SDA administrator Mike Uyama to relocate the event to his mother's residence, but it raised over $10,000 for CARE. [13] [15]
Following that initial success, the first Awesome Games Done Quick marathon was held in January 2011, expanding from two days to five days, incorporating newer games such as Halo and Portal , and raising more than $50,000 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. [16] The first Summer Games Done Quick was held in August 2011, raising $20,000 for the Organization for Autism Research. [17] [18] Since then, both Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick have recurred annually, raising larger amounts each year.
A one-off additional marathon was held in March 2011 to support victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan; Japan Relief Done Quick raised over $25,000. In addition, a one-off promotional event was held on March 20, 2015, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the God of War franchise. Over the course of five hours, God of War Done Quick ended up raising $3,500 for The AbleGamers Foundation.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer 2020 marathon and both 2021 marathons were held as virtual events. In-person attendance returned for SGDQ 2022 under strict social distancing, masking, and vaccine mandate protocol, with all attendees required to have a full series of COVID-19 vaccine and booster dose, [19] while also continuing to intersperse remote runners alongside those present on-stage. [20] The Winter AGDQ 2023 event was intended to be an in-person event held in Orlando, Florida, but was moved to a virtual event after controversies due to the Florida state government's stances on LGBT rights and COVID-19 (the state strictly prohibits vaccine mandates). [21] [22] Ahead of the event, Uyama announced that he would be stepping down from his role in GDQ after 13 years "to take care of my health and kind of focus on different activities". [23] In February 2023, it was announced he had postponed his departure to cover for his successor's illness. [24]
Originally called Classic Games Done Quick (CGDQ), this annual marathon is held every year in early January. It raises money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Dates | Venue | Amount raised | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
January 1–3, 2010 | (planned) Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, Virginia, during MAGFest 8 [lower-alpha 1] (actual) private residence | $10,532 [25] | Charity fundraised for was CARE. |
January 6–11, 2011 | National 4-H Youth Conference Center, Chevy Chase, Maryland | $52,520 [26] | First event to be called Awesome Games Done Quick. Raised money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. |
January 4–9, 2012 | $149,045 [27] | ||
January 6–12, 2013 | $448,425 [28] | ||
January 5–11, 2014 | Crowne Plaza Dulles, Herndon, Virginia | $1,031,666 [29] | First GDQ event to raise over $1 million |
January 4–10, 2015 | Hilton Washington Dulles, Herndon, Virginia | $1,576,085 [30] | |
January 3–10, 2016 | $1,216,309 [31] | ||
January 8–15, 2017 [32] | $2,222,791 [33] | First GDQ event to raise over $2 million, as well as the first GDQ event to raise over $1 million in a single day | |
January 7–14, 2018 [34] | $2,295,191 [35] | ||
January 6–13, 2019 [36] | Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Rockville, Maryland | $2,425,791 [37] | |
January 5–12, 2020 [38] | DoubleTree Hilton, Orlando, Florida | $3,164,002 [39] | Second GDQ event to raise over $3 million |
January 3–10, 2021 | No in-person venue | $2,739,612 [40] | Conducted as a virtual event with no central venue due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
January 9–16, 2022 | $3,442,033 [41] | Conducted as a virtual event due to COVID-19. Current donation record set at a GDQ event. [41] | |
January 8–15, 2023 | $2,672,553 [42] | Conducted as a virtual event due to COVID-19 and the cancellation of its venue contract. [43] | |
January 14–21, 2024 | Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $2,539,832 [44] |
Introduced in 2011 as a companion to AGDQ, this marathon is usually held in late June or early July and raises money for Doctors Without Borders. Since 2015, the event has typically been held in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region.
