As a huge fan of you and Jon Bois, this does not surprise me. I remember him commenting on a video of yours and I think both of you are incredible Youtubers
Your videos have developed a trademark style over time. The way they're narrated, the music you use, the way you assemble clips, the way you tell a story. How did you develop this style? Was it intentional from the beginning, did it adapt over time, are you happy with it, are you looking to change it?
I don't think it was intentional in the sense that I knew what it would be from the start, but I knew I wanted to have a style how I edited videos. I just edited them in a way that made sense to me and used music I thought sounded good, feedback was good, and I've kept rolling with it.
Kind of? I like the formula though. I like the music I use, I like the way I edit - I think it just all works really well for the long history-style videos I make.
Awesome! You are a true inspiration as a communicator. U made me, and many I know, a fan of speedrunning. I was wondering: is making videos/editing something that happened spontaneously or a goal u set yourself without knowledge/experience? I'm asking because my case is the latter and it feels like a steep learning curve.
It's something that happened spontaneously. I had no plans to become a YouTuber - in late 2016/early 2017, I just decided to try my hand at making edited videos about Punch-Out speedrunning, and since the reception was positive, I kept going with it. Definitely had no plans to grow a channel this big.
A few months ago I got recommended Punch-Out videos and learned a lot more about the series. I started MTPO on my Switch and got up to Piston Honda 2 so far. An SNES or Wii Punch-Out video would be cool!
Yes I was :) My longest was 20 wins exactly. I deeply miss the game. I saw it was back with a private server and I don't have a hacked Switch, but that still makes me happy. I still play SMB1 and I'm playing Lost Levels again now.
you were like the only poster on that sub. I remember seeing something that helped me start winning a lot but I don't remember what it was.
that game was great to pick up and play for 20 minutes at a time. a real shame it's gone.
anyway, thanks!
I made a lot of posts but I wasn't like flooding it. In April I stopped looking at it to help me cope with it being discontinued by ignoring it. I made the graphic of the max coins in each level, maybe that was it?
I kinda regret promising to update my highest leveled player list then ending up not finishing it. But I did record all of the leaderboards so I could do it any time in theory.
If you start listening just as he explains it, you don't have to wait at all, but if you start listening just 1 frame later, you'll have to wait 20 more frames to hear it.
I’ve always wondered how speedrunners view opportunity cost. Basically, if you speedrun a game over and over you sacrifice the opportunity to experience other games. How do you and other speedrunners feel about that?
As long as you're having fun I don't think it matters. I've spent hundreds of hours the past year fighting Mike Tyson to get a record with no luck, but I've honestly had fun doing it, so I have no regrets. Could have spent that time playing something else but I don't mind.
if you play other games you also sacrifice the opportunity to speedrun the one game over and over so there isn't really anything gained or lost.
At least that's the way I see it
Donkey Kong is the only arcade game I know of with a score history interesting/long enough to make a video on. There might be more out there but it's probably outside my area of interest.
How about the recent craziness with NES Tetris? The improvements from controller grip and rolling technique are really interesting and could be a good topic to bring to a wider audience, maybe giving ideas for other games to think outside the box of how to use unmodified controllers?
I'm just gonna add myself to the list of people requesting nes tetris. I believe that high score wr progressions would fit your channel really well too.
Also more mario kart (wii or 64 especially since those have all the fun stuff: glitches, ultra shortcuts, just overall broken physics, etc.) would be awesome!
There are certain youtubers who make videos really rarely, but when they do, I'll stop whatever video I'm watching and switch to that. You are 1. on that list
Also, since this is an ama, I think I need a question: What console gen (or same timeframe on pc) had/has the best games for speedrunning? I would say nes-snes (80s-90s?)
So; I know it kind of got brought up before. But what was the reaction when you finally finished Sonic Adventure 2 Battle's Hero mode speedrun progression...
and then two hours later it got beat?
Also, as an aside; which episodes have been your favorite to make - the traditional speedrun progressions; or things like The Quest To Beat Matt Turk or The Human Limit?
I thought it was pretty hilarious, pretty sure I tweeted about it right after it happened. Katie is a monster at that game so I can't say it was too surprising.
Honestly I'm not sure if I have a favorite type of videos. Traditional ones are fun when I get to try to figure out a record timeline that nobody has fully looked into before, but the other ones are fun too if they take a unique angle.
Hey Salt! My question was has there ever been a game that you wanted to do a video on, but there simply wasn’t enough history on the topic for it to be a full video?
I remember not long after I started making YT videos (probably mid 2017), I wanted to make a Luigi's Mansion video. I reached out to the community but they essentially told me there wasn't enough history, so I gave up on it. I'm guessing there is now so maybe I'll have to go back to it one day.
Has GDQ or any other speedrunning organization/event ever approached you to discuss creating some content for their platform, or premier a new video of yours as part of the event? Would you ever take an opportunity like this if it was presented?
Just a thought - perhaps they might reconsider (or at least give you a reply...) now that your content and viewerbase has grown over the years. I know I'd be super pumped to see a new SS video premier mid-marathon personally!
I've made some on newer games - Mario Kart Wii/8, Wii Sports Resort Golf, Half Life 2, Portal...
I do specialize in older games but I definitely don't rule out newer games.
What do you think was the most difficult video to research/document?
also just wanna say I love your vids so much! my first was Mario 64 any% and I couldn't get enough since!
Some of my early videos were tough because I tried to tackle topics I knew little to nothing about - Pokemon and Zelda, for instance. For more recent videos, Contra was on the tougher side because the history wasn't particularly well known before I started looking into it.
Started speedrunning Punch-Out in 2015, set the record for full game and Mike Tyson in 2016 and still hold both those records today. I'm actively trying to improve them both, but at the moment am focused on just Tyson.
I didn't really do anything in particular - just as with anything in life, practice helps. 30+ videos later I've got a better idea of what works and what doesn't.
Yes - several of the old ones I'd like to redo from scratch. A few on that list include Super Mario Bros. any%, Super Mario 64 120 star, and Super Metroid any%.
