This page describes the proper tagging of movies with movie tags. It is required reading for all users with access to movie tag assignment (admin / adminassistant / judge / publisher / editor).
Additional reading
Table of contents
- Overview
- Non-fastest completion goals
- Categories
- Additional Goals/Categories
- Using/Avoiding time-saving techniques
- Heavy luck manipulation
- Heavy glitch abuse
- Forgoes time-saving glitches
- Uses death to save time
- Forgoes time-saving death
- Takes damage to save time
- Forgoes time-saving damage
- Corrupts memory
- Foregoes memory corruption
- Corrupts save data
- Forgoes save data corruption
- Major skip glitch
- Forgoes major skip glitch
- Uses a game restart sequence
- Forgoes a time-saving restart sequence
- Number of characters
- Passwords, predefined saves, and codes
- Unofficial Games
- Genres
Overview
The goal of tags is to categorize movies based on game genre, movie goals, and various aspects of TASing (that may or may not be entertaining to an audience member). This gives visitors the freedom to group movies based around their particular interests. Therefore proper tagging is critical to the usefulness of this feature.
Non-fastest completion goals
Playaround
Used for movies where fastest speed or maximal completion are not primary goals. This is for entertainment based movies that "play around" and showcase gameplay variety (including arbitrary code execution for entertainment instead of speed). Runs which aim for fastest time under a preset number of goal choices should not be tagged with this.
Examples:
Aims for maximum score
Used for movies that aim for the highest score possible at the expense of fastest completion time. This is an acceptable tag even if the author aims for fastest completion time as a secondary goal.
Examples:
Maximum kills
Used for movies that aim for the killing of all (or all that is possible) enemies at the expense of fastest completion time. This is an acceptable tag even if the author aims for fastest completion time as a secondary goal.
Examples:
Aims for in-game time instead of real-time
Used for movies that aim for fastest time based on an in-game timer. This tag should be used only when the in-game timer is in direct conflict with aiming for the fastest real time completion.
Examples:
Abuses unintended environment
This tag is for movies that abuse emulated environment tweaks not intended for normal play, such as overclocked CPU, incompatible hardware or software components, and other cases addressed by this rule.
Example:
Demonstration
This should be used for movies that demonstrate some goal (or subgoal) that is not covered by other "non-fastest completion" movie tags and contradicts fastest completion time. Such movies demonstrate unusual TAS concepts, set arbitrary conditions (like walkathon) and faithfully reach their uncommon goals.
Examples:
- Super Mario Bros. "walkathon" – unusual goal choice (banning the run button).
- Super Mario Bros. "-3 stage ending" – unconventional game completion.
Categories
Contains speed/entertainment tradeoffs
This tag should not be used for non-speed-oriented runs such as maximum score runs or playarounds. Instead, it should be used for movies that primarily aim for fastest time but make some (small) time sacrifices for the sake of entertaining the audience, avoiding repetition, or avoiding doing something that would be uninteresting. It may also be to collect an item or show off a part of the game that increases entertainment value.
This tag should only be used for cases where actual gameplay time is affected (for instance, games in which the author inputs their name at the beginning should not be tagged with this).
Examples:
- Harmony of Dissonance – deviates from the fastest path to collect an item that displays damage (allowing the screen to be flooded with critical hit messages in boss fights).
- Paperboy – plays the final training course.
- Yoshi's Island - forgoes 1/1 running to be able to juggle eggs and enemies.
Best ending
Used for movies that achieve some kind of "best ending" when choosing another one would prove to be faster. However, if the best ending is achieved solely by getting 100% completion, then use that tag instead.
Examples:
100% completion
Different games have different criteria for what defines 100%. Regardless of the definition, this should be used if the movie falls in a 100% category. Do not use this if the fastest completion results in a 100% completion.
Examples:
Low% completion
Used for runs which aim to collect as few items as possible. Do not use this if the fastest route uses the fewest items. It is used only on games where item collection is not mandatory (or became non-mandatory due to tricks or glitches).
