Bubzia, a blindfolded speedrunner of the classic video game Super Mario 64, recently experienced a heart-wrenching moment during a record-breaking attempt. The skilled player was on track to beat his own world record for completing a 70-star run while blindfolded, a feat he had previously accomplished in one hour, 25 minutes, and 11 seconds. During the run on February 10, Bubzia encountered a significant setback when his webcam unexpectedly shut off.
The issue occurred just 23 minutes and 59 seconds into the attempt, which was shaping up to be a particularly strong performance. The malfunction was critical because competition rules mandate that a live facecam feed be used to verify that the player’s eyes are covered throughout the gameplay. Despite having “everything disabled” to alert him in case of failure, Bubzia remained unaware of his webcam’s status until after completing the run.
Viewers found it agonizing to watch Bubzia’s invalid attempt, as they hoped he might unknowingly set a new world record.
Bubzia’s heartbreaking setback
Some fans even wished for him to make mistakes just to avoid the disappointment of an invalidated record-breaking run.
In the end, Bubzia finished just shy of his record, with the pace clock showing 1:26:09, nearly a minute behind his standing record. Reflecting on the experience, Bubzia remarked, “If this would have been a world record, I would have cried. Dude, I would have quit SM64, man.”
This incident was not the first time Bubzia had faced issues with his webcam during a run.
In a previous attempt, his webcam malfunctioned just one minute and 34 seconds into the run. Despite the setback, Bubzia remains determined to continue his blindfolded speedrunning pursuits. He is considering finding a run-legal extension that can warn him if his camera fails or having trusted friends who can alert him to any issues.
Fans can continue to follow Bubzia’s attempts, with his facecam currently working properly, as he strives to break his own world record in the challenging world of blindfolded Super Mario 64 speedrunning.
Noah Nguyen is a multi-talented developer who brings a unique perspective to his craft. Initially a creative writing professor, he turned to Dev work for the ability to work remotely. He now lives in Seattle, spending time hiking and drinking craft beer with his fiancee.
