A
tool-assisted speedrun or
tool-assisted superplay (frequently abbreviated
TAS) is a
controller input sequence constituting a performance of a
video game. Said input sequence is usually created by
emulating the game, with "tools" such as
slow motion, frame-by-frame advance, memory watch, and re-recording (save states) of gameplay used to aid in the input sequence's creation. The idea is not to make gameplay easy with such "tools", but rather to produce a demonstration of gameplay pushed to the limit that would be theoretically possible were human limitations in skill and reflex not an issue. Tool-assisted speedruns often feature gameplay techniques that would otherwise be impossible or prohibitively difficult to perform in real time. Producers of tool-assisted speedruns do not compete with so-called "unassisted" speedrunners of video games; on the contrary, collaborative efforts between the two groups often take place.