It wasn’t until 2003 that the spending power of the video game industry’s target audience — young people with disposable incomes — was officially organized for good, thanks to the game-themed web comic Penny Arcade, which began the Child’s Play charity to raise funds for children’s hospitals. Over the past five years, Child’s Play has exploded worldwide, with total donations in the millions, and each year new and creative fundraising events appear. This year, the Canadian sketch comedy troupe Loading Ready Run has them all beat.
For the second year running, the members of LRR will be playing a video game in classic dance-a-thon style, with hours added to the total time based on viewer donations. The catch is that the game they’re playing was deliberately designed to be the most boring video game in the history of creation. In Desert Bus, you drive a bus from Tuscon, Ariz., to Las Vegas, Nev. — the road is straight and narrow, the view unchanging, and the bus tilts slightly to the left, so you can never abandon the steering wheel. All the action takes place in real time. Make it to Vegas and you score a point. Crash, and you have to wait for a tow truck. (The game was produced by comedian/magicians Penn and Teller, whose regular Vegas performance schedule means that they have probably made this drive more than once.)
A group of guys playing a game that is literally the antithesis of good gaming, for days at a time, would only be interesting if the guys playing it were (a) hilarious and (b) invited you to share in the fun. Thanks to a semi-reliable Ustream, they are and you can — which is what really makes the event pay off for viewers, and the charity. The experience wouldn’t work if the Loading Ready Run guys weren’t so entertaining and willing to indulge their fans’ most ridiculous requests — when I opened up the feed Monday morning, a team member was wearing a pink bra (which, for a $30 donation, he purchased and donned). The guys have also performed the Dr. Horrible tune “Bad Horse” and Monty Python sketches, all while taking calls from supporters like Wil Wheaton, a creator of the Rock Band video game, and (aptly) Penn & Teller.
Live-streaming successes like the Shiba Inu puppy cam maintain viewership by working both as interactive experience and passive entertainment. While it’s fun to get your questions answered by the gang on camera, leaving the live feed up and just letting it play in the background is also rewarding — the sense of hanging out with the guys is tangible thanks to the audio alone.
Since the team began their odyssey Friday evening, fans have indulged their sadistic streak with their wallets, and after nearly three days of playing the team has racked up more than $27,000 in donations, bringing their current gameplay time to 111 hours. Viewership is currently peaking at 710 viewers, and coming up still on Monday, team member Paul will make good on a promise to shave off his beard, and Felicia Day will call in to answer viewer questions and encourage the team in their quest.
I’m encouraging you, faithful NewTeeVee reader, to encourage them and donate as well — but for purely selfish reasons. They might be going slowly insane, but I’ll be sad when Desert Bus reaches the end of the line.
