A Gaming Glossary: S
| Save the frames | A common catchphrase in speedrunning marathons and subject of donation bidding wars. To “save the frames” is to choose the fastest route even when it means ignoring a part of the game that is usually left in for sentimental reasons. For example, Super Metroid speedrunners can “save the animals” (rescue some in-game animals, at the cost of a small time loss) or “save the frames” (finish slightly faster by not rescuing the animals). The totals are in. Looks like almost everyone wants you to save the frames and kill the animals. “Saving frames” (without the “the”) just means completing some piece of gameplay faster, often by a small amount. We can save a few frames by timing this jump just right. |
| Seed | A number used as the input to initialize a random number generator. By extension, a world in a procedurally generated survival game (Minecraft, Valheim, etc.) or a specific set of starting conditions in a rando may be called a seed. This Valheim seed has a huge amount of crypts right near the spawn point. |
| Skip | To bypass or avoid something that is otherwise normal, required, or recommended. As a verb, skip is used in gaming more or less the same way in games as elsewhere. You can skip the boss if you climb over the castle wall. If you skip lunch, you will be hangry by the time the meeting is over. As a noun, skip indicates a specific instance of bypassing some otherwise required part of a game. Many speedrun routes feature skips, which are often named after the thing being skipped (“door skip,” “cutscene skip,” “boss skip,” etc.). This skip saves like five minutes, so it’s worth trying multiple times. |
| Split | A portion of a speedrun marked out separately for timing, much like a lap in a physical race. Splits commonly line up with different worlds, dungeons, or bosses in a game. We’re behind PB pace right now, but we can save a lot of time on this next split if we kill the boss quick. |
| Strat | from “strategy“ A method or approach to solving a particular problem or handling a situation. In a competitive shooter like Overwatch, players have strats for dealing with certain recurring matchups. In speedrunning, a strat might be a very small-scale, very precise way of handling a part of the game. |