I didn't see a thread.. so here it is.
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.
Well, PA wanged the server. So they are now scrabbling to get things stable. The site is still there, but getting timeouts. The LRR guys are trying to get a mirror up. In the meantime, you can donate
here directly to bypass the wanged server.
The direct stream to the Drivercam is
here.
The direct stream to the Buscam is
here.
Stop by and IRC as well.
Server: irc://chat1.ustream.tv
Channel: #desert-bus-drivercam
Call-ins From Famous Stars
Author Wil Wheaton, actress Felicia Day, and entertainers Penn and Teller call in from time to time to answer questions from fans and generally pal around.
Make the Monkey Dance
With a donation, you can make a request via IRC to make one of the LRR guys do something amusing or embarrassing.
Rock Band 2 Drawing
For every $20 donated, you get a chance to win a Full Rock Band 2 set, from Hamonix
[strike]
Operation: Infinite Bus
Gabe and Tycho, starting now, will match all donations to Desert Bus For Hope, until they reach a cap of ten thousand dollars.[/strike]
Completed 8 hours after the challenge.
[strike]
Bid for Epic Blizzcon Mount for World of Warcraft
In a few hours, they will be auctioning off a "Epic Blizzcon mount" for WoW.... Whatever that is. Evidently it's a "Polar Bear with a "Blizzcon" flag on it"[/strike]
Sold, was then given away to a member of the LRR team.
Posts
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
Uh-oh I accidentally deleted my signature. Uh-oh!!
They read fanfiction throughout the whole thing
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
That does not sound like good viewing.
Not even a little.
Is it fanfiction on the level of Peter Chimera?
i assume more interesting than a page not loading
which is what happens when i try
Desert Bus is beautiful.
The server is wanged.. Try again, or click the ustream links above in the OP.
FOR CHARITY
HACKSAW
TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES
IT'S FOR CHARITY
Everytime I see your status I start to yell at the screen.
Then I realise its you.
And my heart is filled with pity.
I have a tiny heart.
That is already full.
"How long the team has to play Desert Bus is determined by the donations we receive–The more you donate, the longer we play.
In order to reflect the increasing challenge as the marathon goes on, the donations required to add another hour increase geometrically every hour.
The first hour costs $1.00, and the cost-per-hour goes up by 7% every hour (meaning the second costs $1.07). This means that the 10th hour of busing costs $1.84 and total donations are $13.82, whereas the 40th hour costs $13.99 but has made a total of $199.64.
The donation total in the sidebar will be updated frequently. Remember that we are using ChipIn to track our donations, so all your money is going directly to Child’s Play.
Here is a very quick overlook:
Total Money $10.26 = Hours 8 Days 0.33
Total Money $102.07 = Hours 31 Days 1.29
Total Money $1070.80 = Hours 64 Days 2.67
Total Money $10 104.50 = Hours 97 Days 4.04
Total Money $100 952.11 = Hours 131 Days 5.46
Total Money $1 007 439.84 = Hours 165 Days 6.88
Total Money $10 052 477.33 =Hours 199 Days 8.29
Total Money $100 304 888.34 = Hours 233 Days 9.71
Total Money $1 000 853 692.41 = Hours 267 Days 11.13
Total Money $10 685 696 139.43 = Hours 302 Days 12.58
Total Money $106 623 089 429.58 = Hours 336 Days 14"
I'M GOING TO DONATE THE 5 DOLLARS IN MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO DESERT BUS BECAUSE SILMARIL SUCKS
Me sucking equates to Five whole bucks?
Man, I've been undercharging!
with your penis
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
>_> I can't see how that could be useful in anyway. But then again, I won't play WoW.
Who really needs a Polar Bear?
Anyway, I hope these guys get to the 45k. That would be purely amazing.
I decided not to.
there is nothing like trapping people in a horrible virtual roadtrip
Half hour from now...
how'd that go
Tumblr blargh
EDIT
Went well, she talked about The Guild and other geek related topics. She also donated season 1 of The Guild signed by the entire cast and it sold for $400. I would direct you to their ustream archive but it looks as though they didn't record her interview. There's some other stuff you might find amusing so here's the link anyway http://www.ustream.tv/loadingreadyrun/videos.