AGDQ 2015 Smashes 1 Million Dollar Target
The annual speedrunning marathon for charity, Awesome Games Done Quick concluded over the weekend. Including bonus runs, they hosted over 160 speedruns and raised more than 1.5 Million dollars for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Counting merchandise and their Humble Bundle package, the marathon tallied 38,998 donations from 29,639 donors for a total of $1,556,127.41.
AGDQ 2015 marked the 5th event baring the name and is the 11th charity event hosted by the Speed Demos Archive community. The group’s first event, Classic Games Done Quick, raised just over $10,000 for CARE. The 1.5 Million they raised this year is a far cry form such humble beginnings. Part of the success can no doubt be attributed to the advent of Twitch and rising interest in competitive gaming. The real magic here is in the nature of gamers, and in particular, the speedrunning community. Honest video games played by paragons of hand-eye coordination breed a higher caliber of fan. In all my years of video gaming, I’ve never encountered a more inclusive community than that of SDA and speedrunners.
I’ve watched SDA marathons for years now and AGDQ 2015 has been the best so far. The money raised is part of it, but the runs themselves have been some of the most memorable I’ve ever witnessed live.
From Jackafur’s proposal, to the DKC2 four-way showdown, and a Ninja Gaiden relay race there were some absolutely amazing moments. I saw world records broken live (seriously check out this fantastic Infamous: Festival of Blood run) and one of the best Mario blocks ever.
A full list of runs from AGDQ2015 will “soon” be added to SDA’s official Youtube channel. In the meantime you can check the VODs on Twitch. There are also a few lists floating around Reddit and an unofficial Youtube archive Here. And I highly recommend you check some videos out.
The Ninja Gaiden Relay in particular is a must watch.
Other notables include one of the most entertaining Mario 2 runs I’ve ever seen and a hilarious Kaizo Mario run. Shovel Knight and Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II were also among my favorites. I’m going to stop myself now. I could list great runs all day.
Honestly just pick your favorite games and watch them.
SDA’s next charity event, Summer Games Done Quick, will be hosted in July and benefit Doctors Without Borders. And I already can’t wait.
This article was written with my son on my lap so I apologize for typos. I’ll edit it later after I feed him lunch.