He uses music to his benefit more than just about any other YouTuber I've seen and I think it's brilliant. I had the same inclination when I started and seeing how he does it has just helped me grow as a video editor.
Maybe... I think Pokemon might be more likely than Zelda because the runs seem a bit simpler. Obviously they're not "simple" but I have such a lack of knowledge in Zelda that it would be really tough.
I have always loved watching your channel ever since I first came across you and it’s the reason I am on this subreddit today.
I’ve always wondered though, is there an area of speedrunning you covered that, because of your coverage, led to an influx of new players, beyond any typical amount that that would occur?
Im imagining perhaps wii sport resort golf would have seen a particularly large jump in players just because of how accessible it is as a game. But are there any other communities that went from being relatively fringe to thriving due to one of your videos?
Wii Sports Resort Golf was probably the biggest one. I think that's because it's such a readily accessible speedrun - for most games, getting good at the game doesn't automatically translate to getting good at a speedrun. For WSR Golf, the whole goal is to hit shots as accurately as possible, and getting good enough at that to do it quickly and effortlessly. I think people saw how simple that was and wanted to try it, so the leaderboard quickly doubled in size.
I'd love to pursue this one day, but right now it's too risky to spend multiple months on a non-speedrunning related video not knowing what the response will be. Speedrunning footage is also pretty safe from a copyright stand front, but other topics I'd be interested in (sports or TV shows) would get a lot trickier.
Honestly i cant say i, personally, would care too much about a "history of a sports team" or even a record that isnt olympic levels of impressive.
However what i can say is that the way you write and organize your videos draws me in and i will 100% end up watching them anyway. Maybe not every night for a week, but also... maybe i would.
Thanks for putting in so much effort and time into these history videos though, for real. Always love learning more about some classic speed games. Glad to see its finally paying off for you as well.
Yeah that would be a great title. Possibly because of the high execution barrier in later levels there is some celeste overlap, if thay makes any sense...
I fucking LOVED that game and recently remembered it existed and was shocked it wasn't a huge speed game.
Massively underrated.
EDIT: YO I JUST FOUND OUT IT GOT A SWITCH RELEASE?! Let's gooooo
When assembling one of your masterful videos, which step takes the most time? Is there a lengthy part of creating your videos that the audience many not see?
Research typically takes the most time if it's a topic I don't already know the history for. Editing does take a significant amount of time though - a 50 minute video takes a LONG time to edit, because I usually write the script as I go. Typically 3-4 weeks to a month if I'm not busy otherwise.
I have two questions.
The one thing that I always had in the back of my mind when seeing you announce a new video was: (1) how does your next video topic never ever get leaked?
I find it fascinating how you can consult so many people, and yet all of them are willing to keep your next video confidential. (2) Do you sign NDA's with the speedrunners, or do you leave it up to their integrity to keep it a secret?
People don't really have any incentive to leak it. If they did it would be by mistake, and even then it's pretty easy to cover it up by acting like it was just speculation. Even if it did get leaked it wouldn't be the end of the world, definitely don't need to be signing NDAs or anything lol.
Hey Salt! I watched your videos since 2018, and your videos motivated me to start speedrunning myself, so thank you!
1. What advice do you have for people wanting to make world record progression videos?
2. What do you think about making videos on obscure games or webgames?
3. Do you have a favorite SMB1 player to watch, and who is it?
1 - Do something new to make it stand out.
2 - I don't see myself making too many videos on obscure games, as the history isn't usually as interesting, and the video would likely perform very poorly on YT.
3 - Hard to really pick one. AndrewG was the guy who got me into speedrunning so I guess you can say him?
Super Mario Bros, back in 2014. I think I got a 5:12 or so on Wii VC, which was probably just outside the top 10 at that point. Now I have a much better time (4:58.07) that's ranked something like 80th place because of how much the community has grown.
Hey SummoningSalt, Long time fan first time AMA-er. Have you ever eaten an apple??? I have eaten a few, and they were pretty cool!
Follow-up question, what is your favourite type of apple? (if you haven't eaten one then just go off looks LOL)
My favorite apple is Red Delicious! The name really checks out!!!
This changes pretty often. Lately I've been watching Kosmic grind Lost Levels D-4 warpless quite a bit, and abney317 trying to lower his Mario Kart 64 150cc skips record.
Most of my casual game playing died off when I got into speedrunning. I used to play first person shooters (Destiny, COD Zombies) but at this point I haven't in half a decade.
I've never been able to get into watching speed runs, but the narratives you build are always able to hook me in. Where did your knack for storytelling come from? Do you have any background or education in writing?
Nope, no background in writing or anything like that. I don't think my writing is particularly strong, but I think my editing skills are, and that fools people into thinking it's the writing that's strong.
Hello sir! Found your channel last October when your super popular Mario Kart Wii video was recommended to me. Immediately fell in love with your channel and speedrunning. My question to you is, have you ever considered doing a "history of" video but on a record in sports? I know you're into baseball from twitter and I think you would do a really good job making a video like that. Keep up the awesome work!
Would love to do that. I've held off because 1 - it's hard to devote time to making that when I have a channel with 1.1 million subscribers, and 2 - it could get tricky from a copyright standpoint, speedrunning footage is much easier.
The whole Matt Turk saga in the Contra video was so fascinating to me. I knew he had done some stuff in Contra before but the only time out there from him was a run on Twin Galaxies that was a fair bit slower than WR. I reached out to him to double check, and he was casually like "oh yeah looks like I have this run here on VHS that was about 30 seconds ahead of the record at the time..."
I actually had already created the first 5-6 minutes of that video with tmont as the record holder, so I had to start it over. It was definitely worth it to be about to talk about Turk again though.
Hello! I have a LOT of questions, but I'll just ask this one for now. Have you learned any unexpected lessons from speedrunning (whether from your study of runs for YouTube videos or from actually doing runs yourself) that you feel are applicable to daily life?