Examples:
Uses a suboptimal character
For games that have multiple playable characters, this tag is used when a movie uses a character that results in a slower completion time. This is not based on whether or not the character itself is faster/slower. In some cases, the character is better, but their superior abilities do not compensate for the extra time it takes to unlock them.
Note: This tag is only applicable if the fastest character is available for the first playthrough. This means that default characters are not considered suboptimal if unlocking a faster character entails completing the game at least once (see Second quest/Post-game completion).
If an optional character inherently features more than 50% of unique gameplay (levels, bosses, etc), its choice counts as alternate game mode, and this tag does not apply.
Examples:
- Super Mario Bros. 2 (J) – Luigi – a slower character who results in a slower completion time.
- Castlevania 3 – Grant – the superior character in the game TAS-wise but that doesn't make up for the time spent getting to him.
- Rondo of Blood – Maria – a character who is faster and completes levels fastest, but unlocking her is overall slower due to cutscenes.
Uses warps
This tag should be used when a movie uses level warps. Warps commonly mean shortcuts in game progression provided by the game that allow to skip levels. This movie tag only labels intentional warps (such as the SMB warp zones). For warps generated by elaborate glitches, use Major skip glitch instead.
Examples:
- Super Mario Bros. - uses the built-in warp zones.
Forgoes warps
Used for movies (typically full completion movies) of a game that contains built-in warps and explicitly avoids them.
Examples:
Pacifist version
Used for movies that explicitly avoid killing enemies (or only kill as few as possible) when it is unnecessary for game completion, even at the expense of completion time. In games where avoiding unnecessary kills does not postpone completion, it can be used as a stylistic choice and should still be tagged. It should also be tagged in games where it is recognized as an achievement in-game. It should not be used if it is a time saving measure.
Examples:
- Contra "pacifist" – delays completion time.
- Yo! Noid – stylistic choice.
- Silver Surfer – stylistic choice.
- Undertale "True Pacifist ending" - achievement recognized in-game
Uses easiest difficulty
For games with multiple difficulty levels, we usually suggest using the hardest setting. In some cases, this makes the completion time much longer, or causes other adverse effects, so the player selects the easiest difficulty level instead.
Examples:
Uses hardest difficulty
For games with multiple difficulty levels, this indicates that the player has selected the hardest difficulty level. See the Guidelines for why this is normally done.
Examples:
Additional Goals/Categories
Multiple games in one movie
This is a category for movies that complete several different games with the same input file.
Examples:
- Mega Man X, X2 & X3 – three games in one movie.
- Mega Man 3, 4, 5 & 6 – four games in one movie.
- Adventures of Lolo – two games in one movie, but as an easter egg.
Single level
For movies that only complete one level/race of a game. These types of runs are generally incomplete, and thus discouraged.
Examples:
Using/Avoiding time-saving techniques
Heavy luck manipulation
This category should be used when significant luck manipulation occurs, which means the movie manipulates very unlikely events throughout. The luck manipulation should be visible to the viewer. This is ideal for movies where many enemy drops are manipulated, or many critical hits are scored.
Examples:
Heavy glitch abuse
This is used when significant glitches are used that alter the look/feel of the game, change the gameplay, or create significant time savers. Small bugs in the programming do not warrant this category.
Examples:
- Mega Man
- Super Mario World "small only"
- River City Ransom "playaround"
- Super Metroid "glitched any%"
Forgoes time-saving glitches
This is to be used for "low glitch" runs that intentionally avoid time-saving glitches.
Examples:
- Pulseman "no motion glitch"
- Super Mario 64 "70 stars, no BLJ"
- Sonic the Hedgehog "no zips"
- Super Metroid "any%"
Uses death to save time
Self-explanatory. Movies that take advantage of death for time saving purposes.
