I don't remember the contents of the wavier that everyone has to sign. Does it have anything in it regarding being on camera? Not just code-of-conduct stuff, but more of a disclaimer about the entering the areas where there's a webcam, so that people have to acknowledge that their face will likely appear on stream. Similarly, anything in there about peoples' real names? I seem to recall some dispute about name tags.
SDA Forum
Is PJ
I not sure what everybody is expecting to see from a practice room webcam. It would literally be like 80% watching people eat food while sitting in a chair, and 20% watching people sit in a chair watching someone play a game that you can't see from the distance the webcam would be at. What is the actual purpose of this?
The ASL idea is awesome. Sadly, translators do not come cheap.
On the bright side, the donation ticker will allow individuals that are deaf to enjoy an aspect of the marathon that they did not previously get to enjoy (keep in mind that even if an individual can read lips, the donation reader was off camera during most of the last marathon).
I'm only a beginner at ASL, currently in the process of learning (I'm a rehabilitation counselor, and I want to be able to expand my communications with clients/coworkers). I will not be able to provide translations for in-depth commentary, but at the very least, I will personally make sure to sign thank yous to any donators that point out that they are deaf.
I think it would be a good idea to provide easily accessible notes on each run that briefly describe tricks to watch out for, and how/why they work. This could be useful for many, but particularly individuals who are deaf that would like some sort of explanation.
On the bright side, the donation ticker will allow individuals that are deaf to enjoy an aspect of the marathon that they did not previously get to enjoy (keep in mind that even if an individual can read lips, the donation reader was off camera during most of the last marathon).
I'm only a beginner at ASL, currently in the process of learning (I'm a rehabilitation counselor, and I want to be able to expand my communications with clients/coworkers). I will not be able to provide translations for in-depth commentary, but at the very least, I will personally make sure to sign thank yous to any donators that point out that they are deaf.
I think it would be a good idea to provide easily accessible notes on each run that briefly describe tricks to watch out for, and how/why they work. This could be useful for many, but particularly individuals who are deaf that would like some sort of explanation.
Quote from PJ:
I not sure what everybody is expecting to see from a practice room webcam. It would literally be like 80% watching people eat food while sitting in a chair, and 20% watching people sit in a chair watching someone play a game that you can't see from the distance the webcam would be at. What is the actual purpose of this?
Yeah heh, I think the second stream would work better as something structured with regular scheduled events rather than just something running 24/7 in the practice room. Something anyone who's interested in participating can get in on without having to go through the channels of proving they're one of the best in their game and having everything approved by Mike. A practice stream is.. well, not really going to work, that'd be kinda boring. Plus the whole point of practicing is that you don't want to massively screw up with everyone watching.
Quote from ButtersBB:
The ASL idea is awesome. Sadly, translators do not come cheap.
I guess I hoping we could find some folks to offer their time to help us out, which may be a possibility as things get closer. I'll put out some messages to friends and such that may be interested. I mean, everyone there is attending with money they raised or earned themselves, I bet we could find and some ASL translators who might be willing to do the same. Including easy to access notes would open things up not only to those with impaired hearing but to many folks who have no clue about speedrunning. It would also provide a starting point for people who may want to invite their friends and family to watch, but are not sure how to explain this thing they like so much.
Quote from ProfessorBroman:
Quote from ButtersBB:
The ASL idea is awesome. Sadly, translators do not come cheap.
I guess I hoping we could find some folks to offer their time to help us out, which may be a possibility as things get closer. I'll put out some messages to friends and such that may be interested. I mean, everyone there is attending with money they raised or earned themselves, I bet we could find and some ASL translators who might be willing to do the same.
This is the type of thing that I love to see. Advocacy, hell yeah!
I'll also be on the lookout (kinda wish I lived near DC, would make this much easier).
If we cannot get translators, then I am willing to finger spell names of donators that are read rather than put on the ticker, and I will sign thank yous as well (only 20-30 donations read per hour makes this pretty easy). I am also willing to sign out the PCF description, the advertisements for SDA and SRL, and upcoming games/runners.
Since our involvement with PCF gets bigger every year, perhaps discussion can be held about sponsoring translators (if not this year, maybe next year).
I want to start by saying that I think the SDA staff if doing a great job.
By now, most of what I have to say has already been said at some point in this topic, but I'm going to say it anyway.
Whatever your reason for coming or not coming to a marathon, it's your own reason, and that's fine. Some people go to run a game, some go to comment, and some just go to help and hangout. I would love to attend a GDQ event, and if I had free time, and cost was not an issue, I absolutely would, I would be thrilled to able to contribute in some way, whether it was running a game, running tech, or even just running for food. If someone decides not to attend because they won't be playing a game, that's fine too, it's not easy or cheap to attend these, and there are other ways to support the marathon. Also on that note, not coming because you don't get to run a game? It's ridiculous to ignore the fact that running at a marathon is also a chance for some time in the limelight, it's not selfish to look forward to that as part of going, and it has a big impact on someone's decision to attend.
I know that marathons are not about the individual, and it's not about your chance to be a star, it's about doing awesome things for an awesome cause. As far as "doing awesome things", that's putting on an all-star showcase of live speedrunning. That doesn't necessarily mean the fastest in the world (but they still need to be fast :P), but it also needs to be entertaining to the audience. Good commentary is just as important as good execution, and I'm sure that goes into decision making on who gets to run a game.
and I know that this has been said, marathons are supposed to be fun! And as a viewer, they have been so far!
