This is an announcement that I am offering several speedrun bounties for the 2020-21 2D Action-Platformer ‘Phoenotopia Awakening’ (Five Star) 100% category.

The current record in that category is 7:28:33 by @polecat. I am paying $11 per minute under this time to the person in first place (up to $1000), $5 per minute to second place (up to $500), and $1 per minute to third place (up to $100) at wherever the boards stand at 11:59pm June 1st, 2023 (although any runs underway at that time will still count).

Also, I love fully commentated runs and am offering a bonus payout of up to $300 each to the top 3 finishers based on the 'Quality' of the commentary, at my sole discretion. I know 'quality' is subjective, but I will generally look for -Breakdowns of in-the-moment thought process/decision making with regards to movement/RNG/strategy etc… -Conversations on game/run trivia and history -Summary of story/world elements and character dialogue as they occur, since cutscenes and text boxes will be skipped as much as possible, and the Story and world of the game are really cool, and I don't want new viewers to miss out. The format of the 'commentary' isn't important, feel free to use captions, talk during the run, do a post commentary, or whatever you want.

Finally, I am offering a 'tech discovery' bounty to anyone (not just the top 3) who discovers any new tech and/or skips. The payout is $0.10 per second saved over the course of any of the top 3 100% runs (in the time saved in one of the runs, so like if it saved 5 seconds in the first place run, that'd be 50 cents).

Bounties will be paid via Venmo, Cashapp, or Paypal. If a runner can't or declines to recieve payment, the bounty will go to a charity of their choice. The main bounty will be paid immediately after June 1st at 11:59 PM (EST) 2023 (unless any top 3 runs are underway at the time, in which case they can finish), and 'tech discovery' bounties will be paid out whenever they are found, once the community can figure out how much time the discovery saves. Commentary bounties will be paid out no later than June 30th at 11:59 PM (EST).

The boards for this game can be found at: https://www.speedrun.com/phoenotopia_awakening/full_game#100 and any rules for the category listed on the board must be followed.

Quote from my recent post:

      Hey Everyone, just wanted to check in on my bounty as we head into the holidays here in the States.

First of all, never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine a sub 5 was possible! It's amazing what the Japanese any% runners have managed to accomplish, and I am honored and humbled that they were willing to dedicate their talents and skills to my bounty. Thank you so so so so much <bows deeply>.

Second, while I currently feel that the winners of the Grand and Second place prizes have probably been decided, I definitely think that the Third place spot is still competitive, and if anyone has thought of giving it a shot, I promise you will love this game, so go for it!

Third, I want to add some spice for the non-runners in the community! I have decided that while I will still be offering my commentary (voice or text) bounties to the runners themselves, I'm adding ANOTHER bounty that is open to anyone with a microphone!

In the interest of creating the highest commentary possible, I am offering a SINGLE -Voice Only- commentary bounty, again of up to $300, open to ANY individual OR group who wish to record a commentary for whichever run ends up holding the 100% world record as of May 1st, 2023. Same quality rules/guidelines/expectations as the main commentary bounty, except that I am only interest in fully voiced commentary for this community offer.

Spread the word to anyone you know who is knowledgeable about the game, whether they run it or not, or even just anyone that you know who just VO work, whether amateur or professional, let them know so they can give it a shot! Let's all have fun on our way to the finish line in June!

GLHF!

Alright, let me know what y'all think. I struggle with formatting and word choice, so any suggestions on clarity or phrasing are greatly appreciated:

I am offering several speedrun bounties for the 2021 2D Action-Platformer ‘Phoenotopia Awakening.’

The Main bounties revolve around the “[Five Star] 100%” category. The current record is 7:28:33 by Polecat. I am offering $11 per minute below Polecat’s original time to the 1st place record holder, up to $1000. The 2nd place record holder will be paid $5 per minute, up to $500, and the 3rd place holder will be paid $1 per minute, up to $100.

In addition, I love fully commentated runs, and am offering a bonus payout, based on quality, of up to $300 each, to all 3 of the top finishers. While I admit that ‘quality’ is obviously subjective, I will tell you that the things I am looking for are things like: Breakdowns of in-the-moment thought process/decision making with regards to movement/RNG/strategy etc… Conversations on game/run trivia and history. Summary of story/world elements and character dialogue as they occur, since cutscenes and text boxes will be skipped as much as possible. Commentary “format” is not important, but can include talking during the run, post-run recorded commentary, or text commentary, either hard-coded onto the replay or included as optional captions.

Finally, I am offering “tech discovery” bounties to anyone who discovers new tech and/or skips. Bounty payout is $0.10 per second saved over the course of any of the top 3 runs (i.e. This new tech/skip saved XX:XX seconds over the course of the run)

Rules pasted from Speedrun.com: Timing starts on file creation (early Switch versions) or difficulty selection (current versions). Tampering with the files of the game, in a way that directly affects progression rate, is prohibited. Steam Version 1.2.5a is also prohibited. Obtain all Moonstones, defeat the PHALANX, and beat the game. Losing the second Katash fight is acceptable. Timing ends on the fade out after Gail and co. leave the Phoenix lab. No combat perks will be granted. (Accessibility Options with asterisks beside them are not allowed.)

Bounty expires at 11:59pm June 1st, 2023, though any runs currently in progress will be allowed to finish. Once all runs are completed, the main bounties will be paid immediately, as described above, to the 3 top finishers. New tech/skip discovery bounties will be paid once consensus decision is reached on how much time is saved by the new technique or skip, upon which they will also be paid immediately. Commentary bounties will be paid no later than 11:59pm on June 30th. 

I'd like to offer a bounty for an indie game that I like. What's the best site/venue/platform/etc...?