LFGryph

Just something short and shiny to pass the word along to anyone who might be interested. I’m not out at the event and I hadn’t been super aware of it until just this year, after all. [EDITED 1/12/2015: Since the event is over, I’m adding this link to the archive on Youtube. Anyone interested in seeing some of the games they missed should check that out.]

I’ve got to confess something. I usually don’t watch or try to attempt speedruns of games. I have a lot of respect for the folks who run them, I think it just doesn’t fit my playstyle. Having said that, I wound up checking out the Twitch stream for Awesome Games Done Quick this week. It’s still going as I post this up. I had vague interest in it just from knowing it was a gaming charity event, but I had a few friends out there as well so decided I ought to check it out.

And holy crow. I know enough about speedrunning to know it takes a lot of planning and practice to pull off, but I’m still being blown away. Watching someone run Super Mario RPG in just under 3 hours is definitely something to behold! Other than the actual gameplay, I’m loving the commentary explaining how they’re doing what they’re doing and why it works. I’ve heard before that speedrunning adds a whole different dimension to the gameplay when you really get into it, and I’m seeing that much more now than other times I’ve tried to watch speedruns. The old gamer lady in me happens to also very much enjoy seeing various “old school” tv’s in the bottom of the frame. 🙂 (I don’t see one on the stream as I’m typing this since they’re playing Dark Souls 2, but I did last night!)

More importantly, they’re doing this to raise money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. I highly encourage anyone interested to go check out the channel and think about donating, if you can.

Games coming up on the schedule include Final Fantasy VII, Super Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for fans of those. 🙂