#12 First speedrunners
Developing a metroidvania inevitably brings speedrunning into the picture. While we were building Exographer, we knew some players would be tempted to speedrun it. We even left a few “design flaws” here and there for them, especially regarding the gluonic boots. Our next game, still in the works, won’t be anything like a metroidvania, but it will be just as well-suited for speedrunning.
When we created our Discord server, we immediately opened a channel dedicated to speedrunners. That’s how Zaldeeu, our very first PC challenger, found us. It was such a powerful feeling to watch someone persist over and over to achieve the best time and, finally, beat Exographer in under 45 minutes! We’re looking forward to seeing more challengers, like Johann, who is currently speedrunning the PS5 version. Both of them kindly agreed to take some time and answer a few questions about their speedrunning experience with Exographer.
When did you start speedrunning?
Johann: I started three years ago and I’m still going!
Zaldeeu: I’ve been speedrunning on my YouTube channel for about a year and a half, but I really started 2 or 3 years ago.
What are you looking for in speedrunning?
Johann: A way to surpass myself. Usually, I set a sub-hour goal, and then I try to beat my personal best.
Zaldeeu: What I like most is learning to speedrun everything and not limiting myself to a single game. Recently, I started taking part in Celeste contests like 3S3R, and I really enjoyed it. I find it very exciting to search for new strategies or glitches to achieve an even better time.
What games have you speedrun in the past?
Johann: A lot! But if I had to mention a few, I’d say Minecraft, Super Mario Odyssey, Celeste, The Smurf Dream demo, and Astro’s Playroom.
Zaldeeu: I can’t name them all since I’ve speedrun around 30 games, but some examples are The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 64, the Portal games, Exographer, and It Takes Two with Jannylbl.
Back to Exographer: what made you want to take up that challenge?
Johann: Two things. First, the very concept of the game, with its gameplay loop, immediately showed me its speedrunning potential. The second was the opportunity to speedrun it with Zaldeeu!
Zaldeeu: I had been speedrunning for 2 years when the game was released, and my father suggested I play it because he enjoyed it a lot himself. I finished Exographer at 98% and found some glitches that, combined with its physics and the lack of RNG, made it quite practical for speedrunning. Then, I checked to see if anyone was already speedrunning Exographer, and when I saw that no one was, I took the plunge.
How do you find glitches useful for speedrunning?
Johann: Most of the time, glitches are discovered randomly during a run. At first, it can be frustrating because you have to restart, but that’s how you learn to speedrun a game! Otherwise, glitches can also be discovered organically by exploiting a game’s mechanics.
Zaldeeu: In Exographer and other games, I use Developer Mode if the creators left one, like in Ori and the Blind Forest, It Takes Two, or the Portal games. It helps to find out-of-bounds areas or trigger skips. If a game doesn’t have such tools, I try to identify the “weakest” or longest part of the game and see how I could skip it. From there, I ask for help, experiment, and hopefully, I find a skip!
What are the most useful glitches in Exographer?
Johann: A glitch with the gluonic boots that helps skip several analyses, and the helmet, which allows players to pass through certain materials.
Zaldeeu: Probably the boots analysis skip, which I actually discovered on my first playthrough. In addition, there are the Shigig boson’s second analysis skip and the greenhouse skip. Those three were the most useful to save time.
Will you continue speedrunning? If so, what games?
Johann: I’m definitely not stopping now! Some people tend to quit speedrunning, but I won’t. I don’t have any new games in mind yet, but I’m considering going back to Super Mario Odyssey and Minecraft.
Zaldeeu: Right now, I’m focused on other games, but I won’t leave Exographer behind. I’m still trying to find a way to skip the whole mountain phase, so you can count on me!
Conclusion
The beauty of speedrunning lies in watching players explore Exographer, track down its weak spots—whether we left them there on purpose or not—and try again and again to beat it as fast as possible. Knowing you’ve created a true challenge for players is the best reward you can get as a developer. Thanks to Johann and Zaldeeu for answering our questions. Zaldeeu streamed his speedrun on YouTube with an incredible 43 minutes and 25 seconds record—who will be the one to beat it?
Addendum: Zaldeeu broke his own record with 32 minutes and 44 seconds, see the best scores on speedrunner.com.