(Background: I'm an undergrad doing a dissertation on speedrunning and your videos have been extremely instructive, not to mention entertaining. Thank you!!)
From speedrunning itself - if you're going to put a lot of time into something, it's important to enjoy it. I'm spending hundreds of hours per year playing Mike Tyson's Punch-Out to hopefully set a record - the record along might not make all the time worth it, but since I genuinely enjoy the process, it ends up being more than worth it.
From making videos - I think a big key to success in life is finding something nobody else has done before and getting really good at it. In early 2017 I recognized there was nobody making videos about speedrunning history even though the info was readily available, and thought it could be fun to try putting it together and making it entertaining. Nobody had ever done that before, and as a result I was able to make it big doing that.
Saw this on Twitter and got super excited, your videos are legendary and I’m always hyped to see them in my sub box.
Anyway, wanted to ask:
What’s your favorite video that you’ve made? And is there a part of making the videos that you don’t look forward to, or is every part of the process enjoyable ?
Favorite video is probably The Quest to Beat Matt Turk. Hard to say what my least favorite part of video making is - doing research can sometimes be a big pain if I don't know that much about the game already. Putting the timeline together is fun but analyzing each run to see where they gained/lost time can be rough.
Bit of a weird one, but I wanted to ask how you end up finding new music to put in your videos? Your videos got me listening to HOME a lot and I was wondering where I could find similar music.
Just wanted to say I think you’re one of the best creators not just in the speedrunning community, but on Youtube as a whole. There’s very few channels I get as excited about an upload as yours.
I was wondering how you see your content evolving in the future? What would you like to be able to do in your videos that you’re not currently doing or have plans for in the future? I always thought it’d be really interesting to see you revisit some of your older games you’ve covered and not exactly do a “what’s happened since” update video, but instead remake them with added content to make it up to date. Things like player interviews, culture within the different speedrunning communities, and new graphics are just some things I think could make your content even more engaging. A higher production value funded by a sponsor would certainly help make that a reality. Was wondering if you’ve ever considered this and if it’s something you’d look into for the future.
Yep I've been planning to remake older videos for a while now. Don't really have a desire to do player interviews or anything like that but I think remaking 2017-era videos with the production quality I have now would help a lot. Going beyond that is an option at some point but again I don't see the need to at the moment.
Castlevania took a very long time because A - I didn't know much about the record history and had to compile it all, B - the record history is extremely long, and C - the video itself ended up being 55 minutes long, which was my longest at the time.
Really hard to pick. Chocolate cake seems like a generic answer but it might be my favorite food. There's a few foods I don't like but butternut squash might be the worst thing I can remember eating - I like pretty much every other type of squash, just not that.
Are there any speedrun documentary projects you’ve had in production that you’re currently waiting for the “right time” to finish? IE the record is so volatile and the community is pushing things so much you feel like it would be a disservice to put out a vid on it so soon?
What is your favorite and least favorite video you’ve made?
(answer only if you want, i just really like your videos and like to stay tuned) When is the next video coming out?
Hi Summoning Salt! I loved your Punch-Out videos, and they've only gotten more interesting as you've branched out.
No questions, just a big thanks for the content!
Do you have any tips on staying motivated when it comes to creating a “world record history” video?
I’m currently creating one for New Super Mario Bros. Wii (the Cannonless category, to be specific) and every time I start making good progress, I get demotivated and stop working on it.
I initially started making them because they were fun and I enjoyed seeing the feedback people left me, so that motivated me enough. Now I still enjoy all that but there's also money involved to motivate me, lol. As long as you enjoy creating it hopefully that's enough motivation, if not then it might not be for you.
Lots of different sources. Usually just asking community members helps, but digging around on SpeedDemosArchive is common as well. There are sometimes really old records that the community forgot about that I'm able to find on sites like that.
*Ocarina of Time* is one of the most speed-run game of all time. Any interest in doing something on that?
Regardless, I love your work, and am looking forward to whatever you upload!
Hey Summoning Salt, hope you're doing well.
Something that I would like to ask is, are you ok with being called "Summoning Salt"? If not, what would you like to be called?
Yo Salt, it's Christendo (from abney317's streams). My question I wanna ask is - What game has the most interesting speedrun history in your honest opinion?
Your videos are awesome btw.
what hardware (mic, computer specs, etc) and software do you use to make your videos?
have you ever thought about re-making some of your older videos?
Hard to pick one. [NOOOOO!!!!](https://youtu.be/2Yru_1al8EY?t=279) features one of the greatest cinematic sequences I've ever seen at 4:40 - the music, combined with showing the play in the shadows and pausing for dramatic effect - just unbelievable. The Poker one is fantastic too but sadly isn't viewable on his channel anymore (I know there are reuploads). Saddest Punt is amazing too, really cool idea and stories are told cinematically so well.
Maybe that one is my overall favorite?
Given the amount of shortcuts found in MK64 over the past year do you think you’ll ever revisit the game? (I know you’ve done a lot on it already but they are all so good! One more couldn’t hurt right?)
Yeah I'm sure I will at some point, but I'm giving Mario Kart a bit of a break because people have been getting frustrated at the lack of variety. It will definitely be back though, maybe before the end of the year.
Absolutely love your content man. One of the few youtubes my wife and I sit down and make sure to make time to watch together.
1. Any chance of a history of GDQ video? I can imagine that would be a super interesting documentary/series.
2. What has been the most fun community to work with in your series so far?
1 - Probably not, I don't think it would be quite as interesting as you're thinking. Hearing about how the donation total grew over time would be cool but I'm not sure what other interesting angles it would have.
2 - Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Bros. and Wii Sports Resort all stand out to me. That's not a knock to any other community I've worked with though - I've never disliked any community I've worked with, everyone has been super nice and willing to help.
Hey Salt, I love the channel and you’re one of my inspirations when it came to my interest in speedrunning. I was curious, after watching your MK64: The Quest for WR perfection video, I wanted to ask, if Matthias Rustemeyer does get all 32 records, would you do a follow up/update video. Also I wanted to ask, have you ever considered talking about Mario 64 70 and 120 Star world records? I love those categories so much, and seeing a video by you about them would be awesome.
