Gaming for SickKids: Extra Life
GUEST BLOG – Steve Tilley, Extra Life gamer and SickKids supporter
Steve Tilley covers entertainment, video games and pop culture for the Sun Media newspapers and websites, and can be seen on the syndicated daily TV show Reviews on the Run.
I call it the 4 a.m. wall. But instead of being made of bricks and mortar, this wall is fashioned from soft couch cushions and dim lighting and the sheer exhaustion of having been awake, bleary-eyed and sore-thumbed, for 20 hours straight.
When it comes to Extra Life, hitting that wall is what separates the players from the posers. This will be my third year taking part in Extra Life, the annual 24-hour video game marathon in support of the Children’s Miracle Network, the organization that helps children’s hospitals across North America, including SickKids here in Toronto.
Compared to, say, running an actual marathon, playing video games for 24 hours sounds kind of easy. Maybe even fun. And it is, until 4 a.m. rolls around and the rest of the world is asleep and it’s only you and your fellow gamers, hitting that wall, resisting the lure of those soft cushions, pushing on through to the break of dawn. But you know what? It’s so, so worth it.
Extra Life began in 2008 with a group of video gamers in Texas raising funds in memory of a young cancer patient who had been treated at their local children’s hospital. It’s grown year by year, with 2013’s Extra Life campaign raising $4 million for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.
What I love about Extra Life, first and foremost, is the good it does for hospitals like SickKids. As adults we have the capacity to understand and process serious illness and injury, but kids – many of whom are video game fans themselves – don’t always have that luxury. Children’s hospitals are instrumental in not only treating physical ailments, but in helping to soothe the fear and uncertainty for these young patients and their families. SickKids is at the forefront of this treatment in Canada, and in my adopted home of Toronto I can’t think of a better cause to support.
And as an adult who has been playing games since the Atari 2600 era, Extra Life gives me a chance to show my non-gaming peers that video games aren’t the domain of basement-dwelling oddballs. Games encompass an incredibly broad set of experiences and a diverse, compassionate group of people, and Extra Life fosters a wonderful sense of community. Whether participants are playing solo in their homes or coming together at public events like this year’s #CriticalHeal at the Eaton Centre, no one is truly alone.
"What I love about Extra Life, first and foremost, is the good it does for hospitals like SickKids."
Getting involved in Extra Life is easy – just head to www.extra-life.org, click the big green “Join” button and follow the straightforward steps, including choosing the specific hospital your efforts will benefit and deciding when you want to do it. Most participants will begin their marathon at 8 a.m. on Saturday, October 25, but you can choose a different time and date that works for you.
Following through, well, that’s a little trickier. Staying awake for 24 hours straight is difficult, and staying awake for 24 hours while playing games can be even harder. If you decide to take the challenge, I have a few pro tips.
If possible, do Extra Life with friends or family. Not only is it more fun, but having someone to interact with can make the time pass more quickly. If that’s not possible – and I’ve flown solo each year so far – try arranging online play sessions with friends or fellow participants, as the simple act of talking to someone does wonders for keeping the mind alert.
I decide in advance which games I’m most likely to play over the 24 hours, from simple iPad puzzle games to complex PlayStation and Xbox action games, and I save the ones I’m most interested in for the wee hours of the morning, when my brain is in dire need of stimulation. Getting up to walk around and stretch for a few minutes each hour is crucial, as are frequent food and refreshment breaks. (And don’t make the mistake of overdosing on energy drinks. Your body will hate you.)
But the great thing about Extra Life is there are no hard and fast rules, and no one policing you but yourself. If you decide to do it on a different weekend, or break the 24 hours of gaming up over several days, or play board games instead of video games, that’s all perfectly OK. The spirit of the event is more important than following guidelines to the letter.
Whether you participate in the marathon or donate to friends and loved ones who are, Extra Life is about helping kids fight battles that make a space marine’s war against alien invaders look like a cakewalk in comparison. It’s a challenge well worth accepting. Even if you can’t make it over that 4 a.m. wall.
