Probably one of the best trends in gaming lately allows gamers to both do what they do best (play games longer than any human should theoretically be able to) and show that there’s more to the lifestyle than sitting on your duff with a controller in one hand and the other elbow-deep in a bag of Cheetos. Penny Arcade alumni Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik led the charge when they created Child’s Play, a charity that provides sick, bed-ridden kids in hospitals with quality, video game escapism (amongst other things) during the time they need it most. While the core of the organization is always accepting donations, many independent groups have taken it upon themselves to rally their fellow gamers by broadcasting marathons over the internet.
And few games lend themselves so easily to extended play more than MMOs. Enter the WoWathon, an event which involves taking two characters from 1-80, with as few breaks as the players can realistically muster (they already have plans for Tuesday’s scheduled maintenance):
The WoWathon Team will be gaming around the clock (rotating 12 hour sleeping/hygiene shifts). We’re going to be broadcasting live from our dining room in the hopes of inspiring you to donate as well. If we reach our quota, we’ll raise our targeted donation cap and game until we hit the next level threshold. Last year, after 12 continuous days of play, we managed to raise $8287.82 through tons of help, support, and donations. This year, we’re upping the ante by hosting WoWathon on a PvP (player versus player) server. We’ve started a small pot, but we’re depending on you to help us reach our next goal (and beyond!).
WoWathon 2, as of this writing, is still at a nascent 28 hours and about $1223. Making use of my terrible math, that means that if donations keep a steady pace, they’re on track to roughly double that amount this year. So why not give ’em a shot, check out their stream (or the embed below), engage them on Twitter, and donate a few bucks to the cause while you’re at it? All proceeds go directly to Child’s Play, in case you were worried about who might be handling your money.
Streaming live video by Ustream
Let’s take this opportunity to show the world that we MMO gamers can poopsock for a good cause, too.