In this article we will explore the concept of speedrunning as a representation of a simplified version of quantum mechanics within a classical simulation. This analogy can be seen as a simplified approach to understanding the broader idea that quantum mechanics may emerge from classical mechanics simulations due to the limitations of the simulation. The concept of speedrunning will be explored from the perspective inside the simulation, where the player is seen as a "force of nature" that can be interpreted through Newton's first law. Starting from this general assumption, the aim is to build a bridge between these two fields by using the mathematical representation of path integrals. The use of such an approach as an intermediate layer between machine learning techniques aimed at finding an optimal strategy and a game simulation is also analysed. This article will focus primarily on the relationship between classical and quantum physics within the simulation, leaving aside more technical issues in field theory such as invariance with respect to Lorentz transformations and virtual particles.

For the average player, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will take upwards of 50 hours to beat--that is, complete the game's main storyline and save Hyrule. For regular players, conquering Tears of the Kingdom is all about diligence, patience, and creative crafting. For speedrunners, it's about using every tool at their disposal to push the limits of what the latest Zelda will allow. Theirs is a game of strategy, where each player is competing against themselves to work faster and smarter. The first to claim victory, Carl Wernicke, who goes by Gymnast86 online, hails from the US and set the record for his community with a time of 1:34:33.

In the competitive pursuit of speedrunning, gamers vie to complete a given video game as quickly as humanly possible. It's a sport for the nerdier among us, and it's amazingly popular: Videos streaming and recording speedruns routinely rack up seven-figure view counts on Twitch and YouTube. So when one very prominent speedrunner--a U.S. YouTuber with more than 20 million subscribers who goes by the nom de game "Dream"--was accused in December 2020 of faking one of his world-record runs of the block-building game Minecraft, the online drama exploded like a batch of TNT. Specifically, Dream reported that he'd finished Minecraft in just over 19 minutes, faster than all but four players had ever managed it, because of an incredible stretch of good luck. According to their impressively detailed probability analysis, Dream's luck was just too good. He was the equivalent of a roulette player who gets their color 50 times in a row: You don't just marvel at the good fortune; you check underneath the table.

Chris Tomkinson -- known online as ShinyZeni -- streaming a speedrun of Super Metroid. To an uninformed viewer, it might seem silly. Why is his character glitching out like that? Is she just smashing Mario into a wall? How did he just fly through the ceiling?

Speedrunning charity event Summer Games Done Quick finished up this past Sunday. The recipient of the funds raised druing the event, which saw players rushing as fast as possible through titles like Animaniacs, Pikimin 3 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, went to benefit Doctors Without Borders. Gamers raised $2,122,529.20 for the medical charity that provides emergency aid to anyone afflicted by conflict, disasters, epidemics and more. Last year, the event raised $1.7 million for the same charitable organization; it also raised $1.2 million in 2016 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. This year's Summer Games Done Quick was held at a hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota, and ran from June 24th through July 1st with more than 2,200 attendees.

I've never liked rushing through video games. I prefer to take my time, strolling aimlessly through the digital brush and marveling at each beautifully-realized world. There's just one problem: I don't have 100 hours to spend on Monster Hunter World or Assassin's Creed: Origins. Still, when I dive into a game I want to immerse myself and move at a speed that respects the time and effort put in by the developers. That glacial pace means I rarely play the same game twice.