The Backup Strats Speedrunning Podcast is a weekly hour-long show discussing the latest news about speedrunning and streaming, and interesting topics related to Twitch communities on the whole. Each week we will bring on a new guest from the business and talk with them about the games they play and the different insane tricks and speedrunning strategies they utilize.
This week on our inaugural episode of the podcast, Australian Mario Kart 8 speedrunner AeonFrodo drops by the ol’ Internet campfire to tell us about some of the challenges of running a racing game. Before we get a chance to chat with our guest, SonicBoomSensei brings up some recent drama in speedruning and Twitch communities writ large. At the time of this recording, Twitch Affiliate status had been recently introduced and it seemed to annoy some of the more prominent partners. The group delves into some of the details of what Twitch Affiliation means for smaller streamers (like ourselves) and if it’s worth becoming an Affiliate.
By that time AeonFrodo drops into the call, a little behind from oversleeping thanks to vastly different time zones. She and Sonic get right into discussing the finer points of Mario Kart 8, and the important differences between the original for the Nintendo Wii U and the revamped version for the Nintendo Switch. Speedruns of racing games are not so different from many other speedgames, given that most have one major strat (short for strategy) which allows players to go faster than normal. Mario Kart 8 has red spark drifting, which allows for extremely fast movement around corners. With this strat implemented along with exposing every shortcut, the entire run can be completed in just over an hour.
If you want to catch the podcast live, we generally stream on Twitch at 6pm EST on Sundays. If you cant make the live show you can always catch up on the Backup Strats YouTube channel, and weekly here at Scholarly Gamers.
Follow us off-the-air on Twitter @BackupStrats so you know when we go live, and if you want to suggest a guest or have any news you want to see covered, drop us a line at [email protected]. We hope to see you at our next live show!
The Backup Strats Team
You can find our special guest at:
