Even a pandemic can’t stop a bunch of nerds, geeks, and gamers from beating games much faster than intended. AGDQ, or Awesome Games Done Quick, now has a start date and full schedule. The event begins January 3 and will run for an entire week to January 10. During it all, viewers can expect the same giveaways, challenge runs, and impossible speedrunning strats that make AGDQ so, well, awesome. There will be one difference though. AGDQ 2021 will be completely virtual, opening up new ways for viewers to interact with each run.
Of course, AGDQ will still feature all of the staple runs viewers expect, along with some new ones. Mirror’s Edge, a heap of Nintendo titles, and even Ecco The Dolphin are all set to be played as fast as possible. AGDQ 2021 will also continue the tradition of being a fundraising event for charity. Previous Games Done Quick events have worked with Doctors Without Borders, AbleGamers, and Organization for Autism Research. This upcoming AGDQ event will benefit the Prevent Cancer Foundation, which has also received donations from Games Done Quick events in the past. In total, Games Done Quick has raised over $28 million for charity.
Benefitting from a virtual space
While it would be magical, the Covid-19 pandemic won’t go away before AGDQ starts. That means there likely won’t be any shenanigans on the speedrunning couch, cheers from a crowd, or annoying synchronized clapping along with any given memorable gaming tune. However, the Games Done Quick crew will make the most out of the bad situation. Viewers that are subscribed to the GDQ Twitch account will be able to use emotes to spur on a virtual audience. It’s not exactly clear how the virtual audience will interact with runners (assumedly they won’t be able to clap out songs), but it’s an interesting adaptation to this new environment.
You can watch AGDQ 2021 on the official Games Done Quick Twitch channel. Once again, the show kicks off this Sunday, January 3.
Published: Dec 30, 2020 06:15 pm