Speed Demos Archive
| URL | SpeedDemosArchive.com |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | No |
| Type of site | Speedrun Recordkeeper / Video Archive |
| Owner | Nolan "Radix" Pflug |
| Created by | Nolan "Radix" Pflug |
| Launched | April 1998 |
| Current status | Active |
Speed Demos Archive (abbreviated SDA) is a site dedicated to speedruns done on many computer and video games.
Contents |
[edit] History
The site originally began as a demo archive of Quake play throughs. SDA was formed initially by Nolan "Radix" Pflug of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by merging with a site created by Gunnar and Jesse in April 1998. In 2004 after the success of his own famous 100% Metroid Prime run, Radix expanded SDA to include demos of other games. Mike Uyama took over in 2006 as the site's administrator.
[edit] Modern SDA
By 2006, SDA was now home to numerous videos of gamers completing various video games as quickly as they can.
Players may do the runs in a single segment (single sitting) or in multiple segments using the game's built-in saving system. Runs saved in multiple segments are usually downloaded part by part, which is helpful when one does not have time to watch or download an entire run. Almost every speedrun on SDA can be downloaded in low, normal, or high quality to suit differing bandwidths. In some cases there is also an "insane" video quality available. Runs must be performed on their native consoles or on certain PC/Mac configurations. Runs done on emulators are not accepted, since it cannot be proven that a user did not use any tools to assist them. Runs of an alternate mode within the game (such as Devil May Cry's Super Dante mode) can be accepted.
Until recently it was required for the first runs of a game to be uploaded, "out of the box" runs (playing the game the first time), before an alternate category would be considered. This was changed to allow for more runs to appear on site without requiring a tiring effort of beating a game normally to have the second category valid.
The site includes videos of such popular games as Mega Man, Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog. The site has been featured numerous times in publications such as Electronic Gaming Monthly and G4tv's Attack of the Show!. Some of the runs also appear in an episode of Pure Pwnage. Runs are captured from a console using a DVD recorder or a TV input card setup on a PC/Mac. Runs from PC/Mac are captured with recording tools built into the game, or using special video capture programs, such as Fraps. Runs were previously accepted on VCRs, but these were obsoleted in 2008.
[edit] Charity marathons
Inspired by TheSpeedGamers(TSG) a group which streams live videogame marathons in order to raise money for charities SDA sought out advice from TSG and began their first charity marathon January 2010.[1] Their first marathon, titled "Classic Games Done Quick", raised $11,000 for the CARE relief agency which was more than double their original goal of $5,000. Subsequent speedrunning marathons include: "Awesome Games Done Quick" in January 2011, "Japan Relief Done Quick" in April 2011 and "Summer Games Done Quick" August 2011.[2] These three marathons raised for their respective charities over $53,000.00 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation[3] +$24,000 for Doctors Without Borders[4] and +$21,000.00 for the Organization for Autism Research.[2]
During the marathons a chip-in widget is placed beneath the streaming video which visually displays how much has been donated so far, and which allows people watching the runs to donate money directly to the charity through a PayPal account. Users who donate are given the option to have a message sent to the marathoners to be read during the stream, allowing them to vote with their donation money for which games they want played, what they want the characters to be named, or to request runners to perform specific feats such as difficult tricks or glitches. Other incentives to donate are usually provided throughout the runs such as a minimum $5 donation entering donators into a raffle for a donated item(video game/plushy/fan art/etc).
SDA's most current marathon, "Awesome Games Done Quick", took place January 4–9, 2012, again for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.[5] [6] The marathon this time raised $149,044.99 including over a thousand dollars raised through t-shirt sales of the event.[7][6] Additional money was raised through challenges to the players as well as prizes raffled off to donors, most notably the events main prize a replica Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda series created by metal worker Thomas Folino was also created a Super Meat Boy meat tenderizer for the event.[8] Of the money raised $80,000 will entirely fund a 2-year research grant to be named after SDA while the rest will go towards continuing the PCF's goals of promoting research, education, and outreach to prevent cancer.[7]
[edit] See also
- Speedrun
- Video games notable for speedrunning — an extensively documented list of noteworthy games for speedrunning purposes.
- Sequence breaking — the act of performing actions or obtaining items in a video game out of the intended order, or of skipping said actions or items entirely while still successfully completing the game.
- Tool-assisted speedrun - technically fastest speedruns recorded on tool-assisted emulators
- Cyberscore - scorekeeping website containing speedrun times and high scores.
[edit] References
- Footnotes
- ^ "Charity marathon conclusion". Speeddemosarchives. 4 January 2008. http://speeddemosarchive.com/oldnews10q1.html. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ a b OAR staff (September 2011). "Video Gamers Raise Thousands for OAR". Monthly E-Newsletter. Organization for Autism Research. http://www.researchautism.org/resources/newsletters/2011/September_2011.asp#three. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
- ^ Wood, Jim (2 March 2011). "Speed Demos Archive Marathon Raises Over $53,000 in Cancer Prevention Funding". Prevent Cancer Foundation. http://blog.preventcancer.org/2011/speed-demos-archive-marathon-raises-over-53000-in-cancer-prevention-funding/. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
- ^ DWB staff. "Speed Demos Archive fundraising for MSF". Doctors Without Borders. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/fundraiser/donors.cfm. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
- ^ "Video Game Marathon for Cancer Research". Washington DC: WUSA-TV. 5 January 2012. http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=182945. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ a b Vorpal (16 January 2012). "We need a new word for surpassing expectations". Speed Demos Archive. http://speeddemosarchive.com/. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ a b Jensen, Cheryssa (11 January 2012). "Gaming for Good: Charity Video Game Marathon Raises Over $145,000 for Cancer Prevention". Prevent Cancer Foundation. http://blog.preventcancer.org/2012/gaming-for-good-charity-video-game-marathon-raises-a-145000-for-cancer-prevention/. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ "College student’s artwork raises money". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. 30 January 2012. http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/573877/College-student-s-artwork-raises-money.html?nav=5005. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- Bibliography
- Riendeau, Danielle (23 June 2009). "Zen and the Art of Speedrunning". The Escapist. pp. 1-3. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_207/6192-Zen-and-the-Art-of-Speedrunning. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- Varney, Allen (4 July 2006). "Speed Thrills". The Escapist. pp. 1-3. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_52/315-Speed-Thrills. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
[edit] External links
- Speed Demos Archive
- SDA knowledgebase--an SDA wiki
- Extended Description of SDA
- SDA Youtube Channel, videos of speed runs and marathon footage
