Incredible success for the annual speed race
Another great game that happened fast came to an end. Over the past week, some of the best – or at least the fastest – video games in the world have come together to beat their way through a cavalcade of titles old and new, all in the name of charity.
When the curtain fell on the last run, (which the runner-up CLG ZFG saw through) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in just under 42 minutes), the total amount raised amounted to an incredible $ 2,758,847. All of these proceeds are donated directly to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, an international organization that works tirelessly to research life-saving developments in cancer cure.
AGDQ 2021 was the first AGDQ event held in a strictly online capacity, necessitated by the constraints of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this major hurdle, the GDQ team, the global community of speedsters and a global audience gathered on Twitch to celebrate the medium of video games, with seven consecutive days of exciting and sometimes challenging challenges.
Newer titles like Hades, River City Girls, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice piled up against old schoolers including Ecco the dolphin, warrior, and Aladdin. AGDQ regular Silent Hill, Metroid, Spyro the Dragon and Donkey Kong Country were all present and correct, while two particularly striking challenges caused the runner to play “Bubzia” Super Mario 64 blindfolded, and runner “PeekingBoo” fights through twitchy platform Celeste use a dance mat!
All of AGDQ 2021’s speeds are now archived on Twitch and YouTube and are quickly accessible via this handy Reddit thread. Seems like a perfect way to keep a lazy Sunday away.
I know I’m like a broken record, but it’s always repeating: video games have a constantly bad representative. This is what they did when I dropped coins into arcades in the ’80s, and this is what they do today as a billion dollar industry. But away from the scary headlines and the more toxic aspects of the hobby, gameplay is built on a global community of dedicated players, filled to the brim with good people who are full of passion and generosity.
The GDQ events show this. And in times as chaotic, dangerous and sad as this, the community has still come together to make this important charity event an example of what makes our favorite pastime truly special. Congratulations to the AGDQ believers – its organizers, hosts and tech crew, runners and donors – for their incredible success under the most difficult circumstances. Your tireless energy and effort never ceases to amaze us all.
Summer Games done fast, taking place later in 2021. So start practicing.
Filed under …