Extra Credits
Speedrunning - Games Done Quick and Developer Tips
2015 • E29 Jul 29, 2015 10m
A passionate community has grown around speedrunning, when players try to find the fastest possible way to complete a run. Different types of speedrun may require the player to beat the entire game or allow them to take shortcuts enabled by glitches. Game developers may want to attract an audience for their game through a design that appeals to this community, but to succeed they should keep three factors in mind. First, focus on tight controls so the runner can focus on their path through the game. Second, allow them the versatility of multiple approaches, but make sure the game provides enough consistency that each performance of the same route can be executed in the same time (or close to it). Scripted enemies vs. AI that generates random responses help with that! Finally, be mindful of how patching affects the speedrunners who are learning your game: you can still patch, but try to patch in new options for the community along with your bug fixes!