Speedrun

A playthrough of a video game with the goal of completing it as quickly as possible, typically using a combination of optimised movement strategies, sequence breaks (reaching later game areas before intended), and deliberate exploitation of programming bugs and glitches that manipulate game state in unintended ways. Speedrunning has a substantial community infrastructure: Speedrun.com serves as the primary leaderboard repository across thousands of game categories; GDQ (Games Done Quick) charity marathons broadcast curated speedruns to hundreds of thousands of live viewers; and individual runners build Twitch and YouTube audiences around routing research, world record attempts, and learning guides. The major run categories are: Any% (complete the game by any means, using any discovered glitch or skip, resulting in the fastest possible time regardless of game content missed); 100% (complete all objectives, collectibles, and requirements the game tracks); and Glitchless (complete the game without exploiting programming bugs, testing pure movement and routing optimisation). Games with large speedrunning communities include The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (where a 'wrong warp' glitch allows a sub-6-minute any% from a 30-hour game), Dark Souls, Super Mario 64, and Hades (where the community runs all heat levels and all weapon types). The social and analytical dimensions of speedrunning, routing theory, glitch discovery, record competition, make it a form of competitive play distinct from and parallel to conventional multiplayer.