Mega Cat Studios had the chance to interview the title holder of being the fastest person to finish in Geometry Dash, Beat the Level with a total running time of 6:59.850, in the speedrunning community, sinc0s!
He shared his insights and issues with the community as well as some motivations for those who are aiming to enter this community! Here’s how our interview went!
How did you discover speedrunning?
I came across speedrunning, and hard gaming accomplishments as a whole, when I was around 9 years old. I had owned a demo of a game called Marble Blast Ultra, a tough platformer which often focused upon beating levels as fast as possible. Later on, I’d also be interested in the hard speedrunning levels within Super Mario Maker, and eventually, I was interested in all the world records for most of the games I played.
What made it interesting for you to check it out?
Combined with being extremely bored at home, I spent a ton of time improving my skills and records on numerous levels within Marble Blast Ultra. At the time, I never even had any access to things like leaderboards and communities surrounding the game. I never knew if my records were actually good or not. My passion for improving at the game came purely from the self-gratification I received when improving myself. In a way, my interest in speedrunning formed purely on it’s own.
What were the biggest issues you encountered in the community?
For Geometry Dash specifically, it is common to encounter numerous people trying to put you down and treat your accomplishment as trash. The community has grown substantially, bringing in a lot of good people, but also negative ones who downplay accomplishments they don’t even understand.
What would be the best memory or moment you’ve experienced?
There’s been numerous moments in the past which I would consider the best for their time. Getting new records in Marble Blast Ultra always filled me with joy. Beating the hardest levels in Super Mario Maker, such as U-Break, was also exceptional. But if I had to choose one which I remember the most fondly, it would be my world record for The Tower any%. After zoning out for a long while when speedrunning it, the realization of how truly good the run was hit me like a truck. It not only reached my goal for the category, but went completely beyond it, and that’s a very rare feeling.
Should other people also try to check out speedrunning? Why so?
Anyone who has a game they enjoy, and simultaneously feel the need to improve their skills at it, should absolutely look into speedrunning. It’s a passion beyond gaming itself; it turns into a long journey of self-improvement and self-gratification.
What makes the speedrunning communities special?
There is almost no other place where you will find people truly testing the limits of what is possible within their respective games, and it goes beyond that as well. The process of being as fast as possible brings in opportunities like programming, glitch-hunting, routing, optimizing, and more, all coming together to work on the simple objective of beating the game as fast as possible.
Who do you think would enjoy speedrunning as well?
Those who are willing to spend as much time as needed to improve their skills, and are ready for the setbacks and difficulty that comes from it, will find speedrunning extremely enjoyable.
How would you describe your experience and stay in the community?
Before the new update, I had grown my presence in the community through attempting some of the hardest levels within the game, even if I wasn’t able to beat them. My efforts to attempt these levels pushed the limits of what I could do far more than any game previously. I knew for a long time that platformer mode would bring in a wave of speedrunning potential, so when it finally released, I quickly began testing the limits of it as well.
Working together with others to find new strategies and ultimately learn enough to get the world record in all categories was extremely satisfying. This entire time, I have met many people who I have shared my accomplishments and setbacks with. I have had many negative experiences, but also met some of the best friends I’ve ever had. Regardless of failed achievements and hard times, it has been worth it.
What made you stay long in this community?
The game has almost no limit when it comes to skill, and what can be accomplished. Even if the records for The Tower are optimized to perfection, there are still hundreds of thousands of other levels waiting to be explored and speedrun. The community will never run out of things to attempt and improve upon, and they are not going to stop pushing the limits of the game anytime soon.
What is your message to those who admire and watch you?
There are a lot of ways you can contribute to a community even if you don’t think you can. For any game or hobby that you enjoy, the limit of what you can do is infinite. Your satisfaction does not have to rely on anyone else. In any hard task you attempt, think about how much you have improved, and how much farther you can go. No matter how you compare to others in your community, the progress you have made on yourself is worth it.