Dates | Venue | Amount raised | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
August 4–6, 2011 | A participant's residence in West Bountiful, Utah | $21,397 [45] | Charity fundraised for was the Organization for Autism Research. [46] |
May 24–28, 2012 | $46,279 [47] | Charity fundraised for was the Organization for Autism Research. | |
July 25–30, 2013 | Sheraton Denver Tech Center, Greenwood Village, Colorado | $257,181 [48] | Raised money for Doctors Without Borders (as have subsequent SGDQs). |
June 22–28, 2014 | Crowne Plaza Denver International Airport, Denver, Colorado | $718,235 [49] | $82,985 of the funds were raised through the SGDQ 2014 Bundle. [50] |
July 26–August 2, 2015 | Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront, Saint Paul, Minnesota | $1,215,601 [51] | |
July 3–9, 2016 [52] | Hilton Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $1,294,140 [53] | First SGDQ to raise more than the AGDQ of the same year |
July 2–9, 2017 [54] | Minneapolis Marriott City Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $1,792,342 [55] | |
June 24–July 1, 2018 [56] | DoubleTree Hilton, Bloomington, Minnesota | $2,168,914 [57] | |
June 23–30, 2019 [58] | $3,039,596 [59] | First GDQ event to raise over $3 million, [60] and first time an all-time GDQ donation record was set at SGDQ [61] | |
August 16–23, 2020 | No in-person venue | $2,345,786 [62] | Delayed from the original date, and conducted as a virtual event due to COVID-19 [63] |
July 4–11, 2021 [64] | $2,938,715 [65] | Conducted as a virtual event due to COVID-19 | |
June 26–July 3, 2022 [66] | DoubleTree Hilton, Bloomington, Minnesota | $3,053,827 [67] | First in-person GDQ event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic |
May 28–June 4, 2023 [68] | Hilton Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $2,267,907 [69] | |
June 30–July 7, 2024 | Hilton Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $2,547,330 [70] |
Games Done Quick Express (GDQx) is an annual three-day marathon held at TwitchCon since 2018. There was no Games Done Quick Express event held in 2020 or 2021 due to the cancellation of TwitchCon those years.
Frame Fatales is a week-long marathon featuring only women and non-binary runners. It started in 2019 as a four-day event and started fundraising for the Malala Fund in 2020. [71]
Marathon | Dates | Venue | Charity | Amount raised | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan Relief Done Quick | April 7–10, 2011 | Runners streamed from their residences | Doctors Without Borders | $25,800 [72] | A marathon to support victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami |
Speedrun Spooktacular | October 26–29, 2012 | Lindsey King | $9,733 [73] | A marathon to help medical bills for Lindsey King, an artist for Speed Demos Archive | |
God of War Done Quick | March 20, 2015 [74] | Santa Monica Studio Studio | AbleGamers Foundation | $3,500+ [75] | Special event at Santa Monica Studio as part of the 10-year anniversary of the God of War franchise |
Harvey Relief Done Quick | September 1–3, 2017 [76] | Runners streamed from their residences | Houston Food Bank | $229,455 [77] | A marathon to support victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas |
Games Done Quick Express 2018 | October 26–28, 2018 [78] | San Jose Convention Center | 10 charities [lower-alpha 2] | $139,879 [80] | |
Games Done Quick Express 2019 | September 27–29, 2019 [81] | San Diego Convention Center | AbleGamers Foundation | $152,595 [82] | |
Classic Games Done Quick (CGDQ) 10th Anniversary | December 27–29, 2019 [83] | No in-person venue | N/A | N/A | Exact recreation of the schedule of the 1st event in January 2010 to celebrate 10 years of GDQ |
Frost Fatales 2020 | February 23–29, 2020 [84] [85] | Malala Fund | $54,287 [86] | A marathon dedicated to women in speedrunning. Ran 8 hours a day instead of 24 [87] | |
Corona Relief Done Quick | April 17–19, 2020 | Direct Relief | $403,632 [88] | A marathon to help improve the health and lives of people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic [89] [90] | |
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Launch Celebration | September 4, 2020 [91] | The Trevor Project | $4,434 [92] | A marathon celebrating the release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 | |
Fleet Fatales 2020 | November 15–21, 2020 [93] [94] | Malala Fund | $81,396 [95] | An all-women speedrunning event [71] | |
Flame Fatales 2021 | August 15–21, 2021 [96] | $127,266 [97] | |||
Frost Fatales 2022 | February 27–March 5, 2022 [98] | $132,982 [99] | |||
Flame Fatales 2022 | August 21–27, 2022 [100] | $135,512 [101] | |||
Frost Fatales 2023 | February 26–March 5, 2023 [102] | $153,417 [103] | |||
Flame Fatales 2023 | August 13–20, 2023 [104] | $110,983 [105] | |||
Games Done Quick Express 2023 | October 20–22, 2023 | Las Vegas Convention Center | $36,060 [106] | ||
Frost Fatales 2024 | March 3–10, 2024 [107] | No in-person venue | National Women's Law Center [108] | $155,267 [109] | An all-women speedrunning event [71] |
