I've been working on a Ninja Gaiden '04 speedrun over the past 4.5 years, and I'm almost ready to upload my first speedrun on normal difficulty, and another on VH. My first question is, will my '04 run be accepted within the Black community, considering that it's very similar to Black and there doesn't seem to be a community for '04? Second, I've been streaming it live to Twitch but don't seem to have a whole lot of viewers. It seems relatively irrelevant in the scheme of speedrunning in general, and Twitch specifically. However, Black has been featured at GDQ events, which means the runners have managed to get enough publicity to make it happen. I'm wondering if anyone can give some insight into the process of networking this game. What sites will get the kind of traffic I need to get the word out, and all that jazz? Finally, what's the best way I can find the community so I can contact other runners of this game and discuss it? Thank you all in advance

Best place to ask would either be the game's forum: https://www.speedrun.com/Ninja_Gaiden_Black/forum

Or this Discord server https://discord.gg/zQyf65A . That is for every NG game, including Black.

Not sure. Is Black just '04 slightly updated? If it's different enough from Black it should have it's own leaderboard. A community for '04 very well could be the community for Black (don't know enough about these games). Something you'll notice with speedrunning is most speedrunners, regardless of game, get very few views.

In my experience over several years of speedrunning, you can't really network a game at all. I'm not even really sure what you mean by "get the word out". If you're referring to "helping the community grow" around your game, it can only happen naturally. No amount of shoving your run and/or favorite game in peoples' faces will get them to care. Your best bet is to join the already existing discord for NG like Dave suggested.

Some tips for submitting a run to a GDQ: Your video really should just be the footage with voice over commentary at most. A small timer maybe, and definitely not a webcam. It's still pretty early to be creating a submission for AGDQ. GDQ staff expects you to be grinding your game right up to the week that submissions open. Maybe your run is perfect and nothing should change, maybe not, idk. Be prepared for competition from other NG games and maybe even other '04/Black runners, and I hope you take rejection well, because most submissions get rejected.

Thanks for the prompt response. Black is the same plot, same 16 chapters, but with a few added weapons and techniques, as well as updated graphics. I don't fully understand the nuances of how the 2 games would compare, so I'll definitely be posting the same question in the NGB forum.

All I really mean by get the word out is present my gameplay in a place where more people will see it that have an interest in it than I've experienced with my Twitch stream alone, and possibly promote the differences between my play style and the styles of other players. Truth is, I have some ideas for donation incentives that I've never seen done at a GDQ event, and would like to discuss the game with the community to determine if they'd be both appropriate and unique enough to attract attention.

Thanks for the tips. I agree it's definitely early to put up a submission video, but my main goal here is to get community support while working my way towards the best run I can perform before the submission date deadline, then subsequently before my run at the marathon itself (all circumstances willing, of course). My main concern at this point is getting people watching, so if everything works out, I can start worrying about fundraising. Not to worry, I told myself I'd be attending the event regardless of the result, and I've committed myself to trying my best to get into this event and any in the future. If that's not good enough, I'm ok with that.

It's also worth noting that although it is by far the biggest and most well-known, GDQ is not the only marathon out there. There's loads of smaller events throughout the year that could help with exposure for the game too if that's what you're aiming for :)

No the times would be different. Also there is at least one skip I know of in the original that is not in Black. Also Black has other bosses and such. Watch/Play it through once and you will see they are not the same.