Examples:
Forgoes time-saving death
Used for movies where players could have saved time with death but intentionally chose not to.
Example:
Takes damage to save time
Self-explanatory. Movies that take damage for time-saving purposes.
Examples:
Forgoes time-saving damage
Used for movies where players could have saved time by taking damage but intentionally chose not to.
Examples:
Corrupts memory
Used for movies that corrupt the game's memory in some fashion, causing unintended game behavior such as triggering the game's credits early.
Foregoes memory corruption
Used for movies where players could have saved time by memory corruption but intentionally chose not to in order to make the movie longer (and less glitched).
- Super Mario World 2 "100%"
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night "all relics & bosses"
- Super Metroid "100%"
Corrupts save data
Used for movies that take advantage of glitching the save data (SRAM, memory card, save file, etc.) in some way. This can be done by resetting or suspending a game during the saving process or by taking advantage of a glitch that causes data to overflow. This technique is a subset of memory corruption, but since the latter is implied, the "memory corruption" tag should not be added to movies that only corrupt save data.
Examples:
Forgoes save data corruption
Used for movies where players could have saved time by save data corruption but intentionally chose not to in order to make the movie longer (and less glitched).
- Dragon Warrior 3 "no item glitch"
- EarthBound "no save corruption"
- Pokémon: Blue Version "Gotta Catch 'Em All!"
Major skip glitch
Such movies have a glitch (or a combination of glitches) that allows to skip major portions of the game without satisfying the in-game requirements. Most of the time, more than half of the game is skipped, compared to the fastest movie that avoids this technique. Glitches involved are also quite elaborate and often include memory corruption.
- Mega Man (JPN) "game end glitch"
- Super Mario 64 "1 Key"
- Crash Bandicoot: Warped (JPN) "item glitch, gate clip"
- Battletoads "game end glitch"
Forgoes major skip glitch
Applicable for movies where Major skip glitch is possible, but was not used to show off more of the game.
Uses a game restart sequence
A game restart sequence includes pressing reset, power-on, or using a built-in game restart such as pressing a certain button combination on the second controller.
Examples:
Forgoes a time-saving restart sequence
Used for movies where players could have taken advantage of a game restart sequence to save time but intentionally chose not to.
Examples:
Number of characters
2 players
3 players
4 players
5 players
For movies that control 2, 3, 4 or 5 characters simultaneously. The number of authors involved in making the movie is irrelevant.
Examples:
- Double Dragon 2 – 2 player
- Lost Vikings – 3 player
- Nightmare on Elm Street – 4 player
- Dungeon Explorer - 5 player
One player in multiplayer game
Used for movies where players could have used more than one character at a time but chose not to. This tag is still appropriate if using multiple players is slower.
Examples:
Passwords, predefined saves, and codes
Second quest/Post-game completion
Used for movies that start in a mode that is normally only unlockable after completing the game at least once. These modes are usually accessed by game codes/passwords or by starting from SRAM or saved state.
Examples:
- The Legend of Zelda "2nd Quest" - second quest accessed by a specific save file name.
- Harmony of Dissonance "Maxim in bounds" - alternate character unlocked by beating the game once.
- Super R-Type – second (hardest) loop accessed by a password.
Starts from a saved state or SRAM
Used for movies starting from an in-game save (often called SaveRAM or battery-backed SRAM) or an emulator savestate utilized for the same effect. The most common purpose is unlocking a gameplay mode not accessible otherwise (without completing the game or certain events first).
Examples:
- Harmony of Dissonance "Maxim in bounds"
- Super Mario Bros. Deluxe "You vs. Boo"
- Mega Man Xtreme 2 "Xtreme Mode"
Uses a level password
Generally passwords / stage selection are not allowed. Exceptions are usually made to unlock entertaining characters or gameplay modes or skip straight to the most entertaining level(s).
Examples:
Uses an in-game code
Used for movies that modify a certain in-game feature by entering an in-game code. This tag should not be used for codes that access specific levels, since we have a special tag for that ("Uses a level password").