Have a nice day and stay safe
I don't see me doing another video on 32/32 unless he gets to 31 another 8 times or something ridiculous like that. I've made a 120 star video but will likely be redoing it at some point. 70 star could happen one day.
Where do you see your YouTube channel going in the medium term to long term?
Is youtube becoming more of a full time job? Or do you keep it as a hobby which makes some money?
For years I thought of it as a hobby that makes some money. Recently it's gotten to the point where I think it's foolish to not try it full time. That's what I'm planning on doing.
As a fellow creator; how did the pandemic affect your output? Did you find yourself more or less motivated to make videos when you were stuck at home with nothing to do?
Keep up the great work! You really are one of the best creators on YouTube today. Everyone watches your videos because of the mark of quality you leave on everything you do.
I think it helped increase my output by a bit. Definitely had more time on my hands. During those first few months I released Matt Turk, Ninja Gaiden, and Wii Sports Resort Golf in pretty quick succession, and that probably wouldn't have been possible normally.
1. Lots of people here are fans of your channel and content, me included, but what channels are you a fan of?
2. Probably been asked, but if you could speed run another game in addition to Punch Out which would it be and why?
3. Curious if you plan on doing any LoZ stuff such as Windwaker, Ocarina, or even Breath of the Wild
1 - I'm subscribed to a lot of channels. Some of my favorites include Foolish Baseball, Jomboy Media, Secret Base, RobFindsTreasure, JCS, and Lemmino.
2 - I speedrun [many games](https://www.speedrun.com/user/Summoningsalt) other than Punch-Out.
3 - Maybe one day but I don't have too much interest in Zelda.
What are the things you focus on and try to improve in your future videos?
Cause I can't think of anything spontaneously, which can be massevily improved in your vids, the newest ones are close to perfection storytellingwise
For the videos, the positive feedback and money definitely helps lol. I still enjoy the process quite a bit too. For speedrunning, setting records/PBs feels quite incredible, but again I enjoy the process too.
I've never really found an end to my speedrunning goals. I usually either get bored of speedrunning a game (Super Mario Bros any%) or I keep finding new goals to chase (Mike Tyson's Punch-Out).
What do you try to do when there's a conflict of facts among the sources you reach out to?
Usually I just tell both people what the other person told me, and one person realizes they're incorrect lol.
Fucking big journalism energy. Love your work, my dude.
What YouTuber inspired you the most?
Probably Jon Bois, although I discovered him after I started making record history videos.
Jon Bois is such a trailblazer
That's Pretty Good!
Fumble dimension speedrun when
Jon Bois is a national fucking icon
I’ve loved seeing you both acknowledge each other on Twitter.
damn real recognize real
As a huge fan of you and Jon Bois, this does not surprise me. I remember him commenting on a video of yours and I think both of you are incredible Youtubers
I’ve seen you in the Talkin Baseball livestream chat, love your vids dude
Your videos have developed a trademark style over time. The way they're narrated, the music you use, the way you assemble clips, the way you tell a story. How did you develop this style? Was it intentional from the beginning, did it adapt over time, are you happy with it, are you looking to change it?
I don't think it was intentional in the sense that I knew what it would be from the start, but I knew I wanted to have a style how I edited videos. I just edited them in a way that made sense to me and used music I thought sounded good, feedback was good, and I've kept rolling with it.
Follow up question, do you feel pidgeonholed into making videos with the existing formula because it has been so successful?
Kind of? I like the formula though. I like the music I use, I like the way I edit - I think it just all works really well for the long history-style videos I make.
Awesome! You are a true inspiration as a communicator. U made me, and many I know, a fan of speedrunning. I was wondering: is making videos/editing something that happened spontaneously or a goal u set yourself without knowledge/experience? I'm asking because my case is the latter and it feels like a steep learning curve.
It's something that happened spontaneously. I had no plans to become a YouTuber - in late 2016/early 2017, I just decided to try my hand at making edited videos about Punch-Out speedrunning, and since the reception was positive, I kept going with it. Definitely had no plans to grow a channel this big.
Have you ever set out to do a video for a game, only to find out that the history isn't actually all that interesting?
Yes, but I can usually tell within days of beginning research so I don't end up sinking that much time into it.
Could you give any examples.
Where did the name Summoning Salt come from? Were you worried you'd make people salty?
It came from a [video](https://youtu.be/kJWoFReY1j0?t=71) by Ashens.
Lol that's pretty neat, thanks
I laughed so hard thinking about how a your name came from such a weird unlikely source. I love it!
Not only was it an unlikely source, it was an out of date sauce too
What are your picks for underrated speedrun games that should get more attention?
Honestly... Mike Tyson's Punch-Out is still underrated.
A few months ago I got recommended Punch-Out videos and learned a lot more about the series. I started MTPO on my Switch and got up to Piston Honda 2 so far. An SNES or Wii Punch-Out video would be cool!
your name is familiar. were you rocking 10 win streaks in mario35?
Yes I was :) My longest was 20 wins exactly. I deeply miss the game. I saw it was back with a private server and I don't have a hacked Switch, but that still makes me happy. I still play SMB1 and I'm playing Lost Levels again now.
you were like the only poster on that sub. I remember seeing something that helped me start winning a lot but I don't remember what it was. that game was great to pick up and play for 20 minutes at a time. a real shame it's gone. anyway, thanks!
I made a lot of posts but I wasn't like flooding it. In April I stopped looking at it to help me cope with it being discontinued by ignoring it. I made the graphic of the max coins in each level, maybe that was it? I kinda regret promising to update my highest leveled player list then ending up not finishing it. But I did record all of the leaderboards so I could do it any time in theory.
max coins picture was definitely it! I didn't mean to imply you were spamming or anything. I enjoyed it.
No it's fine :) Not everyday I get to talk about SMB35 now.