Check out sinc0s on Speedrun.com and follow them on Twitter and YouTube to get more updates on their Speedruns!
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Mega Cat Studios had the chance to interview the title holder of being the fastest person to finish Cuphead in Any% Version 1.1+ with a total running time of 28m 10s 040ms, in the speedrunning community, ClipBoardGuy! He shared his insights and issues with the community as well as some motivations for those who are aiming to enter this community! Here’s how our interview went!
How did you discover speedrunning?
I think it was a GDQ run of Super Meat Boy sometime around 2016 that I saw on Youtube.
What made it interesting for you to check it out?
Hearing that somebody can beat a game in such a short amount of time is cool when you first hear about it.
What were the biggest issues you encountered in the community?
I haven’t personally dealt with any big issues that have come up in the Speedrunning community. You have to deal with toxic people occasionally, but those people are the exception, not the rule.
What would be the best memory or moment you’ve experienced?
It would have to be when I got the Any% WR in Cuphead. It’s validating to finally achieve what you know you can do after so long.
Should other people also try and check out speedrunning? Why so?
Definitely. Watching a speedrun of one of your favorite games is a great way to blow your mind lol. Speedrunning as a player also feels good to improve on, even if you’re not top-level steadily.
What makes the speedrunning communities special?
Sharing the excitement of discoveries and personal achievements with your peers. Turning what would typically be an isolated endeavor into something you can connect with people over.
Who do you think would enjoy speedrunning as well?
Anyone who enjoys competition and self-improvement in other things, especially esports.
How would you describe your experience and stay in the community?
When I started, I didn’t interact much with the community for a while. I think I was afraid of being annoying or overbearing if I asked for help with anything. But the longer I’ve been in the community, the more I see how helpful and kind the people there are.
What are your suggestions for the Speedrunning community?
I always like seeing more events that unite people and highlight each other’s achievements.
What made you stay long in this community?
My own will to help myself and others improve at what they love doing.
What is your message to those who admire and watch you?
If you want to get into speedrunning, there’s no better time than now. And don’t feel like you need to do or achieve anything at all. Just enjoy the journey.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Nope.
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Check out his newest World Record for Cuphead here:
Check out ClipBoardGuy on Speedrun.com and follow them on Twitter, Twitch and Youtube to get more updates on their Speedruns!
Want to see more of things like this? Or maybe you like cats or the Game Boy or the NES? If you do, let's have a catjam together! Join Mega Cat Studios on Discord for more fun and excitement!
It was with great pleasure to have interviewed the person who placed 1st in Sonic Adventure in the speedrunning community, with a total running time of 1h 06m 28s, WitherMan! Here's how our interview went!
How did you discover speedrunning?
I discovered Speedrunning at school, with the first Speedrun I ever watched being CGN's run of F-Zero GX at AGDQ 2014. There was something so magical about that run that made me enthralled with watching runners from that point forward, but it would be YEARS before I ran anything myself.
What made it interesting for you to check it out?
I think what really pushed me to get into Speedrunning big time was wanting to step away from the FGC. I've had a lot of problems in my local scene and finding a way to stay competitive without having to directly compete with other people has scratched the itch I once had for fighting games. My favorite part of fighting games has always been the feeling of self-improvement, and Speedrunning gives that to you tenfold.
What were the biggest issues you encountered in the community?
I don't particularly want to get into this one, but there have been some bad apples in a lot of the communities I've been in. I've left any community which was full of them, and thankfully in the Sonic and Billy Hatcher communities, bigots and self-centered room-dividers are typically handled with efficiency.
What would be the best memory or moment you’ve experienced?
After trying nearly every day for a year straight, getting the sonic story world record during my GDQ Hotfix run. It was the most climatic run I've ever had, and finally fulfilling the dream and pushing Sonic Adventure further in front of the biggest crowd the game has ever seen is something I'll never take for granted. That run is forever etched in history, and a core memory.
Should other people also try and check out speedrunning? Why so?
