Game header information

Game version

Game name

• Always do research on the official game name spelling. Sources to check, in the order of precedence:
  • Game manual
  • Game cover art
  • Title screen of the game
  • Unofficial web sites: MobyGames, GameFAQs, Wikipedia, Wikia
  • Official web sites are usually hard to find for games we're mostly TASing, but it'd help if you examine those too
• Subjects to check: subtitles, colons, apostrophes, capitalization
• Unicode characters can be used, if they are part of the game title, however printable ASCII characters are preferred. You can replace the Unicode characters with printable ASCII characters that are close enough, like Pin-Bot for Pin•Bot. Use the existing resources to check if there is a traditional replacement already.
• If the game had a release under an English title, use it even if the movie was made on a non-English release
  • For games that were officially only released under non-English titles, romanize their names using just characters that are part of codepage 1252. Exceptions can be made for games like NES Adventure Island 4, which was only released in Japan, but belongs to a widely known NES series of games with English names.
    • For Japanese romanization, use the Wāpuro rōmaji tradition.
• Capitalize game names according to the rules of English language, even if official game names contradict them, unless the way they are named traditionally is against the rules too.
• Use full game names, unless there is a common tradition to shorten them. But never shrink them to abbreviations, even if it is as common as SMB for Super Mario Bros.
• If there are different independent games on the same platform that have the same name, most likely they have been published by different publishers. Add the publisher to the game name in parentheses.

Branch name

• Labels must be lower-case, except for names or something otherwise internally capitalized.
• When picking a branch name, ensure that it accurately depicts the goals used and achievements obtained in the run, and properly differentiates it from other runs for said game.
• Don't use "any%" or blank label to represent a "default" goal, because we don't have that concept. Blank label (baseline) is only used if there's nothing unique to put in there, compared to other branches of the game.
• Standard goals go first in labels.
• Try to ensure consistency with how the branch name is used across the site with other published runs of other games.
• Expand acronyms that are not universally recognized. For example, BLJ is not as obvious to our broad audience as HTML and SRAM are.
• If a branch name is non-obvious, please discuss the name over with others in the run's thread, and call attention to it for staff members to weigh in.

• When all items are collected, and their resulting count is present in the game, include it in the branch label like this: Super Mario world "all 96 exits".
• If the movie starts from a save anchor and features unlockables, call it "savegame" unless it plays a specific unlockable mode that has an in-game name (such as NewGame+).

Major skip glitch labels

• Chrono Trigger "save glitch"
• Mega Man "game end glitch"

• Super Mario 64 "1 Key"
• GBA Sonic Advance "no Ultraspindash"

• Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back "item glitch"
• Final Fantasy "stairs glitch"

ROM name

• Ensure the ROM name is correct.
• Go by the standard GoodTools filenames. Use Super Mario Bros. (U).nes, not SMB.nes
• Add PRG info when multiple versions exist, such as Super Mario Bros. 3 (U) (PRG0).nes
• Either W or JUE is acceptable for region independent games, such as Golden Axe II (W).bin
• Add overdump or baddump information to the name, if applicable, with [o1] or [b1], but only if the movie does not sync on the good ROM dump. Note: Movies should not be published using these ROMs.

Tier

• Select the tier indicated by the acceptance message from judge.
• (inherit) inherits the tier of run obsoleted (in this case, the run must obsolete something).

Flags

• Notable improvement: The movie is a major improvement over previous, or has major route changes.
• Console verified: The movie has been Console verified (please link in movie text).
• First platform: The movie is first for its platform.
• Fastest Completion: Details here.
• Has commentary: Movie has commentary (subtitles, audio track, etc..). Please specify in movie text.
• Atlas Map Encode: Movie has atlas map encode (please link in movie text).

Game select

Author information

General rules on the entries

• Ensure all authors that are users are set in the authors field
• Additional authors should only be used for authors without accounts, encourage them to register if possible

Files

Input file

• Name of input file: This is what the input file will be named in the submission ZIP file.
• Ampersands (&), slashes (/), periods (.), and spaces cannot be part of the name.
• The author's name should be first. Use a standard abbreviation of a long name if it exists, such as cad for CtrlAltDestroy.
• Add v2, v3, or another appropriate version indicator if it is another submission by the same author.
• For multiple authors, use a comma (,) with no spaces to separate their names: randil,cad-mickeymousecapade.fcm.
• Place a dash between author's name and the game name.
• The game name should be concise and consistent with the name in the MKV/MP4 file.
• Use precedent when possible. For instance, it should be chipdale instead of chipndale
• Use common abbreviations, such as smb for Super Mario Bros.
• Add j if it is the Japanese version of the game or e if it is the European version (assuming other versions exist but were not used for a particular reason).

