So I've been following a few speedrun communities for a few years now, and I'd really like to give it a shot! I've started by trying a few earlier run glitches for some of the games I'm interested in, but I'm struggling to pull anything off, and I'm starting to feel daunted by a lot of things (it's mostly timing, that's hard to convey without seeing the controller during the run).

What do you think is the best general advice for someone completely new to this, that's feeling a bit discouraged?

And am I maybe in over my head, and should set my sights on different games? Or are there easier ones that suit my preferences?

The games I've been considering are the ps1 Spyro Trilogy, any Ratchet and Clank games, and the Sonic Adventure games. I'm a big fan of 3D platformers, but we had Playstations growing up instead of Nintendo.

I think you might be taking the wrong approach, and my biggest advice by far is to completely ignore all the glitches and tricks and to just do a run using the knowledge you already have. If you start by trying replicate what the top runners are currently doing you will just end up being frustrated.

Chances are that the more you run the game the more familiar you'll become with the game/engine and how it functions. This means that once you decide to start incorporating glitches and skips you'll likely have a much easier time with it because you'll have a much better understanding of the game and it's mechanics.

In addition, although it might seems counter-intuitive, having a good understanding of the basics can sometimes be just as important as the big glitches and tricks that allow you to skip large parts of the game. I've seen examples in games I moderate where someone purely focuses on learning one big skip, but then they fail/falter in the (relatively) easy parts of the run cause they haven't focused on getting the basics down yet.

Some people have fun using glitches, so why tell him to just completely stop using glitches? lol Glitches are not making the game harder by definition. There's a lot of glitches in games that are easy to pull off and make the run not only faster but easier.

There are usually several ressources and guides either on the game page here on src or in the respective community's discord, so check them out and see if they get you further. If not, don't be afraid to ask the game's runners for help and advice, usually there are a lot of helpful people that are glad to help someone new to the game. And in general, don't be discouraged if you can't pull off stuff quickly. there are tricks and glitches that take even the best runners hours and hours and hours to learn and even longer to make them consistent for runs (I'm not familiar with those runs in particular but I think at least Ratchet and Clank games have some really tough tricks). But if you still feel that you get nowhere or it's too hard, try out another game and maybe come back later to try again. Just keep in mind that what you see in speedruns is usually the result of a lot of practice and sometimes years of experience. You don't just get good, it can be a slow process.

Well, they specifically said that they found the hard glitches daunting and discouraging, so I just wanted to let them know that pulling of the hardest tricks in the run isn't really a requirement for running the game. It is also in my opinion not the best way to start out. Sure later on, if you enjoy running the game and want to improve on your times, you will probably want to start incorporating some of those tricks, but on your very first run I don't think that is a good idea.

I can understand having a different opinion on the matter, I just think that starting by simply running through the game to the best of your current abilities makes for a far more enjoyable experience and makes the progression curve a bit more natural.

Some recommendations that might help:

• Take things in smaller chunks. Shorter games. singular levels or segments- trying to do the best you can in a more limited space will make the experience a lot less daunting for learning. When I learn games, I tend to do it very segmented and start bringing the levels or sections together as I feel more comfortable with them alone.

• The games you picked are definitely fairly glitch-heavy, but also should have some resources due to their popularity. If you look up the game on the site, usually there is something found in Guides or a Discord server that can be joined to ask for advice. The community on the whole is very friendly to newcomers, especially those making an effort with learning and trying to improve.

• Trying to route (routing just meaning 'the path you take through the level') a level without looking at the existing run can be a fun exercise that helps get you away from what's frustrating you. It isn't for everyone, but if you enjoy the discovery of figuring things out and thinking through the puzzle of the game, that might give you some motivation and a deeper appreciation for the years of effort put into these games.

• Breaks are always good, and sometimes all you need to do is sleep on it or step away to see things in a different light.

Pretty much what everyone has said above. It is ridiculously hard to look at a well established game and a well established route and think you can leap right into it.

You will probably enjoy just playing the game(s) casually at first, try to optomise your run yourself, then try to add in one or two timesaves/glitches and build your way up to it. Nobody leaps into something at the top tier, ever - you don't go to the gym and start lifting the heaviest weight in your first session; you don't put on a pair of football boots and expect to score the winning goal in the world cup final tomorrow; etc. It takes steps, it takes practice, it takes moving forward in increments.

However.... there is something to be said about have an AWARENESS of techniques before starting, so that you don't build up bad muscle memory.

But yeah as has already been said - take it in chunks, one step at a time, and if you are looking for specific resources for specific games, ask that community - most will have a Discord, but at the very least they will have a forum here and they will have Moderators who should be able to point you in the right directions.

Thank you everyone for input! I appreciate it!

Insofar as glitches vs glitchless, I do think there's a certain appeal to runs that include glitches, but glitchless could admittedly be a feasible starting point to really up my game and reactions.

The games I listed off are all games I've played an excessive number of times already over the years, so I feel competent in my general knowledge, but a new "casual" playthrough in any of them is also a good place to start, I think.

There's a lot of good advice here for me to incorporate as I give things a shot. If anything I feel relieved that it's not a negative that I have a few games I'm trying to get the hang of. Once something "clicks" I'll focus in on one, though.

Also, if I have a personal interest in a game that seems not to have much of a community, do you recommend fiddling with that a bit myself? When the ps3 Ratchet titles came out when I was a kid, I played them over and over, essentially grinding my time down before I even knew what speedruns were! So I was a little sad to see there isn't much around for those.

[quote=JaycePancake]Also, if I have a personal interest in a game that seems not to have much of a community, do you recommend fiddling with that a bit myself?[/quote] Absolutely. There are a couple of advantages to running games that nobody else does. First, there's no pressure beyond what you bring upon yourself, and second, it gives you practice in developing the best path & strats on your own, since the game hasn't been optimized by others yet.

The main downside is that if you try to get people interested the game, you're not likely to find much success (otherwise there'd be runners already!). That's a different sort of discouragement.

Something else I think will help you JP that I didn't really make obvious in my previous post:

Consider your speedruns as a challenge against YOURSELF, specifically against your average self.

Trying to take on the #1 in a game is always going to be mentally draining. Even trying to play against your own "best ever run" can be overwhelming. So instead, I like to think 'big picture' - am I playing better today, than against my average play over the last two or three months? If so, it doesn't matter if this specific run isn't perfect, so long as overall I am playing better. If not, then why not? What do I need to improve?

In the heat of the moment, setting short-term goals to really push yourself is good. But taking a step back it is good to remember that you are probably playing a lot better today than you were yesterday/last month/last year and in the end, we play games to have fun and we speedrun to improve ourselves first and foremost, the records and leaderboards come secondary to that.