How far will a people go to raise money for sick kids? If those people are the world renowned LoadingReadyRun comedy troupe, that distance is from Las Vegas to Tucson and back until people stop paying them.
Please stop by their website http://desertbus.org and make a donation to a good cause.
Please stop by their website http://desertbus.org and make a donation to a good cause.
GAMING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
Desert Bus 4 Drives Forward to raise money for BC Children’s Hospitals
Victoria, BC, Canada – November 15, 2010
On November 19th, the fourth annual Desert Bus for Hope charity video game marathon will roll out – bigger and better than ever before. Last year’s marathon collected more than $140,000 over six days, and all proceeds were donated to Child’s Play, a charity that donates over a million dollars to Children’s Hospitals worldwide every year, including Vancouver Children’s Hospital and Victoria General Hospital’s Pediatrics Ward.
Desert Bus for Hope is a video-gaming marathon broadcast live on the internet by LoadingReadyRun, a sketch comedy group from Victoria, BC. In the Sega CD game “Desert Bus”, the player controls 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 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.” Viewers are encouraged to participate by e-mail or by live internet chat, where they can ask questions of the crew, make requests, bid on donated prizes and become an active participant. To view the telethon, donate money, or find 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.
For more information or for interviews, please contact:
Kathleen De Vere, Event Coordinator
Desert Bus for Hope
250.589.8208
Kathleen@loadingreadyrun.com | media@desertbus.org ###