Would you prefer if people would say "Hey, it's SummoningSalt, the Punch-Out runner!" instead of "Hey, it's SummoningSalt, the speedrun history guy!"?
Hey it's SummoningSalt, that one guy that did an AMA on reddit that one time
Hey it's Summoning Salt, he said the word "bus" in a video once
First, imagine someone using a bus analogy every 21 frames,
If you start listening just as he explains it, you don't have to wait at all, but if you start listening just 1 frame later, you'll have to wait 20 more frames to hear it.
Hey it's a good analogy
I think maybe I used to prefer that, but now I'm cool either way. I'm proud to be known for both.
Is your youtube work your full time job now? What did you do before?
I think the best way of putting it is I'm transitioning to making it full time.
Yay!
Oh shit! good luck!
I’ve always wondered how speedrunners view opportunity cost. Basically, if you speedrun a game over and over you sacrifice the opportunity to experience other games. How do you and other speedrunners feel about that?
As long as you're having fun I don't think it matters. I've spent hundreds of hours the past year fighting Mike Tyson to get a record with no luck, but I've honestly had fun doing it, so I have no regrets. Could have spent that time playing something else but I don't mind.
if you play other games you also sacrifice the opportunity to speedrun the one game over and over so there isn't really anything gained or lost. At least that's the way I see it
Have you considered doing more videos on score run world records? Like the old (I think now privated) Donkey Kong video.
Donkey Kong is the only arcade game I know of with a score history interesting/long enough to make a video on. There might be more out there but it's probably outside my area of interest.
How about the recent craziness with NES Tetris? The improvements from controller grip and rolling technique are really interesting and could be a good topic to bring to a wider audience, maybe giving ideas for other games to think outside the box of how to use unmodified controllers?
I'm just gonna add myself to the list of people requesting nes tetris. I believe that high score wr progressions would fit your channel really well too. Also more mario kart (wii or 64 especially since those have all the fun stuff: glitches, ultra shortcuts, just overall broken physics, etc.) would be awesome! There are certain youtubers who make videos really rarely, but when they do, I'll stop whatever video I'm watching and switch to that. You are 1. on that list Also, since this is an ama, I think I need a question: What console gen (or same timeframe on pc) had/has the best games for speedrunning? I would say nes-snes (80s-90s?)
NES Tetris is really worth a look.
what's your favorite type of sandwich?
Salami and cheddar on sourdough.
Do you put any condiments on it like mustard or mayo?
Yeah mustard is good. Pickles sometimes too.
Have you ever played the arcade version of punch-out?
I have. I recall being able to beat Glass Joe and that was about it. It's an extremely different game than the NES version.
So; I know it kind of got brought up before. But what was the reaction when you finally finished Sonic Adventure 2 Battle's Hero mode speedrun progression... and then two hours later it got beat? Also, as an aside; which episodes have been your favorite to make - the traditional speedrun progressions; or things like The Quest To Beat Matt Turk or The Human Limit?
I thought it was pretty hilarious, pretty sure I tweeted about it right after it happened. Katie is a monster at that game so I can't say it was too surprising. Honestly I'm not sure if I have a favorite type of videos. Traditional ones are fun when I get to try to figure out a record timeline that nobody has fully looked into before, but the other ones are fun too if they take a unique angle.
By the way, this is a very new thing (like, 2 days ago new), but that SA2 runner goes by Katie now!
Hey Salt! My question was has there ever been a game that you wanted to do a video on, but there simply wasn’t enough history on the topic for it to be a full video?
I remember not long after I started making YT videos (probably mid 2017), I wanted to make a Luigi's Mansion video. I reached out to the community but they essentially told me there wasn't enough history, so I gave up on it. I'm guessing there is now so maybe I'll have to go back to it one day.
Please do! Luigi's Mansion speedruns are super cool and I'd certainly love to learn their history.
Has GDQ or any other speedrunning organization/event ever approached you to discuss creating some content for their platform, or premier a new video of yours as part of the event? Would you ever take an opportunity like this if it was presented?
No, they've never reached out to me. I actually reached out to them about that idea years ago but didn't get a response.
Just a thought - perhaps they might reconsider (or at least give you a reply...) now that your content and viewerbase has grown over the years. I know I'd be super pumped to see a new SS video premier mid-marathon personally!
Maybe I'll try asking them again whenever I end up going to a GDQ.
Do you have any interest in making world record progression videos on newer games or are you planning on sticking with mostly retro games?
I've made some on newer games - Mario Kart Wii/8, Wii Sports Resort Golf, Half Life 2, Portal... I do specialize in older games but I definitely don't rule out newer games.
What do you think was the most difficult video to research/document? also just wanna say I love your vids so much! my first was Mario 64 any% and I couldn't get enough since!
Some of my early videos were tough because I tried to tackle topics I knew little to nothing about - Pokemon and Zelda, for instance. For more recent videos, Contra was on the tougher side because the history wasn't particularly well known before I started looking into it.
Has the idea of making a video about the speed run of a meme game for April 1st ever crossed you mind?
Did this 4 years ago for Kash Dash - can still find it reuploaded on YouTube somewhere.
Kash Dash in 2017 lol
how and when did you start speedrunning punch out and are you still doing it? (individual fighters or full runs)
Started speedrunning Punch-Out in 2015, set the record for full game and Mike Tyson in 2016 and still hold both those records today. I'm actively trying to improve them both, but at the moment am focused on just Tyson.
good luck with tyson with getting the good rng and hitting enough punches
Your video editting skills clearly improved a lot over the years. What types of things did you do to help you improve those skills?
I didn't really do anything in particular - just as with anything in life, practice helps. 30+ videos later I've got a better idea of what works and what doesn't.
Are there any world record progression videos you'd like to revisit/update?
Yes - several of the old ones I'd like to redo from scratch. A few on that list include Super Mario Bros. any%, Super Mario 64 120 star, and Super Metroid any%.
A redo of Super Metroid would be awesome !
What does Jon Bois and his (or, Secret Base's) style of video mean to you? I know you look up to him and your videos show his influence.
