One gamer can turn the tide of a battle. An army of gamers can change the world. The Bungie Community knows this. Each of them has expressed an eagerness to join forces and defend the last safe city in the world of Destiny. Before we open that world, some of them will band together to make a difference in our world.
A couple of weeks ago, we saw the seeds of this solidarity among Guardians in a fantastic (albeit completely unnecessary) thank you video. Working together to draft that love letter obviously formed some lasting bonds. Now, they’re teaming up to ease the suffering of children in need. It's a cause to which we can relate.
Leading the charge are the hosts of Guardian Radio. You may remember these Guardians of Destiny as the focus of a feature on this here blog. Their current mission is to provide support for kids who find themselves fighting their own fight in the hospital. A website called Extra Life will be their Tower. Check out the brave volunteers who have flocked to their banner.
Here they come, to save the day. With that much might, they’re sure to leave a lasting impact. We cornered Mark (one of the Guardians of Destiny) to learn more about their noble campaign.
Let's begin by learning a little about this fundraising initiative. Can you tell us about Extra Life?
Mark: It’s a fundraising campaign conducted every year to help raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. It was founded by a fellow podcaster named Doc. He was the former host of Sarcastic Gamer, back in 2008. Every fall since, gamers from all across the world have come together to commit to playing video games for 25 hours straight and raise money for this great cause. The funds raised are used to help the children and families who need it most.
So it’s a Marathon? An endurance sport? Whose idea was it to enroll the Destiny community to go the distance?
Mark: The #DestinyFansGiveBack campaign grew out of the effort we all put into the #ThankYouBungie project. That showed us all how supportive this young community of Guardians had already become. After the release of the video, we began receiving messages from tons of community members wishing that they could have been a part of it and asking how they could show their support for the Destiny Community.
How did you select Seattle Children’s Hospital as the beneficiary of all this Guardian solidarity?
Mark: One of the things that Extra Life enables you to do is to pick a hospital CMN that you would like the funds you raise to support. As a Destiny Community effort, we decided it would be best to support one of the hospitals that you guys support. We hope that the lives of many children and parents will be just a bit brighter in the halls of the institution after we are done with the campaign.
Sometimes, people ask how they can donate to the Bungie Foundation, and we tell them that it’s our labor of love. Looks like you sly dogs found a loophole. How’s it going so far?
Mark: The response has been incredible! In just over a week, we've raised over $1,000. We’ve even had multiple $100 donations. We've set our fundraising goal at a whopping $10,000. Even though it seems like an unreachable number, we believe that, with the support of the Destiny Community and many other Fireteams along the way, we’ll topple it.
Looks like you have a webcast on November 2nd. Tell us what we can expect to see on the show.
Mark: Many members from around the community plan on streaming away for most of the day. We’ve created a single Twitch.tv stream that will kick off at 8AM EST with a special episode of Guardian Radio. Keep checking the Destiny Community Extra Life page for an updated schedule of events and links to all the streams involved in supporting the #DestinyFansGiveBack campaign. Throughout the day, we’ll feature many people from around the Destiny Community chatting it up, playing games, and even giving away some prizes.
Prizes? Sounds interesting. What is a mission, after all, without rewards?
Bungie is going to sweeten their loot cache with seven codes for the Destiny Beta. They’ll be welcome to use them however they wish, to drive donations or raise awareness. To see if there is a chance for you to win one for yourself, you’ll just have to keep an eye on them. We certainly will.