As GDQ events have become more popular, there have been several controversies, with players and commentators being banned, and with the stream chat having to be muted. [110] GDQ has noted they advise attendees to avoid "topics of conversation that are polarizing or controversial in nature" as well as avoiding harassing other players. Some attendees have been banned [111] for making inappropriate comments, although there are criticisms that some of the bans may be without merit. [110]
In 2017, a commentator, PvtCinnamonBun, on a speedrun for the game Ape Escape 2 for AGDQ 2017, was banned from all future events for supposedly wearing a "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) hat on stream shortly after Donald Trump's election to the United States presidency. However, according to Kotaku , PvtCinnamonBun's ban was revoked since it was not actually a MAGA hat, but GDQ officials banned him again for supposedly unplugging a power strip cable. Another speedrunner, Cyberdemon531, was also banned from the event for owning the MAGA hat in the first place. [110]
In 2018, speedrunner "BubblesDelFuego", who speedruns Dark Souls and Fallout 4 , was banned from all future GDQ events after sharing edible medicinal cannabis with a friend, which resulted in that friend having a panic attack and being transported to the hospital by paramedics. Bubbles consumed edible cannabis for chronic pain resulting from complications with Hodgkin lymphoma. Bubbles told Kotaku that although he understood why he was banned, he believed that the GDQ "enforcement" staff abused their power and were misinformed about tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active chemical in cannabis. [112]
At SGDQ 2019, speedrunner "ConnorAce" used a spliced run to illegitimately claim the world record on Clustertruck for the "NoAbility%" category, depriving the legitimate record holder from being invited. The run was treated with suspicion due to it not being submitted officially to speedrun.com, with the video being unlisted on YouTube prior to ConnorAce's acceptance into SGDQ. In October 2019, ConnorAce's run was exposed by the YouTuber documentarian Apollo Legend. [113] [114]
At AGDQ 2020, various runners, including "Luzbelheim" (or "Luz"), were scheduled to run a relay playthrough of Final Fantasy VIII. Hours before, however, Luz's Twitter bio went viral for his comment that he hates "feminazism", identifies as "deminonbinary", and he uses the pronouns "luz/luz". [115] Other online news publications negatively reacted to GDQ organizers allowing Luz to play in the relay playthrough. [116] Luz was given a ban without details about its length. [115]
At SGDQ 2022, speedrunner "Mekarazium" admitted that he faked a run of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Blade Wolf DLC. The game was played remotely, unlike most of the other games at the event, and the DLC was a donation incentive. While the main game was played live by Mekarazium, the DLC was pre-recorded. Viewers quickly noted discrepancies with the run. Mekarazium admitted to faking the run and was banned from future GDQ events. [117] [118] [119]
Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and exploit glitches that allow sections to be skipped or completed more quickly than intended. Tool-assisted speedrunning (TAS) is a subcategory of speedrunning that uses emulation software or additional tools to create a precisely controlled sequence of inputs.
A tool-assisted speedrun or tool-assisted superplay is generally defined as a speedrun or playthrough composed of precise inputs recorded with tools such as video game emulators. Tool-assisted speedruns are generally created with the goal of creating theoretically perfect playthroughs. This includes but is not limited to the fastest possible route to complete a game and/or showcasing new ways to optimize existing world records.
Speed Demos Archive (SDA) is a website dedicated to video game speedruns. SDA's primary focus is hosting downloadable, high-quality speedrun videos, and currently has runs of over eleven hundred games, with more being added on a regular basis. SDA additionally used to host two annual speedrunning charity marathons, Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) and Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ), before Games Done Quick LLC started holding the event independently in 2015. It hosted nine marathons in total, and raised over $2.7 million for various charities, with the most successful one being AGDQ 2014 which raised just over $1 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Glitching is an activity in which a person finds and exploits flaws or glitches in video games to achieve something that was not intended by the game designers. Players who engage in this practice are known as glitchers. Some glitches can be easily achieved, while others are either very difficult or unperformable by humans and can only be achieved with tool-assisted input. Glitches can vary greatly in the level of game manipulation, from setting a flag to writing and executing custom code from within the game.