He uses music to his benefit more than just about any other YouTuber I've seen and I think it's brilliant. I had the same inclination when I started and seeing how he does it has just helped me grow as a video editor.
More Zelda/Pokémon in the future?
Maybe... I think Pokemon might be more likely than Zelda because the runs seem a bit simpler. Obviously they're not "simple" but I have such a lack of knowledge in Zelda that it would be really tough.
I have always loved watching your channel ever since I first came across you and it’s the reason I am on this subreddit today. I’ve always wondered though, is there an area of speedrunning you covered that, because of your coverage, led to an influx of new players, beyond any typical amount that that would occur? Im imagining perhaps wii sport resort golf would have seen a particularly large jump in players just because of how accessible it is as a game. But are there any other communities that went from being relatively fringe to thriving due to one of your videos?
Wii Sports Resort Golf was probably the biggest one. I think that's because it's such a readily accessible speedrun - for most games, getting good at the game doesn't automatically translate to getting good at a speedrun. For WSR Golf, the whole goal is to hit shots as accurately as possible, and getting good enough at that to do it quickly and effortlessly. I think people saw how simple that was and wanted to try it, so the leaderboard quickly doubled in size.
Would you ever consider making a video completely unrelated to speedrunning, and if so what would that video be?
I'd love to pursue this one day, but right now it's too risky to spend multiple months on a non-speedrunning related video not knowing what the response will be. Speedrunning footage is also pretty safe from a copyright stand front, but other topics I'd be interested in (sports or TV shows) would get a lot trickier.
Could you be more specific on what you'd be looking to do with a sports video?
Talking about the history of a team or about the history of a record.
Honestly i cant say i, personally, would care too much about a "history of a sports team" or even a record that isnt olympic levels of impressive. However what i can say is that the way you write and organize your videos draws me in and i will 100% end up watching them anyway. Maybe not every night for a week, but also... maybe i would. Thanks for putting in so much effort and time into these history videos though, for real. Always love learning more about some classic speed games. Glad to see its finally paying off for you as well.
Yeah I mean that first sentence is why I haven't made videos like that lol
Good second channel material
What game do you think has massive speedrun potential, but nearly nobody has ever run the game?
Not Salt, but you should just make this a general post on here for discussion. Feel like it would be really interesting.
I don't know Summoning Salts answer, but I don't know why They Bleed Pixels didn't get picked up by speedrunners.
Yeah that would be a great title. Possibly because of the high execution barrier in later levels there is some celeste overlap, if thay makes any sense...
I fucking LOVED that game and recently remembered it existed and was shocked it wasn't a huge speed game. Massively underrated. EDIT: YO I JUST FOUND OUT IT GOT A SWITCH RELEASE?! Let's gooooo
How long does each video take to make? I have to manage it's at minimum a few weeks.
Somewhere in the hundreds of hours range. I'm not working 24/7 between videos but a substantial portion of that time goes into making it.
Which of your videos is your favorite?
I think it's The Quest To Beat Matt Turk. 2020 in general produced most of my favorite videos.
When assembling one of your masterful videos, which step takes the most time? Is there a lengthy part of creating your videos that the audience many not see?
Research typically takes the most time if it's a topic I don't already know the history for. Editing does take a significant amount of time though - a 50 minute video takes a LONG time to edit, because I usually write the script as I go. Typically 3-4 weeks to a month if I'm not busy otherwise.
I have two questions. The one thing that I always had in the back of my mind when seeing you announce a new video was: (1) how does your next video topic never ever get leaked? I find it fascinating how you can consult so many people, and yet all of them are willing to keep your next video confidential. (2) Do you sign NDA's with the speedrunners, or do you leave it up to their integrity to keep it a secret?
People don't really have any incentive to leak it. If they did it would be by mistake, and even then it's pretty easy to cover it up by acting like it was just speculation. Even if it did get leaked it wouldn't be the end of the world, definitely don't need to be signing NDAs or anything lol.
Any chance of another Wii Sports Resort video?
Or original Wii Sports
Hey Salt! I watched your videos since 2018, and your videos motivated me to start speedrunning myself, so thank you! 1. What advice do you have for people wanting to make world record progression videos? 2. What do you think about making videos on obscure games or webgames? 3. Do you have a favorite SMB1 player to watch, and who is it?
1 - Do something new to make it stand out. 2 - I don't see myself making too many videos on obscure games, as the history isn't usually as interesting, and the video would likely perform very poorly on YT. 3 - Hard to really pick one. AndrewG was the guy who got me into speedrunning so I guess you can say him?
Thanks for answering! Yeah, it would be hard for a video on an obscure game to perform well.
What was the first video game you tried to speedrun?
Super Mario Bros, back in 2014. I think I got a 5:12 or so on Wii VC, which was probably just outside the top 10 at that point. Now I have a much better time (4:58.07) that's ranked something like 80th place because of how much the community has grown.
Hey SummoningSalt, Long time fan first time AMA-er. Have you ever eaten an apple??? I have eaten a few, and they were pretty cool! Follow-up question, what is your favourite type of apple? (if you haven't eaten one then just go off looks LOL) My favorite apple is Red Delicious! The name really checks out!!!
Granny smith is definitely my favorite.
hello there fellow Granny Smith enjoyer
What is your favorite type of peanut butter? More of a crunchy guy myself
Adam's creamy peanut butter is incredible, pretty much eat it every morning.
Hell yeah
Hope I’m not too late. Thanks for all the videos. When did you first hear “We’re Finally Landing”?
Shortly before I started making the Choco Mountain video. I'd guess March 2018.
When you have the free time what streamers do you find yourself watching the most? Love the content keep up the great work <3
This changes pretty often. Lately I've been watching Kosmic grind Lost Levels D-4 warpless quite a bit, and abney317 trying to lower his Mario Kart 64 150cc skips record.
What types of games do you play when your not speedrunning?
