As long as there have been video games, there have been those who push them to the absolute limit. Speedrunners are known for completing hard games as fast as possible without using anything other than the tools provided for them by the game. However, some players are so talented at this that they push the game into a place where the game glitches out or provides some kind of bug that allows the player to advance ahead or, in the case of the upcoming TurBot, go flying off the map. TurBot's developer wouldn't have it any other way either, as he's hoping players can break his game in unique and interesting ways.
As a fan of watching speedruns and old-school platformers like Crash Bandicoot and Sly Cooper, Jacob Moore has always been interested in creating his own title. It wasn't until the pandemic last year that he found the free time to teach himself how to 3D model and use the Unreal Engine to create TurBot. In a recent interview with Game Rant, Moore discussed how he hoped players would speedrun his game, as there are modes specifically dedicated to providing a timer that counts throughout each level continuously.
Unlimited Potential
One of the unique features in TurBot's racing mechanics is the uncapped speed that the player can build up while performing the various parkour moves such as wall-running and air dashing. It's likely that this will create interesting situations for players who try to push that specific limit. While the developer said it likely won't be an issue for regular players on most levels, he's interested in seeing what players are able to do with this unique mechanic in his game.
"So long as it still works functionally and what you're doing doesn't cause the game to hard crash, I'm okay."
Something else that should lend itself to the speedrunners is that Moore stated that he doesn't really mind bugs as long as they aren't breaking the game or somehow hindering the player's experience. If the user is able to find some kind of odd technique or backdoor, he'll be all the more enthused about it.
The Current Record
As far as Moore knows, he currently holds the record for the shortest time to complete the game. While he was pretty sure he still did, he and a group of his friends have been taking turns pushing the game as far as they can before its release at the end of this month. Moore said the game takes over three hours to complete if the player is going back and trying to complete the various challenges, but the record is actually much shorter than that. Currently, the record for the shortest speedrun mode in Turbot is around 25 minutes, not counting the bonus challenge levels that are only accessible when the player has beaten the game.
"I can run through the base game, which is like 75 levels, in about 25 minutes."
Like all gamers, speedrunners are always hungry for that next challenge, and Jacob Moore's TurBot will go a long way towards making sure they get it. With uncapped speed and unchecked exploits at the player's disposal, speedrunners are free to play and break a game that was made specifically for them by a fan of the genre. While it will have to do more than that to win over larger swaths of fans, there's a lot here for speedrunners and regular gamers alike to be interested. When it releases later this month, it'll only be a matter of time before Moore's record is shattered.
TurBot releases on July 30, 2021 for PC and can be wishlisted now on Steam.