For the first time ever, Games Done Quick will have a canine speedrunner

Speedrunning events like Games Done Quick are a chance for people to break world records, while also raising money for charity. It was announced recently that Awesome Games Done Quick will be an in-person event. On top of that, the event will also see its first non-human combatant.

That’s right, according to speedrunner and streamer JSR_, AGDQ 2024 represents the first time a dog will officially participate in speedrunning on this level. A trailer video shows that Peanut Butter, the Shiba Inu owned by JSR_, will be there to see if they can break their personal best.

What game will they be playing? According to a post on Twitter, Peanut Butter (sometimes referred to as PB) will be running the 1985 NES game Gyromite.

Not their first rodeo

While JSR_ will be assisting PB to some extent, game inputs will be conducted solely by the dog. A video from earlier this year shows they’ve done this before, making it through the game in 25:29. The basic set-up utilizes a series of colored buttons hooked up to the game, which Peanut Butter activates (for treats, of course).

Interestingly, both JSR_ and PB are up on Speedrun.com under their own category: Game B – Dog Assistance. The schedule on the AGDQ website shows that this will be an online run rather than in-person, with an expected time of 30 minutes.

We can already see that Peanut Butter seems to have got down the specifics of Gyromite. Yes, I’m aware that they probably don’t fully understand what’s happening, but who among us isn’t the least bit tempted to watch a dog play video games? AGDQ will be going ahead in January.