The Duce
I did'nt made any shoutout for last years ESA so here it is now, better late than never;
Monday
It was an ordinary day of vacation and all the stuff I was taking with me to ESA, had been packed already. I was still waiting for Charleon and KennyMan666 to show up, but it would take a little while longer, as KennyMan666 started the journey by going to the workshop, checking out that the vehicle was in decent condition for traveling. With minor tension I waited and I took my time to wash the filter to the fan, in the kitchen, just like I did before last years ESA. Just like then it was a golden opportunity to leave the filter for drying during my abscense, and with no chef around to cook food, no harm was practically done at all. Early in the afternoon, they showed up outside my window and I got a call from KennyMan666 who verified that he was outside. I brought my stuff outside and despite that we were only three, the car got filled up to the edge
- Looks like we have to move around the stuff to fit it all into the trunk, KennyMan666 said.
- Yeah, it’s lucky we are in the tetrisgeneration so we can puzzle all this toghether, I said.
- Haha, we’ll manage, KennyMan666 said.
The luggage was moved around and once we were done and I’ve locked the doors, it was time to go
- There is one seat available in the front so you two will have to fight for it, KennyMan666 said.
- It does no matter to me, as there is plenty of room in the car for all the passengers, so I’ll pick the one in the back, Charleon said.
- Then I shall pick the passengerseat in the front, I replied
We all got into the car and the journey started. We started to head for the big road. Some roadblocks were placed around the crossroad and it confused KennyMan666 a little who drove straight forward instead of turning left
- You were supposed to turn left there but they are still building the new road, so it looks quite confusing, I said
- I did’nt thought I could turn left over there, KennyMan666 said
- We can turn around over there so it will be easy to backtrack to the main road, I said
We went through a roundabout and back to the crossroad, and then we turned right, since we now came from the other direction, making right beeing the same direction as left was, when we started the journey. We headed for Stockholm as the same road would lead to Skövde and at the tunnel, a line was building up for all the cars, outside the tunnel
Once we got in, the speed increased and the lines broke up from their stand. We reached road E20 and now we were about to leave the big city behind. Still there was a long way out of there
- This kind of events are new to me. I was introduced to speedrunning last year. What kind of people attend to these meetups? Charleon asked.
- Oh that would be different kinds of nice people from many countries, KennyMan666 said
- Yes people travel from Germany, France, England, Netherlands, Poland and USA among others, I said
- Which language is spoken the most? Charleon asked.
- English is the one, I replied
We listened to Beatles on our journey and KennyMan666 had lots of CD’s with their music. There was enough to feed the whole journey, and the road decreased in size so it would be boring without the music. During the long roadtrip, I held my eyes open for gamingrelated numberplats on all the other cars we passed by, and meanwhile I wondered how it would be like, if I had a photographic memory and could recall all the numberplates I saw. I forgot them quickly as the trip went on and once we finally reached Skövde, the music was shut down so that KennyMan666 could look for the venue. We went through the inner city of Skövde and on to the venue called Nyeport. I quickly realized that Nyeport was a completely different venue than the house of culture. I thought Nyeport was a part of it but the truth did slip my mind in this case. We parked outside the place and started with collecting the luggage. I had to move around some of my stuff to get the important box with the games and systems. I carried all of it into the practiceroom and then I started to look for a TV to hook up the equipment with.
- Have you got a TV? Niss3 asked.
- Not yet. I’m looking for a vacant one, I replied
- Your can take anyone here that is’nt in use by somebody else, Niss3 said
- Then I will take that one, I said and approached a vacant TV.
- I will cary it, Niss3 said.
- All by yourself? I asked
- Yes, it’s my job to do that this year, Niss3 replied, and brought the TV over to my table.
I slightly got started hooking up my equipment as KennyMan666, who was positioned next to me in the practiceroom, reminded me that we were going to the house of culture with the sheets and beds. I summoned Charleon and we went to the car. It was a little bit tricky to get there as most of the streets around the house of culture were oneway-streets but we got through that trouble after a short while. The car was parked near the door and all the bedstuff carried into the building for deployment in Freja. After deploying beds, it was time to go shopping, and the main course was food.
- I dont know this city so I will follow you to the store, Charleon said.
- Yes there is a mall in the inner city where they have Willy’s Cash. I used to shop there last year and I can show you the way, so that you know where to go for the food, I said
We walked through the streets of the inner city and Charleon was introduced to the citycore. Once we got into the Willy’s Cash store, the shopping could get started. The first thing was to select bread, fruit and vegetable, as they were in the entrance of the store.
- It seems like they got better carrots over here than we got at home in the big city, I said.
- Are the carrots really bad over there? Charleon asked.
- Yes, they are sometimes rotten or dry. Many times when I tried to eat carrots bought at home, it feels like chewing sand, I said.
- That’s disgusting, Charleon replied.
- It also looks like I’m going to buy different food this year. Last year I bought peanutbutter and bread only, for breakfast and midnightsupper. I wont be moving around a lot this week, and the dinner is going to be very fat, so I will have to go easy on the smaller meals, I said.
We selected bread and moved on to the next area for other fooditems. I found lots of good stuff to supply my breakfast with and after some time, we went back to the house of culture, for storage of fooditems. I also took a bottle of water and a pakage of grapes with me back to Nyeport. We went through the trainstation and over to the venue. Once over there, I could cary on with hooking up the equipment and then it was time to look for a remotecontrol. Dxtr had an universal one that could be used for about all TV’s and he helped me switch over to the AV3-channel on the TV. I hooked up my DVD-recorder with the custompainted NES and started playing a little to get a feeling about the gaming. I also used the DVD-recorder for playback of runs that had been recorded before ESA. Frezyman who was rigging up his stuff nearby, had a look at the recordings
- We should do a practice race with each other on Kung Fu. Is it a PAL-version you got? Frezyman asked.
- It is the american NTSC-version I have. Afterall that is the one we will race on, on Wednesday, I replied.
- Lets race then, Frezyman said.
He went back to his gear and started the game. I started mine and I also recorded it while running. It did not worked out well as I died all the time. I was still tense and eager for the actual run, and it made me quite unable to relax properly. We raced a couple of times and the last time I won the practice race.
- How do you approach the final boss? Frezyman asked.
- I jumpkick him down, I said and showed the recording with my personal best in that game.
- Who had the world record? Frezyman asked.
- I belive you have it. The one you uploaded on SDA is a 00:03:55 and I am 9 seconds away from that with my 00:04:04 run, I said.
We tried some more and then it was time for testing the other games. I tried a couple of runs on them and then i was time to eat. I went to the nearby pizzarestaurant along with KennyMan666 and Charleon. Dinner was brought back to the venue and meanwhile the marathon had started. We ate and then it was time to watch some of the streaming. A race in Duck Tales was coming next and the calibration had started already. Oasiz helped them with adjustment of the equipment
Bangerra were going to race Dxtr in the game. Niss3 and Crippe took care of the soundcheck, and Alko was monitoring the donations and comments made on the internet, with the company of RoboSparkle and Tompa at his two sides
Frezyman was the speedrun commentator for this race
The race started and attracted lots of viewers. Dxtr took home the victory in this race. After that it was time for the sequal to be raced. The audience gave applause to the victory
I followed the two races with interest and afterwards, I returned to the practice area. Besides playing, I took a walk around the place. ArcticEagle and Charleon were playing some of their games
In the other end of the room, there were practice runs in Mario Madness and Super Mario Bros 3, by DonSvenne and Frezyman
Neviutz was playing a game with a big audience around to watch it all
It was still lots of time left until would go to bed, so I stayed up for many more hours to practice and look around. There were many trial and errors on my behalf, cause I had problems with my runs. Tried Rygar and Street Fighter 2010 lots of times without success. I kept on playing and from time to time, I swapped games to try something different for the moment. Still no success in the games and it was rather unsatisfactory to experience it. The first day of ESA2013 was over but there was yet many days left to come by
Tuesday
I figured that I should stay up untill 03:00 so that I would get up lately today, perhaps around 13:00. I still had to play the games and it would just not work out properly. I really was in a bad shape this year and with only 24 hours before my first performance. I took a short rest from the gaming and went to the streaming area. A-M was running through Maximo. I remembered when I used to see this game everywhere, 10 years ago when it was sold in all the stores that had games. I never picked it up myself but this time I had a chance to see the game being played. It looked pretty decent. Edenal supervized the techcorner and in the audience were DonSvenne and Dalfen among others to watch A-M run the game
It was soon time to go so I went to the entrancehall at the venue and waited for Niss3 who had the key to Freja. Niss3 came to the kitchen area and took a coup of coffee before, him, S and me went to the house of culture.