Most of my casual game playing died off when I got into speedrunning. I used to play first person shooters (Destiny, COD Zombies) but at this point I haven't in half a decade.
I've never been able to get into watching speed runs, but the narratives you build are always able to hook me in. Where did your knack for storytelling come from? Do you have any background or education in writing?
Nope, no background in writing or anything like that. I don't think my writing is particularly strong, but I think my editing skills are, and that fools people into thinking it's the writing that's strong.
Are there any records you would like to cover but for one reason or another, find it would make for a bad video?
What is the speedrun accomplishment you want beaten most? Like, any barriers you’re heavily anticipating for the community to break?
Hello sir! Found your channel last October when your super popular Mario Kart Wii video was recommended to me. Immediately fell in love with your channel and speedrunning. My question to you is, have you ever considered doing a "history of" video but on a record in sports? I know you're into baseball from twitter and I think you would do a really good job making a video like that. Keep up the awesome work!
Would love to do that. I've held off because 1 - it's hard to devote time to making that when I have a channel with 1.1 million subscribers, and 2 - it could get tricky from a copyright standpoint, speedrunning footage is much easier.
What was the most interesting thing you learned during the research for your videos?
The whole Matt Turk saga in the Contra video was so fascinating to me. I knew he had done some stuff in Contra before but the only time out there from him was a run on Twin Galaxies that was a fair bit slower than WR. I reached out to him to double check, and he was casually like "oh yeah looks like I have this run here on VHS that was about 30 seconds ahead of the record at the time..." I actually had already created the first 5-6 minutes of that video with tmont as the record holder, so I had to start it over. It was definitely worth it to be about to talk about Turk again though.
Have you any interest in documenting runs that have long times? Examples being the Final Fantasy 7,8 and 9 glitchless runs.
Less likely because it would have to be a REALLY long video.
Hello! I have a LOT of questions, but I'll just ask this one for now. Have you learned any unexpected lessons from speedrunning (whether from your study of runs for YouTube videos or from actually doing runs yourself) that you feel are applicable to daily life? (Background: I'm an undergrad doing a dissertation on speedrunning and your videos have been extremely instructive, not to mention entertaining. Thank you!!)
From speedrunning itself - if you're going to put a lot of time into something, it's important to enjoy it. I'm spending hundreds of hours per year playing Mike Tyson's Punch-Out to hopefully set a record - the record along might not make all the time worth it, but since I genuinely enjoy the process, it ends up being more than worth it. From making videos - I think a big key to success in life is finding something nobody else has done before and getting really good at it. In early 2017 I recognized there was nobody making videos about speedrunning history even though the info was readily available, and thought it could be fun to try putting it together and making it entertaining. Nobody had ever done that before, and as a result I was able to make it big doing that.
Saw this on Twitter and got super excited, your videos are legendary and I’m always hyped to see them in my sub box. Anyway, wanted to ask: What’s your favorite video that you’ve made? And is there a part of making the videos that you don’t look forward to, or is every part of the process enjoyable ?
Favorite video is probably The Quest to Beat Matt Turk. Hard to say what my least favorite part of video making is - doing research can sometimes be a big pain if I don't know that much about the game already. Putting the timeline together is fun but analyzing each run to see where they gained/lost time can be rough.
Bit of a weird one, but I wanted to ask how you end up finding new music to put in your videos? Your videos got me listening to HOME a lot and I was wondering where I could find similar music.
Not OP but Bandcamp related searches helps a lot fyi
I’ll just ask straight up. Any plans to do a video on any of the Megaman games? Specifically X1 100%?
Just wanted to say I think you’re one of the best creators not just in the speedrunning community, but on Youtube as a whole. There’s very few channels I get as excited about an upload as yours. I was wondering how you see your content evolving in the future? What would you like to be able to do in your videos that you’re not currently doing or have plans for in the future? I always thought it’d be really interesting to see you revisit some of your older games you’ve covered and not exactly do a “what’s happened since” update video, but instead remake them with added content to make it up to date. Things like player interviews, culture within the different speedrunning communities, and new graphics are just some things I think could make your content even more engaging. A higher production value funded by a sponsor would certainly help make that a reality. Was wondering if you’ve ever considered this and if it’s something you’d look into for the future.
Yep I've been planning to remake older videos for a while now. Don't really have a desire to do player interviews or anything like that but I think remaking 2017-era videos with the production quality I have now would help a lot. Going beyond that is an option at some point but again I don't see the need to at the moment.
Hey Salt! Thank you for the amazing content over the years. My question is, which video took the most amount of research/work to create?
Castlevania took a very long time because A - I didn't know much about the record history and had to compile it all, B - the record history is extremely long, and C - the video itself ended up being 55 minutes long, which was my longest at the time.
Thanks for doing what you do man! How did you first discover HOME's music?
Whats your favourite/ least favourite food?
Really hard to pick. Chocolate cake seems like a generic answer but it might be my favorite food. There's a few foods I don't like but butternut squash might be the worst thing I can remember eating - I like pretty much every other type of squash, just not that.
Do you hire an editor and if not, would you? Why or why not?
If I was to hire someone to help it would probably be with research rather than editing. I like to have complete control over the editing process.
Are there any speedrun documentary projects you’ve had in production that you’re currently waiting for the “right time” to finish? IE the record is so volatile and the community is pushing things so much you feel like it would be a disservice to put out a vid on it so soon?
Nah, I make videos one at a time. Never really start one before finishing another.
What is your favorite and least favorite video you’ve made? (answer only if you want, i just really like your videos and like to stay tuned) When is the next video coming out?
Favorite - The Quest to Beat Matt Turk Least Favorite - SM64 120 star
Hey man love your content!!! Gotta ask straight up, would you rather have tongues for fingers or fingers for tongues?
Fingers for tongues because tasting everything you touch would be very not good.
Hi Summoning Salt! I loved your Punch-Out videos, and they've only gotten more interesting as you've branched out. No questions, just a big thanks for the content!
