While classic arcade game machines were not explicitly designed with modern speedrunning in mind, they inherently incorporated player-created techniques through their core design and competitive ecosystem. The primary driver was the high score board, a public ledger that demanded not just skill but also efficiency to claim the top spot. Players discovered that certain patterns, like the famed "kill screen" routes in Pac-Man or precise jump sequences in Donkey Kong, were the fastest ways to maximize points. These emergent strategies became the foundation of early speedrunning.

Game mechanics themselves often contained unintended glitches or exploitable behaviors that speedrunners mastered. For instance, the "pie factory" glitch in the arcade version of *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time* allows players to skip a significant portion of a level. Developers, while not patching these quirks in physical cabinets, acknowledged them by designing subsequent games that either eliminated such exploits or, in some cases, built upon the discovered techniques, creating a subtle dialogue between creator and player.

Furthermore, the very nature of arcades—public spaces where players could observe and learn from each other—facilitated the rapid spread of these techniques. A player demonstrating a fast, efficient run would instantly educate others, creating a localized meta-game. Thus, arcade machines incorporated speedrunning not through code, but through their social framework and the relentless pursuit of a higher score, cementing player ingenuity as an integral part of their legacy.