Karl Jobst

Last updated

Karl Jobst
Personal information
Born (1986-02-07) 7 February 1986 (age 38)
Queensland, Australia
Occupations
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2010–present
Genres
Subscribers1 million [1]
Total views189 million [1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2024 [2]
Last updated: 23 February 2024

Karl Jobst (born 7 February 1986) [3] is an Australian GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark speedrunner, YouTuber, and investigative journalist [4] 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. [1]

Contents

Early life

Jobst began playing video games at age two and a half; his first gaming experience was with the PC game Ultima V , and his first console was a Nintendo 64 he received in 1997. He briefly studied IT and psychology at university and spent time working at a chicken factory, a mobile phone shop, and a call center. [5]

Speedrunning career

Jobst began speedrunning in 1999 when competing for fast times in GoldenEye 007 with a friend before moving on to Perfect Dark . [5] He eventually set the speedrunning world record for the first level of GoldenEye 007 on 2 December 2017, completing the run in 52 seconds on the Agent difficulty, beating a 53-second record set by former Perfect Dark world champion Bryan Bosshardt on 27 September 2002. This feat was described by Owen S. Good of gaming magazine Polygon as "akin to the sub-four[-]minute mile, multiplied by breaking the sound barrier." [6]

He is ranked fifth by number of Goldeneye 007 world records by the game's speedrunning authority. [7] Jobst was recognised as the "Perfect Dark Champion" (meaning he was statistically deemed the number-one player in the world at the game, according to the community's rankings) from 10 November 2002 – 24 December 2003; 26 July 2016 – 30 July 2016; 31 July 2016 – 19 March 2020; and 21 March 2020 – 25 March 2020 (tied). [8] As of 11 March 2022, Jobst had set 199 world individual level records throughout his career, of which 9 remain (albeit all subsequently tied by other players). [9]

In late 2021, Jobst started a speedrunning podcast called The Legends Podcast. In September 2021, Legends co-host Tomatoanus announced the cancellation of future episodes and the taking down of previous episodes after Jobst was accused of racism. In a video, Jobst denied the allegations, stating that messages had been taken out of context. [10]

Investigative work

Heritage Auctions and Wata Games allegations

On 23 August 2021, Jobst released a YouTube documentary alleging fraud and conflict of interest between Heritage Auctions, a company selling retro video games for record-breaking prices (including a copy of Super Mario Bros. for over US$2 million); Wata Games, an agency that grades rare games; and video game collectors who intend to manufacture a bubble of retro games. [11] Jobst alleged that Wata CEO Deniz Kahn and Heritage Auctions co-founder Jim Halperin of manipulating the market through press releases and television appearances on Pawn Stars while limiting the availability of information by purchasing and shutting down retro gaming site NintendoAge. [4] [12] Wata Games denied the claims immediately after Jobst published the video. [4] In a statement made to Video Games Chronicle , Heritage Auctions responded to Jobst's video by saying they had not engaged in any illegal activity. [12] In a June 2022 follow-up video Jobst detailed a class-action lawsuit filed against Wata Games and its owner Collectors Universe in May 2022 for market manipulation and other alleged financial impropriety. [13]

Badabun allegations

In December 2017, Mexican media network Badabun uploaded a video purportedly showing network member Tavo Betancourt speedrunning Super Mario Bros.; in January 2020, Jobst uploaded a video revealing that the Badabun video had been faked, showing various inconsistencies and irregularities found within the alleged speedrun footage and demonstrating that the footage was spliced from videos by several actual world record holders in the game, as well as from a tool-assisted speedrun. [14]

