The Games Done Quick (GDQ) community regularly celebrates the art of speedrunning while raising money for different charities. Last year’s Awesome Games Done Quick event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania raised approximately $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, marking the organization as one of the largest global fundraisers. Not only is each event a testament to the skills of runners, but it also highlights the generosity of this subsection of the gaming community.
GDQ is not just known for its impressive speedruns, though. It’s commonly praised for its diversity. From Games Done Queer, to Black in a Flash, the speedrunning charity regularly creates safe spaces for marginalized identities. And this year, across the weekend of November 29-30, disabled and neurodivergent runners and community members alike will have their own platform to raise awareness and money for the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network, as well as showcase their speedrunning skills in games such as Tetris, Tunic, Dark Souls 3, and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
Speaking with IGN, GDQ Disability and Neurodivergence Special event leads and speedrunners Madeleine “SatanHerself” Callan and Jaida “Anarchyasf” George discuss the importance of disability representation in the speedrunning scene, as well as the logistics of planning this event.
Making Speedrunning Inclusive
In March, Callan joined the GDQ team. She notes that the organization actively encourages the creation of different showcases, sometimes focused on specific games, and other times rooted in communities, like disabled and neurodivergent. After conferring with GDQ and formulating the idea for several months, she thought it appropriate to align the first disability speedrunning charity drive with International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which takes place on December 3. And to help organize and host the showcase, Callan brought on George, a speedrunner known for highlighting marginalized voices.
“I jumped at the opportunity when Maddie asked me to be on,” George says. “My Hotfix show [part of GDQ’s regular scheduled programming] that I started last November is called Hidden Heroes, and the point is to showcase marginalized speedrunners. Sometimes, when you are looking at the speedrunning space, it can seem overwhelmingly one kind of person, and you don’t often see people like me or people like Maddie on the big stage.”
George explains that her presence in the speedrunning scene is directly attributed to black speedrunners offering her opportunities to perform and compete. With over a decade of experience in the hobby, she was welcomed within black-led spaces and events at GDQ. And for Callan, her speedrunning career at GDQ is a tribute to the Frame Fatales community, an all women and femme speedrunning group. These groups, which offer safe and welcoming spaces within the greater speedrunning scene, were direct catalysts for the creation of the GDQ Disability and Neurodivergence Special. For Callan and George, elevating this community speedrunners, just as they were welcomed, is the most important aspect of building a new showcase.
“I often feel in professional spaces I can’t say the word Autism,” says Callan. “It makes people feel uncomfortable. I can’t say a myriad of the types of [disabilities] we’re going to be talking about during the event. I feel like in this space we made for ourselves, we can talk about [disabilities], and so many people are excited to.”
Callan explains that some runners have designed their showcases to highlight and educate audience members about their specific disabilities. “If you provide the safe space then people are going to flock to you. Do something that you’re excited about. And if you need more time, float around the space, and then, maybe you’ll feel more comfortable.”
Making Speedrunning Accessible
Establishing a safe and healthy environment for disabled and neurodivergent speedrunners is only one part of the overarching challenge of creating an accessible event. While most modern triple-A and indie games include some form of accessibility options or inclusive designs, they still cannot fully account for the individualistic nature of the disabled experience. This, according to Callan and George, helped drive discussions around ensuring that competitors could run from the comfort of their own homes.
That’s just one of many decisions made by the team to ensure the event is accessible to all. Another example is particularly beneficial for cognitive disabilities: “People who have speech impediments, or who are nervous about speaking for one reason or another, can get commentary buddies,” Callan reveals. “We’ve been linking people up with people who will help them with commentary, sort of like having a buddy support system. I’ve been enjoying seeing that come together and seeing people look at their limitations and saying, ‘I still want to try and see what I can do within this space.’”
To coincide with providing accessibility for casters and their specific runs, the disability and neurodivergent event also removes any kind of restriction on controls and control types. GDQ does traditionally allow unique controllers and control schemes to complete runs, like using a bicycle to beat Undertale or Peanut Butter the Dog’s makeshift paddles to beat Gyromite. But for disabled runners that need accessible controllers or schemes, George is making it very clear that GDQ encourages everyone to use what is necessary.
“Whatever it is you need to do to complete your run in a way that allows you to do it is encouraged,” she says. “I know there are people who play with alternative control styles. There is a particular person I know, who did not submit for the event, but uses a modified controller in a way that is helpful for them to do the hobby that they like to enjoy. Whatever people need to use, we are totally accepting.”
Callan does explain that there’s a chance that runs may be denied, not from an accessibility standpoint, but from a “technological limitation on the type of run that we can do, not the actual control scheme.”
Disability inclusion is still lacking across the greater gaming industry. From official fighting game tournaments restricting certain controls and settings, to companies like Microsoft outright banning third-party hardware, it’s difficult for disabled players to participate in events. Combine the lack of controls with little representation across major events, and disabled individuals struggle to fully belong in the scene. Callan and George ultimately want to rectify these missteps with the GDQ Disability and Neurodivergence Special. And, as Callan notes, creating a space where disabled runners can be welcomed and supported is what’s most important.
“My main message with this [event] and in general, as a person in this space, is to be proud of yourself,” she says. “Look at our positions in life and say ‘This sucks, and the world isn’t built for us, and it’s difficult when the world doesn’t want us to succeed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t come together and have fun and make a space for ourselves in the world that we want to see.’”
The GDQ Disability and Neurodivergence Special takes place this weekend, November 29-30, ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on December 3. You can watch the event streamed live on the GamesDoneQuick Twitch channel from 1pm ET/10am PT each day. You can find the schedule here.
Grant Stoner is a disabled journalist covering accessibility and the disabled perspective in video games. When not writing, he is usually screaming about Pokémon or his cat, Goomba on Twitter.
L'Agenzia Spaziale Europea ottiene il budget più alto della sua storia per un programma spaziale sempre più ambizioso