- This is really a harsh night, as I have been running forth and back here with the key six times now. I had to drink lots of coffee to manage it, but the next night we will change the rules, so that this trip only is made once an hour, Niss3 said.
We kept on walking and talking about various things until we reached the house of culture
- By the way, what was your name? Niss3 asked.
- It’s S. S. replied
- Oh, just S.? Niss3 asked.
- Yeah, S. replied.
- Well you should have a good nights sleep and then we meet later on, Niss3 said and went back to Nyeport.
S. went to bed and I went to the kitchen in the venue and sneaked out my food from the fridge. Lots of people were sleeping so I had to be discreet in order to not awake or disturb anyone. My choice for different food this year turned out to be a real winner. A bigger variation and it was really appreciated. Then I cleaned up and went to bed. This day would be a very long one and the night during Wednesday would be a hard one to handle, with up to five speedruns within six hours. Better get my sleep.
I did not sleep very well this night and I woke up earlier than planned. The phone was ringing and one of the guys watching the marathon, on the internet wanted me to go to the streaming area and wave my hands. It was still hours until I was going back. I stayed in bed sleeplessly, waiting for the clock to turn 13:00. Then it was time for breakfast and after that, back to Nyeport. I walked along with one of the other attendees and we discussed the wheater on the way, and the looks of the clouds and its impact on being nearby lakes. In the practice area I found RoboSparkle, Ozzy88 and Charleon in one of the corners, busy with the gaming
People were scattered at this hour so the room was a little bit empty. I went to the streaming room and watched Tompa making a performance in Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo. Long time had passed since I saw such performance in that game by him. Niss3 and DonSvenne supervizes the audio meanwhile and Alko checks the donations
After watching that, I took walk to the mall of Norrmalm to buy some stuff that I required. I required a new C-Video cable and extensioncouplers for RCA cables. It was still hot outside and the little journey to the mall contributed with more heat. I found the stuff once I was there but I forgot to buy recordable DVD’s that was part of the plan. Once I got back, it was time for Ninja Gaiden. ArcticEagle and Dxtr was about to race the game and they were accopanied by IrregularJinny
I return to my practice corner and keep on trying with the games. My phone rings but I could not answer as I was in the middle of a speedrun. Then Pinge showed up at the venue. He made the call and was passing by the city on his trip from Hjo. He decided to check in on the marathon and we spoke a little, before he headed on to speak some with Frezyman who practiced his speedrun in Contra. I kept on playing and then Pinge returned to me after he’d looked around the place.
- Are’nt you going to drink lots of beer? Pinge asked.
- Haha no, it is not allowed in here, I replied
- Well not in here but you could always go out and drink, Pinge said.
- Yes as long as I dont get drunk out there, it would be okay. I will some day during this marathon go to the nearest O’learys and eat a real burger. Then I will flush it down with a beer, I said.
- O’learys lies at the arena and that is far away from here. You should find something closer to the inner city, Pinge said.
- Well do you know a place that serves real burgers like they do, and is located nearby? I asked.
- Yes you can go to Harry’s. That is not far away from here, Pinge said.
- Then I should do that some day this week, I said.
Pinge left the venue and went back home and I kept on playing my speedruns.
- I dont suppose you use powerpaks, but then you dont fancy pirated stuff? Frezyman asked.
- Well I know about that cartridge but I dont have one, and I will probaly never get one, I said.
- With it you can practice with the help of savestates, Frezyman said.
- Nah I think I’ll stick to the oldfaschion way, when it comes to training for speedruns, I said.
- It is a very good way to practice the games with as you wont need to restart the game Frezyman said.
I tried a little more and then I took a short break, while looking around. On the other side of the room were Alko and Edenal playing Goof Troop on the Super Famicom. They would perform in that game later on so some practice was customary to do
So came the time when the Contra run would be made. I went to the streaming area and watched the run. In the audience there was among others TimpZ, Dalfen, Dxtr and myself
Before starting the game, Frezyman reminded the people who was watching the stream on the internet, that money still was required as donation, before he could rip his T-shirt. Nobody could donate the amount so he had to start the game without ripping the shirt
Charleon assisted with the audiocheck and Edenal was talking to Oasiz. So the game started and Frezyman ran through the game. Despite being killed in the beginning, he manage to uphold the speed with the regular gun and it was a very skillfull performance. The audience followed the speedrun with great interest
After the speedrun it was time to eat some dinner. I went to the pizzarestaurant and Frezyman arrived shortly after to get some dinner to. We decided to eat it at the venue so I went back to make some room on one of the tables. So I did that and after a short while he arrived with the other guys. We ate dinner and spoke to other attendees meanwhile. Once done, the paper and garbage that was left, was thrown. Passing by the kitchen I met A-M on the way.
- Hello Wery, how are you? A-M asked.
- Oh I’m quite fine, how are you? I said.
- I am fine, A-M said.
- I am a little bit rusty though. I have been trying to pull of my speedruns but it simply wont work. And there is a long night ahead with up to five games for me to run, I said.
- That’s a lot but I’m sure you will make it, A-M said.
I continued with the speedrunning and it really was a critical moment as the runs just would not work. The hours went by and as the time closed in on the next day, me and Frezyman took up some training in the kung fu game, since it would be my first to perform in. I also made a satisfactory run in Rygar while trying the various games that waited on the schedule
Wednesday
It was barely one hour left before the first run, but I persisted on getting things done. Kung Fu was played many times and once the run in Max Payne 2 was finished, it was time to race in the game. It went quite well until the third stage came. I died there and lost a lot of time. Once I got through the game I must have spent around five to six minutes and I lost the race. One game down for the night, and four other to go. I went back to train some on Rygar and before it was time for Rygar, I went to the streaming area to watch DonSvenne play North & South. It was hilarious, because he made so many strange sounds and noises, and it really amused the audience a lot. I was no exception to that, as I had fun watching it myself. Then it was time for Rygar and it went well in the beginning as both me and ArcticEagle were on par but then I died many times while running. It drained the time for me and I believe it became my worst liveperformance so far. The timer stopped when ArcticEagle finnished the game in 27 minutes but I must have played for 33 or 34 minutes. Not a good run at all for me. With that game out of the way it was time to train more on Street Fighter 2010 and the training was unsuccessful but it was a better flow when the performance started. I feared that it would be a bad run but I was surprised once the game was finished, because it turned out to be a new personal best, where I saved two seconds since my last personal best, that was recorded on DVD. So one of the games so far had turned out to be a success in the performance but there was more games to go. Both Power Blade and Ufouria was about to be played so I had some time to practice on Gyromite before it was my turn again to play. The game was’nt hard at all but it is a long one so there are many details to remember. Watching some of the last recording was a good way to practice and remmeber and I did quite well during my training. So came the time when Gyromite was up for running and people on the internet wondered if the robot was going to be used and if a donation could be done for that. I said that using the controllers myself was the only way of performing a speedrun in Gyromite. The game went well the most and I could explain it a little and when I did not, the commentator DonSvenne did some explanation about the game. I was also told that a former speedrun had been made by two players using one controller each. I died two times but I still stuck into the estimate as I had planned so it was not to unsuccessful, albeit my personal best in the game is a flawless no-death-run. With this game done and one more to go I left to practice on the hardest games of them all on my list, Abadox. As I left it was time for Crippe and Niss3 to race Shadowgate
I played Abadox and I made a new personalbest in the game that reached below sixteen minutes. That was really good for morale when facing a performance in the game. So came the time when the final game for the day was to be played. I went to the streaming area and I was tired like hell.
- Okay, this is one of the 30 hardest games on the NES, so there will be serious time during the whole game, DonSvenne said.
- It is? I asked.
- Yes a mexican gamer ranked Abadox to be on that list, of the 30 hardest games on the NES, DonSvenne said.
The game started and I was able to go on, until the final stage before escaping Parasitis. I died a couple of times but I was also fortunate enough, to be on a stage that gave me back all the powerups that was lost during the first death. It all went over 18 minutes before the game was finally over, so no new record for me. Then came the interview that followed, and I was questioned by the viewers about how I started with speedruns, about my collection.
- So how did your speedrunning get started? Asked DonSvenne that was partially making the interview.
- Well I was attending to a gamermeetup, many years ago and there I was introduced to speedrunning. Back then I was not interested but a short while after, I figured I could beat Abadox as quick as possible, and then speedrunning started for me. After that game there has been a lot of other ones, as you all have seen this night, I replied
- I have one question from a viewer. Are you single? Alko asked.