Billy Mitchell allegations

American gamer Billy Mitchell was accused by Jobst of cheating to obtain his records in the arcade games Donkey Kong and Pac-Man , allegations that had already been made for years. [10] [15] Mitchell sued Jobst for defamation, seeking damages of $450,000, having also sued YouTuber Benjamin Smith, known as Apollo Legend, and speedrunning site Twin Galaxies for similar grievances. [10] [15] Jobst's allegations against Mitchell also included claims that Mitchell's lawsuit against Smith contributed to his poor mental health and suicide, [15] but he has since clarified that this was far less likely than he originally thought.[ citation needed ] Ultimately, Jobst was sued three times, [16] having already spent about $180,000 on legal fees, and he had estimated a further $100,000 in legal costs to defend himself. [16] Jobst set up a legal defence fund on GoFundMe to mitigate the financial damage to his family due to the lawsuit. As of August 2023, it has raised A$143,176. [17]

In January 2023, Jobst made a video that showcased evidence in the form of an old photograph that clearly demonstrated that Mitchell did not play his claimed world record runs on original hardware despite claiming so for many years, including a photograph that showed that the arcade cabinet Mitchell played on had an 8-direction joystick (as opposed to the original 4-direction joystick), which would have made the game much easier to play. [18] [19] [20] The lawsuits against Jobst and others have been considered by presiding judges and media commentators to be frivolous, if not downright vexatious. [21] [22] [23]

Other investigations

Jobst has covered other cheating scandals in the gaming community, including an incident of cheating by the most popular Minecraft speedrunner Dream. [24]

In November 2023, Jobst uploaded a video alongside YouTuber Mutahar "SomeOrdinaryGamers" Anas investigating the Open Hand Foundation, a charity which YouTuber Jirard "The Completionist" Khahil actively led alongside his family. Khalil hosted the IndieLand fundraiser under the organization, claiming that the proceeds went towards dementia research. However, Jobst and Anas discovered through public tax filings that the organization had not donated any of the money accumulated since its inception as a non-profit in 2014, which totaled $655,520. [25] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedrunning</span> Act of playing a video game as quickly as possible

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 can 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 to slow the game down and 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.

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.

Quake done Quick is a series of collaborative speedruns and machinima movies in which the video game Quake, its mission packs, and related games are completed as quickly as possible without the use of cheats. Most playthroughs use shortcuts or tricks, such as bunny hopping and rocket jumping, in order to achieve a faster time. These movies are available in the game engine's native demo format and in various multimedia formats such as AVI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Mitchell (gamer)</span> American video game player

William James Mitchell Jr. is an American video game player. He achieved fame throughout the 1980s and 1990s through claiming numerous records on classic video games, including a perfect score on Pac-Man. Twin Galaxies and Guinness World Records recognized Mitchell as the holder of several records on classic games, and he has appeared in several documentaries on competitive gaming and retrogaming. However, in 2017, the legitimacy of a number of his records was called into question, leading to Twin Galaxies stripping Mitchell of his records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trihex</span> American professional esports player

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Games Done Quick</span> Semiannual video game speedrun charity marathon

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. Held since 2010, the events have raised money for several charities.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PangaeaPanga</span> American ROM hacker, tool-assisted speedrunner, and Twitch streamer

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese (speedrunner)</span> Trinidadian speedrunner (born 1995)

Allan Alvarez, more commonly known as cheese, is a Trinidadian-Spanish speedrunner and podcaster known for his Super Mario 64 records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GrandPooBear</span> Video game streamer and speedrunner

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.

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.

Carl Wernicke, known online as Gymnast86, is an American speedrunner and streamer notable for his speedrunning world records and discovery of exploits in various 3D Zelda games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dream (YouTuber)</span> American YouTuber and Twitch streamer (born 1999)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DougDoug</span> American YouTuber and Twitch streamer (born 1991)

Douglas Scott Wreden, better known by his online pseudonym DougDoug, is an American YouTuber, Twitch streamer, and former Hearthstone caster and producer. He makes gaming videos that revolve around him doing various gaming challenges, often involving the use of artificial intelligence, modifications to games, or giving his Twitch chat heavy control of the game or stream. In 2023, he won the "League of Their Own" award at The Streamer Awards.

Summoning Salt is an American speedrunner and YouTuber known for his video documentaries about the history of speedrunning records. As of February 2024, his channel has over 1.82 million subscribers and more than 195 million views.

