Lame Games make a Difference
Alright generous gamers get your wallets ready because the Lame Game Marathon is back for its fifth year of raising money for Unicef. So for the cool cats at LGM have raised over $30 000 for the cause and this year they are looking to add significant numbers to that total.
The most exciting news is that this year they will not only be playing lame games but they will be making them. That’s right the crew will be putting together a lame game live on the stream. But don’t stress all you sadists out there, you will still be able to see the crew play some terrible games like Sonic 2006 and The Fifth Element. For more info check out the press release below and make sure you put this great event in your calendar. It deserves everyone’s support.
Lame Games. We’ve all heard of them, the games that the stores couldn’t sell, the games whose metacritic scores become the stuff of legend, the lame games . Lame games offer frustration where there should be fun, and pain where there should be joy. On the 24th and 25th of October , the LGM team will attempt to harness that pain for 24 hours straight, and turn it into hope.
What is the Lame Game Marathon?
The Lame Game Marathon is a Melbourne based gaming broadcast where the worst games ever made are played for 24 hours straight, all while raising funds for UNICEF Australia . As a bunch of friends take turns to play through the worst titles possible, a panel of hosts throughout the stream will commentate on the gameplay, keep the jokes coming, and add another layer of entertainment to the broadcast.
The LGM focuses heavily on viewer interaction during the broadcast taking audience requests, running giveaways, and generally working to keep the streams content engaging and fun in order to motivate viewers to donate to a good cause.
In addition to playing lame games, the LGM has teamed up with Opaque Multimedia to create the first ever Lame Game Jam , where a lame game will be developed and played LIVE during the marathon all based on viewer suggestions. With everyone’s help, it could turn out to be the best-worst game ever made!
In the end, it’s a lot of laughs and variety as viewers tune in to watch the LGM team suffering through the worst games into the early hours of the morning, all while raising funds for a worthy cause.
What is different this year?
This year the Lame Game Marathon team is tackling one of their most requested game platforms, everybody’s favourite semi-functional hand-wavy peripheral, the KINECT . For a full four hour block they will be sweating it out to a hand-picked collection of Kinect motion controlled games, including the unresponsive Steel Battalion:Heavy Armor and the existential horror that is Star Wars Kinect. Let’s hope they have health insurance.
We’re making our own lame game! The Lame Game Jam
This year as a part of Melbourne International Games Week the awesome folks at Opaque Multimedia have decided to help us develop our very own lame game LIVE for the world to see, making this the first ever Lame Game Jam. Opaque’s amazing development team will be taking viewer suggestions for content and direction while rapid-prototyping a kinect-enabled lame game in Unreal Engine 4. The LGM team will then play the lame game live, for better or for worse, for the entire internet to see.
What ‘lame games’ are being played?
This year the LGM team has dug up a completely new line-up of lame games to play, covering old, new, infamous and obscure games. Some games play badly, some look terrible, and some barely seem to function. A couple of dishonourable mentions are:
- Sonic 2006 , arguably the worst Sonic game in a long line of terrible Sonic games
- A line-up of the worst games for the Kinect will be hand-picked for the team to sweat it out to, including Steel Battalion and Star Wars Kinect.
- The Fifth Element on PS1, showing the depths that old-school polygon graphics could reach.
- A variety of lame and sometimes just weird mini-games, including Qwop , Clop, Unfair Mario , Game of theyear 420Blazeit , Shower With Your Dad Simulator 2015: Do You Still Shower With Your Dad? , and more!
Why support UNICEF Australia?
UNICEF’s global efforts help to improve the rights and welfare of underprivileged children worldwide, by providing education, health services, and much needed emergency response in times of crisis.
With the Syrian refugee crisis being one of the worst humanitarian issues seen in over 20 years, UNICEF’s efforts are needed now more than ever. Funds donated will go towards helping Syrian children and t heir families by providing food, clean toilets, schooling, shelter, trauma counselling, winter clothing, and vaccinations. Any excess funds from this appeal will go on to support children affected by major emergencies in over 191 countries across the world.
UNICEF work hard to improve the lives of children who have never known the privileges most of us have taken for granted whilst growing up, so the LGM team wants to do whatever they can to support such a good cause.
How can I help support such a brave and noble cause?
The best way anybody can help is by spreading the word. Updates will be posted regularly by the LGM team via their Facebook and Twitter, so the more people that are talking about the LGM, the more chances the team has of breaking their previous totals and raising even more money for such a good cause.
When exactly is the LGMV?
LGMV will go live at 12 noon (AEDT +11:00), on the Saturday the 24th of October, through till 12 noon on Sunday the 25th.
LGM Facts:
- The LGM team have raised almost $30,000 for charity so far.
- The LGM3 in 2013 had a total view count on Twitch.tv of 280,000 people in just 24 hours .
- In 2014 at the PAX Australia convention in Melbourne, the LGM team presented a panel discussing the current trend of gaming and fundraising, titled “Playing It Forward”.
- Every year the LGM team has reached out to Vin Diesel to appear on the show. This year the team is confident he’ll accept the invitation.
- After a successful partnership with Swinburne Uni in 2014, the LGM will again broadcast from the Hawthorn campus this year.
Previous LGM Fundraising Totals:
2011: $5500 | 2012: $7300 | 2013: $7800 | 2014: $8,092.26
www.lamegamemarathon.com
facebook.com/LameGameMarathon
twitter.com/LameGame24hr
youtube.com/user/LameGameMarathon
info@lamegamemarathon.com
