Showcase Race

So a lot has happened in the past day or so.  I’m not really sure where to begin. I’ll say that I was rather caught off guard by negative responses directed toward me and the showcase race and the idea of what I envisioned the showcase race to be.  So I’ll be as transparent as possible with my intentions of the showcase race, and where my viewpoint was with the progression of it.

When I first started the showcase race months ago, I always envisioned it as a way of bringing a different viewpoint of speedrunning. The purpose behind it was to allow someone outside of the runner to explain speedrunning concepts as they happened to give the viewer a better feel of the action that was going on.  When you watch a runner RTA, very often they don’t have enough time to explain a lot of tricks and routes in terms of the game, so having someone dedicated to doing that while presenting it in a race format seemed like a really cool concept. We first started doing these showcase races with prize money donated by the viewer that went straight to the racers. None of that money was meant for me but instead the racer. The goal was to reward runners for the hard work they were putting in their speed games through both cash incentives, as well as give them some love in terms of viewers. These races were hosted on my channel, which also benefited myself as well. I always envisioned as a way that everyone could gain from it, and felt the general concept behind involved no real issues. I was approached several times by a few communities that wanted to participate but with instead of the cash prizes going to them, they’d donate it to charity. I was all for it, and was happy to leave that choice up to those individuals.

In the first round of the showcase races, we had some really good races, including a Yoshi’s Island race that ended with the top 3 finishers finishing within seconds of each other. All of those involved thoroughly enjoyed it and the excitement of seeing this race come down to the wire made me think that this whole concept of a hype race with something on the line was starting to be more accepted. We did the TP race as well, and although we had some issues in terms of contestants breaking the rules, the race went over really well, and the commentary was phenomenal.  It was a great feeling to be part of it, and I was looking forward to what was in store.
When we rebooted the showcase race a month ago, the goal was to make it bigger and more exciting than ever. I wanted add a pregame show where we could explain tricks that would be happening in the run before they happened as a way to educate someone who had never seen a speedrun before of that certain game, so that it gave them a basic understanding of the concept.  I wanted to reward the guest caster for taking the time to help, and hopefully encourage even better commentary. These were small changes that were being done in order to make the product of the showcase race better, which would in turn help out those who participated.
When I was approached with the idea of partnering with an actual company that wanted to take an idea that I had worked on, and put a lot of time into, and make it better, I jumped at the idea. I always felt there were a lot more ideas that we could pursue with a product that had some production value behind it. I saw this as an opportunity for all sides

•	SRL – Gave added exposure to a site that I love being a part of. While this could be argued that this would be bad exposure, I felt increasing our reach would allow us to grow as a community
o	I know this sentiment wasn’t received as well, and with fair reasons, but I felt like it deserved a shot
•	The Games – I felt like something like this would also help the games in the season that we had chosen. I realize that a lot of the games were already popular speedruns (SM64, SM), but I felt these games were great racing games that if given the right environment, would provide a lot of excitement.  Super Metroid in particular, due to how close some of the best runners are in terms of time, and how “hype” and close a race would be if all of them participated. (sorry to use the term hype, as most of you are over that word”
o	 When it came to SotN and X2, these were games that at the time, not as popular, but really good speedruns. I started playing X2 in a blind race, and immediately enjoyed it. I really enjoyed speedrunning it and felt like it deserved more attention. I geninunely loved racing the game daily because it was fun, and I wanted others to be able to see that X2 was just as good of speedgame as X, if not better.
•	The Runners – The point of the move was to also give runners exposure. I see a lot of complaints in this community that Personality and Gimmicks trump skill and fun. The point of allowing those who were near the top to be shown at first, and then give anyone who wanted to work to get to that level so they too could get exposure was what I wanted from the start. The sponsorship allowed for stable prizes where runners could get an added bonus of their hard work. I see streamers all the time who are trying to improve their equipment in order to help their stream, or need some extra cash in order to get to a speedrunning event. I felt the format would finally give skill, not personality a chance to shine in front of a large audience.
•	Myself, and others involved- The final area, and prob the area that people will most focus their attention to, but I also saw it as a way to promote myself. I never felt it was wrong, if you put work into something, you expect to get something for it as well.  I enjoy speedrunning. I enjoy going fast, and I enjoy interacting with all kinds of people. I also enjoy that I can wake up every morning and get paid to do something I genuinely love. I never saw the bad in that, and I’ve made decisions through out my streaming/speedrunning time to help improve that likelihood. I  understand that some people have an issue with that, and that’s completely fair, but I’ll always be honest that the thought of being able to entertain, speedrun, and make someones day a better one while being compenstated for it is an awesome idea, and it makes me happy to see so many runners be able to do in some shape or form.
•	The Viewer – I wanted to create something that someone, anyone could watch and enjoy it. Something that the average person who knew nothing about speedrunning could open up the stream and be able to pick up on what’s going on. I felt this format with a season of people competing every week would be a great experience for the viewer, and each week they could come to the race with more knowledge and a better understanding of what speedrunning is and how you go about it.

The goal was to create something where everyone benefited to some degree, in some shape or form. Could I ever guarantee that? No I couldn’t, but I was willing to try something new, to put myself, and my stance in the community on the line to chase after something I was passionate about.  I’m not going to lie, reading some of the hateful tweets and messages directed toward me for wanting to try something different hurt.  I never had any desire to anger people. I’m by no means perfect, and if I could go back change some of the ways this went about I would now that I think about it but what’s done is done.  I realize there will always be some people in this community that will view me differently due to this, but that’s the risk you take. I would hope that in the very least people would stop being hateful towards my idea I had for a video game and be able to move our separate ways with some character. But even so, I’ll continue to speedrun because I enjoy it, and I hope you continue to do so as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope your day is a good one !

-	Caleb “Iateyourpie” Bloomer