SAN FRANCISCO, July 3 — Annual video game completion race Summer Games Done Quick raised US$2.1 million (RM8.4 million) for charity through audience donation as expert players demonstrated their uncommon skill with games like Wacky Races, Castlevania, Super Mario Bros, and more.

Speedrunning, the art and craft of completing video games at blistering velocity, continues to break records not only in terms of time but also charity donation.

Some 150 games were on the slate over the week of June 24 to July 1, 2018, from classics like Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and some of the first Pokémon games through to more recent releases like Undertale, Hob, A Story About my Uncle and Celeste.

Some participants committed to completing a game without cheating, some by exploiting glitches to open up unintended shortcuts, while others agreed to specific restrictions to make their runs a little more difficult and impressive.

Livestreamed over the internet with commentary, audience interaction, special challenges and community events to keep spirits high, the 2018 edition Summer Games Done Quick was the first such event to pass US$2 million raised.

The mid-year video games marathon is a counterpart to Awesome Games Done Quick, held in January, and where AGDQ has taken to supporting the Prevent Cancer Foundation since its second iteration in 2011, SGDQ has been sending proceeds towards Doctors Without Borders since 2013.

AGDQ passed the US$2 million milestone in January 2017; in 2018, it raised US$2.29 million.

The next Games Done Quick event takes place October 26-28 2018 as the Games Done Quick Express, its date and location coinciding with livestreaming convention TwitchCon, with its beneficiary yet to be announced. — AFP-Relaxnews