Edit: We made it in! See the
Preparation for AGDQ 2015 thread for more details.
I was proud to
represent TASVideos at AGDQ 2014 and a number of people both here at TASVideos and elsewhere have asked me if I would put together a TAS submission for AGDQ 2015. After discussing this with adelikat, Nach, and most importantly my wife (
asassyknitter), I've agreed to organize a pitch and (if we are accepted) organize the next steps, including representing TASVideos at the marathon pending financial viability.
The
AGDQ 2015 submissions are open until September 3rd and we can submit up to 5 games total with a maximum of 400 characters per game with video links highly encouraged. Submissions cannot be edited so the submission has to be perfect. By September 1st I would like to write and submit a single consolidated pitch representing the best that the TASVideos community has to offer. To that end, I would like to get some feedback on ideas people have for things we can do. Here are the ideas I'm aware of so far:
- We could, well, play back TAS's we know sync and talk over them
like I attempted to do for Gradius.
Pros: It allows games that are not marathon safe to be shown in a marathon setting and can demonstrate the usefulness of TAS tools. There is an
ever-growing list of console-verified games to choose from.
Cons: I discovered about 45 seconds into my commentary for Gradius that I didn't know what else to say on camera during a ~10 minute run of complete perfection (less last-minute scrambling and more rehearsing on my part could have helped there). Let's be honest, it's just not as interesting to watch a run that you know will not fail unless there's a technical issue, although good commentary and appropriate setup can help make up for this deficiency.
- TheAxeMan has created a nifty
script that allows the Final Fantasy RNG to be deduced based on the outcome of the first battle. Combining this with a dynamic input script would allow us to replay this otherwise challenging to console verify game on a real console.
Pros: It perfectly demonstrates exactly how well games have been disassembled and what TAS tools can do. It has a "Wait, you did *what*?" factor going for it.
Cons: The run will be 70 minutes long and is a Final Fantasy RPG, which has not been well received in this marathon so far (
see starting on page 7 of the AGDQ 2015 submissions thread for plenty of salt about the status of FFT). We would probably have to do this concurrently with something else, i.e. start this up, allow it to run in the background or in a small corner window, then bring it back up for the final boss battle, in which case the white mage run may be more appropriate).
- Weatherton can
modify the layout of Mario Kart 64's Choco Mountain to allow for a four-way human race in a modified landscape. I first heard about this idea from micro500 and I think this could be extremely interesting. I suspect that a TAS would set up the level so quickly that the participants in the race wouldn't actually know what to expect and their normal strategies would be useless leading to a very humorous race.
Pros: It recreates the "Wait, a bot programmed the game and now real people are playing it!" feeling from AGDQ 2014.
Cons: We did Mario Kart 64 last time and it might be seen as too much of a repeat. Shaming talented speedrunners by forcing them to run into rocks might be seen as abusive so we'll have to ensure runners with the right attitude and expectations are participating.
- I came up with an idea for a TASer vs. human race (
Edit: We tried it out and
it was a lot of fun!). Two TAS'ers will be given a set period of time (say, 4 hours) to create a TAS of a game and compete against two realtime runners in a four-way race. The idea is that the realtime runners know what the game is ahead of time and can practice, while the TAS'ers have to speed TAS (similar to speed chess, where perfection is not possible and sacrifices have to be made). At the end of the set timeperiod, the two TAS'ers submit their movie files and all four runs are started at the same time in a race. Tompa has volunteered to be one of the TAS'ers and I have a potential volunteer for a realtime speedrunner. I also have a potential game in mind which I will need to privately test out (to ensure the TAS'ers stay in the dark).
Pros: If the game choice is done well it could be extremely entertaining, and whether the humans or the TASers come out ahead there's still some tension until the race completes. The TAS'ers need not be present at the marathon, although it would be a benefit if they were. We'd get to show off TWO replay boards at once.
Cons: It's complicated, and if there's one thing the technical crew at AGDQ hates it's complicated ideas. I think with the right pitch and a demo video these potential objections could be overcome but it's definitely a risk. The wrong game choice would completely kill this; it might be difficult to find a run that can be TAS'ed in x hours and be close in duration to the actual human RTA time. I have to figure out how to pitch it in 400 characters.
- There have been ruminations of someone creating a new Arbitrary Code Exploit (ACE) run with an even more elaborate payload than what was shown in SMW at AGDQ 2014. It'd be hard to top
Masterjun's achievement but it's not impossible.
Pros: The arbitrary code execution was the high point of the marathon and was the subject of some really awesome articles -
the Ars Technica coverage was my favorite. If a previously unknown exploit is exposed it could recreate the same wow factor.
Cons: Masterjun has indicated that he would prefer to see someone else create the payload this year. At a certain point, we just can't keep making the payload bigger than the previous year (although the
SNES Demoscene folk seem to have some good ideas). It just feels like the problem that M. Night Shyamalan has where
his only trick is widely known and his popularity keeps dropping because the audience goes in knowing there will be a plot twist. Even with that pessimism I'm actually fairly optimistic that we can keep this arbitrary code execution fresh if we execute and present it correctly.
Edit: Please keep in mind that the primary purpose of the Games Done Quick charity marathons is to raise money for good causes; if there are any good donation incentives please feel free to bring them up!
Those are the ideas so far. I'd love to hear people's suggestions and I'll add to this list as the discussion unfolds.
One other thing: I should say that I have honestly been humbled by the support I was given for AGDQ 2014 and I am extremely appreciative that there has been so much support to have me represent TASVideos again this year. I am treating this as a personal opportunity be the project manager and presenter again and I will do my best to fulfill that role. Thanks again for your support and I look forward to a lively discussion of ideas,
A.C.
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More pictures can be found in the album I used for this project. I'm sending the following:
- The Serial #1 NES/SNES replay board from true with one assembled NES controller cable
- The N64 board from micro500 with one assembled N64 controller cable
- Spare pinheaders to make additional cables
- The "upper" grey Lego assembly which ROB uses to hold the replay board, still in one piece
- The not-as-pristine-as-I-had-hoped ROB
- A new-in-box Raspberry Pi (256 MB rev 1 Model B)
I had not originally intended to donate a Raspberry Pi, but honestly, I didn't need this extra one and I wanted to make the raffle prize a bit sweeter. I had purchased a ROB specifically to give away as the raffle prize but when it showed up it was not as pristine as it was advertised. After a bit of work I got ROB functioning smoothly and I used NOVUS to clean up the plastic with the only thing I couldn't easily fix being the "telephone cord" on the back that's a bit stretched out. Otherwise, I'm extremely happy with how everything turned out.
To sweeten the pot even further, micro500 also donated his N64 bot that he used for the Mario Kart 64 verifications along with the cable. I'll pester micro500 to get the replay code for this.
The only remaining hurdle is actually a fairly silly one - I need to find enough packing material to ensure that Rob doesn't show up with a broken neck. :)
Thanks again to everyone for the support. I don't know when the next *GDQ event I'll attend will be but I plan to continue to participate in future marathons and I'll post in this thread at least one more time when the Triforce gauntlets raffle prize that my wife is knitting are ready to send out. Until next time,
A.C.
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