He breaks games... literally.


Wes 'Carcinogen' Kempton


By "X".

From the sunny state of Florida we give you Wes 'Carcinogen' Kempton, a guy who definitely knows how to best spend his time while indoors: speed running games from the Resident Evil series. He presents himself as "the 1337 grandmaster of every game ever" so be sure to be on lookout for his next endeavours and judge by yourself.

Interviewer questions are in bold.


When and how did you discover SDA? What got you interested into speedrunning?

Sometime in mid-2006, I stumbled upon Scott Kessler's now-defunct site, vortiginous.com, and started playing the DS version of RE1 around then. I unlocked the infinite Rocket Launcher and wanted to see how fast I could beat the game. I got somewhere around 40 minutes and I checked a bunch of RE fan sites for comparison. The only person I saw who got a time faster than me was Brandon Armstrong (Ekudeht on SDA), who beat it in 31 minute without the rocket launcher, no less. I was floored. He linked his run, I found the site, and I found a new hobby. =]

What speed runs do you currently have on the site? What runs are you most proud of?

Right now, I have runs on 4 games:

Of those, the one I put the most effort into was my 1:22:40 Best Ending run as Jill. The Chris version of the run is in submission right now, and I feel I did a much better job on that one in comparison. Editor's note: The Chris version run is now posted on the site.

You seem to be a big fan of running survival horror games, primarily Resident Evil games. Any particular reason?

It's not particularly survival horror games so much as Resident Evil, although Silent Hill runs are fun to watch. I've been playing RE1 since I was 8 and I've always been a huge fan of the series.

What's your opinion on the series as a whole. Were you a fan of the big change in the game play that started with 4?

I like it and dislike it at the same time. I like the over-the-shoulder shooting and the context-sensitive actions. The story on the other hand, has more of a 'let's go shoot zombies!' feel than an 'uncovering a nightmare' feel found in previous installments of the series. Getting chased around by various ethnic stereotypes who pretty much announce their presence before you is not very scary either. Fun gameplay which spoon-feeds a Resident Evil story, but not good Resident Evil games.

And the films?

Shut the fuck up.

Will we be seeing any runs from you in the future? Any new projects or any existing records you'd like to beat.

The rest of the RE games in the main series (2, Code Veronica, 4 and 5), Final Fantasy VIII and maybe something else... That's everything on my queue as far as SDA submissions go. Anything else is just casual. =p

What's your favorite aspect of running? Do you enjoy the planning, discovering glitches etc...

I like planning, since I get to find out what makes a game tick... but I like practicing the runs even more. I've always preferred having the ability to beat a video game quickly, consistently, and efficiently over resetting until I never want to play it again. I'm no good at discovering or using glitches in any game, but I've always found it interesting how the Zelda players discover so many glitches so soon after a game's release.

And what have been the most frustrating moments of your speed running career?

I'd have to say running Resident Evil 3. The whole game is, as a matter of fact, RNG Hell. While it is possible to consistently beat the game with the same strategy, the whole game is on shuffle. Don't get the Grenade Launcher in the Police Station? Reset. Bad set of zombies appears, all of which have the tendency to shuffle a little faster than normal? Reset. Brain Suckers frame-trapping me when I try moving through a room? Slam the fucking game console into a wall.

Where does your nick originate from?

Well, a Carcinogen is a cancer-causing agent. I'm an infectious kind of guy, you could say. That, and it sounds cool. =D

What are your favorite runs on the site, any favorite runners?

Heh, this is a difficult one 'cuz I've got way too many. On the site, I like the old NES games (esp. Mario and Contra), the Castlevanias and the Final Fantasy runs. My favorite runners (content-wise) are Frezy_man, andrewg, Essentia, and mikwuyma.

What do you do with your time outside of Speed Demos Archive?

In my spare time, when I'm not playing video games or spending time with my friends, I like to do martial arts (I've trained in Shotokan Karate for about 10 years), teach myself Japanese and play guitar.

What are you currently playing? What genres do you enjoy playing?

I jump around from game to game a lot. I don't have a favorite game or genre. Over the last week, I've been speed-running Metal Gear Solid 2 casually as a fun diversion from Resident Evil.

Your RE commentary is one of my favorites on the site. What was the story behind it and what do you think makes a good commentary? Any favorites on the site?

My friend, Josh, had been watching me try for that run from the very beginning. After I finished the run, I was like... 'Oh hey, Big Man, I can record an audio commentary track for the run. Make a hookah and let's tear this motherfucker apart!'

Really, anything makes for a good audio commentary, so long as it explains the run in detail and pokes fun at the game.

Finally: Where's the good smoke at?

LA-LI-LU-LE-LO. LA-LI-LU-LE-LO.