- Haha yes I am single right now, I replied.
- Well there you go, all ladies who are watching, he is single so take your chance, DonSvenne added.
- We have another question from the viewers. Do you like dogs? Alko asked.
Okay, someone who likes pets askes this question. Dogs that behave funny are always amusing, I thought to myself but I did not have the time to answer before the question was aked again with more details.
- Dogs on the internet? Alko asked.
- Are they talking about some kind of bestiality? I asked back, and thought that there could be a troll in the chatwindow, trying to upset with bizarre questions.
- Hahahaha, everyone laughed.
- Okay, there is a mark that resembles a dog, and it could be used when you are writing on the internet, DonSvenne added.
- I’ve never heard of that mark before, I said.
- Well you have lots of fans out there on the internet, that likes to know more about your interest in videogames, DonSvenne said.
- I have? I asked.
- Yes there are many of them out there watching. Tell us about your Hellrun in Super Mario Bros 2, DonSvenne said.
- Well a hellrun is not a speedrun, it is more like chasing highscores, while beating the game eight times in a row, to unlock four secret worlds in the game, I replied
- Okay, that is rather a question for TwinGalaxies then, DonSvenne replied.
I also talked about my collection of games and once the interview was finished, I went back to the house of culture, to get my sleep. It was a tiresome night so I would sleep better than last night, and so I did.
I woke up in the afternoon this day and the time was a little past 15:00. After the late breakfast it was once again time to go shopping for more food, and later even some razorblades. Then back to Nyeport to keep on practice the rest of the games waiting. Was to late to start a hellrun i Super Mario Bros 2 so I took some more practice in that game. Tomorrow there would be a hellrun recorded in the game, but one better had to be prepared until then. Then I went to one of the available computers at the venue and checked all my emails. Not much had happened on the communities since I left for ESA. Meanwhile, the Sonic games were up for streaming and later on the evening there was more Disney games. I decided that I would need to go to sleep earlier this time in order to get up in the morning. Then there would be a speedrun in Wild Guns along with KennyMan666. We took a final practice in the game, and then I’ve returned to the other games I was playing
Thursday
So there was time to go for the shower and have a change of cloths, before going to sleep. At 01:00 o’clock I ate some of the food and then I went to bed. I got a pretty decent sleep this short night and early in the morning, came the time for the speedrun in Wild Guns, one of the best games to the Super Nintendo. It all went quite well as we blasted our way through the wild robotized west, timing at 27 minutes when the run was finished. I was satisfied and went back to the practice area. Since there was no more game for me until Friday morning, I decided to make a hellrun in Super Mario Bros 2. First I had to practice the game a little, cuase I was a bit to rusty to start with the hellrun. It seemed impossible to execute some commands in the game, so I really had to retrace my steps and get back into fit. It took me a couple of hours before I felt ready to go. I took a short break to look around the place. KennyMan666 was playing a Castlevania game and we spoke of it a little, before I went back to my corner for the first round in the game
I was still quite rusty and scored only 2 645 500 at the time of 58 minutes. Many deaths and other mistakes made me foul up like this, but at least I had recorded a round for the first time
I carried on with the next round and scored 3 974 000 at the time of 56 minutes. Slightly better but still bad like shit. I continued with the third round and slightly improved to 4 359 150 at the time of 60 minutes. Then I went to the kitchen to drink some water before the next round. Scored 4 532 900 at the time of 54 minutes. The shorter time, the better score it is. More than four hours had past in we were all way into the afternoon of this day. I spent some more time on the setup before moving on to the next round. I still fouled up a little but scored 4 084 400 at the time of 58 minutes. Having a average of over four millions in highscore for this hellrun was a relief and compared with my last performed hellrun, a great improvement in avarage highscore for the whole hellrun. I had another look around the place for catching up on activities. Other atendees were playing games as usual, like in the coner next to me, I could see Dalfen, Charleon and Ozzy88
Charleon and Ozzy88 was playing Scott Pilgrim vs the World
On my other side was KennyMan666 playing some Futari
Since I had to move around the at the venue, I made a ”Do Not Touch”sign for my equipment. People who saw it, found it hillarious. I was simply concerned about the power, that had to stay on for the entire hellrun. I strolled around the place to catch up on the activities. Not far away there was some practice in Contra 3 on the Super Nintendo and Castlevania on the NES
They were all highly focused on the gaming
I carried on to the next round and made the best round for the hellrun of this year. Scored 4 612 100 at the shortest time for a single round in this hellrun, 51 minutes. That’s the way it goes! Another stroll around the venue was made. Nearby there was more practice on speedruns in Battle Kid and Mario Madness
Played by Airrider and Dxtr while DonSvenne and Cyprys were watching
I decided to eat my dinner before playing more SMB2. I had a walk outside too, for some extra air and then it was all the way back to the hellrun in Super Mario Bros 2. Two regular rounds remained before I could reach the lost levels in the game. I scored 4 478 800 at the time of 57 minutes and in the last regular round, I scored 4 471 450 at the time of 60 minutes. The regular rounds minus setup time and dinner took less than eight hours. It was now time for the lost levels that gets unlocked after eight regular rounds. I made some reconaisance on the lost levels to have sustainable strategy. I really had to practice some on those stages, and get to know them a little better, as it ain’t every day one get to play those stages. Edenal went by my corner
- Hello WERY, its based like this; Flicky is arriving to the airport in Gothenburg and we need to pick him up from there, as his plane arrives lately. We have a car but we need a driver who can go there. You know the city well and should be able to carry out this task, if you are up for it, Edenal said
- Sure I could help you with that, I replied. At what time will we go?
I had a hasty look over my equipment, for determing wheather I should take used items back home and pick up bigger crate to the remaining stuff.
– You will be notified when it is time to go, Edenal replied.
I went to the kitchen again for some water and then I had a look around for the schedule of the marathon, to better keep track of the games being played. Niss3 passed by so I took the opportunity to ask him about it and what run that was going to be the next.
- You can have a look at the computers over there, Niss3 said. By the way, what day is it?
- It’s Thursday now, I replied
- Oh time really goes by on these kinds of events, when I lose track of the days, Niss3 said.
I went to the computer and had a look at the schedule. I also had a look around the communities on the internet for catching up on the activities over there. To my suprise, not much had happen. I checked the information and open times for that restaurant that had real burgers. It turned out that Friday was the only day, that allowed spontaneous visits for customer. I had no intention to reserve a table so Friday was the desired day for me to go there. Then I went back to the practice area and kept on recognizing the lost levels. Tompa who was cosplaying as a woman went by my corner. I was so focused on the game that I first did’nt recognized him. The evening went by and the clock made it past 23:59
Friday
It took time to make a recording of the final round in the game. The pickup matter however resolved itself as another driver decided to go to the airport. Late during the night they arrived, so Flicky went to the kitchen, to eat some food. The other attendees tought hom how to eat strawberrypulp with milk, while they were talking to each other. Even I participated in the conversation and when he was going to reply, he interupted himself in a sentence to pass compliments towards me for my accent. I went back to my corner and finished the hellrun i Super Mario Bros 2. Then I could finally shut of the game and take a rest from it. Cyprys approached me
– Hello WERY, I saw you were making recordings while you played that game, Cyprys said. What was it about?
- It was a hellrun i Super Mario Bros 2, I replied. You got to beat the nine regular worlds in the game, eight times to unlock four hidden worlds.
- Did it take much time? Will it be uploaded on the internet? Cyprys asked.
- Yes I have been playing all day long. I am glad to have finished the game. The hellrun will however not be uploaded because it is so long, over eight hours. I will show the recordings to people who pay me a visit instead, I replied.
- Where did you find that cartridge? Cyprys asked
- Theres a site on the internet that sells those carts. I am part of a community that made a big order of those carts in 2007. I bought it back then, I said
I made a quick try on my next speedrun, Moon Patrol on the 5200 SuperSystem
There was’nt much time left so it was time to go to sleep. I went by the streaming area to see what was up. Pipe and Sunblade was making a speedrun i Resident Evil 4
I went back to the House of Culture to get my sleep. I did not get much before it was time to return to Nyeport
So it was time then to go. I had very little time so I skipped the breakfast and ran all the way to Nyeport. When I arrived, the vintageblock had begun. It consisted of me and Robosparkle. Robosparkle was making a speedrun in Great Giana Sisters so I hurried back to the practice area for making some more preparations. Then I picked up the console with the game and all accessories and went back to the streaming area. Robosparkle finished his game and I started to setup my gear. I tested the game and got picture and sound on the TV but the signal could not be captured for the streaming.
- Nice music, RoboSparkle said. Will it be playing through the whole game?
