When you're highlighting or creating a speedrun video, at what point do you call it a WR? Should games with only one submitted run be called a world record? What if there's only 2 people running the game? I think in certain situations it could be appropriate for a category that is extraordinarily long and will stand uncontested for a long time. I know there's not a definite answer but I'm curious on opinions about this.
IMHO a WR is the fastest time made in a category, even if you're alone. Because a WR made on a game which is run by only one guy can be really optimised and be hard to beat.
I think it's fair to call it a WR, even if it's the only one. It may even stir up interest in the game/category.
JimmyNintendo: You can come across as a bit egotistic when you do that, though. :P
@Klashik I think only if you're unwilling to be open to the idea that it's NOT the WR. I guess I was saying that under the assumption that they've already looked for a better record and are willing to concede defeat if/when they are shown a better time.
If it's the best time, it's WR.
For me personally, though, I won't go around bragging about my new WORLD RECORD unless it's either a legitimately amazing time, or a decent time in an actual competitive game. While this run isn't exactly the time I want, it's still #1 in a game with nearly 100 entries on the leaderboard, so I can safely brag about it being a WR.
On the other hand, this run is the only run with these strats, plus it isn't even that good. It's still technically the WR, but I won't label it as such so I don't draw unnecessary attention to a bad run.
aaand then we have this run, which is literally the only run of this category EVER. The difference here is that since nobody else runs it, it may be helpful to, as JimmyNintendo said above, label the run as WR to actually draw attention and possibly get others interested. It really depends on how I feel about the run though.
You can do what you like with your runs though, just giving my thoughts on the matter.
Some people also prefer to call it BKT (best known time), I suppose for the sake of modesty.
So first, let me just say that yes, it's technically the "World Record", even if you're the only runner.
However, if you want to know my personal opinion (and what I follow), then it's a bit different. I've dealt with this for a game that I run (Star Wars for NES, as seen to the left).
For over a year after I picked it up, I was the only runner. I decided not to call it WR until I got a deathless run that had reasonable execution. I guess I mainly wanted to avoid the perception that I picked up this game just so that I could say I had "WR" in something, whereas the real reason I decided to run it is because I played it as a kid and it's one of my favorite games. :-)
I also like Klashik's idea of calling it an "uncontested WR". I basically did the same thing, though I never thought of using that exact term. I did label it as "WR" once I felt my time was decent, but any time I streamed I was very careful to impress upon my (admittedly few) viewers that I was the only runner.
In any case, I'm happy to say that there are now 3 runners for the aforementioned game (and at least 2 more on the way), and the WR time has been hugely improved, thanks in no small part to some tough competition from a popular streamer named Striker. ;-)
Edit: Oh, and I was very careful to make sure there were no other runners, too. There were no actual "speedruns" to be found, though I did find a well-organized playthrough on YouTube where they beat the game in about 21 minutes, so I had to beat that time at least. :-P
I put the 'WR' stamp to the uncontested categories as well as those with competition, mainly to prevent confusion and to make it clear that it is in fact the best time. If someone asks me on stream I will elaborate, explain the situation a little more in-depth and probably refer to it as 'uncontested WR'.
Generally if no other known times are found to be faster/better then It can be classed as WR, but don't let that ruin the whole ideal of doing it. Remember much like anything else competitive we must remain Sportsmen like and enjoy the thrill of it. Also most people uncontested, try and perfect those runs to keep it that way but that doesn't mean someone else could potentially find something new out that may save some time. practice makes for improvement. <3
In summary as long as its the KNOWN FASTEST/BEST TIME then yes it can be called World Record, tho here we track our runs on a competitive and active manner amongst the community so we generally should not be super concerned about WR runs elsewhere unless we wish to aim our PB's higher for that goal. But everyone has their own goals and style for running.
I only call something a WR if it has a bunch of people running it and that's still on the edge, sometimes you find a faster time on youtube because they don't know about SRL, speedrun.com or SDA and other places about spedrunning.