Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) is racing back to Twitch, gathering over 150 passionate and skilled video game speedrunners to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. The continuous 160-hour live broadcast takes place July 26th to August 1st at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul-Riverfront in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Online spectators can catch the fast-paced stream live on the Games Done Quick Twitch Channel, or find archived Games Done Quick speedruns on the Games Done Quick YouTube Channel.
Speedrunning is the art of beating a video game as quickly as possible. A speedrun relies on tricks, extensive planning, the highest levels of play, and the meticulous gamers that make up the speedrunning community. This results in an unique product of fandom that brings a new twist to traditional gaming. Speedruns are then optimized to a world-class level though hundreds or thousands of hours of practice and perfection. SGDQ 2015 gives these driven runners not only a chance to show off their skills, but to do so in-person with 1000 fellow attendees. It’s a get-together of talent, speed, and friendship.
Summer Games Done Quick 2015’s schedule includes a wide variety of over 150 games, run by some of the most passionate gamers to ever hold a controller. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island opens up SGDQ with Trihex, a speedrunner that’s been running Yoshi’s Island for over ten years. Tetris: The Grand Master 3 is back after its recent GDQ debut and will feature a run by Tetris Grand Master KevinDDR, one of only six players to ever obtain the rank of Grand Master in Tetris: The Grand Master 3. For the first time ever, three top Super Mario 64 runners, including world record holder cheese05, will be competing against each other to collect all 120 stars and beat Bowser in the biggest Super Mario 64 race at a Games Done Quick event. This is just a snippet of the jam-packed SGDQ schedule, which is viewable here.
SGDQ 2015 follows the high energy of its sister marathon, Awesome Games Done Quick, and SGDQ 2014. Games Done Quick events in 2014 raised over $1.7 million for multiple charities, and $1.5 million has already been raised in 2015. SGDQ 2015 is looking to help push this year’s total even further and best the $720,000 raised at SGDQ 2014. This may be the first year a Summer Games Done Quick reaches the million dollar mark. The exemplary charity shown by Games Done Quick viewers has continued to outshine itself year to year, and gamers worldwide are showing compassion alongside the Games Done Quick runners. With all the growth GDQs have experienced, SGDQ Head Organizer Andrew Schroeder had this to say, “The people who attend the GDQs continue to feel like family to me, regardless of how big the events have grown over time.”
Donations to Doctors Without Borders can be made directly to the charity via the viewing page available at GamesDoneQuick.com. Donors are entered to win community-donated prizes and a chance to have their comments read live on stream. There are additional donation options available through a Twitch subscription to the Games Done Quick channel, where the entire subscription is donated to Doctors Without Borders, and purchasing Games Done Quick shirts through Theyetee.com, with three dollars from every sale going to Doctors Without Borders.
Summer Games Done Quick 2015 wouldn’t be possible without the help and support of this year’s enthusiastic sponsors. Games Done Quick is proud to thank Twitch, Humble, TinyBuild, The Yetee, World 9 Gaming, Alienware, and Something Artistic for their continued support and aid in helping push Summer Games Done Quick 2015 to its full potential in both speed and charity.
For more updates, spectators are encouraged to follow the Games Done Quick Twitter feed: @GamesDoneQuick, or visit GamesDoneQuick.com