- Yes it will be, I replied
RoboSparkle was chosen to do the comments for the game and he took the opportunity to spread some entertainmet, with jokes and some funny talk about the game. I had fun listening to it whilst running. It was still early in the morning for me, so I was thirsty. The camera was focused on both me and the system, which was intended for my upcoming deed. When I was half way through the game I decided the quench my thirst.
- I am thirsty and need a drink, I said and pulled out a mineralwater from the controller compartment on the console.
I opened the tincan with my teeth and everybody laughed. The camera got turned towards the TV-screen, in order to show the viewers what the game itself was like. I made it through the game in over nine minutes and then I packed my stuff and went back to the practice area. Went back to the House of Culture for some breakfast. Then further on to Willy’s to pick up more groceries. I had another shower and some more rest before returning to Nyeport. I started up my gear for some more gaming and I had a look around. Edenal was playing Contra 3 again
I played some games and took it easy for the first time during this week. After a little while, Rogerxy showed up for some spectation on the event. Dxtr was playing Metroid meanwhile
Charleon and Rogerxy was looking on
After that, Rogerxy joined me in a round of the game Wild Guns. We went through the game but some planning and strategy, had to be done during the game.
- It’s 16 o’clock now and I got to go to Harry’s, I said. Would you care to join mer there?
- They will be open all night, no hurry to go there, Rogerxy said.
- Well they are only open for non-reserving customers between 16 and 20 o’clock, so I cant miss the opportunity, I said.
- We’ll go soon. I’m going to call Pinge who is in the inner city right now. He’ll join us to, Rogerxy said.
The time came and we went to Harry’s. Rogerxy showed me some games on his handheld system, along with functions that allowed different players to connect to each other, if they were close enough each other. Such a thing did’nt exist in my days so once again I felt rather old, while being introduced to this new technology. I ordered a double Pepperjack burger and a big pint of Staropramen. Rogerxy was not hungry and bought only a beer. Then Pinge showed up and we had a long conversation about lots of things, among them old memories. It was a helluva mighty burger this restaurant served, which still makes me surprised how so many other atendees could choose McD, before a place that serve real burgers(I know why but I just feel like that on purpose, cause Harry’s got better burgers than McD). When we were all done, we went to the mall in the inner city to pick up Pinge’s car. I went by Game and purchased a complete copy of the game Little Nemo on the NES. It was in great shape so it was a find. Then we went by the liquorstore and then further on to the car. Pinge drove down to Nyeport and let me off there. I returned to the venue and they carried on. I sat down at one of the computers to once again catch up on the communities. While doing this, I was listening to music from a band called 047. Oasiz went by and noticed that I was listening to chiptune. We started to talk about chiptune and demos. He showed me som sites that had that kind of music, made on hardware by Atari and Commodore. He also told me lots of details on how to program flickering and other stuff. Things that my senile memory unfortunately have forgotten.
- This is a funny demo, just listening to the song, Oasiz said and showed the demo ”Big Brother Sees You”.
That music was programmed to sing in swedish so it was fun to hear. Oasiz went on to the practice area and I kept on looking at the communities for some activity. While doing so, I spoke to another atendee about collecting on vintage consoles from late 70’s and early 80’s. After that I went to the practice area and had a look at the streaming that was broadcasted there, from the streming room. Meanwhile atendees were playing games and Frezyman practiced Super Mario Bros 3, a game he was going to run soon
On the other side of the room was ArticEagle. He practiced on Zelda 2
I could’nt do much in here for the moment so I went back to the computer for some more activity on the internet. Once more I played some chiptune and demos while looking around. Oasiz went by again
- Are you still stuck here with the music? Oasiz asked.
- Yeah, I said.
Oasiz laughed and carried on. I followed some of the stream from the computer and waited for the Super Mario block to start. After some time it started. I went by the streming area where Andreas Rudmarker and Richard Karlsson were racing each other in Mario Kart
It was late due to some delays in the schedule but everyone kept on running them games. So it was time for Dxtr and DonSvenne to race Mario Madness
They were focused on the game and the audience followed it with delightment
As they finished the game, there was a new day for more speedruns coming up next
Saturday
Frezyman had prepared himself a lot for this moment. He was going to speedrun Super Mario Bros 3. Some preparations remained, so he took the opportunity to calibrate the game before starting.
So came the time to start the speedrun. People followed the run with great anticipation
Tompa, DonSvenne and Dxtr took seat in the front couch beside Frezyman
It all went quite well and after the run, Frezyman returned to the practice area for some more gaming. DonSvenne and A-M joined him
The Super Mario block carried on late in the night and then it was time for Pottoww to run Super Mario Galaxy
I decided that it was time for me to have some sleep. I went back to the House of Culture and ate some food. Then it was many hours of sleep waiting ahead for me
So I went up for breakfast and then back to Nyeport(you have all probably figured out that on your own by now). I found lots of atendees lying around and sleeping. Among them were TimpZ who felt a litle bit tired after all the gaming
I hurried on with some last practice on Batman 2 and then it was time for the Batman block. Dxtr started with the first game on the NES, while cosplaying like the caped crusader
Then it was time for me. However I fucked it all up this time by dying on the seconds stage in the game. Not good, not good at all. At least I had a reason for making a facepalm and so I did. The Batman block carried on with a glitched run in the SEGA-version of Batman Returns, a run that took less than five minutes to do. Then it was time for a long speedrun i Arkham City. Robosparkle was running and a seperate contest was held right beside, where the viewers could vote for one of the atendees running Batman games, that should be appointed to be the Batman. Donations were made and some choose RoboSparkle, while other choosed Dxtr
It was a long game and lots of details to talk about. Donations kept coming in and with appointments on who’s the Batman. RoboSparkle was choosen again as Batman
- Yeah, RoboSarkle said tonelessly without moving.
- Hahahaha, everybody laughed
RoboSparkle kept on running through the game
I had a look around the venue and I found more atendees lying around, having some rest. This sight was however a bit unexpected
I went back to the streaming area and watched the speedrun in Arkham City. Very interesting game to watch with lots of details inside. The hours passed by and I had the time to take another walk around the venue and to eat some dinner too. Once Arkham City was finished, RoboSparkle showed the audinece a glitch that could make Batman fall endlessly down through the graphics. In the practice area it was very calm for the moment. Moste atendees were not present but ArcticEagle and Dxtr was there however
ArcticEagle practiced Zelda 2 and discussed the game with Dxtr
I went back to my corner and played a couple of games casually. I was done with all my runs for this year’s ESA so I could relax with some playthroughs in the pile of games I brought with me. Castlevania and Roller Games were beaten and as I played games, the evening passed by along with the time. It was still lots of time left before the race in Zelda was about to be made. I decided to stay upp for it
Sunday
The hours kept on going but there was still lots of time left before the Zelda race. I played more games and carried on with Astyanax. It’s a game I like but there is a stage in the middle of the game, that I really hate, with enemies spawning all the time and flying garbage in the sky. I raged a couple of times before I got past that horrible part of the game. Then it was a straight way to the end of the game. After that game I played Double Dragon 2 which is the best game in the series of the NES ports. The hours kept on going so I decided to pack my stuff at the House of Culture. IrregularJinny was there too, in order to take a shower. I ate some of the remaining food and packed everthing so I would be ready to go. Then I had a shower and cleaned myself up before leaving the place with my stuff. Everything was put in my corner and some of the food was placed in the fridge of Nyeport along with the other groceries I had there. The hours kept on going and finally it was time for the race in Zelda 2. It was exciting to watch this speedrun, between ArcticEagle and Pro_JN and as soon as it was finished, the sun was coming up, spreading some light into the room
Tompa gave them the picture of the cow that had been waiting in the back of the room
Pro_JN hold it up with joy and the audience feel likewise
I had been up all night so I was very tired so I took a rest on a couch in the entrance to the venue. The hours went by and the event was about to end. I bought a ticket for the train that I was going to take home during this afternoon. Then I left a crate for KennyMan666 that he would bring home in the car with him during next week. It was time for a picture of the atendees outside on the hill. I gave my camera to Alko so he could take a picture
Then Curseddolls swapped place with him and took more pictures of the atendees
It was a hot day like the others and the sun was burning all the gamers a little bit(not to much actually)
So came the time for the upcoming bonus stream that followed at the end of ESA2013. I had a look at the Sonic game that was played and then I left the streaming area
I took some time to say goodbye to the atendees being present and then I left for the train. With that I went home and then I had a big rest from all the gaming. I also like to extended some gratitude for the crew who arranged this marathon, and to all the nice atendees I met. Thank you all and see you next summer
Monday
It was an ordinary day of vacation and all the stuff I was taking with me to ESA, had been packed already. I was still waiting for Charleon and KennyMan666 to show up, but it would take a little while longer, as KennyMan666 started the journey by going to the workshop, checking out that the vehicle was in decent condition for traveling. With minor tension I waited and I took my time to wash the filter to the fan, in the kitchen, just like I did before last years ESA. Just like then it was a golden opportunity to leave the filter for drying during my abscense, and with no chef around to cook food, no harm was practically done at all. Early in the afternoon, they showed up outside my window and I got a call from KennyMan666 who verified that he was outside. I brought my stuff outside and despite that we were only three, the car got filled up to the edge
- Looks like we have to move around the stuff to fit it all into the trunk, KennyMan666 said.