Unofficial Games
There are several types of unofficial games.
- Hack, mod - Unofficial modification of an existing game, released primarily in a downloadable format (usually a patch file).
- Bootleg - A game based on an existing franchise, released without due authorization from the franchise owner.
- Homebrew - For platforms with strict licensing, an original game released without the official "seal of approval".
- Prototype - An interim game version that was not officially released to public as a stable game.
Genres
(Note: Some content is paraphrased from moozooh; see original forum post.)
Action
Action is a broad term for games where various forms of violence are a major part of game-play; usually it's the main way for the game to interact with the player (and, more often than not, vice versa). This is often indicated by the player's character having one or more weapons or melee attacks which are used to traverse the game environment and deal with the enemies on the way.
Note that this game genre is commonly defined as one where you are required to act quickly and precisely, which is so common at TASVideos that it can be considered default. So not to mark 90% of all TASes as Action, we use the definition that is closer to that of Action film genre.
There are genres that are, by this definition, subsets of "Action":
(Do not use "Action" for these.)
Examples:
Adventure
This genre commonly gives the player secondary goals and allows him/her to revisit earlier locations with no hard time limit.
There are genres that are, by this definition, subsets of "Adventure":
(Do not use "Adventure" for these.)
Examples:
Fighting
A subset of action games that generally feature melee combat between the protagonist and a certain number of antagonists. At TASVideos, this tag is used for versus fighters (1-on-1 or similar) as well as for brawlers (where several enemies are let on the screen in packs, only allowing the player to progress when every one of them is defeated).
Examples:
Platform
Not a genre per se, "Platform" indicates that the game environment is primarily composed of platforms (forgoing logic or realism in their placement) that force the player to traverse them using jumps or similar ways of movement.
The difference between this genre and Action is that navigating platforms is the main focus in this style of game. A game like Mega Man can be a platform game, however shooting with the Mega Buster and defeating enemies is an important part of gameplay as well. This makes it both a Platform and an Action game. Careful thought should be given to whether a game should have "Genre: Action", "Genre: Platform", or both as tags.
This is the most typical genre for TASVideos by far.
Examples:
- Super Mario series
- Sonic the Hedgehog series
Puzzle
This genre encompasses all games where logic and puzzle-solving are the main ideas.
Examples:
- Lemmings
- The Lost Vikings
- Tetris games
Racing
A subset of sports games (don't let the two overlap) where the primary objective is to complete a course as fast as possible either against a timer or one or more opponents.
Examples:
RPG
Role-playing games are a subset of adventure games that are notoriously hard to describe and discern. Usually they have at least two of the following characteristics:
- massive nonlinearity – the player can revisit most (or all) of the earlier visited locations and make choices that affect the game's continuity at several parts of its progression;
- [nearly-]direct control of the character development – depending on the game it may mean everything from player character's equipment and personal attributes to morality and outlook on the game world;
- ability to handle in-game situations in several different ways – for instance, by fighting, reasoning, or deceit/bribery.
Examples:
- Chrono Trigger
- Dragon Warrior series
- Final Fantasy series
Shooter
A subset of action with large emphasis on shooting and dodging enemy projectiles (or killing enemies before they can shoot them). For 2D games this more often than not implies single-hit-deaths.
Examples:
Sport
A genre that encompasses all sports games, including all board/card games. Racing games are a subset.
Examples:
Storybook
A subset of adventure with a menu-driven interface. Most or all of the interaction is turn-based and is done on a fixed screen by the means of a cursor.
Examples:
Strategy
A well-established genre where the player has to manage their combat forces and/or economical resources in real-time or by taking turns. The objective is to achieve certain goals (more often than not being the elimination of the opposing parties). "God simulation" games are also covered by this tag.
Examples:
- Advance Wars series
- Fire Emblem series
- Shining Force