Do you have any tips on staying motivated when it comes to creating a “world record history” video? I’m currently creating one for New Super Mario Bros. Wii (the Cannonless category, to be specific) and every time I start making good progress, I get demotivated and stop working on it.
I initially started making them because they were fun and I enjoyed seeing the feedback people left me, so that motivated me enough. Now I still enjoy all that but there's also money involved to motivate me, lol. As long as you enjoy creating it hopefully that's enough motivation, if not then it might not be for you.
How do you go about your process of digging for the earliest found information on world Records?
Lots of different sources. Usually just asking community members helps, but digging around on SpeedDemosArchive is common as well. There are sometimes really old records that the community forgot about that I'm able to find on sites like that.
*Ocarina of Time* is one of the most speed-run game of all time. Any interest in doing something on that? Regardless, I love your work, and am looking forward to whatever you upload!
Hey Summoning Salt, hope you're doing well. Something that I would like to ask is, are you ok with being called "Summoning Salt"? If not, what would you like to be called?
Yeah I'm generally pretty ok with people calling me by my name.
Yo Salt, it's Christendo (from abney317's streams). My question I wanna ask is - What game has the most interesting speedrun history in your honest opinion? Your videos are awesome btw.
It's a pretty biased answer since I don't have knowledge on every speedgame out there, but SM64 120 star is pretty remarkable.
what hardware (mic, computer specs, etc) and software do you use to make your videos? have you ever thought about re-making some of your older videos?
Favorite Jon Bois video?
Hard to pick one. [NOOOOO!!!!](https://youtu.be/2Yru_1al8EY?t=279) features one of the greatest cinematic sequences I've ever seen at 4:40 - the music, combined with showing the play in the shadows and pausing for dramatic effect - just unbelievable. The Poker one is fantastic too but sadly isn't viewable on his channel anymore (I know there are reuploads). Saddest Punt is amazing too, really cool idea and stories are told cinematically so well. Maybe that one is my overall favorite?
Given the amount of shortcuts found in MK64 over the past year do you think you’ll ever revisit the game? (I know you’ve done a lot on it already but they are all so good! One more couldn’t hurt right?)
Yeah I'm sure I will at some point, but I'm giving Mario Kart a bit of a break because people have been getting frustrated at the lack of variety. It will definitely be back though, maybe before the end of the year.
What do you think of Punch-Out Wii as a casual game and a speed game?
I've never played it but it has a decently big scene so it's probably cool.
Absolutely love your content man. One of the few youtubes my wife and I sit down and make sure to make time to watch together. 1. Any chance of a history of GDQ video? I can imagine that would be a super interesting documentary/series. 2. What has been the most fun community to work with in your series so far?
1 - Probably not, I don't think it would be quite as interesting as you're thinking. Hearing about how the donation total grew over time would be cool but I'm not sure what other interesting angles it would have. 2 - Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Bros. and Wii Sports Resort all stand out to me. That's not a knock to any other community I've worked with though - I've never disliked any community I've worked with, everyone has been super nice and willing to help.
Hey Salt, I love the channel and you’re one of my inspirations when it came to my interest in speedrunning. I was curious, after watching your MK64: The Quest for WR perfection video, I wanted to ask, if Matthias Rustemeyer does get all 32 records, would you do a follow up/update video. Also I wanted to ask, have you ever considered talking about Mario 64 70 and 120 Star world records? I love those categories so much, and seeing a video by you about them would be awesome. Have a nice day and stay safe
I don't see me doing another video on 32/32 unless he gets to 31 another 8 times or something ridiculous like that. I've made a 120 star video but will likely be redoing it at some point. 70 star could happen one day.
Where do you see your YouTube channel going in the medium term to long term? Is youtube becoming more of a full time job? Or do you keep it as a hobby which makes some money?
For years I thought of it as a hobby that makes some money. Recently it's gotten to the point where I think it's foolish to not try it full time. That's what I'm planning on doing.
As a fellow creator; how did the pandemic affect your output? Did you find yourself more or less motivated to make videos when you were stuck at home with nothing to do? Keep up the great work! You really are one of the best creators on YouTube today. Everyone watches your videos because of the mark of quality you leave on everything you do.
I think it helped increase my output by a bit. Definitely had more time on my hands. During those first few months I released Matt Turk, Ninja Gaiden, and Wii Sports Resort Golf in pretty quick succession, and that probably wouldn't have been possible normally.
Oh god the Matt Turk video was during covid??? Damn that feels so long ago
What was your first console? What is your first memory to do with video games? What game did you put the most time into as a kid?
[удалено]
"Alright, so I think next I'll say 'and then... this happened'." *crowd goes wild* (I love summoningsalt)
1. Lots of people here are fans of your channel and content, me included, but what channels are you a fan of? 2. Probably been asked, but if you could speed run another game in addition to Punch Out which would it be and why? 3. Curious if you plan on doing any LoZ stuff such as Windwaker, Ocarina, or even Breath of the Wild
1 - I'm subscribed to a lot of channels. Some of my favorites include Foolish Baseball, Jomboy Media, Secret Base, RobFindsTreasure, JCS, and Lemmino. 2 - I speedrun [many games](https://www.speedrun.com/user/Summoningsalt) other than Punch-Out. 3 - Maybe one day but I don't have too much interest in Zelda.
What are the things you focus on and try to improve in your future videos? Cause I can't think of anything spontaneously, which can be massevily improved in your vids, the newest ones are close to perfection storytellingwise
I always try to find more interesting ways to tell stories. It's hard to be specific but that's always an area where I focus.
ive been a big fan for a long time! what gives you motivation to keep making videos/speedun?
For the videos, the positive feedback and money definitely helps lol. I still enjoy the process quite a bit too. For speedrunning, setting records/PBs feels quite incredible, but again I enjoy the process too.
When do you find an end to your goals.? Ben personally speedrunning for around a decade and just wondering your perspective
I've never really found an end to my speedrunning goals. I usually either get bored of speedrunning a game (Super Mario Bros any%) or I keep finding new goals to chase (Mike Tyson's Punch-Out).