- Yeah, it’s lucky we are in the tetrisgeneration so we can puzzle all this toghether, I said.
- Haha, we’ll manage, KennyMan666 said.
The luggage was moved around and once we were done and I’ve locked the doors, it was time to go
- There is one seat available in the front so you two will have to fight for it, KennyMan666 said.
- It does no matter to me, as there is plenty of room in the car for all the passengers, so I’ll pick the one in the back, Charleon said.
- Then I shall pick the passengerseat in the front, I replied
We all got into the car and the journey started. We started to head for the big road. Some roadblocks were placed around the crossroad and it confused KennyMan666 a little who drove straight forward instead of turning left
- You were supposed to turn left there but they are still building the new road, so it looks quite confusing, I said
- I did’nt thought I could turn left over there, KennyMan666 said
- We can turn around over there so it will be easy to backtrack to the main road, I said
We went through a roundabout and back to the crossroad, and then we turned right, since we now came from the other direction, making right beeing the same direction as left was, when we started the journey. We headed for Stockholm as the same road would lead to Skövde and at the tunnel, a line was building up for all the cars, outside the tunnel
Once we got in, the speed increased and the lines broke up from their stand. We reached road E20 and now we were about to leave the big city behind. Still there was a long way out of there
- This kind of events are new to me. I was introduced to speedrunning last year. What kind of people attend to these meetups? Charleon asked.
- Oh that would be different kinds of nice people from many countries, KennyMan666 said
- Yes people travel from Germany, France, England, Netherlands, Poland and USA among others, I said
- Which language is spoken the most? Charleon asked.
- English is the one, I replied
We listened to Beatles on our journey and KennyMan666 had lots of CD’s with their music. There was enough to feed the whole journey, and the road decreased in size so it would be boring without the music. During the long roadtrip, I held my eyes open for gamingrelated numberplats on all the other cars we passed by, and meanwhile I wondered how it would be like, if I had a photographic memory and could recall all the numberplates I saw. I forgot them quickly as the trip went on and once we finally reached Skövde, the music was shut down so that KennyMan666 could look for the venue. We went through the inner city of Skövde and on to the venue called Nyeport. I quickly realized that Nyeport was a completely different venue than the house of culture. I thought Nyeport was a part of it but the truth did slip my mind in this case. We parked outside the place and started with collecting the luggage. I had to move around some of my stuff to get the important box with the games and systems. I carried all of it into the practiceroom and then I started to look for a TV to hook up the equipment with.
- Have you got a TV? Niss3 asked.
- Not yet. I’m looking for a vacant one, I replied
- Your can take anyone here that is’nt in use by somebody else, Niss3 said
- Then I will take that one, I said and approached a vacant TV.
- I will cary it, Niss3 said.
- All by yourself? I asked
- Yes, it’s my job to do that this year, Niss3 replied, and brought the TV over to my table.
I slightly got started hooking up my equipment as KennyMan666, who was positioned next to me in the practiceroom, reminded me that we were going to the house of culture with the sheets and beds. I summoned Charleon and we went to the car. It was a little bit tricky to get there as most of the streets around the house of culture were oneway-streets but we got through that trouble after a short while. The car was parked near the door and all the bedstuff carried into the building for deployment in Freja. After deploying beds, it was time to go shopping, and the main course was food.
- I dont know this city so I will follow you to the store, Charleon said.
- Yes there is a mall in the inner city where they have Willy’s Cash. I used to shop there last year and I can show you the way, so that you know where to go for the food, I said
We walked through the streets of the inner city and Charleon was introduced to the citycore. Once we got into the Willy’s Cash store, the shopping could get started. The first thing was to select bread, fruit and vegetable, as they were in the entrance of the store.
- It seems like they got better carrots over here than we got at home in the big city, I said.
- Are the carrots really bad over there? Charleon asked.
- Yes, they are sometimes rotten or dry. Many times when I tried to eat carrots bought at home, it feels like chewing sand, I said.
- That’s disgusting, Charleon replied.
- It also looks like I’m going to buy different food this year. Last year I bought peanutbutter and bread only, for breakfast and midnightsupper. I wont be moving around a lot this week, and the dinner is going to be very fat, so I will have to go easy on the smaller meals, I said.
We selected bread and moved on to the next area for other fooditems. I found lots of good stuff to supply my breakfast with and after some time, we went back to the house of culture, for storage of fooditems. I also took a bottle of water and a pakage of grapes with me back to Nyeport. We went through the trainstation and over to the venue. Once over there, I could cary on with hooking up the equipment and then it was time to look for a remotecontrol. Dxtr had an universal one that could be used for about all TV’s and he helped me switch over to the AV3-channel on the TV. I hooked up my DVD-recorder with the custompainted NES and started playing a little to get a feeling about the gaming. I also used the DVD-recorder for playback of runs that had been recorded before ESA. Frezyman who was rigging up his stuff nearby, had a look at the recordings
- We should do a practice race with each other on Kung Fu. Is it a PAL-version you got? Frezyman asked.
- It is the american NTSC-version I have. Afterall that is the one we will race on, on Wednesday, I replied.
- Lets race then, Frezyman said.
He went back to his gear and started the game. I started mine and I also recorded it while running. It did not worked out well as I died all the time. I was still tense and eager for the actual run, and it made me quite unable to relax properly. We raced a couple of times and the last time I won the practice race.
- How do you approach the final boss? Frezyman asked.
- I jumpkick him down, I said and showed the recording with my personal best in that game.
- Who had the world record? Frezyman asked.
- I belive you have it. The one you uploaded on SDA is a 00:03:55 and I am 9 seconds away from that with my 00:04:04 run, I said.
We tried some more and then it was time for testing the other games. I tried a couple of runs on them and then i was time to eat. I went to the nearby pizzarestaurant along with KennyMan666 and Charleon. Dinner was brought back to the venue and meanwhile the marathon had started. We ate and then it was time to watch some of the streaming. A race in Duck Tales was coming next and the calibration had started already. Oasiz helped them with adjustment of the equipment
Bangerra were going to race Dxtr in the game. Niss3 and Crippe took care of the soundcheck, and Alko was monitoring the donations and comments made on the internet, with the company of RoboSparkle and Tompa at his two sides
Frezyman was the speedrun commentator for this race
The race started and attracted lots of viewers. Dxtr took home the victory in this race. After that it was time for the sequal to be raced. The audience gave applause to the victory
I followed the two races with interest and afterwards, I returned to the practice area. Besides playing, I took a walk around the place. ArcticEagle and Charleon were playing some of their games
In the other end of the room, there were practice runs in Mario Madness and Super Mario Bros 3, by DonSvenne and Frezyman
Neviutz was playing a game with a big audience around to watch it all
It was still lots of time left until would go to bed, so I stayed up for many more hours to practice and look around. There were many trial and errors on my behalf, cause I had problems with my runs. Tried Rygar and Street Fighter 2010 lots of times without success. I kept on playing and from time to time, I swapped games to try something different for the moment. Still no success in the games and it was rather unsatisfactory to experience it. The first day of ESA2013 was over but there was yet many days left to come by
Tuesday
I figured that I should stay up untill 03:00 so that I would get up lately today, perhaps around 13:00. I still had to play the games and it would just not work out properly. I really was in a bad shape this year and with only 24 hours before my first performance. I took a short rest from the gaming and went to the streaming area. A-M was running through Maximo. I remembered when I used to see this game everywhere, 10 years ago when it was sold in all the stores that had games. I never picked it up myself but this time I had a chance to see the game being played. It looked pretty decent. Edenal supervized the techcorner and in the audience were DonSvenne and Dalfen among others to watch A-M run the game
It was soon time to go so I went to the entrancehall at the venue and waited for Niss3 who had the key to Freja. Niss3 came to the kitchen area and took a coup of coffee before, him, S and me went to the house of culture.
