Did you miss Archiact’s Freediver Speedrun event that was hosted on our Discord? Not to worry. We’re here to fill you in on the juiciest details and give an update on what went down during this record-breaking event.
did we achieve the record?
Since February was Black History and Futures month, we wanted to put together a community event that will drive funds for one of our favorite charities, Black Girls CODE. The event was intended to not only give support to Black Girls CODE, but also to celebrate one of Archiact’s original game titles and engage with our game community. We decided on adding $50 to our donation bucket every time one of the players replenished and came up for air during the FREEDIVER: Triton Down run through.
The Breakdown
Will we hold the fastest record for speedrunning FREEDIVER? Getting it verified is definitely in the works, but we have a solid chance of obtaining the fastest record for speedrunning FREEDIVER (we’re also the only ones that have attempted to speedrun FREEDIVER, but let’s not dwell too much on the small details).
The speedrun category was a 1v1 any% race, featuring two of our savviest FREEDIVER players, Chris and Garett. Before the start of the event we asked our two developers what time each of them think it will take to play the game from start to finish. Chris, “The Power”, said that his goal was to finish in under 30 minutes. Prior to the event, the fastest he had achieved for finishing FREEDIVER was 35 minutes.
Meanwhile when Garett, “Vel-awesome-raptor” was asked the same question, he had said that his goal was under 20 minutes. Although everyone loved Garett’s exuding confidence, many of us did question if this was even possible.
the fierce battle
The two developers truly battled it out headset-to-headset. Not only did Chris and Garett move (or should I say “swam”) like there was no tomorrow, there were also very minimal errors made. In fact, the smallest errors ultimately decided the results of the event: Chris accidentally falling through the fan at the very end of the game and resetting his progress added about a minute onto his final time. Nevertheless, it was jaw-dropping how fast Chris and Garett were really going for it.
To answer the most important question of all, “who won the battle for the fastest speedrun in FREEDIVER”? We are most excited to announce that the official winner of the FREEDIVER Speedrun event was none other than, Garett!
His time was 13 minutes and 13 seconds, which was a feat no one believed was possible. On the other side, Chris came in at 14 minutes and 48 seconds. With approximately a minute and a half difference, we were on the edge of our seats the entire time. All of the viewers were astonished at how fast they both were!
supporting black girls code
Chris and Garett each replenished and came up for air 9 times. And so, both players recharged their oxygen for a total of 18 times, which means Garett and Chris helped raise $900 for Black Girls CODE! In the end, we rounded that up to $1,000, which is easy to do when you're donating to such an important cause.
When it comes to raising up the diverse voices on our teams, the games industry has a long way to go. Doing better means opening up the gates to communities our industry has historically passed over, and ensuring all young minds with a passion for coding and development get a seat at the table.
If you're just hearing about Black Girls CODE today, we encourage you to take a moment to learn about the much-needed work they are doing for Black teens, and perhaps even send a few dollars their way.
All's well that ends well, as they say. The Freediver Speedrun was the perfect way to connect with our community once again and to cap off Black History and Futures month. If you missed out on this event, don’t worry as there’s always more to come. Make sure to join us on our Discord, so that you never miss another event.