How should a newcomer start exploring TASVideos?

Start with the welcome page for an introduction to what the site is, then go to the Newcomer Corner for hand-picked recommended videos. If you already know you want to watch something current, the Latest Publications section shows recently published tool-assisted movies. The site's own framing is simple: "If you've ever wanted to see how a superhuman would beat your favorite video games, you've come to the right place."

The four entry points, in the order that works

1. Welcome page — what this place actually is

TASVideos hosts tool-assisted game movies: videos where a game is played frame-by-frame with emulator tools, then played back as a movie file. The result is not a human speedrun — it is a demonstration of what the game allows when input precision, save states, and slow-motion planning remove human limits.

Read this first if you have never encountered a TAS before, because the vocabulary on the rest of the site (publications, submissions, WIPs, obsoletions) assumes you know the difference between a finished, verified movie and a work in progress.

2. Newcomer Corner — curated recommendations

This is the section built specifically for your situation. Instead of guessing which of thousands of movies is worth your first hour, you get a hand-picked list. The site describes it as "some hand-picked recommended videos to watch."

Use it when: you want one good video, not a browsing session.

3. Latest Publications — what just got finished

Publications are movies that passed review and are now part of the site's official library. The homepage lists them with game, platform, author, and runtime. Examples from the site's own news roundup give a sense of the range:

Two things worth noticing in that table. First, runtimes vary enormously — a pinball table can be finished in about a minute, a completionist Kirby run takes over an hour. Second, the descriptions tell you why a movie is interesting, not just what game it is: Ghosts 'n Goblins is notable for "levitation and strategic hits to clip upwards," Dino Land for "finding just the right exploit in the design of a pinball table," Rockman 2 MIN for a 43-second improvement over the previous publication.

If you want to understand what makes a TAS impressive rather than just watch one, read the author notes attached to a publication. The site explicitly points to them — for the Ghosts 'n Goblins movie, "read the author notes to get some of her insights."

4. Newest Submissions and Newest User Files/WIPs — what is being made right now

These are the working edges of the site:

• Newest Submissions — finished movies submitted for review, not yet accepted into the library.
• Newest User Files/WIPs — works in progress, often rough, sometimes abandoned.

Browse these if you want to see the process rather than the polished result, or if you are considering making a TAS yourself and want to know what people are currently attempting.

A practical first-visit path

1. Read the welcome page — five minutes, gives you the vocabulary.
2. Open Newcomer Corner and pick one video. Watch it with the author notes visible.
3. Check Latest Publications for anything from a game you already know. Familiar games are the fastest way to see what tool assistance actually changes.
4. Only then look at Submissions and WIPs — they make more sense once you have a baseline for what a finished movie looks like.

Common sticking points

"This looks like a speedrun." It is not. A speedrun is a human playing in real time; a TAS is a movie file produced with emulator tools and replayed. The site's own tagline makes the distinction bluntly: "When human skills are just not enough."

"Which video should I watch first?" Do not start with the longest or most technically complex publication. Start with Newcomer Corner, which exists precisely to remove that decision.

"Why are there two sections for unfinished work?" Submissions are complete and awaiting judgment; WIPs are not necessarily complete at all. Treat them differently — a submission is a candidate for the library, a WIP is someone's current experiment.

"Where do I go if I want to contribute?" The site has a Contribute section, but it is worth watching several publications and reading their author notes before deciding what kind of contribution you want to make.