- This is really a harsh night, as I have been running forth and back here with the key six times now. I had to drink lots of coffee to manage it, but the next night we will change the rules, so that this trip only is made once an hour, Niss3 said.
We kept on walking and talking about various things until we reached the house of culture
- By the way, what was your name? Niss3 asked.
- It’s S. S. replied
- Oh, just S.? Niss3 asked.
- Yeah, S. replied.
- Well you should have a good nights sleep and then we meet later on, Niss3 said and went back to Nyeport.
S. went to bed and I went to the kitchen in the venue and sneaked out my food from the fridge. Lots of people were sleeping so I had to be discreet in order to not awake or disturb anyone. My choice for different food this year turned out to be a real winner. A bigger variation and it was really appreciated. Then I cleaned up and went to bed. This day would be a very long one and the night during Wednesday would be a hard one to handle, with up to five speedruns within six hours. Better get my sleep.
I did not sleep very well this night and I woke up earlier than planned. The phone was ringing and one of the guys watching the marathon, on the internet wanted me to go to the streaming area and wave my hands. It was still hours until I was going back. I stayed in bed sleeplessly, waiting for the clock to turn 13:00. Then it was time for breakfast and after that, back to Nyeport. I walked along with one of the other attendees and we discussed the wheater on the way, and the looks of the clouds and its impact on being nearby lakes. In the practice area I found RoboSparkle, Ozzy88 and Charleon in one of the corners, busy with the gaming
People were scattered at this hour so the room was a little bit empty. I went to the streaming room and watched Tompa making a performance in Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo. Long time had passed since I saw such performance in that game by him. Niss3 and DonSvenne supervizes the audio meanwhile and Alko checks the donations
After watching that, I took walk to the mall of Norrmalm to buy some stuff that I required. I required a new C-Video cable and extensioncouplers for RCA cables. It was still hot outside and the little journey to the mall contributed with more heat. I found the stuff once I was there but I forgot to buy recordable DVD’s that was part of the plan. Once I got back, it was time for Ninja Gaiden. ArcticEagle and Dxtr was about to race the game and they were accopanied by IrregularJinny
I return to my practice corner and keep on trying with the games. My phone rings but I could not answer as I was in the middle of a speedrun. Then Pinge showed up at the venue. He made the call and was passing by the city on his trip from Hjo. He decided to check in on the marathon and we spoke a little, before he headed on to speak some with Frezyman who practiced his speedrun in Contra. I kept on playing and then Pinge returned to me after he’d looked around the place.
- Are’nt you going to drink lots of beer? Pinge asked.
- Haha no, it is not allowed in here, I replied
- Well not in here but you could always go out and drink, Pinge said.
- Yes as long as I dont get drunk out there, it would be okay. I will some day during this marathon go to the nearest O’learys and eat a real burger. Then I will flush it down with a beer, I said.
- O’learys lies at the arena and that is far away from here. You should find something closer to the inner city, Pinge said.
- Well do you know a place that serves real burgers like they do, and is located nearby? I asked.
- Yes you can go to Harry’s. That is not far away from here, Pinge said.
- Then I should do that some day this week, I said.
Pinge left the venue and went back home and I kept on playing my speedruns.
- I dont suppose you use powerpaks, but then you dont fancy pirated stuff? Frezyman asked.
- Well I know about that cartridge but I dont have one, and I will probaly never get one, I said.
- With it you can practice with the help of savestates, Frezyman said.
- Nah I think I’ll stick to the oldfaschion way, when it comes to training for speedruns, I said.
- It is a very good way to practice the games with as you wont need to restart the game Frezyman said.
I tried a little more and then I took a short break, while looking around. On the other side of the room were Alko and Edenal playing Goof Troop on the Super Famicom. They would perform in that game later on so some practice was customary to do
So came the time when the Contra run would be made. I went to the streaming area and watched the run. In the audience there was among others TimpZ, Dalfen, Dxtr and myself
Before starting the game, Frezyman reminded the people who was watching the stream on the internet, that money still was required as donation, before he could rip his T-shirt. Nobody could donate the amount so he had to start the game without ripping the shirt
Charleon assisted with the audiocheck and Edenal was talking to Oasiz. So the game started and Frezyman ran through the game. Despite being killed in the beginning, he manage to uphold the speed with the regular gun and it was a very skillfull performance. The audience followed the speedrun with great interest
After the speedrun it was time to eat some dinner. I went to the pizzarestaurant and Frezyman arrived shortly after to get some dinner to. We decided to eat it at the venue so I went back to make some room on one of the tables. So I did that and after a short while he arrived with the other guys. We ate dinner and spoke to other attendees meanwhile. Once done, the paper and garbage that was left, was thrown. Passing by the kitchen I met A-M on the way.
- Hello Wery, how are you? A-M asked.
- Oh I’m quite fine, how are you? I said.
- I am fine, A-M said.
- I am a little bit rusty though. I have been trying to pull of my speedruns but it simply wont work. And there is a long night ahead with up to five games for me to run, I said.
- That’s a lot but I’m sure you will make it, A-M said.
I continued with the speedrunning and it really was a critical moment as the runs just would not work. The hours went by and as the time closed in on the next day, me and Frezyman took up some training in the kung fu game, since it would be my first to perform in. I also made a satisfactory run in Rygar while trying the various games that waited on the schedule
Wednesday
It was barely one hour left before the first run, but I persisted on getting things done. Kung Fu was played many times and once the run in Max Payne 2 was finished, it was time to race in the game. It went quite well until the third stage came. I died there and lost a lot of time. Once I got through the game I must have spent around five to six minutes and I lost the race. One game down for the night, and four other to go. I went back to train some on Rygar and before it was time for Rygar, I went to the streaming area to watch DonSvenne play North & South. It was hilarious, because he made so many strange sounds and noises, and it really amused the audience a lot. I was no exception to that, as I had fun watching it myself. Then it was time for Rygar and it went well in the beginning as both me and ArcticEagle were on par but then I died many times while running. It drained the time for me and I believe it became my worst liveperformance so far. The timer stopped when ArcticEagle finnished the game in 27 minutes but I must have played for 33 or 34 minutes. Not a good run at all for me. With that game out of the way it was time to train more on Street Fighter 2010 and the training was unsuccessful but it was a better flow when the performance started. I feared that it would be a bad run but I was surprised once the game was finished, because it turned out to be a new personal best, where I saved two seconds since my last personal best, that was recorded on DVD. So one of the games so far had turned out to be a success in the performance but there was more games to go. Both Power Blade and Ufouria was about to be played so I had some time to practice on Gyromite before it was my turn again to play. The game was’nt hard at all but it is a long one so there are many details to remember. Watching some of the last recording was a good way to practice and remmeber and I did quite well during my training. So came the time when Gyromite was up for running and people on the internet wondered if the robot was going to be used and if a donation could be done for that. I said that using the controllers myself was the only way of performing a speedrun in Gyromite. The game went well the most and I could explain it a little and when I did not, the commentator DonSvenne did some explanation about the game. I was also told that a former speedrun had been made by two players using one controller each. I died two times but I still stuck into the estimate as I had planned so it was not to unsuccessful, albeit my personal best in the game is a flawless no-death-run. With this game done and one more to go I left to practice on the hardest games of them all on my list, Abadox. As I left it was time for Crippe and Niss3 to race Shadowgate
I played Abadox and I made a new personalbest in the game that reached below sixteen minutes. That was really good for morale when facing a performance in the game. So came the time when the final game for the day was to be played. I went to the streaming area and I was tired like hell.
- Okay, this is one of the 30 hardest games on the NES, so there will be serious time during the whole game, DonSvenne said.
- It is? I asked.
- Yes a mexican gamer ranked Abadox to be on that list, of the 30 hardest games on the NES, DonSvenne said.
The game started and I was able to go on, until the final stage before escaping Parasitis. I died a couple of times but I was also fortunate enough, to be on a stage that gave me back all the powerups that was lost during the first death. It all went over 18 minutes before the game was finally over, so no new record for me. Then came the interview that followed, and I was questioned by the viewers about how I started with speedruns, about my collection.
- So how did your speedrunning get started? Asked DonSvenne that was partially making the interview.
- Well I was attending to a gamermeetup, many years ago and there I was introduced to speedrunning. Back then I was not interested but a short while after, I figured I could beat Abadox as quick as possible, and then speedrunning started for me. After that game there has been a lot of other ones, as you all have seen this night, I replied
- I have one question from a viewer. Are you single? Alko asked.
- Haha yes I am single right now, I replied.
