Thoughts on Speed running future

This is going to be a pretty long rant, I'm not really sure what I'm going to say as I'm typing this - I'm just going to let it flow.

I'm at a very strange point with video games. I no longer consider myself to be a casual gamer, but in no way am I a reliably decent speed runner. I'm kind of just floating around, streaming because I enjoy the company and unsure of where to take myself. I fear that if I begin to do casual days on my stream I will begin to lose some of the little respect I have in the speed running circle, and I also feel like it would take away from what I'm trying to accomplish in certain games. I've been trying to play games offline, but it feels like a waste because I could be improving in DKC2.

Speaking of DKC2, I'm at the point in that game where I've ended every other game I ran in the past. My time is better than a casual could do, but not quite on par with the speed running corp - it's a 47:42 for those who are curious. I'm in unchartered territory here - I've never pushed beyond this wall of complacency that has bore me so frequently in the past. Instead of actually learning games and getting where I ultimately wish I could be, I often move on to something else and I'm SO incredibly tired of doing that. I'm ready to elevate my speed gaming into a respectable level, the only problem is I'm out in the middle of treading water not knowing what to do. It' pretty exciting in all honesty, I've never practiced like this and it's interesting. I feel like I'm good at the game and "haven't quite put a run together" but I know deep down I'm shit. I need to some how channel that shit and turn it into gold, so it's all very new and exciting.

Off of the personal gain wagon - I'm seeing a trend that is really bugging me a lot lately in our community. It's literally all because of twitch "fame". I hate so fucking much that people even care about this shit. It drives me insane. I've seen people that I talked to regularly, and that I really enjoyed the company of mind you, turn into casual let's play guys just so they can get some subscribers. It's really bothersome to me. On the other side of the coin there is guys with a shit load of followers that just continue to do their thing and not use gimmicks in order to succeed. We need more runners like Dram, Zoasty, Puwexil, Zewing, Feasel, Sinister1, eLmaGus, Duckfist and many more that I don't have the patience to name. Those guys haven't changed one bit since the Twitch explosion has happened - they continue to do their thing, play the games they want to play, and don't have to have some stupid fucking gimmick while they do it. We are all just playing fucking video games man, the drama is so un-fucking-necessary it's ridiculous. No one gives a fuck man. If it is your personal goal to make people give a fuck about you, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.

I guess that's kind of why I wanted to do my meetup this fall. I don't feel like I need to go to a GDQ just to meet some of my friends I've met through speed running. Can't we just get together and play games fast, simply because that's what we like to fucking do? It's mind boggling how much money SDA has raised for charity. It really is. The more I think about it, the crazier it becomes. That's what SDA does though, and if you think you'll come close to that doing an online marathon with your buddy who runs Spyro you are sorely mistaken. I miss going over to a buddies house and playing a video game on their couch, just because "Holy shit, you need to play this game!" That's all that I want, to find enjoyment from playing games 20 years after their release. The fact that Twitch is here just means that I get to play these games fast in front of 20 people instead of sitting by myself with my dogs. We need to quite thinking having viewers and sub buttons with stupid fucking emotes are a right not a privilege.

It's just after this SGDQ I really reflected on my stance with where I'd like to be in the future of all this mess. I love that I've met so many new people through gaming, it's changed my life forever. There is people in Europe I talk to every single day of my life who I never would have known even existed had it not been for speed gaming. I don't know that I ever want another follower as long as I stream. I'm so content with my chat, my viewers, and all my homies. The only thing missing for me is to get my times down, and that's solely on me.

Just because you have a timer doesn't make it a speedrun.

If you've never played the game before, it's not a fucking attempt.

Thanks for reading
~Deuce