History Main / SpeedRun

* ResurrectionTeleportation: In some games, dying respawns the player character at the beginning of the level or previous checkpoint without losing any level progress (such as switches pressed, items collected, boss killed, etc.). Runners will exploit this whenever backtracking is required, a tactic known as a "death warp". Sometimes quitting and reloading achieves the same result, and may even be slightly faster.

** For Tool Assisted Speedruns, RNG is almost never a problem, as [[=TASes=]] can use frame-level precision and rewinding to produce whatever outcome they desire. In fact, setting up the run for ridiculously good luck is all part of the challenge.

* '''Glitchless:''' A category variant where you play the game "as intended", without using bugs and glitches to save time, but still as fast as possible.

* LuckBasedMission: Many games have randomized elements, such as unpredictable enemy movements or RandomEncounters, which are generally undesirable to speedrunners as they make runs dependent on luck rather than skill. Speedrunners refer to this, usually perjoratively, as "RNG" (RandomNumberGeneration). On the upside, it does slightly level the playing field by giving less skilled players a chance to take the record if they get lucky. If a game's luck requirement is too great, it may make the game undesirable for human speedrunning.

* LuckBasedMission: Some games are non-deterministic, which means that they don't play out the same way every time. This means that the length of each run may be dependent on luck to an extent, and getting a good time requires a combination of good skill ''and'' good luck. If the luck requirement is too great, this can make some games undesirable for human speedrunning.

** For Tool Assisted Speedruns, setting up the run for ridiculously good luck is all part of the challenge.

In order to compete with other players' times, speedrunners come together to create leaderboards and agree upon a set of rules for what is allowed in the speedrun. Often, the same game can be speedrun in many different ways; each way is referred to as a '''category''', and each category has its own set of rules and leaderboard. Different categories typically require different speedrunning skills, and it's common for some runners to specialize in a particular category.

** Some communities employ the use of Low-Optimization Tool-Assisted Demonstrations, or LOTADs for short, which is a reference to the [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokémon]] of the same name.

* MinusWorld: In some games it is possible to reach out-of-bounds, DummiedOut, or developer-only areas where shortcuts, unobtainable items, and other exploits can be found.

* SequenceBreaking: Skipping parts of the game can sometimes cut down on run time dramatically.

* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Because of the way speedrunners liberally exploit glitches, some strategies actually have the potential to soft-lock the game if they fail, which immediately kills the run.

* '''Glitchless:''' A variant of either of the above two (usually Any%) where you play the game 'as intended', without using bugs and glitches to skip sections of the game or otherwise save time.
* '''Low%:''' Beat the game as fast as possible, using the ''least'' amount of items/things possible. Finishes are sorted by the number of items used, then by final time, meaning that new world records could be ''slower'' than previous ones. For example, between a run that takes 5 minutes and uses 4 items and a run that takes 5 hours and uses 3 items, the latter would be considered better. Runs typically use glitches to skip otherwise necessary items.

* TimeKeepsOnTicking: Most contemporary speedruns use real-life time instead of any timer built into the game, so anything that takes up time counts, including lag frames, cutscenes, pausing, menu navigation, and more. Load times are exempted for some games, particularly on [=PC=] where these times vary depending on hardware.

** The term "Auto-scroller" has come to refer to any moment in a speedrun where progression is time-gated, so the player cannot gain or lose time while they are waiting for an event to finish. The term still applies even when the time-gating has nothing to do with an AutoScrollingLevel.

** Popular games often have many different speedrunning categories, such as fastest overall completion (Any%), fastest completion while collecting all items/finding all secrets (100%), and fastest times for various joke categories (getting banned from online play, going swimming, burning a pie) and other SelfImposedChallenge runs (such as [[NoDeathRun competing the game without dying]]).

* TimedMission: The game itself may even encourage a speedrun playstyle, at least for a few levels or bosses. This often takes the form of [[BrutalBonusLevel extra levels that incorprate time limits on]] [[RemixedLevel levels that did not previously have them]].

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' is widely-liked for being a very balanced mix of interesting tricks and glitches alongside skilful regular gameplay... that is, once you get past 25 minutes of unskippable cutscenes and very basic 'walk from point to point' objectives. That is unfortunately a big reason why ''Majora's Mask'' remains one of the less popular ''Zelda'' games for fans to pick up and run, especially in comparison to the much faster-paced ''Ocarina of Time''.

** Speedrunners who want to play the game the ''traditional way'' aka "Glitchless runs", [[NotTheIntendedUse and those who love to exploit]] [[GoodBadBugs all manner of glitches]]. Neither side usually respects the other's viewpoint. Glitchless runners argue it's the way the game is meant to be played, and using a bug to warp straight to the end credits [[NotTheWayItIsMeantToBePlayed can feel very cheap]]. Those that reply upon them to achieve a faster time assert doing it legitimately [[StopHavingFunGuys is a tedious experience]]. In reality, both methods ''are usually hard'' and a real challenge to execute either way.

* InstantWinCondition: Abused mercilessly whenever both possible and quicker. Including glitches or oversights than can warp players to the very end of a game.

* '''100%:''' Fully completing every objective in the game in the fastest time. These runs typically require great endurance, routing skill, and a full mastery of every game mechanic and strategy.

[=TASes=] can be created for entertainment purposes, to show what a game would look like when played at perfect precision. However, they are also invaluable to human runners as research tools; they can be used to algorithmically find potential time-saving strategies, and can be a way to benchmark a speedrun to provide a theoretical best time.

** Whether runners playing games with lengthy unskippable cutscenes with little to no gameplay at the very start of a run should be allowed to skip that part through modding or a pre-created save file. This tends to create a divide between purists who believe that doing such a thing defeats the point of a full game speedrun, and others who think that the benefits of making a game more accessible and fun to watch outweighs the consideration of whether the entire game was technically played start to finish. Examples of games that currently allow early scenes to be skipped include ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' (skipping two lengthy cutscenes and a short gameplay section, cutting out just under six minutes) and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' (skipping the first cutscene, cutting out about four and a half minutes).

* AdvancedMovementTechnique: Tricks that can be used to speed up character movement will likely be exploited heavily.

* AIBreaker: Tool-Assisted speedruns practically exploit all AIs on a frame-perfect basis, whether by taking advantage of known flaws in the AI coding or by exploiting luck manipulation. Regular speedruns can also exploit AI patterns to do things quickly, or learn from tactics discovered in the TAS version.