- Well there you go, all ladies who are watching, he is single so take your chance, DonSvenne added.
- We have another question from the viewers. Do you like dogs? Alko asked.
Okay, someone who likes pets askes this question. Dogs that behave funny are always amusing, I thought to myself but I did not have the time to answer before the question was aked again with more details.
- Dogs on the internet? Alko asked.
- Are they talking about some kind of bestiality? I asked back, and thought that there could be a troll in the chatwindow, trying to upset with bizarre questions.
- Hahahaha, everyone laughed.
- Okay, there is a mark that resembles a dog, and it could be used when you are writing on the internet, DonSvenne added.
- I’ve never heard of that mark before, I said.
- Well you have lots of fans out there on the internet, that likes to know more about your interest in videogames, DonSvenne said.
- I have? I asked.
- Yes there are many of them out there watching. Tell us about your Hellrun in Super Mario Bros 2, DonSvenne said.
- Well a hellrun is not a speedrun, it is more like chasing highscores, while beating the game eight times in a row, to unlock four secret worlds in the game, I replied
- Okay, that is rather a question for TwinGalaxies then, DonSvenne replied.
I also talked about my collection of games and once the interview was finished, I went back to the house of culture, to get my sleep. It was a tiresome night so I would sleep better than last night, and so I did.
I woke up in the afternoon this day and the time was a little past 15:00. After the late breakfast it was once again time to go shopping for more food, and later even some razorblades. Then back to Nyeport to keep on practice the rest of the games waiting. Was to late to start a hellrun i Super Mario Bros 2 so I took some more practice in that game. Tomorrow there would be a hellrun recorded in the game, but one better had to be prepared until then. Then I went to one of the available computers at the venue and checked all my emails. Not much had happened on the communities since I left for ESA. Meanwhile, the Sonic games were up for streaming and later on the evening there was more Disney games. I decided that I would need to go to sleep earlier this time in order to get up in the morning. Then there would be a speedrun in Wild Guns along with KennyMan666. We took a final practice in the game, and then I’ve returned to the other games I was playing
Thursday
So there was time to go for the shower and have a change of cloths, before going to sleep. At 01:00 o’clock I ate some of the food and then I went to bed. I got a pretty decent sleep this short night and early in the morning, came the time for the speedrun in Wild Guns, one of the best games to the Super Nintendo. It all went quite well as we blasted our way through the wild robotized west, timing at 27 minutes when the run was finished. I was satisfied and went back to the practice area. Since there was no more game for me until Friday morning, I decided to make a hellrun in Super Mario Bros 2. First I had to practice the game a little, cuase I was a bit to rusty to start with the hellrun. It seemed impossible to execute some commands in the game, so I really had to retrace my steps and get back into fit. It took me a couple of hours before I felt ready to go. I took a short break to look around the place. KennyMan666 was playing a Castlevania game and we spoke of it a little, before I went back to my corner for the first round in the game
I was still quite rusty and scored only 2 645 500 at the time of 58 minutes. Many deaths and other mistakes made me foul up like this, but at least I had recorded a round for the first time
I carried on with the next round and scored 3 974 000 at the time of 56 minutes. Slightly better but still bad like shit. I continued with the third round and slightly improved to 4 359 150 at the time of 60 minutes. Then I went to the kitchen to drink some water before the next round. Scored 4 532 900 at the time of 54 minutes. The shorter time, the better score it is. More than four hours had past in we were all way into the afternoon of this day. I spent some more time on the setup before moving on to the next round. I still fouled up a little but scored 4 084 400 at the time of 58 minutes. Having a average of over four millions in highscore for this hellrun was a relief and compared with my last performed hellrun, a great improvement in avarage highscore for the whole hellrun. I had another look around the place for catching up on activities. Other atendees were playing games as usual, like in the coner next to me, I could see Dalfen, Charleon and Ozzy88
Charleon and Ozzy88 was playing Scott Pilgrim vs the World
On my other side was KennyMan666 playing some Futari
Since I had to move around the at the venue, I made a ”Do Not Touch”sign for my equipment. People who saw it, found it hillarious. I was simply concerned about the power, that had to stay on for the entire hellrun. I strolled around the place to catch up on the activities. Not far away there was some practice in Contra 3 on the Super Nintendo and Castlevania on the NES
They were all highly focused on the gaming
I carried on to the next round and made the best round for the hellrun of this year. Scored 4 612 100 at the shortest time for a single round in this hellrun, 51 minutes. That’s the way it goes! Another stroll around the venue was made. Nearby there was more practice on speedruns in Battle Kid and Mario Madness
Played by Airrider and Dxtr while DonSvenne and Cyprys were watching
I decided to eat my dinner before playing more SMB2. I had a walk outside too, for some extra air and then it was all the way back to the hellrun in Super Mario Bros 2. Two regular rounds remained before I could reach the lost levels in the game. I scored 4 478 800 at the time of 57 minutes and in the last regular round, I scored 4 471 450 at the time of 60 minutes. The regular rounds minus setup time and dinner took less than eight hours. It was now time for the lost levels that gets unlocked after eight regular rounds. I made some reconaisance on the lost levels to have sustainable strategy. I really had to practice some on those stages, and get to know them a little better, as it ain’t every day one get to play those stages. Edenal went by my corner
- Hello WERY, its based like this; Flicky is arriving to the airport in Gothenburg and we need to pick him up from there, as his plane arrives lately. We have a car but we need a driver who can go there. You know the city well and should be able to carry out this task, if you are up for it, Edenal said
- Sure I could help you with that, I replied. At what time will we go?
I had a hasty look over my equipment, for determing wheather I should take used items back home and pick up bigger crate to the remaining stuff.
– You will be notified when it is time to go, Edenal replied.
I went to the kitchen again for some water and then I had a look around for the schedule of the marathon, to better keep track of the games being played. Niss3 passed by so I took the opportunity to ask him about it and what run that was going to be the next.
- You can have a look at the computers over there, Niss3 said. By the way, what day is it?
- It’s Thursday now, I replied
- Oh time really goes by on these kinds of events, when I lose track of the days, Niss3 said.
I went to the computer and had a look at the schedule. I also had a look around the communities on the internet for catching up on the activities over there. To my suprise, not much had happen. I checked the information and open times for that restaurant that had real burgers. It turned out that Friday was the only day, that allowed spontaneous visits for customer. I had no intention to reserve a table so Friday was the desired day for me to go there. Then I went back to the practice area and kept on recognizing the lost levels. Tompa who was cosplaying as a woman went by my corner. I was so focused on the game that I first did’nt recognized him. The evening went by and the clock made it past 23:59
Friday
It took time to make a recording of the final round in the game. The pickup matter however resolved itself as another driver decided to go to the airport. Late during the night they arrived, so Flicky went to the kitchen, to eat some food. The other attendees tought hom how to eat strawberrypulp with milk, while they were talking to each other. Even I participated in the conversation and when he was going to reply, he interupted himself in a sentence to pass compliments towards me for my accent. I went back to my corner and finished the hellrun i Super Mario Bros 2. Then I could finally shut of the game and take a rest from it. Cyprys approached me
– Hello WERY, I saw you were making recordings while you played that game, Cyprys said. What was it about?
- It was a hellrun i Super Mario Bros 2, I replied. You got to beat the nine regular worlds in the game, eight times to unlock four hidden worlds.
- Did it take much time? Will it be uploaded on the internet? Cyprys asked.
- Yes I have been playing all day long. I am glad to have finished the game. The hellrun will however not be uploaded because it is so long, over eight hours. I will show the recordings to people who pay me a visit instead, I replied.
- Where did you find that cartridge? Cyprys asked
- Theres a site on the internet that sells those carts. I am part of a community that made a big order of those carts in 2007. I bought it back then, I said
I made a quick try on my next speedrun, Moon Patrol on the 5200 SuperSystem
There was’nt much time left so it was time to go to sleep. I went by the streaming area to see what was up. Pipe and Sunblade was making a speedrun i Resident Evil 4
I went back to the House of Culture to get my sleep. I did not get much before it was time to return to Nyeport
So it was time then to go. I had very little time so I skipped the breakfast and ran all the way to Nyeport. When I arrived, the vintageblock had begun. It consisted of me and Robosparkle. Robosparkle was making a speedrun in Great Giana Sisters so I hurried back to the practice area for making some more preparations. Then I picked up the console with the game and all accessories and went back to the streaming area. Robosparkle finished his game and I started to setup my gear. I tested the game and got picture and sound on the TV but the signal could not be captured for the streaming.
- Nice music, RoboSparkle said. Will it be playing through the whole game?
