I've been watching GDQ with friends for the last few years and I feel like the quality has declined. The speedruns are mostly fine, and I never ever have Twitch chat open for anything so the subscriber only rule makes no impact on me, but there are four things that do bug me and I think let the event down.
The Game Selection
GDQ seems to feature the same games every time. I don't mean that literally, of course, but after having watched it twice a year since 2015 I've noticed that a lot of the same games crop up again and again, and a lot of the games are fairly mainstream. I get that they do this to appeal to as many people as possible but you can only see people sprint through Super Metroid or A Link to the Past so many times before it stops being interesting.
The Interview/Promo Segments
I was talking to my friends about this during the last GDQ. They need to hire professional hosts. The interviews and promos between streams are all done by the GDQ staff, who are (as far as I know) all speedrunners known throughout the wider community. Not a single one of them knows how to present for broadcast. They're all awkward in front of the camera, don't know how to handle themselves, most of them are really bad at carrying a conversation or making their guests feel at ease, and half the time they simply aren't presentable. I don't know the dude's name, but there's one guy who seems to always be bringing the prizes out who wears glasses and has dark hair who is particularly terrible. He never wears shoes, he often flings himself on the couches and chairs they have, his hair is always greasy and not brushed, and he has a patchy beard that he can't grow in fully. I know this seems harsh and critical, but consider this is a globally broadcast event that is watched by millions of people and this guy clearly isn't even showering before going on camera. A wash, a shave, some shoes, and a less casual manner would stop him from being an annoying pain the arse. At the last GDQ, ProtoMagicalGirl had a very unfortunate moment when she awkwardly clambered out of a low chair while wearing a short denim skirt and ended up flashing her underpants to the entire world. All because she doesn't have enough presenting experience or know how to pick a better outfit for what she's doing, or how to get out of a chair without looking like a doofus. These interim segments are excruciating because not one of the people involved in them knows what they're doing. I suppose something can be said for the event being presented by members of the community it celebrates, but it's not some webcam broadcast from a small side room in a hotel anymore, it's a major media event. Hire some actual professionals who can make their guests comfortable, can carry a conversation, have charisma, and actually make sure they're clean and well-dressed before going on camera. It would make a world of difference.
The Lack of Swearing
This one might seem odd, but it speaks to a wider point. GDQ has some pretty strict rules for what the runners can and can't say while running. The most obvious of these rules is no swearing. No ****s, no ****s, no ****s, no *****es, no bastards, no nothing. It means the runners are forced to be less natural while running, because they have to constantly watch their behaviour rather than just be who they are. Considering a lot of speedrunners became popular for their personalities, any rule that stifles their ability to express themselves honestly is a hindrance to the entertainment value of the event itself. Maybe I'm a bit biased because I swear all the time when I speak out loud, and so I know if I were ever a runner at GDQ it wouldn't really be 'me' who were on camera but some other version of me that isn't true. I can't help but feel plenty of runners are in the same situation. The language restrictions go beyond swearing — for example, they don't allow racy or edgy humour, which is almost entirely what me and my friends joke about — but swearing is perhaps the best example of my larger point, that runners aren't allowed to be as much themselves as they could be on their own streams.
The Politics
I try to ignore this as much as possible but you basically can't if you want to engage with the event at anything more than a surface level. I could go into detail about this point but this isn't Mature Discussion. Suffice to say, GDQ's organisers are hardline leftists and reactionaries and it has tangibly hurt the event, from causing good, well-liked runners to abandon the event altogether, to getting Twitch viewers banned. I, like many of people, tune in because I want to see games I love without having to commit to twenty hour Let's Plays, or to see funny glitches and bugs being exploited, or to see runners who are funny/entertaining/interesting. I don't tune in for politics. The problem is that the latter is gradually eroding the former when it shouldn't even be involved in the first place.
I will still watch GDQ in the future but I feel like a tipping point is on the horizon. I watched ESA last year, the European Spreedrunner Assembly event. It was very similar to GDQ in format, just on a smaller scale, but it was also a lot better in a couple of regards. Runners weren't as restricted in what they could say so runs felt more organic and entertaining. There was a much wider variety of games on display, many I'd never even heard of, particularly on the second stream which seemed to be purpose-built for more obscure games. This in particular is an idea GDQ should really adopt. The interviews and promos were on par with the cringe-inducing badness of GDQs, which is a shame, but since it's a smaller event I can give ESA more leeway. Runners who've attended both events generally seem to consider the culture at the actual events to be more fun and relaxed at ESA than GDQ, that ESA is more fun to actually attend and run at. I can well imagine it is. GDQ's politics give the impression that a lot of attendees are walking on eggshells the whole time. I'd recommend ESA to anyone who enjoys GDQ.
