As hardcore gamers know, each winter Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade hold a charity drive called "Child's Play" to buy toys and games for children’s hospitals in the hope that this act of kindness will absolve the two of their lifetime of sins. Often other gaming organizations will do special events to promote, or raise money for Child’s Play, including last week’s Mega Man Marathon, and the Fallout New Vegas Marathon which ended a day ago. At the moment another band of virtual masochists are in the middle of their annual Desert Bus For Hope telethon.
Every year, these sorry bastards play the worst video game ever made Desert Bus, a real-time bus driving game set on a perfectly straight road which takes eight hours to drive. It was created as a prank game by comedy duo Penn & Teller, and was deliberately made to be terrible, requiring almost no interaction from the player (The bus wobbles to one side, requiring the player to occasionally tap the direction pad during the eight hour duration).
Five nice, possibly demented fellows will be taking turns in 24-hour shifts for five days in the hope that you’ll be amused by their antics and donate to Child’s Play. They’re also inviting celebrity guests, holding auctions, and will perform humiliating stunts on request. You can see the whole thing live on their website, and if you donate enough money, they’ll do an extra day of this torture.
