This thread is about TAS, which stands for “tool-assisted speedrunning” or “tool-assisted superplay”, depending (the latter can include high score runs or no damage runs or combo demonstrations or whatever). Essentially, it’s using save states, frame advancement, luck manipulation, etc. to get through a game as quickly as possible. I found about this from TASvideos.org.
Okay. I’ve never actually spelled this out before, so here’s my take on the whole thing:
- Even without taking in to account anything else, nearly all of these runs are breathtaking to watch, and even the ones that aren’t visually stunning are highly satisfying.
- Especially satisfying is seeing games that were outrageously difficult, insanely broken, or otherwise drove me absolutely nuts when I first played them being demolished.
- This is awesome.
- It also has absolutely nothing to do with actual gaming, requires no skills you’d expect from a player, and overall is cheap and dirty and shameful and disrespectful and a huge insult blah blah etc.
- Which makes it even more awesome.
- No, really. If you actually think that tapping buttons and moving a stick around for entertainment is a matter of honor or righteousness, you’re exactly the kind of yahoo who needs to get taken down a peg with videos like these.
- These speedrunners make no apologies. They don’t consider what they’re doing immoral or inappropriate. Because it isn’t. Video games are entertainment and should be treated as such.
- In all, this is an activity, a community, and a mindset that not only should be rebellious and cool…creating art for its own sake, no stupid video game prejudices, not asking for anyone’s approval beforehand, healthy competition, openness to all, hell, that’s the combo platter right there…but, as something that will never garner mainstream acceptance, pretty much has no choice but to be rebellious and cool.
Yeah…about that last one. Here are a some comments I’ve picked up:
“This run is way too boring. I don’t care how many times you submit this, there is no way we will ever put this on our site, ever.”
“I don’t get it, how is this TAS useful?”
“You’re just doing the same move over and over! Thumbs down!”
“I wish someone would do a run that had more combos! I wish this wasn’t so repetitive!”
“WTF?? Huh? Whazza? WTF? Zuh? Grah? WTF? WTF? WTF?”
“Terrible game choice. What were you thinking.”
I see a lot of demanding, a lot of debasing, a whole lot of grumbling…it’s as if their response to mainstream videogaming’s insufferable pretentiousness is to be insufferably pretentious in a somewhat different manner. And every time any type of criticism comes up, it’s the same boring old lecture over how this isn’t really playing so nobody has any right to criticize (I got it once, believe it or not, and I was far from critical of the run in question). Yesterday someone on YouTube was in my face about how “disrespectful” I was (without citing the post in question, of course). Never any attempt at humor, or reconciliation, or even just not caring.
TASVideos.org, in particular, has me completely baffled. First off, let’s get one obvious fact out of the way: They use YouTube. Therefore, no one needs them. Anyone can put videos on YouTube, and, provided they maintain at least a minimum of decorum, don’t have to worry about them ever being yanked. TASVideos doesn’t provide any special service, or hints, or even a supportive network. In fact “supportive” is about the last word I’d ever use to describe any of the posters there.
No one’s getting paid for this. No one’s getting accolades on G4 or a plush job with Sony for this. It’s a labor of love, and yet I don’t see any love from anyone. Where’s the joy? Where’s the thrill? Where’s the appreciation that something this wild and amazing exists at all and we all get to see it? Am I truly the only person who thinks this should be FUN?
P.S. Yes, I know of enterplayment.net. From what I’ve seen it’s pretty nice, but not a TAS site per se.