Verification movie

• The verification movie is an additional movie file ensuring that the save RAM from the publication matches the one this movie produces.
• Follow the same file naming convention as above, and append -verif at the end of the filename (before the extension).

Attaching a screenshot

• Be sure to add .png (or .jpg) to the filename when filling out the filename field, such as 1462M.png.
  • Note: The site will no longer error if you forget the extension. Instead, it will add it for you.
  • Note: It is now possible to add dashes (-) to a screenshot filename.
• Pick a screenshot that represents the movie or the game well.
  • You can put anything for the screenshot filename on your PC, it will be automatically renamed to the upcoming publication number.
• It should be pleasant to look at. Avoid ugly and monotonous colors. Choose beautiful and clearly visible poses of the characters.
• Beauty in the image should be equally distributed ­― not localized in a corner or an edge.
• It should give an idea of the genre of the game and the movie to an audience who doesn't know the game.
• It should be interesting, preferably with action on the screen.
• If the movie is atypical to the game (a highly glitched movie for example), the screenshot should display something atypical happening, but without conflicting with the earlier guidelines.
• If the screenshot is a PNG file, it should be optimized.
• Use PNG over JPEG, unless a PNG file would be considerably larger than a JPEG of similar visual quality. The JPEG image should not have any obvious compression artifacts.

MKV/MP4 files

• The file name of the video file must follow proper convention.
• Do not use uppercase characters or characters not allowed in video filenames.
• The movie name must be first. Keep it concise. See input filename for details.
• If it is some form of speedrun (aiming for fastest time within the confines of a set of parameters) then add -tas after the filename. If it is a playaround or does not aim for time then use -playaround.
• Add v2, v3, or another appropriate version indicator if the publication obsoletes a previous movie by the same author, such as doubledragon3-tasv2-xipo.avi
• Add additional special info after this, if necessary. For example, if a single author controls 2 characters then it is 2p-alone such as doubledragon2-tas-2p-alone-adelikat.avi. Or a special route could be added, such as castlevania3j-tas-sypha-samhaingrim.avi.
• Add the author name last. Remember to remove spaces and uppercase letters.
• Abbreviate especially long nicks if there is an easy way to do so.
• If there are multiple authors, use a comma (,) with no spaces to separate their names. mickeymousecapade-tas-randil,cad.avi

Adding mirror and streaming URLs

• Use of archive.org is strongly recommended for published movies and/or movies about to be published; use of archive.org outside of this is strongly discouraged.
  • If you use archive.org, we strongly recommend that you manually create the _512kb file for your entry, as the ones that archive.org automatically derives tend to have an inferior quality.
    • You can upload the _512kb file at the same time when uploading the main video file (archive.org will not overwrite it; this is handy with FTP uploads).
    • If you use FTP upload, remember to acknowledge it (there is link for doing that on the FTP upload page) after completing the actual data transfer.
    • Place the archive.org uploads in speed_runs category. If you can't do that yourself, contact Brandon.
• Do not exceed one mirror link at the native resolution of the emulator and one streaming media link per streaming site with as high a visual quality as possible on any individual encode. Exceptions may be allowed if the game in questions admits camera hacks / alternative HUDs / other utilities which would enhance viewing for the average viewer, in which case one additional link in each of the two categories will be permitted.

Description and movie categories

Select the movie that will be obsoleted

• In most cases, this will be obvious. Check with a judge's decision if need be.
• If it does not obsolete a movie, make sure it says "None".
• Note: Double/triple obsoletions are rare, but possible. Select one movie to obsolete and contact adelikat (or another admin/adminassitant/senior) to add additional ones.
• Cross platform obsoletions are also possible but must be done by an admin as well. Select none and then contact one to add the obsoletion post publication.
• Selecting a movie to obsolete will automatically fill in the Categories and Movie description.

Categories

• Follow the Movie Tag Guidelines
• Select categories which represent the movie and help to recognize it.
• Do not select categories that are obvious for the game in question. For example, if the best ending in the game comes by default, do not select "best ending", or if taking damage would kill the character immediately, do not select "takes no damage".
• Select one or more genres for the movie. Use the genres of similar games as a reference.

Movie description

• See discussion
• If the publication obsoletes a previous movie, make sure to link to it (such as [109M|previous] movie), mention the author and tell approximately how much the improvement is.
• Preferably, mention some notable improvements or link to the author's submission text if it is detailed.
• Avoid one-liners and overly long descriptions. Screenshot height often makes a good reference.
• Try to adhere to NPOV as much as possible (i.e., avoid praising or criticizing the game, the movie or the player in question excessively).
• Run a spell-checker on the text and re-read it a few times to ensure no obvious mistakes.

Additional steps

Ensure availability of new videos

• Add any additional StreamingMedia and link them on the publication page, such as if the movie has been uploaded to both YouTube and Dailymotion.