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I'm not sure I understand the criticism. What way could there be to speak of non-speedrun play specifically which wouldn't draw a boundary, and what is the special problematic significance of that line?

 

I think the point Badfinger is making is "Some people use casual as a pejorative, which taints even the non-pejorative use that speedrunners make of the word". I disagree, but I understand the argument.

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It's similar to the way amateur is used in relation to sports.  In the strictest sense it just means you're not playing at a professional level but the word amateur can have a negative connotation in certain contexts.  Casual in the speedrunning world means just for fun rather than a competitive goal.

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It's struck me, this year, that some of the runs have had the runners pushing the audience real hard to go buy whatever indie game it is from whatever store its available on.

 

It's something that's kind of always been a part of it, enthusiastic players championing their favorite games, but some of the runs this year have kind of made me feel like i'm watching an ad.

 

That might just be me though, i'm curious if anybody else is getting a similar vibe from this particular AGDQ.

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Nope, I'm not getting that vibe at all.

 

I also don't think there's any malicious intent with the use of the term casually. Anytime I hear it they're saying it as a way to differentiate playing the game competitively versus playing the game just for fun.

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It's struck me, this year, that some of the runs have had the runners pushing the audience real hard to go buy whatever indie game it is from whatever store its available on.

 

It's something that's kind of always been a part of it, enthusiastic players championing their favorite games, but some of the runs this year have kind of made me feel like i'm watching an ad.

 

That might just be me though, i'm curious if anybody else is getting a similar vibe from this particular AGDQ.

 

I only got that feeling from one run that had a dev on the couch who was pushing, "Hey, it's on Steam! Hey, be here after the run for some swag! Please get this game!" Don't remember what game it was. It was on last night as I was getting ready for bed, so I didn't watch very much of it.

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I want to go back to my previous comments and be clear that I don't think this is some kind of insidious, pervasive or ruinous thing. It's an overall very good event. That particular thing is just the grit on top of the sundae for me. It's been more frustrating that things I don't have much interest in are being run when I can watch, which is to say not that frustrating because the VODs exist.

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It's struck me, this year, that some of the runs have had the runners pushing the audience real hard to go buy whatever indie game it is from whatever store its available on.

 

It's something that's kind of always been a part of it, enthusiastic players championing their favorite games, but some of the runs this year have kind of made me feel like i'm watching an ad.

 

That might just be me though, i'm curious if anybody else is getting a similar vibe from this particular AGDQ.

 

Was there a game(s) run that felt particularly like this?

 

I thought it was a little strange having the Hat in Time speed run as part of the event - I don't think that game is even released yet? Of course I realize that is tremendously nitpicky because this is a charity event and any work in helping charity should be encouraged.

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I've started curating a

I think are good or interesting in some way.  I'll probably add some notes on the individual videos about why they're on the list as I go.  And contrary to the normal advice, I'd suggest looking at the comments for the videos.  The first one usually has a timestamp for the start of the run.

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Nice, good idea!

 

I'm starting to feel your love for PJ. The Lagoon run was quite good.

 

The 2 player 1 controller Super Metroid run was pretty awesome, might be one to add.

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This one was pretty amusing, not so much for the run/runner but just in an "omg how terrible is this game" sense:

 

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Was there a game(s) run that felt particularly like this?

 

I thought it was a little strange having the Hat in Time speed run as part of the event - I don't think that game is even released yet? Of course I realize that is tremendously nitpicky because this is a charity event and any work in helping charity should be encouraged.

 

That was one of the ones that seemed a little odd to me, yeah. There were a couple others that are slipping my mind after having watched so many runs over the course of the week. I share your sentiment though, that if something is interesting enough to help the charity angle, it should probably be excused. Certainly it never felt as if any commercial message was overriding the reason the event is being held. I think i'm just wary of this becoming a bit of a slippery slope.

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Nice, good idea!

 

I'm starting to feel your love for PJ. The Lagoon run was quite good.

 

The 2 player 1 controller Super Metroid run was pretty awesome, might be one to add.

 

I'm adding runs as I watch them but I'm certainly open to suggestions

 

I should note the playlist is ordered by date of upload.  It should roughly be in the order on the schedule.

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I watched the Punch-Out blindfold race last night since I'd missed it (was at work). That was incredible. Not just that they beat it, or that it was close, but it was again one of the few races where the lead was actually exchanged a few times.

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What I liked about that race was how it felt like watching a regular sporting event.  The audience was totally silent and apart from the game sounds all you heard was the commentators speaking in a quiet and technical manner.  It's not quite as exciting as a race like the Mario Maker race where people groaned and cheered but it was still quite interesting to see, not to mention impressive as hell.

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The Mario Maker race where they had never seen the levels was fantastic, incredibly entertaining stuff. The crowd reactions really made it. Link at roughly the start of the race: 

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My highlight of AGDQ is always the Super Moneky Ball speedruns. Last year when I lived with three other students we had AGDQ on the main TV in the background while we did other things and would occasionally come together to watch certain games. 

 

Edit: After watching that Mario Maker event, THAT'S my new favourite for sure!

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I think this may inspire some science-fiction. Something like Contact, but with doppelgangers from parallel universes.

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