<i>The Completionist</i> American YouTuber (born 1988)

Jirard Khalil is an American YouTuber, internet personality and reviewer known online as The Completionist, the titular character of a web series Khalil created in 2012. Khalil's videos are mainly about video games, focusing on reviews and playthroughs to 100% completion, uncovering every aspect found in the game. Throughout his career on YouTube, Khalil has uploaded reviews of over 340 games. He was also affiliated with the YouTube network and gaming collective Normal Boots.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About karljobst". YouTube.
  2. ↑ @karljobstgaming (23 February 2024). "Thank you Legends!" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 February 2024– via Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Karl Jobst (@karljobstgaming) / Twitter". Twitter . Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Epps, DeAngelo (25 August 2021). "The $2 Million Mario Bros. Auction May Have Been Rigged". Digital Trends. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 Rogers, Ian M. (23 May 2022). "Speedrunning Legend: An Interview with Karl Jobst". ...But I Also Have a Day Job. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Good, Owen S. (3 December 2017). "GoldenEye 007's most untouchable speedrun record falls after 15 years". Polygon. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "The GoldenEye World Record Leaders - The Elite Rankings". The Elite Rankings. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Karl Jobst - The Elite Rankings". The Elite Rankings. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Goldeneye and Perfect Dark World Record Database". wrs.the-elite.net. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 Irorita, Franz Christian (23 September 2021). "Karl Jobst cancelled by speedrunning community, sued by Billy Mitchell". ClutchPoints. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Gach, Ethan (25 August 2021). "YouTuber Accuses Million-Dollar Retro Game Sales Of Being Scams". Kotaku . Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  12. 1 2 Scullion, Chris (25 August 2021). "Report alleges auction and grading 'fraud' is behind recent surge in retro game prices". Video Games Chronicle . Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  13. ↑ Wata Games SUED For Market Manipulation! , retrieved 1 July 2022
  14. ↑ Pixel, Martin (14 January 2020). "Badabun, el canal de YouTube mexicano es acusado de mentir en un SpeedRun de 'Mario Bros', utilizando clips de otros jugadores". Xataka México (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 Bevan, Rhiannon (18 September 2022). "YouTuber Karl Jobst Sued By Billy Mitchell". TheGamer. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  16. 1 2 Bevan, Rhiannon (6 November 2022). "Billy Mitchell Is Suing YouTuber Karl Jobst Again". TheGamer. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  17. ↑ Billy Mitchell Accuses Me Of Fraud During Insane Rant! , retrieved 20 August 2023
  18. ↑ Cheater Billy Mitchell Just Got DESTROYED By New Evidence! , retrieved 21 February 2023
  19. ↑ Benfell, Grace (2 February 2023). "Former Donkey Kong Record Holder Billy Mitchell Accused Of Cheating Yet Again". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  20. ↑ Bevan, Rhiannon (4 February 2023). "Billy Mitchell Photograph Renews Allegations Of Donkey Kong Cheating". TheGamer. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  21. ↑ "May Day update: Billy Mitchell versus Twin Galaxies". 2 May 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  22. ↑ Vanderbilt, Mike (24 November 2015). "Billy Mitchell loses Regular Show lawsuit, doesn't care as long as he's trending". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  23. ↑ Sanders, Mike (6 November 2022). "Billy Mitchell Launches 2 New Lawsuits Against YouTuber – Karl Jobst Needs Our Help!". eTeknix. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  24. ↑ Watts, Rachel (7 January 2021). "A brief summary of the cheating scandal surrounding YouTube's biggest Minecraft speedrunner". PC Gamer . Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  25. ↑ Dinsdale, Ryan (14 November 2023). "YouTuber The Completionist's Open Hand Foundation Accused of Keeping Charitable Donations". IGN . Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  26. ↑ Barovic, Andrej (14 November 2023). "Gaming YouTuber The Completionist admits to not donating over $600,000 to charity". Dot Esports . Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.

Karl Jobst's channel on YouTube

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