Because I never come up with any material to call my own.
(I'm not associated with this, I just think it is pretty cool and want to spread the word)
GAMING FOR THE GREATER GOOD:
Comedy Group to Conduct Video-Game Telethon for Charity.
Victoria, BC, Canada - November 22, 2008
On November 28th, Victoria-based comedy group LoadingReadyRun will begin their second annual Desert Bus for Hope charity video game marathon. Last year’s marathon collected $22,805 over five days, and all proceeds were donated to Child’s Play, a Seattle charity that yearly donates over a million dollars to Children’s Hospitals worldwide. This year LoadingReadyRun hopes to raise even more.
Desert Bus for Hope is a video-gaming marathon, broadcast live on the internet, in which a team of players control a virtual bus that drives an eight hour long strip of highway between Tucson, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, on an endless loop. The game being played is a “verisimulator”; a tongue-in-cheek parody of other simulation games, which attempts to approximate the real-life situation of driving a coach bus as closely as possible, including the associated tedium. The player is required only to ensure that the bus stays on the road - If they crash, they are towed back to the start, and have to try again. Originally part of “Penn & Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors” Desert Bus is considered by many to be the most boring video game ever created.
Viewers are asked to donate money via the desertbus.org website, and as the dollar total rises, so does the length of time the team must continue driving the bus. According to Paul Saunders, one of the founding members of LoadingReadyRun, “The mixture of generosity and spite is a really powerful thing.” In order to limit the event to a few days, each additional hour costs more in donations than the previous hour did, until they become prohibitively expensive. Despite this limitation, though, last year’s event ran 108 hours long. Viewers are encouraged to participate by e-mail, or by live internet chat, where they can ask questions of the crew, make requests, and become an active participant. The first marathon was endorsed by Penn & Teller, the magicians who lent their name to the game being played. Both donated to the cause, and contacted the team by phone throughout the event.
To view the telethon, donate money, or for more information, please visit www.desertbus.org.
LoadingReadyRun is an online sketch-comedy group based out of Victoria, BC. They produce a new short film every week, which can be viewed on their website, www.loadingreadyrun.com.
GAMING FOR THE GREATER GOOD:
Comedy Group to Conduct Video-Game Telethon for Charity.
Victoria, BC, Canada - November 22, 2008
On November 28th, Victoria-based comedy group LoadingReadyRun will begin their second annual Desert Bus for Hope charity video game marathon. Last year’s marathon collected $22,805 over five days, and all proceeds were donated to Child’s Play, a Seattle charity that yearly donates over a million dollars to Children’s Hospitals worldwide. This year LoadingReadyRun hopes to raise even more.
Desert Bus for Hope is a video-gaming marathon, broadcast live on the internet, in which a team of players control a virtual bus that drives an eight hour long strip of highway between Tucson, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, on an endless loop. The game being played is a “verisimulator”; a tongue-in-cheek parody of other simulation games, which attempts to approximate the real-life situation of driving a coach bus as closely as possible, including the associated tedium. The player is required only to ensure that the bus stays on the road - If they crash, they are towed back to the start, and have to try again. Originally part of “Penn & Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors” Desert Bus is considered by many to be the most boring video game ever created.
Viewers are asked to donate money via the desertbus.org website, and as the dollar total rises, so does the length of time the team must continue driving the bus. According to Paul Saunders, one of the founding members of LoadingReadyRun, “The mixture of generosity and spite is a really powerful thing.” In order to limit the event to a few days, each additional hour costs more in donations than the previous hour did, until they become prohibitively expensive. Despite this limitation, though, last year’s event ran 108 hours long. Viewers are encouraged to participate by e-mail, or by live internet chat, where they can ask questions of the crew, make requests, and become an active participant. The first marathon was endorsed by Penn & Teller, the magicians who lent their name to the game being played. Both donated to the cause, and contacted the team by phone throughout the event.
To view the telethon, donate money, or for more information, please visit www.desertbus.org.
LoadingReadyRun is an online sketch-comedy group based out of Victoria, BC. They produce a new short film every week, which can be viewed on their website, www.loadingreadyrun.com.