With many still stuck at home under lockdowns or shelter-in-place orders, a lot of people find themselves with a gap in their schedule even if they are able to work from home. Time that might've been spent going out is just...vacant, and boredom is the last thing anyone needs right now. That's why now is a perfect opportunity for people with an inꦚterest in speedrunning to give it a shot themselves.
Ironic as it may sound, speedrunning can actually be a rather time-intensive hobby. Yes, the goal is to complete a game as fast as possible, but before most people are able to do that, they'll have to study the game's m𒁃echanics. Then they'll have to study the popular routes for speedruns - and if there aren't any, workshop their own. Then, finally, they play the game. Again, and again, and again, until they're satisfied with their finishing time.
The allure of speedrunning isn't just its ability to take up space on a schedule, though. It's the feeling of progress towards a known goal, something that, honestly? A lot of people could really use right about now. It's also a way to keep replaying our favorite gam❀es 'fresh', in a sense. The sense of accomplishment one might find in 100%ing their favorite game the first time might be somewhat diminished by the 7th. But beating their record on a sp൩eedrun? Every time you take your time lower, it comes with the knowledge that you've achieved something you've never done before - even if it only amounts to a few seconds of saved time.
In addition to that, all the digging and research done to implement good speed tech can often teach you new things about games, even if you've already played them dozens of times. In Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, for example, it's possible to cancel fall damage at the last second by holding down the R button as if to thr🔥ow your weapon, then releasing it and unequipping the weapon at the last second before hitting the ground. This is virtually useless when playing the game normally because of the existence of the paraglider...but in a speedrun, where players will pull several gravity-defying stunts before getting their hands on the useful tool, this trick suddenly has use.
It's not just useful speed tech they find, either - the speedrunning community has unearthed secrets in games that went undetected for years after the game's initial release. A runner by the name of Isotarge in Donkey Kong 64 that hadn't been discovered for 17 years. Speedrunners h♊ave unearthed easter eggs, glitches, secret levels and programming assets long before datamining was king in the gaming world. Some useful, others useless - all documented and shared.
Speedrunning can also be a social hobby. With the help of voice chat applications like Discord, especially those t🔥hat allow for screenshare, a well-practiced speedrun is often just low-key enough to have a conversation over, while at the same time supplying you with a bit to talk about. Many games, ranging from popular to barely-known, even have dedicated speedrunning servers wh♊ere people can talk and learn more about popular or difficult exploits for their game of choice.
And the community doesn't make it hard to get into in the slightest. Leaderboards are vetted and easy to track down, how-to guides for speed tech and routing for popular games abound on youtube and forums si📖tes (or the aformentioned dedicated discord servers), and because record holders must submit video proof of their run, you can watch how the best pull it off in real-time. There is a wealth of resources you can use to learn if you develop an interest in running certain games, especially popular ones. even has a 'resources' page full of software runners can use to time, record, and stream their attempts.
You don't have to be competitive to enjoy speedrunning, although it certainly helps if you're aiming for leaderboard spots. So if you've been interested in watching runs for a while, but haven't tried any yourself: why not give it a shot? Pick a game you love and break it down to🍃 its essentials. Get your friends in on it and challenge them to races in a voice call. No matter what your approach might be, if there was ever a time you could stand to put aside a few hours and get a bit more familiar with your fa🍒vorite games, it'd be now.