TonesBalones Is One Quick Inkling in Splatoon 2 Speedruns

For quite some time, a lot of industry folks were a bit worried about Nintendo for sticking to their formulaic design. They had taken risks with the Wii and the Wii U with their hardware, but hadn’t really put out something new in the software department. Then Splatoon hit the market and players loved it, especially in Japan where it hit the tops of sales charts and sees a regular player base. With Splatoon 2 being the latest on the popular Switch console, we looked into speedruns for the game’s singleplayer segments and found some expert play from runner TonesBalones.

While Splatoon is known almost exclusively for its unique take on the multiplayer shooter, the single player is a surprisingly fun obstacle course which has been shown off a few times by TonesBalones at Games Done Quick events. Like with most speedrun interviews, we chatted with TonesBalones over Twitter, where we learned all about the runner and why the Splatoon games make for great runs.

While some players may look at Splatoon as something that doesn’t make a lot of sense as a speedrun, TonesBalones thought it was the perfect fit. “I started with Splatoon because in the summer of 2015 I was already considering picking up a speedgame. Splatoon was new and developing and looked like the perfect intro to speedrunning.”

We then asked what about Splatoon makes it interesting from a speedrun perspective.

“Splatoon is a game that does not take much to start speedrunning. There are no frame-perfect dumb tricks that are necessary in the run. Doing well comes down to pure execution and movement, which is hard to optimize in such a simple game. The combination of being a 3D shooter/platformer hybrid is probably the most appealing though. Usually shooter games have bad movement, or platformers have nothing but movement, but Splatoon mixes both of those in a unique way we hadn't seen before in a game.”

Most of the really skilled Splatoon players swear by the slight motion controls that are present in both titles. We asked if motion controls are used in the speedrun.

“Yes, gyro is integral to gameplay. A lot of people are turned off by it, but the majority of veteran players prefer gyro aiming.”

The controller of choice?

“Pro controller. Seriously one of my favorite controllers ever made.”

When it comes to tech, every runner needs a way to record or stream the run to that end, Tones claimed a pretty accessible and basic set of equipment. “My streaming setup is pretty standard. Avermedia LGP capture card, Blue Yeti microphone, webcam, two monitors, etc. Nothing special.”

The portability of the Switch seems like it would be a great tool for runners looking to practice during travel or just a more casual setting. We asked TonesBalones if the Switch is a good tool for this. “I have practiced speedrunning on the go! Most notably I practiced the entire 2 hour flight to AGDQ. The switch plays in portable mode pretty well, but I really only use it when I travel.”

With Games Done Quick at the forefront, we asked what it was like to perform in front of that many viewers during these events. “Doing runs at GDQs are awesome. It's the largest stage for speedrunning, and I've been lucky enough to be chosen for it three times. A lot of people think it would be nerve wracking to be up there knowing there's a 6-digit viewer count, but when I'm up there, at least from personal experience, I don't feel it. I just give the best commentary I can and try to raise the most money I can for the marathon.”

Even though Games Done Quick has thousands upon thousands of viewers, it doesn’t quite have the reach that some of the major esports events have. Here of late, more and more speedrunners find themselves on esports teams. We asked TonesBalones if the worlds of speedrunning and esports are a good fit together.

“Speedrunning as esports is a rough sell," Tones claimed. "I think there's a big difference between being esports and just simply being picked up and sponsored by a team. Teams simply want to put their name everywhere; just because a speedrunner has an esports team sponsorship doesn't mean there will be organized events for cash. The problem with speedrunning as esports is that even in the biggest games of 1000+ runners, there's only a handful that can compete at a tournament-winning level.”

“On top of that, long term it's not very interesting for spectators. Reason being there's no interaction between the players at all, and the fact that one race usually takes over an hour.”

Even with this stance though, TonesBalones admitted that there are some more spectator-friendly ways to go about competing in real-time with a speedrun setting.

“That being said, there are some interesting speedrunning-related competitions such as lockout bingo and randomizer that are much more favorable to spectators, but even that has its drawbacks as they are hard to follow and take a long time.”

One of the biggest randomizers in rotation is the Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past ramdomizer, which players gravitate towards due to the mastery of the game required, as well as the puzzlebox nature of the run.

We asked TonesBalones about rom hacking and using classic games in new ways.

“Rom hacks are a lot of fun. Unfortunately I also understand the game developers’ right to protect their IP. I wish there was more freedom for people to mod games, but we have seen some developers encourage it such as with A Hat in Time. I just like how they let you enjoy the game in a new way. As for being a part of speedrunning, they're fair game as long as people have interest. That's the beauty of speedrunning, you can run whatever you want.”

Want to see TonesBalones in action? You can catch him streaming on Twitch.

For more speedrun interviews, check out our talk with DKS on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze or AlexDest on Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage.