As indicated by the name, speedruns of this kind are not supposed to include any glitches, but there is a clarification of the rules in which it is stated that it is hard to define exactly what counts as a glitch, and that current rules, although imperfect, are a result of voting the only underlying principle that seems to motivate this adjudication is: “If the means are not a glitch, neither are the ends” ( ). The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo EAD, 1998 henceforth OoT) includes a total of 8 major categories ( ), of which glitchless is probably the most complex and problematic one in terms of how the rules are to be defined. Many games are divided into different speedrunning categories according to what strategies are permitted. Finally, I apply theories from the philosophy of fiction on some of Scully-Blaker’s theories and provide a more refined framework that resolves these issues and can be employed when determining what should be allowed in a glitchless speedrun of any given game. I then apply theories from the philosophy of sport and show that these too are insufficient, giving sets of rules that are either too broad or too narrow. In this article I show that the definitions provided by Scully-Blaker are insufficient for resolving issues raised by so-called “glitchless runs” and allow for either too many or too few viable strategies. As groundbreaking and informative as the article may be, it includes a comparatively brief discussion on different kinds of speedruns, and does not make any substantial claims on what is allowed in different categories. In an article entirely dedicated to the topic, Rainforest Scully-Blaker (2014) outlines and discusses the concept of speedrunning, defined as “the practice of players or ‘runners’ attempting to ‘travel’ from a game’s opening state at its first necessary button input to the game’s conclusion at its last necessary button input in the smallest amount of time possible” (2014). The topic of speedrunning, although often mentioned in literature on video games, has been comparatively neglected in academic contexts.
Keywords: speedrun, speedrunning, exploit, glitch, narratology, philosophy of fiction, philosophy of sport, strategic fouls, formalism, interpretivism. Finally, I apply theories from the philosophy of fiction and show that although these are still insufficient for settling all potential issues, they provide significantly more consistent and clear principles for assessing the viability of any given technique. I then employ theories from the philosophy of sport and show that, although they have some elucidating potential, they too fail in providing good models for establishing rules in glitchless speedruns. I expound existing theories on speedrunning and show that they contain several crucial flaws and cannot adjudicate on the viability of techniques commonly used by speedrunners. This article examines various ways of determining what techniques and strategies should be allowed in so-called glitchless speedruns, where players aim to complete the game without relying on bugs and glitches. In spite of its popularity, it has received comparatively little attention in academic contexts. Speedrunning is the practice of completing a game in the shortest amount of time possible.
“Twere Well It Were Done Quickly”: What Belongs in a Glitchless Speedrun? by Martin Ricksand Abstract
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