---
key: mechanic/goals-feedback--t272
type: mechanic
id: goals-feedback--t272
lang: en
title: 'Completion time, speedrunning and route optimization'
summary: >-
  Timed completion turns routing, transitions and execution reliability into a
  shared duration-minimization problem.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/goals-feedback--t272/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/goals-feedback--t272.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/goals-feedback--t272.md
aliases:
  - Timed completion and speedruns
tags:
  - 'Goals, difficulty, learning and feedback'
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-d4c7409816f79db5
  - source-52d22a0a24958997
sources:
  - id: source-d4c7409816f79db5
    title: Game Accessibility Guidelines
    url: 'https://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-52d22a0a24958997
    title: Sonic Mania
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/584400/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: goals-feedback
    id: t272
    title: 'Goals, difficulty, learning and feedback'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/goals-feedback/#t272'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Timed completion and speedruns
    description: >-
      Timed completion turns routing, transitions and execution reliability into
      a shared duration-minimization problem.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/priority-sonic-mania-00.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Sonic Mania
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/584400/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/584400/ss_27efb8f61892a9bd732952c76dae9dd7ad1b6748.1920x1080.jpg?t=1785856230
      credit: Christian Whitehead / Headcannon / PagodaWest Games / SEGA
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Section timer in Sonic Mania
      alt: Section timer in Sonic Mania
      markers:
        - x: 30
          'y': 14
          label: Current completion time
        - x: 51
          'y': 74
          label: Character actions determine route pace
    tips:
      - 'Separate attempt time, personal best and the cost of a safer route.'
    examples:
      - title: Sonic Mania
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/584400/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/goals-feedback
---
# Completion time, speedrunning and route optimization

id: goals-feedback--t272
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/goals-feedback--t272
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/goals-feedback--t272/

Timed completion turns routing, transitions and execution reliability into a shared duration-minimization problem.

## At a glance

![Section timer in Sonic Mania](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/priority-sonic-mania-00.webp)

[Sonic Mania](https://store.steampowered.com/app/584400/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Current completion time
2. Character actions determine route pace

- Separate attempt time, personal best and the cost of a safer route.

- [Sonic Mania](https://store.steampowered.com/app/584400/)

## How it works

Timed completion turns routing, transitions and execution reliability into a shared duration-minimization problem.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t272-variants"></a>

- Splits identify local time losses. <a id="t272-v1"></a>
- Ghosts display a previous personal trajectory. <a id="t272-v2"></a>
- Routes trade speed against failure probability. <a id="t272-v3"></a>
- Categories constrain permitted completion techniques. <a id="t272-v4"></a>

## Design example

A short jump saves seconds while a longer bypass provides a more reliable no-reset attempt.

Prototype check: Test timing across pauses, loading and frame-rate changes so compared runs share the same timing rules.

## Context and limits

Goals and feedback explain the value of an action, the causes of its result and ways to improve the next attempt. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Game Accessibility Guidelines](https://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/) (id: source-d4c7409816f79db5)
- [Sonic Mania](https://store.steampowered.com/app/584400/) (id: source-52d22a0a24958997)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors