Post
Escaping the playable map entirely and navigating through the void: the speedrunner's backstage pass to the game world.
Out of Bounds (OOB) means leaving the intended play area and moving through the empty space behind, above, or below the visible level geometry. Once outside the map, runners can often walk or fly through the void to reach distant loading triggers, skip entire sections, or access areas from impossible angles. The void isn't always empty though; developers sometimes leave debug geometry, unused rooms, or oddly placed trigger volumes that become routing gold. OOB navigation is disorienting since you lose all visual references, so runners memorize positions using coordinate displays or landmarks visible through the backside of walls.
Example
In Portal, going out of bounds lets runners bypass entire test chambers by walking through the void to reach the loading trigger for the next area. Some OOB routes involve navigating featureless gray space for minutes, guided entirely by memorized coordinates and the faint glow of level geometry through the walls.
Why it matters
OOB exploration reveals the architecture behind game worlds: how levels are constructed, where loading zones sit, and what developers left hidden. It's often the source of the most dramatic time saves in speedruns and provides a unique perspective on level design that even developers don't always anticipate.
Related concepts