100%! Speedrunning is a hobby that when approached with a healthy mindset can really change the way you look at everything. Every game has a Speedrun community somewhere!
What makes the speedrunning communities special?
We're all here to celebrate our favorite games and push them further than anyone had ever intended. They're communities formed with love, and that in and of itself is very magical in a way.
Who do you think would enjoy speedrunning as well?
Idk what this question means, sorry!
How would you describe your experience and stay in the community?
Very welcoming. It's extremely easy to get into the Sega speedgame communities. It really does feel like a second family at times to me.
What are your suggestions for the speedrunning community?
Never stop pushing. Be willing to do what other people don't want to do. If you want to run on obscure hardware or play a game no one cares about, that's awesome. Commit to making yourself happy, and running what you want to run.
What made you stay long in this community?
The support. While there was a tiny bit of pushback in the beginning with attempting to argue in favor of Sonic Adventure, the overwhelming amount of support I've received from the community in several different ways has totally changed my life and given me a drive that I thought I had long since lost.
What is your message to those who admire and watch you?
Subscribe I suppose? Idk, it's very strange to imagine having admirers
Check out WitherMan on Speedrun.com and follow them on Twitch and Youtube to get more updates on their speedruns!
Want to see more of things like this? Or maybe you like cats or the Game Boy or the NES? If you do, let's have a catjam together! Join Mega Cat Studios on Discord for more fun and excitement!
Mega Cat Studios had the chance to interview the title holder of being the fastest person to finish Super Mario Bros. Any% with a total running time of 4m 54s 798ms, in the speedrunning community, Niftski! He shared his insights and issues with the community as well as some motivations for those who are aiming to enter this community! Here’s how our interview went!
How did you discover speedrunning?
I discovered speedrunning through Bismuth and Summoning Salt’s Super Mario Bros. speedrunning YouTube videos, and it greatly sparked my interest.
What made it interesting for you to check it out?
Super Mario Bros. was a game I grew up playing ever since I was around 5 years old and seeing people speedrun it gave the game a whole new feel and interest.
What were the biggest issues you encountered in the community?
Occasional bad apples and immature people that come along in the community are probably one of the only issues, but pretty much every community in speedrunning has to deal with that.
What would be the best memory or moment you’ve experienced?
Although I’ve beaten this run twice, the day I got my former world record of 4:54.948 in SMB1 Any% is still to this day the best memory I’ve experienced in speedrunning. It is also still to this day the happiest day I’ve ever had in my life.
Should other people also try and check out speedrunning? Why so?
Absolutely. If you are bored of casually playing games you’ve already played many times and want to add a fun and competitive aspect to it, speedrunning is probably the best way to go about that!
What makes the speedrunning community special?
Everyone uplifts and motivates each other while promoting positivity and the hope that they can improve their speedrunning times.
Who do you think would enjoy speedrunning as well?
Members from other gaming communities that take interest in competitive and fun games (like I was at one point with games like CS: GO) would likely also love speedrunning.
How would you describe your experience and stay in the community?
Out of a few other communities, I can say by far that this community is the best and most positive one I’ve ever been in.
What made you stay long in this community?
The friends I’ve made along the way, my interest in the game, and the positivity that has been spread along the way have made me stay with this community.
What are your suggestions for the speedrunning community?
Surround yourself with positive people and always believe in your abilities, as it is very likely that you haven’t even reached your full potential yet.
What is your message to those who admire and watch you?
You can do anything you put your mind to, my world records are not by any means unbeatable and at the end of the day, we are all human!
Anything else you’d like to add?
Always believe in yourself, because at the end of the day, nobody else can achieve things on your behalf 😊
Check out Niftski on Speedrun.com and follow him on Twitch and Youtube to get more updates on his speedruns!
Want to see more of things like this? Or maybe you like cats or the Game Boy or the NES? If you do, let's have a catjam together! Join Mega Cat Studios on Discord for more fun and excitement!