Mychal Ramon Jefferson, better known online as Trihex, is an American professional gamer, speedrunner, and Twitch streamer. He is best known for his runs of Super Mario and Yoshi games—including several notable appearances at Games Done Quick events—and as the face of TriHard, one of Twitch's most popular emotes.
Narcissa Wright is an American speedrunner and co-founder of the website SpeedRunsLive, which allows speedrunners to race with one another in real time. She previously held the records for the fastest completion of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on the GameCube, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the iQue Player, Paper Mario on the Wii using Virtual Console, and Castlevania 64 on the Nintendo 64.
Aaron James Loder, professionally known as Bananasaurus Rex, is a Canadian Twitch streamer and a video game speedrunner.
Piotr Delgado Kusielczuk, better known as The Mexican Runner or TMR, is a speedrunner who specialises in Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games. After three years, on February 26, 2017, TMR was the first player to play through the entire NTSC and PAL NES catalogue, completing 714 officially-licensed titles in a project he called NESMania, which earned him a Guinness World Record. TMR is also known for his speedrunning accomplishments in Contra, Battletoads, and Cuphead.
Alex Tan, better known under the screen names PangaeaPanga, PePanga and formerly penangbenny, is an American ROM hacker, speedrunner and tool-assisted speedrunner. He is best known as the creator of difficult Super Mario World ROM hacks and Super Mario Maker levels. His notable work includes Super Mario World ROM hack Super Dram World and Super Mario Maker levels "P-Break" and the "Pit of Panga" series. He has also played through Super Mario World blindfolded.
Environmental Station Alpha is a 2015 Metroidvania created by Finnish indie developer Arvi Teikari.
Allan Alvarez, more commonly known as cheese, is a Venezuelan-born Trinidadian-Spanish speedrunner and podcaster known for his Super Mario 64 records.
Due to the perceived negative connotations of video games, both industry members and consumers of video games have frequently collaborated to counter this perception by engaging in video gaming for charitable purposes. Some of these have been charitable groups, or regular and annual events, and the scope of these efforts have continued to grow, with more than US$22 million having been raised by video game-related charity efforts in the first half of 2018 alone.
David Hunt, known online as GrandPooBear, is an American video game streamer, speedrunner, and creator of Kaizo Super Mario levels. A Red Bull athlete, Hunt is primarily known for playing and creating levels for Super Mario Maker. He has also performed at various Games Done Quick events and TwitchCon, and has hosted his own in-person and virtual speedrunning events.
TASBot is a tool-assisted speedrun mascot created in 2013, developed by a team led by dwangoAC. A replay device takes a list of controller inputs which it then sends to a console such as a Nintendo Entertainment System or Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) directly via signals to the controller ports.
Zfg is an American speedrunner and streamer known for his The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time gameplay. He has held various records in speedrunning the game and its alternative version Master Quest, most notably the 100% completion category for the original game, for which he had held the record since mid-2015. He was the first person to complete Ocarina of Time to 100% in under four hours. He currently holds the record in the 100% SRM category with a time of 3 hours, 0 minutes, and 39 seconds, as of December 2022.
Clay, known by his online alias Dream, is an American YouTuber, Twitch streamer and singer who is known primarily for creating Minecraft content.
European Speedrunner Assembly, formerly European Speedster Assembly, is a semi-annual video game speedrunning charity marathon held in Sweden. Held since 2012, the events have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for several charities.
Karl Jobst is an Australian GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark speedrunner, YouTuber, and investigative journalist whose work has focused on exposing cheating and fraud in the gaming community. He also covers other speedrunning and challenge-related feats, such as world record histories. As of February 2024, he has over one million subscribers on YouTube.
Summoning Salt is an American speedrunner and YouTuber known for his video documentaries about the history of speedrunning records. As of June 2024, his channel has over 1.9 million subscribers and more than 213 million views.
Niftski is an American speedrunner who is currently the fastest person in history to ever complete Super Mario Bros. at 4 minutes and 54 seconds and 631 milliseconds. He also holds other world records for the video game and was the first person to beat it in less than 4 minutes and 55 seconds.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)