hopKid’s General Beginners Guide to Speedrunning

I don't make this guide because I am an expert. Nor do I make this guide because it is the only advice that will work. I simply created this guide of 5 simple steps and an important visual because I wanted to share my ideas behind what ought to be considered by every starting speedrunner, because too often, the wrong questions are asked.

1.) Pick a game:
-Pick one you love, but are willing to hate. No one both loves and hates video games more than runners of the games.
-Pick one you want to learn more about. No one understands a game more than those that speedrun it well.
-Pick one with a speed style that speaks to you. There are different ways to run every game. But generally, every game has an overall style of play of it's own, and not every game is for every runner.
-Pick a game that is conducive to speed. Limited rng, not too long, etc. It can suck running games that are meant to troll you.

2.) Get the hardware you need to play and record. This can honestly be done before or after step 1. If you already have a console or an emulator, you may what to run a game on what you already have. Or maybe you've always wanted to play games on a certain hardware. (Also consider any software you might need to stream, record, time, or show information, etc.) But in general, I would say ideally, you want to really pick your game first, rather than limiting your game selection based on choosing hardware first. Learn about the differences and pick what best suites you, your situation, and what you want out of speedrunning.

3.) Pick a category to start with. Ask about the differences, watch runs. There's no right answer, just pick what you want.

4.) Play through and/or do a blind run. Nothing is better for a beginner than just jumping in. Familiarize and learn what you know and don’t know. You may even time it the first time. But you need some base of understanding for movement and how the game works before any deeper knowledge seeking about routes or tricks will make sense.

5.) From there, practice, practice, practice.

-But consider the Pyramid of Speedrunning:

                ^

           / routing \
          --------------
        /    movement    \
        -------------------
     /     tricks/skips     \
    __________________________


It's very obviously best to learn by watching runs, asking questions and then practicing yourself, with pyramid in mind. No matter what level of skill or category, routing is always he base for speed (mastering the category). Movement is where most long term practice should go (mastering the game); and as you feel so inclined, add tricks to improve and decorate your runs (mastering your mind).

The best tactic is to cycle through the pyramid, always with hierarchy in mind. Hence, route, improve movement, add tricks, reroute, improve movement, add harder tricks, reroute, etc. There is no one right amount or dosage of each section of the pyramid. Rather, it’s the hierarchy and the flow that matters. For example, don’t just watch the WR as a beginner and try to replicate the meta game strats in your first runs. It’s good to be aware of what strats are out there. But progress best comes when you watch lots of different runs of various skill levels, ask questions, start small, and practice.