I love reading about speedrunning, specifically Super Mario Bros speedrunning, so this piece in Ars Technica about a new world record by Niftski is right up my alley. Here's the run if you want to watch it:
Four particular things caught my eye about this run:
- Niftski's new record is 4m 54.631s, which is now faster than what was believed to be the theoretical limit for a human-played game.
- It's also extremely close to the fastest SMB game ever played done using tool-assisted speedrunning (where you basically play in super slow motion, so you can make all the very precise movements easily, a la The Flash). "In the battle of man versus machine, Niftski is now just 0.35 seconds away from standing up, John Henry-style, against the standard of machine-made automation."
- I always marvel at the level of dedication and ingenuity of the players working together (though competition) to lower the possible times through the tiniest of adjustments.
- His heart rate tops out at 188bpm by the end of the game. I know he's sitting at a desk, but that's got to be of some cardiovascular advantage, right?
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