Avowed Devs STUNNED by 28-Minute Speedrun! What Happens Next?!

tags: Title: Avowed Devs Stunned by Ridiculous 28-Minute Speedrun

Anniversary updates are usually a time for developers to pat themselves on the back, maybe tease what’s next. But the Avowed team at Obsidian Entertainment took a different, and honestly more entertaining, approach. To celebrate the game’s anniversary, they sat down and watched a speedrunner absolutely obliterate their hard work in a mere 28 minutes. Yeah, you read that right.

Avowed Devs STUNNED by 28-Minute Speedrun! What Ha...

The speedrunner in question is MikeWave, a name that's probably giving some game designers nightmares now. Obsidian put together a video showing the reactions of three key members of the development team: Gameplay Director Gabe Paramo, VFX Art Lead Ashwin Kumar, and QA Engineer Lindsay Pimentel. And let me tell you, their expressions are priceless. It's a mix of awe, disbelief, and maybe just a *little* bit of "how did they even *do* that?"

I mean, think about it. You pour your heart and soul into creating a sprawling world, intricate quests, and challenging combat encounters. Then someone comes along and figures out how to bypass half of it, exploit a few glitches, and beat the whole thing before you've even finished your lunch break. It's gotta be a humbling experience, to say the least. I've seen similar reaction videos before, but there's something especially great about watching the developers grappling with the sheer ingenuity (and sometimes, the pure audacity) of speedrunning.

What makes this kind of content so appealing is the transparency. It's a refreshing change from the usual carefully curated marketing fluff. You get to see the human side of game development, the genuine surprise and admiration for a player who's mastered their game in a way they never anticipated. It also highlights the dedication of the speedrunning community, always looking for new ways to break the game (in a good way, of course). It's a unique form of appreciation, really.

If you want to witness the developers' reactions for yourself (and trust me, you do), I highly recommend checking it out. You can also find more from the speedrunning wizard himself, MikeWave, at the following locations: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/mikewave), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@MikeWave), and Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/mikewave.bsky.social). Prepare to be amazed, both by the speedrun and the reactions it elicits. It's a testament to the ingenuity of players and the good humor of the developers who create the games we love.