08 July 2016
Prep the energy drinks, cue the mic and grab hold of your joystick - its speedrunning time!
No, this is not a joke – speedrunning is a sport – but it's one for gamers, and it has a massive national and international following.
Coinciding with the Adelaide Anime and Video Games Festival (AVCon), UniSA’s Magill campus will be the headquarters for the first Australian Speedrunning Marathon over 24 continuous hours, running across the 13th and 14th of July.
Event coordinator and current student, who goes by the gaming name Frank Black, says speedrunning is fast and furious competition where gamers attempt to complete their chosen game as fast as possible.
“The Australian Speedrunning Marathon is an annual event, featuring more than 30 of Australia’s top gaming talent but we are holding the first overnight 24 hour speedrunning marathon in Australian history,” Black says.
“It is also the only major speedrunning event in Australia at this time, and it will be the first speedrunning marathon in Australia to be done in support of a charity.
“We are supporting beyondblue, a fantastic organisation working to raise awareness of and reduce the stigma surrounding depression and anxiety, as well as much more.
“We’ll be hosting 23 live speedruns in classics including Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Kingdom Hearts, Donkey Kong Country, Metroid, Super Mario, Sonic and more.
“Some of the gamers will be meeting face-to-face for the first time, although they may have been playing each other for many years.”
UniSA Television Studio Manager and Technical Services Team Leader, Andrei Gostin says the event will incorporate gaming culture and technology into academic teaching and student skill building in a unique educational context.
“As this event is entirely run by UniSA students, they are using the skills that are required of them when they graduate and head into the media industry,” Gostin says.
“Not only are they relying on their technical skills, but also learning new skills in event management, stakeholder engagement, publicity and marketing.
“Although we film and broadcast a number of national TV programs from the studio, this will be the first time we will be livestreaming directly and potentially reaching and connecting with an international audience.”
The level of dedication to become a runner is high and there are world records to be broken so anyone keen to share the running experience online can connect with the livestream at twitch.tv/ausspeedrunmarathon, or to see the action in person head to the Magill campus TV studio that will be open from 11am-5pm on the 13th and 14th of July.
Media contact: Katrina McLachlan office +61 883020961 mob 0414972537 email katrina.mclachlan@unisa.edu.au
