Every year, Games Done Quick produces two flagship speedrunning charity fundraisers, Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) and Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ). During each event, donations made to that event’s organization of choice can be applied toward incentives that effect the speedrun segments taking place 24 hours a day over the course of a week. Traditionally, both events host members of the speedrunning community in a hotel convention center, as either its in-person audience or as direct contributors to the couch commentary that colors each run. Of course, the ongoing pandemic has required GDQ events to adapt, leading Games Done Quick to announce that its Summer event will take place entirely online.
Prior to this announcement, SGDQ was delayed in order to adapt to conditions in which the coronavirus would potentially no longer pose a hazard to attendees. Originally, SGDQ 2020 was scheduled to take place from June 21-28 in Bloomington, Minnesota. In March its organizers decided to push the date back to August 16-23, with its original destination intact.
Accompanying that announcement was the debut of Corona Relief Done Quick. In addition to its two flagship events, Games Done Quick hosts smaller-scale showcases, generally online, throughout the year. Corona Relief Done Quick, the first of its kind for obvious reasons, was among these. From April 17-19, donations made during the course of the event went to Direct Relief in order to aid their coronavirus relief efforts around the world.
SGDQ 2020 has now been renamed Summer Games Done Quick Online in order to reflect its new format. Speedrunners will all play from their own individual homes on a livestream broadcast out of GDQ’s studio. The previously announced August 16-23 timeline will still stand. Couch commentary too will be maintained in spirit, as runners are allowed to include commentators on-stream for the duration of their respective runs.
Some of the volunteer positions required at a typical GDQ event will remain intact, such as hosting and moderating donation comments. Other positions, such as camera operation and audio engineering, are no longer needed, as per GDQ’s new, unique set of guidelines for its online format.
Once Summer Games Done Quick Online begins at 8:30 a.m. PST, speedruns can be viewed 24/7 on GDQ’s Twitch channel. Donations will go to Doctors Without Borders.
Source: Games Done Quick
