SGDQ 2019 has just raised a record-shattering 3 million dollars for charity

Games Done Quick has just beat their all-time record early this morning when Summer Games Done Quick 2019 destroyed the 3 million dollar mark during their final run, an impeccable ‘all quests’ playthrough of Chrono Trigger. The crowd was at their feet and screaming as the number got closer and closer, and when the counter turned to 3 million, the marathon room blew up in excitement, just as the run was done finishing off the Lavos and watching Chrono Trigger‘s long credits sequence.

The final donation amount was $3,005,113, nearly 600 thousand dollars over the previous record of $2,425,790 set by Awesome Games Done Quick last January. Summer Games Done Quick 2019 was held at Bloomington, Minnesota, and took place over a week, from June 23rd til the early hours of June 30th.

Practically all of the donation incentives were met during the marathon, which included an impressive display of programming as the TAS Bot (Tool-assisted Bot) tore through Celeste in less than an hour, among other inclusions to the schedule and minor decisions during runs, like the name of characters in Pokémon, or the paths the runners could take during their particular games, like the infamous Super Metroid “save or kill the animals” incentive, which has become a staple of GDQ over the years.

dgdq_02
The Link to the Past + Super Metroid Combo Randomizer was my personal highlight of this year’s Summer Games Done Quick!

There are too many highlights to list, but my personal favorite during this SGDQ was the first time ever double randomizer The Legend of Zelda/Super Metroid double-header, which had Twitch speedrunners Ivan and Andy cooperatively take on two of the most beloved SNES games blindly, helping each other figure out where items were. They beat them in less than three hours, after cracking jokes, singing, and laughing along with the couch crew and the crowd the entire time.

As it’s by now tradition, SGDQ 2019 benefited the Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) international campaign which is the organization behind a relief effort that provides independent support by sending doctors and medicine to locations that are threatened by armed conflict, epidemics, and that are otherwise excluded from health care. MSF was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1999 for their work, and hasn’t stopped been on the forefront of charity reliefs since then. If you are interested in contributing or want to learn more about Doctors Without Borders, you can visit http://www.msf.org.

dgdq_01
The crowd gathered as the final result was being announced and the stream was finally over.

Games Done Quick will be back with Games Done Quick Express GDQx in September, during TwitchCon, which will be held in San Diego, between September 27th and 29th. Last year’s GDQx raised over 100 thousand dollars. The next mainline event, Awesome Games Done Quick 2020 is planned to take place at the dawn of the new year, from January 5th til the 12th in Orlando, Florida. You’ll be able to follow both of these marathons via GDQ’s Games Done Quick.

I can’t throw enough praise to the massive efforts of the speedrunning communities that are behind these events, and to the wonderful events I’ve been able to follow throughout the years. They have provided countless hours of entertainment and joy, showing that there’s a fantastically generous side to gaming and the Internet in general.

Here’s to many more GDQs! \o/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *