Extra Life

Over the last weekend, I took part in my first Extra Life marathon. The charity event is only 4 years old, but has been growing exponentially every year. Every October, gamers ask for donations to support children's cancer research through the Children's Miracle Network and their local affiliates. In return, they pledge to play games for 24 hours from Saturday to Sunday morning (or whenever they can make time). People's reactions ranged from positive to derisive. The easiest cynical barb to shoot back in response is usually something along the lines of "Isn't that how you spend your weekends anyway?" Apparently, some portion of the population still views self-professed "gamers" as so far removed from humanity that we consume one form of media non-stop without getting bored or driven to the brink of insanity, and we can apparently do so without sleep.

Obviously we're not running for boobies, or wearing pink while we play football, but it shouldn't make Extra Life any less of a charity. And the numbers agree: Extra Life received over $1.1 million dollars in donations this year, more than the charity previous 3 years' worth of donations combined. When it came time to make good on the pledge with my two teammates and I, we were excited and proud of the contribution we had made.

Of course, this excitement changed and warped over the course of 24 hours. Fully caffeinated, the early day started with lots of shooters and twitch-based games, but by the end of the marathon, we were playing more passive, casual stuff. Somewhere in the middle we mixed things up and got some exercise in Rock Band. I broke records in Pac Man CE DX. We converted a friend to the world of Minecraft while my girlfriend used it to make serious progress in her blocky recreation of Sunnydale High from Buffy. I revisited some old favorites like the serene music-puzzler Chime and the ever-irreverent ball-rolling Beautiful Katamari. I would take breaks and play something quick and casual on my iPod. I proved that my You Don't Know Jack trivia skills are nearly unaffected by having a fried brain at 3am. We made lots of silly jokes that are probably only funny when sleep-deprived. We bonded playing multiplayer games and sharing Minecraft protips. By the end, my eyes were burning and swollen, joints sore and stiff, and the general punchiness that comes from not sleeping. And our team raised over $1500 for sick kids.

If you were expecting some deep examination and epiphany as to why we play games or why interactive media is important, it's not here. But that's ok. Extra Life reminded me why playing games (especially with others) is fun. Did I feel like shit Sunday morning and couldn't get to sleep? Yes. Did I remind myself why I only play games for 1-2 hours at a time? Yes. But would I do Extra Life again next year with friends? Absolutely.