- Yes it will be, I replied
RoboSparkle was chosen to do the comments for the game and he took the opportunity to spread some entertainmet, with jokes and some funny talk about the game. I had fun listening to it whilst running. It was still early in the morning for me, so I was thirsty. The camera was focused on both me and the system, which was intended for my upcoming deed. When I was half way through the game I decided the quench my thirst.
- I am thirsty and need a drink, I said and pulled out a mineralwater from the controller compartment on the console.
I opened the tincan with my teeth and everybody laughed. The camera got turned towards the TV-screen, in order to show the viewers what the game itself was like. I made it through the game in over nine minutes and then I packed my stuff and went back to the practice area. Went back to the House of Culture for some breakfast. Then further on to Willy’s to pick up more groceries. I had another shower and some more rest before returning to Nyeport. I started up my gear for some more gaming and I had a look around. Edenal was playing Contra 3 again
I played some games and took it easy for the first time during this week. After a little while, Rogerxy showed up for some spectation on the event. Dxtr was playing Metroid meanwhile
Charleon and Rogerxy was looking on
After that, Rogerxy joined me in a round of the game Wild Guns. We went through the game but some planning and strategy, had to be done during the game.
- It’s 16 o’clock now and I got to go to Harry’s, I said. Would you care to join mer there?
- They will be open all night, no hurry to go there, Rogerxy said.
- Well they are only open for non-reserving customers between 16 and 20 o’clock, so I cant miss the opportunity, I said.
- We’ll go soon. I’m going to call Pinge who is in the inner city right now. He’ll join us to, Rogerxy said.
The time came and we went to Harry’s. Rogerxy showed me some games on his handheld system, along with functions that allowed different players to connect to each other, if they were close enough each other. Such a thing did’nt exist in my days so once again I felt rather old, while being introduced to this new technology. I ordered a double Pepperjack burger and a big pint of Staropramen. Rogerxy was not hungry and bought only a beer. Then Pinge showed up and we had a long conversation about lots of things, among them old memories. It was a helluva mighty burger this restaurant served, which still makes me surprised how so many other atendees could choose McD, before a place that serve real burgers(I know why but I just feel like that on purpose, cause Harry’s got better burgers than McD). When we were all done, we went to the mall in the inner city to pick up Pinge’s car. I went by Game and purchased a complete copy of the game Little Nemo on the NES. It was in great shape so it was a find. Then we went by the liquorstore and then further on to the car. Pinge drove down to Nyeport and let me off there. I returned to the venue and they carried on. I sat down at one of the computers to once again catch up on the communities. While doing this, I was listening to music from a band called 047. Oasiz went by and noticed that I was listening to chiptune. We started to talk about chiptune and demos. He showed me som sites that had that kind of music, made on hardware by Atari and Commodore. He also told me lots of details on how to program flickering and other stuff. Things that my senile memory unfortunately have forgotten.
- This is a funny demo, just listening to the song, Oasiz said and showed the demo ”Big Brother Sees You”.
That music was programmed to sing in swedish so it was fun to hear. Oasiz went on to the practice area and I kept on looking at the communities for some activity. While doing so, I spoke to another atendee about collecting on vintage consoles from late 70’s and early 80’s. After that I went to the practice area and had a look at the streaming that was broadcasted there, from the streming room. Meanwhile atendees were playing games and Frezyman practiced Super Mario Bros 3, a game he was going to run soon
On the other side of the room was ArticEagle. He practiced on Zelda 2
I could’nt do much in here for the moment so I went back to the computer for some more activity on the internet. Once more I played some chiptune and demos while looking around. Oasiz went by again
- Are you still stuck here with the music? Oasiz asked.
- Yeah, I said.
Oasiz laughed and carried on. I followed some of the stream from the computer and waited for the Super Mario block to start. After some time it started. I went by the streming area where Andreas Rudmarker and Richard Karlsson were racing each other in Mario Kart
It was late due to some delays in the schedule but everyone kept on running them games. So it was time for Dxtr and DonSvenne to race Mario Madness
They were focused on the game and the audience followed it with delightment
As they finished the game, there was a new day for more speedruns coming up next
Saturday
Frezyman had prepared himself a lot for this moment. He was going to speedrun Super Mario Bros 3. Some preparations remained, so he took the opportunity to calibrate the game before starting.
So came the time to start the speedrun. People followed the run with great anticipation
Tompa, DonSvenne and Dxtr took seat in the front couch beside Frezyman
It all went quite well and after the run, Frezyman returned to the practice area for some more gaming. DonSvenne and A-M joined him
The Super Mario block carried on late in the night and then it was time for Pottoww to run Super Mario Galaxy
I decided that it was time for me to have some sleep. I went back to the House of Culture and ate some food. Then it was many hours of sleep waiting ahead for me
So I went up for breakfast and then back to Nyeport(you have all probably figured out that on your own by now). I found lots of atendees lying around and sleeping. Among them were TimpZ who felt a litle bit tired after all the gaming
I hurried on with some last practice on Batman 2 and then it was time for the Batman block. Dxtr started with the first game on the NES, while cosplaying like the caped crusader
Then it was time for me. However I fucked it all up this time by dying on the seconds stage in the game. Not good, not good at all. At least I had a reason for making a facepalm and so I did. The Batman block carried on with a glitched run in the SEGA-version of Batman Returns, a run that took less than five minutes to do. Then it was time for a long speedrun i Arkham City. Robosparkle was running and a seperate contest was held right beside, where the viewers could vote for one of the atendees running Batman games, that should be appointed to be the Batman. Donations were made and some choose RoboSparkle, while other choosed Dxtr
It was a long game and lots of details to talk about. Donations kept coming in and with appointments on who’s the Batman. RoboSparkle was choosen again as Batman
- Yeah, RoboSarkle said tonelessly without moving.
- Hahahaha, everybody laughed
RoboSparkle kept on running through the game
I had a look around the venue and I found more atendees lying around, having some rest. This sight was however a bit unexpected
I went back to the streaming area and watched the speedrun in Arkham City. Very interesting game to watch with lots of details inside. The hours passed by and I had the time to take another walk around the venue and to eat some dinner too. Once Arkham City was finished, RoboSparkle showed the audinece a glitch that could make Batman fall endlessly down through the graphics. In the practice area it was very calm for the moment. Moste atendees were not present but ArcticEagle and Dxtr was there however
ArcticEagle practiced Zelda 2 and discussed the game with Dxtr
I went back to my corner and played a couple of games casually. I was done with all my runs for this year’s ESA so I could relax with some playthroughs in the pile of games I brought with me. Castlevania and Roller Games were beaten and as I played games, the evening passed by along with the time. It was still lots of time left before the race in Zelda was about to be made. I decided to stay upp for it
Sunday
The hours kept on going but there was still lots of time left before the Zelda race. I played more games and carried on with Astyanax. It’s a game I like but there is a stage in the middle of the game, that I really hate, with enemies spawning all the time and flying garbage in the sky. I raged a couple of times before I got past that horrible part of the game. Then it was a straight way to the end of the game. After that game I played Double Dragon 2 which is the best game in the series of the NES ports. The hours kept on going so I decided to pack my stuff at the House of Culture. IrregularJinny was there too, in order to take a shower. I ate some of the remaining food and packed everthing so I would be ready to go. Then I had a shower and cleaned myself up before leaving the place with my stuff. Everything was put in my corner and some of the food was placed in the fridge of Nyeport along with the other groceries I had there. The hours kept on going and finally it was time for the race in Zelda 2. It was exciting to watch this speedrun, between ArcticEagle and Pro_JN and as soon as it was finished, the sun was coming up, spreading some light into the room
Tompa gave them the picture of the cow that had been waiting in the back of the room
Pro_JN hold it up with joy and the audience feel likewise
I had been up all night so I was very tired so I took a rest on a couch in the entrance to the venue. The hours went by and the event was about to end. I bought a ticket for the train that I was going to take home during this afternoon. Then I left a crate for KennyMan666 that he would bring home in the car with him during next week. It was time for a picture of the atendees outside on the hill. I gave my camera to Alko so he could take a picture
Then Curseddolls swapped place with him and took more pictures of the atendees
It was a hot day like the others and the sun was burning all the gamers a little bit(not to much actually)
So came the time for the upcoming bonus stream that followed at the end of ESA2013. I had a look at the Sonic game that was played and then I left the streaming area
I took some time to say goodbye to the atendees being present and then I left for the train. With that I went home and then I had a big rest from all the gaming. I also like to extended some gratitude for the crew who arranged this marathon, and to all the nice atendees I met. Thank you all and see you next summer
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