Community Focus: Extra Life 2014

Oct 7, 2014 - DeeJ

When Guardians band together in Destiny, they can kick hoards of alien ass, reviving each other all along the way. The players in the Destiny Community are even more powerful. When they band together, away from the game, they can save actual lives.

Extra Life is a fundraising campaign that pits gamers against what ails us. It’s like those people who ask for charitable donations to honor their struggle in completing a marathon. In this case, the struggle is virtual and the runners carry machine guns. Last year, we saw some Guardians-in-waiting put forth a great effort.

This year, those same masked faces are back at it, only they have a brand new game to play. Let’s shake ‘em down and see what they’re all about.

You, there! Stop and present yourself to the community. Who are you?

Mark: My name is Mark Turcotte. I am the host of Guardian Radio and the founder of the Guardian Radio Network. We’re a network of podcasts centered around Destiny. We recorded our first episode just one week after Destiny was officially unveiled more than a year and a half ago and have been pumping out episodes every week since.

Hey, we know you! Weren’t you one of the good guys at the end of a very long line for the Destiny booth at E3? It looks like we have an altruistic tag team this year. Who’s your partner in crime?

David: I’m David W, one of the founders of Destiny Dispatch, a site focused on community. Most everyone in the Destiny community knows me by my alias Destiny Author. I’m a lore bent writer focused on the level of beautiful creativity the Destiny community possesses. You could say I’m the event planner for this campaign.

Sounds like an exciting event. Can you tell us more about the structure and the goals of the campaign?

Mark: Extra Life was founded back in 2009 by a fellow gaming podcaster with the idea of raising money for children stricken with illnesses. The money raised helps pay for medical treatments as well as hospital stays. The campaign tasks gamers from across the world to play in 24-hour gameplay marathons with the hopes of receiving donations for the cause. Since its inception, the campaign has raised millions of dollars for the many hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Network.

Awesome stuff. Who will benefit from your personal marathon?

David: Our beneficiary is Seattle Children’s Hospital. We chose this hospital as our recipient because it’s one of the places Bungie supports with its foundation. We know that there are sick kids all across the world, so picking just one hospital isn’t easy. However, if everyone makes a drop in the bucket somewhere, it could come to benefit all ailing children. Not just in Seattle, but everywhere.

We’re honored to have you as an ally of our Bungie Foundation mission. How can other people get involved?

Mark: First, donating to the Extra Life campaign can help change the lives of those who need it most. One of my fellow Guardian Radio co-hosts, James “MyNameisByf” Byford was able to go to the Seattle Children’s Hospital and witness firsthand the difference the funds raised by this charity can make.

The second thing that can be done is helping us spread the word about the campaign using social media. Not everyone can give a monetary donation. Just by spreading the word about the event will help raise awareness. On Twitter we’re using #DestinyFansGiveBack as the hashtag to represent our shared support.

When the time comes for the marathon, what will be your track ?

David: The majority of our hosts will be playing Destiny. Last year, we had to resort to playing an assortment of games, but now that the game is here, it’s all we want to play. The campaign is called Destiny Fans Give Back, after all.

Makes all the sense in the world to us. What drastic measures will you take to stay awake for 24 hours of heart-pounding Guardian action?

Mark: Luckily for us there are so many from around the Destiny Community involved in this event that we will all be taking shifts streaming to the livestream page on Twitch. We’ll have a schedule posted soon for the 24-hour festivities.

Even though each of us won’t be live-streaming the entire time, many of us in the community plan to marathon the whole event regardless. Energy drinks and plenty of sleep the night before will keep the Travelers light in our Guardians shining bright enough to help us make it through.

So, more of a relay race than a marathon? Fair enough. In closing, and as shamelessly as possible, plug the outlets we should watch to share in the experience.

David: On Saturday, October 25th at 8:00 AM Eastern Standard time, we’ll be kicking off a 24-hour livestream that will run until the next morning of October 26th; concluding at 8:00 AM EST. You can tune into the madness on our official Twitch channel.

Bungie is throwing down to help these Guardians make a favorable impact on the real world. They’ll have prizes to give away to people who participate in their circus of giving and sharing. We’ve seen to it personally, but we’ll let them figure out how the spoils are awarded. Follow them and stay tuned for how you can help them make a difference.

We’ll also be there to run a portion of this race with them, with some fresh bounties on some heads. See you later on this month.