ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Many people know the satisfaction of beating a video game after many hours, even weeks of playing, and some know the satisfaction of beating games in a matter of minutes.
PABLO MUNOZ-SNYDER: Speedrunning is completing a video game from start to finish as quickly as possible.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
That is Pablo Munoz-Snyder, who has a different online name and this humble take on his speedrunning skills.
MUNOZ-SNYDER: You should introduce me as Dayoman, the very cool and beautiful world record-holder for Spyro 1.
KELLY: He's taking part in this summer's semi-annual Games Done Quick event. It's a roster of speedrunners playing their favorite games as quick as they can.
SHAPIRO: And they've got a big audience, too. Games Done Quick raises millions of dollars for charity. This summer, proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders.
Games Done Quick Director Kasumi Yogi says the event has grown a lot in recent years.
KASUMI YOGI: For a lot of the runners, it became an opportunity for them to make their passion their career.
KELLY: And Dayoman is grateful. His passion for Spyro, which he's been playing since age 3, by the way, has given him this spotlight.
MUNOZ-SNYDER: Coming full circle, like, you just get to play the game in front of a whole audience of people, and it's really special. You know what I'm saying?
SHAPIRO: And in case you're wondering, Spyro can typically take six hours to beat. Dayoman has done it in 37 minutes and 57 seconds.
(SOUNDBITE OF JON BATISTE'S "GREEN HILL ZONE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
