Author Topic: Roguelike Relay - a roguelike charity marathon [Brainstorming/General Thoughs]  (Read 10652 times)

kawatan

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I posted this on the roguelikes subreddit, but I'll reiterate it here and see if any of you have any thoughts on this.

I really like video game charity marathons.

Traditional examples are things like Desert Bus for Hope and Zeldathon. In these, many people gather in one room and play a game or series of games, not stopping for many days, collecting money along the way that goes directly to a charity of the group's choosing. Their exploits - both in game and in the room - are broadcast online with an active chat room going alongside, and there's often silly things done on camera in exchange for donations. The chat keeps the participants energized and excited, and gives them something to interact with other than the game itself.

I really think there's room out there for roguelikes to be streamed online for charity. It would never make the many thousands of dollars these marathons make, but it could give a tidy sum to a worthy cause.

I think an interesting way to do this would be to stream on a channel fairly regularly - say a few hours every Saturday evening, depending on who's willing to stream - with donations open to a charity of our choice. People of any skill level would be welcome - and indeed, it may be useful to show early, mid, and late game strategies from people who understand the larger games. And people could play whichever roguelikes and roguelikelike/roguelite games they like - the more variety, the better.

Would people be willing to watch this? Stream for it, interacting with chat and commentating while they play? Would people be willing to donate to charity in exchange for the entertainment and information they'd get from it? Do you have particular charities you'd like to see this go to?

What are your thoughts on streaming roguelikes for charity?
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getter77

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The concept could indeed work, and stranger things have happened in somewhat related spheres---take those "Boiler"  Binding of Isaac races that TorNis and several others have going on Twitch.  Maybe this would be something to ask Tornis about outright given his experience in streaming Roguelikes to probably the largest exposure of anybody in English?

With many such things I've seen though, an element of prestige (SDA) or at least some folks taking part with a strong following tends to be needed for momentum generation.  Gimmicks aplenty are also helpful alongside a strong lineup of games---looks to the SDA Charity Marathons for this in particular.  The world of Roguelikes is vast, but some are at a better stage for such an endeavor than others  Perhaps some sort of Spinner Wheel or d20 or something for the audience to contend with on what game the person will be bound to grapple with for the hours so the viewer too has the RNG as a foil?

I'd watch such a thing if done nicely, though almost certainly in VOD archival form as I've pretty much never been able to wrangle sitting down for a live event as I like to settle in to pay attention versus myriad distractions.
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Darren Grey

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One thing that could work is getting developers on to play their own games. Imagine the crowd you'd pull if you got the Gaslamp guys vs Tiffany Martin, or Edmund McMillen vs TorNis. Would be bloody entertaining :) Could make it a regular monthly feature, different game featured each month. Otherwise I think you'd struggle to get enough attention. Roguelikes are perhaps one of the least entertaining games to watch :-/

I have a number of contacts (as you might imagine). Let me know if you want me to approach anyone on your behalf. Might be good to start off with the lesser known games and iron out difficulties with them before approaching the big guys.

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Least entertaining to watch!

Not if you have a good Gamehunter voice over going!

kawatan

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Haha, I hope I'm at least a little entertaining. And a good chat room, where people can interact with each other and with the commentator in real time, helps a lot with that I think.

Monthly instead of weekly would probably be wise, and I like the idea of developer input - it's really what makes the roguelike community so special. I'm in contact with the showrunner of Zeldathon, who's kinda mentoring me about the charity end, and his roommate's been helping me with the how-to-use-Twitch-and-OBS end. Once I get those down I'll start reaching out to folks.

Thanks for your help and input!
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Krice

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What are your thoughts on streaming roguelikes for charity?

It's silly. Why don't everyone just give money to charity if it's something they want to do. Besides I think someone spends some amount of money to set up events like this and that money could be used in charity!
« Last Edit: July 29, 2013, 07:22:38 AM by Krice »

Jennimason

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Interesting concept, I would probably watch at least.
I don't have any idea how to stream on *nix  OSes so I won't volunteer for that, but if I figure it out I don't mind making a fool of myself in real-time sometimes (as opposed to pre-recorded like I do now).
I do Let's Plays of Roguelikes at https://www.youtube.com/user/RoguesWonderland :D Come watch!