By now, most of what I have to say has already been said at some point in this topic, but I'm going to say it anyway.
Whatever your reason for coming or not coming to a marathon, it's your own reason, and that's fine. Some people go to run a game, some go to comment, and some just go to help and hangout. I would love to attend a GDQ event, and if I had free time, and cost was not an issue, I absolutely would, I would be thrilled to able to contribute in some way, whether it was running a game, running tech, or even just running for food. If someone decides not to attend because they won't be playing a game, that's fine too, it's not easy or cheap to attend these, and there are other ways to support the marathon. Also on that note, not coming because you don't get to run a game? It's ridiculous to ignore the fact that running at a marathon is also a chance for some time in the limelight, it's not selfish to look forward to that as part of going, and it has a big impact on someone's decision to attend.
I know that marathons are not about the individual, and it's not about your chance to be a star, it's about doing awesome things for an awesome cause. As far as "doing awesome things", that's putting on an all-star showcase of live speedrunning. That doesn't necessarily mean the fastest in the world (but they still need to be fast :P), but it also needs to be entertaining to the audience. Good commentary is just as important as good execution, and I'm sure that goes into decision making on who gets to run a game.
and I know that this has been said, marathons are supposed to be fun! And as a viewer, they have been so far!
Smörgåsbord
I'm sorry, but there is a reason why http://zeldaspeedruns.com/leaderboards/aol only have three times on Zelda 2 and that this site got most of them: http://nintendo-records.com/zelda2/
Quote from Svenne:
I'm sorry, but there is a reason why http://zeldaspeedruns.com/leaderboards/aol only have three times on Zelda 2 and that this site got most of them: http://nintendo-records.com/zelda2/
Explanations would be good. I misunderstand. What are you trying to say?
Something that came to mind during the roundtable that I mentioned is the chat was how Mr. K was talking about how the KB should be the speedrunning knowledge base, rather than the SDA knowledge base; in that context, we have lots of information on how to record and encode runs. I think it'd be great to have another section dedicated how to get a stream running with optimal quality settings, different streaming programs, other stuff like wsplit, how to record/stream at the same time, things of that nature. Would be really helpful.
I like what they were saying about the KB, a lot of that responsibility lies in the community to add to it periodically.
I liked the analogy about "there's 3 or 4 guys on IRC that, between all of them, they know everything" and a lot of it is up to the people that know the games. And it's not just IRC, the forums are loaded with new routes and strats, and the people participating in the discussions know about them, but no one is adding any of it to the KB. As a newcomer, it's not easy to find what you are looking for if you have to dig through page after page on the forums, I did not even know how to use IRC until a few months ago.
Same thing with runs too, there are plenty of very old runs with completely obsolete times that no one has bothered to update, and in many cases, the games are streamed by runners on twitch, and records are broken, yet there is still a lack of submissions. Personally I am a bit overwhelmed with all the technical details in producing an SDA quality video, after all, it's much easier to just stream it on twitch and not worry about the hard part.
I think part of it is a kind of intimidation factor, even though a lot of what was said at the round table was very encouraging towards new runners and promoting speedrun awareness. I just joined SDA earlier this year, I've only streamed a few times, and I haven't submitted any videos, but I know things about games that could and should be in the KB and I probably could produce a run to obsolete an old one. It's hard to jump in, especially after watching a marathon, I feel like I'm in the midst of grandmasters, better leave the important work for them right? Wrong! The forums are great because of all the different input, we just need to streamline the information there.
(couldn't wait for the roundtable feedback thread, this was on my mind)
I liked the analogy about "there's 3 or 4 guys on IRC that, between all of them, they know everything" and a lot of it is up to the people that know the games. And it's not just IRC, the forums are loaded with new routes and strats, and the people participating in the discussions know about them, but no one is adding any of it to the KB. As a newcomer, it's not easy to find what you are looking for if you have to dig through page after page on the forums, I did not even know how to use IRC until a few months ago.
Same thing with runs too, there are plenty of very old runs with completely obsolete times that no one has bothered to update, and in many cases, the games are streamed by runners on twitch, and records are broken, yet there is still a lack of submissions. Personally I am a bit overwhelmed with all the technical details in producing an SDA quality video, after all, it's much easier to just stream it on twitch and not worry about the hard part.
I think part of it is a kind of intimidation factor, even though a lot of what was said at the round table was very encouraging towards new runners and promoting speedrun awareness. I just joined SDA earlier this year, I've only streamed a few times, and I haven't submitted any videos, but I know things about games that could and should be in the KB and I probably could produce a run to obsolete an old one. It's hard to jump in, especially after watching a marathon, I feel like I'm in the midst of grandmasters, better leave the important work for them right? Wrong! The forums are great because of all the different input, we just need to streamline the information there.
(couldn't wait for the roundtable feedback thread, this was on my mind)
Yes
Streaming is big enough to get its own place on the main page and I'll repurpose additional resources to make that happen. I've got a semi functional page for it now, but I need to polish it up some more and I'd love suggestions. I'll be making a video before the end of this week that actually demonstrates how to make a game page.
I had a suggestion in the game page design forum about having preloads to automate creating game pages a little. Basically, you can have a button that makes it so you can automatically add certain things to a page when it is being created. https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Preload