SGDQ 2017 has been pretty fun this year.  There’s been tons of amazing speed runs, interesting games, and hilarious commentary.  As I said in my Castlevania wrap up, world records aren’t usually common at GDQ events.  That made it even more surprising when Dr4gonBlitz (the runner who played Castlevania) grabbed a world record on the first day.  As we rolled into day two, even more runners ended up with world records.  As the old saying goes, if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.

World Record Mishap

I’ll keep this brief, as most of the credit has to go to Reddit user “GrammaticalTerror”, who posted this curious observation yesterday.  Apparently, the stop watch that Games Done Quick uses to track times is faulty.  After some investigation and video play back, the community was able to determine that the timer was running a few seconds too fast.

Usually a few seconds doesn’t matter too much, but when you’re talking about speed runs, they make all the difference in the world.  In fact, almost every “world record” accomplished this year has been deemed invalid.  For instance, Dr4gonBlitz’s Castlevania; Symphony of the Night run ended in 32 minutes and 59 seconds.  This was a new world record, just a few seconds shy of the previous.  In this case, three seconds makes or breaks a world record.

Official Statement and Ethics

With something like this happening, I truly hope that the general public doesn’t cry foul.  In fact, SGDQ released an official statement on Twitter which you can read HERE.  Essentially, they acknowledge the mistake and have fixed it for further runs.

It’s important to note here that Games Done Quick events are not about world records.  They’re about showcasing awesome gaming skill all while raising incredible amount of cash for charity.  At the time of this publication, donations have already reached a staggering $228,000 USD.  World records are a happy occasion, but far from the focus of the event.

I find the whole thing quite humorous, honestly.  You would think that of all the tech GDQ would test, the timer would be one of the first on the list.  Well, we all make mistakes.  Better to catch it now than later, in my opinion.  At least they caught the problem early on, as we have 5 more days of speed running goodness to watch!  I’ll be here covering runs from time to time, so don’t forget to check back!