Join the GamersWithJobs Extra Life Team for 2016!

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Congratulations GamersWithJobs!

We have collectively raised $3,953.46 as of this writing (Nov. 6th, 11pm ET). This puts us in 196th place out of 5,411 teams. Donations are accepted until December 31st, 2016, so there's still time to push the total over $4,000 (especially for anyone running on a make-up weekend). Regardless, this is not an insignificant amount. Should we try for $5,000 in 2017?

Quick Links:

GamersWithJobs Extra Life Page

Community Schedule Sheet

GWJ Twitch Channel

GWJ Curse Server

Stream Overlays (Dropbox)

Tracker App

Nightbot Chat Mod

Mario Kart 8 room code (2:30pm Eastern) - 6825-1230-1138


Last Minute Recommendations!

Update all the games you plan on playing for Game Day! If you're streaming, then the best thing to do the night before is to update them and potentially snag any necessary DLC. This way you're not stuck streaming a download.

You might want to turn some notifications off. Again, if you're streaming, be sure to shut off any notifications you think might get obnoxious during the stream or may violate the privacy of your friends.

Test all your equipment. My first Extra Life started an hour late because I ran into technical problems with my game hooking up. So make sure it all works tonight.

Set your alarm. This might sound obvious, but I know I'm not used to setting an alarm on Friday night.


What is Extra Life?

Extra Life is a charity event focused on playing games to raise money rather than running, biking, or other such common athletic marathons done for charity. Any type of game can be played, including board games, card games, even physical games in case you'd rather not spend the whole time on the couch. You can do it solo or you can do it with friends.

There is an official "game day" on November 5th which focuses on having a marathon gaming session for twenty-four twenty-five hours (because Daylight Savings Time). This is when you'll see hashtags and Twitch streams tagged with Extra Life and donations, and makes it easier for Internet communities like ours to organize special events.

However, Extra Life does not require a straight twenty-fourfive hour session on that day. You can split it up into two twelve hour sessions, or twelve two-hour sessions, or even get rid of the hour concept together and just try to raise money each time you stream. There's a lot of creativity available.

What separates Extra Life from similar charity Child's Play is that all the money goes towards the Children's Miracle Network hospitals each participant chooses to support. This allows the hospital to spend the money on anything, such as machinery, research, treatments, family accommodations, etc. while Child's Play purchases games to provide to sick children staying at these hospitals. Each charity is thus able to serve a different purpose and help kids in different ways.

Getting Involved

I've set up a GamersWithJobs Team page for any Goodjers interested in participating. Every member is free to act autonomously, and any money you raise goes to the hospital of your choice. The purpose of the team is to help organize and play together as support for the twenty-five hour experience.

Please use this thread to help organize games you plan on playing during the marathon in case other players may want to join in. Also feel free to provide any technical help and feedback for things such as streaming or software to use for streaming.

If you cannot participate as an Extra Life team member, you can still help out. Even if you won't stream yourself, helping to organize game times and platforms can help us as we face our stream. You can retweet any GWJers streaming or sharing their fund-raising pages. You can watch our streams and comment. And, if you're feeling generous, you can donate to any Goodjer whose fund-raising efforts you'd like to support.

So I said I wouldn't lead the team again but I just couldn't help myself.

I'll see if I can help provide my set-up to stream party-chat audio with folks that plan on streaming, and I'll link to the post in the OP when I do. I'm hoping to interact with folks more and that, together, we can come up with ideas of engagement.

Also: list out multiplayer games you think will be big this year. I listed Overwatch, Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1, Rocket League, and CoD, but don't know if we have enough folks playing Paragon, or would be interested in doing some Splatoon or Smash Bros.

Also also: if you'd like to try Extra Life but cannot do the 25 hour thing, feel free to try and get ideas in here of alternative concepts. I have to spitball ideas whenever I'm recruiting at conventions and events, and you'd be surprised how many different ways people think to participate.

So yeah. Extra Life! Whoo!

Just when you thought you were out...

Spoiler:

glad you're in!

I'm hoping to do some streaming from various game systems in preparation for Extra Life over the next few months. This includes making sure things like Skype or I suppose Curse audio is all captured and sent through the Steam (we're not doing Vent anymore, right? It's all Curse now?)

The natural go-to for streaming is something like a multiplayer game that everyone's doing together, but I also want to see how streaming single-player PC, PS3, WiiU and, hopefully, even SNES games works. If anyone would be interested in chilling and chatting then I wouldn't mind bringing some ideas together (for example, could chat about Murdered: Soul Suspect, the current SallyNasty club game, or chat about an old SNES game I still got the cart to, etc.).

I tend to procrastinate a lot and I'd like to be better prepared by doing streams as a sort of build-up to Extra Life this time.

I'm in again this year, was thinking of trying to get my Gold Medals on the Left 4 Dead survival mode.

Remember to join the roster so I can add you to the original topic.

Finally got round to joining.

Marking interest here. I've never done one of these before nor do I know much about the goings-on, but tagging myself here!

I'm considering organizing either a Rocket League stream or a Destiny Raid to do a practice stream. If you want I can get you in on that and then help explain some of the details.

Or just feel free to drop any questions here and I'll answer them to the best of my abilities.

Thank you SpaceDog for joining again! And we got a third team member! I won't be alone! q.q

Either works - when would that be? Additionally, I have some hardware to be able to stream older stuff. I just haven't used it in a while. I could look into that for you, if you'd like!

I was actually thinking of hosting a board game day at my church for Extra Life this year. I will have to debate whether to sign up for GWJ or something like flip the table.

Damnable Bear wrote:

Either works - when would that be?

I'll let you know! Depends on what I'm doing the next few weekends.

Damnable Bear wrote:

Additionally, I have some hardware to be able to stream older stuff. I just haven't used it in a while. I could look into that for you, if you'd like!

What sort of older stuff? I recently got myself a composite-to-HDMI converter. The video signal isn't the best quality, but I'm hoping to add games like Mega Man X to my streaming schedule this year.

Igneus wrote:

I was actually thinking of hosting a board game day at my church for Extra Life this year. I will have to debate whether to sign up for GWJ or something like flip the table.

Judging by Google Maps and your listed location, there should be a Hershey guild out near you. If you need help I can see about getting you in contact with local folks that can assist. The Philly Guild leader has been in touch with leaders from the surrounding guilds.

I'm interested. While that falls around midterms, I'm down to get some money donated while I take a break from homework. And also make some improvements to my streaming setup during the approaching days.

You know I want in, Chris. Last year I did some peri scoping as I don't have the means to stream properly. Sign me up, though! heres to another year of getting creative and making it work for me!

ccesarano wrote:

Judging by Google Maps and your listed location, there should be a Hershey guild out near you. If you need help I can see about getting you in contact with local folks that can assist. The Philly Guild leader has been in touch with leaders from the surrounding guilds.

Not really sure of the guilds (as in what guild?), but I welcome any and all help. Facility management certainly wont be an issue as long as I get the "rental date". The biggest help would just be getting the word out to people. The Secret Cabal records out of this area so hey maybe I can get a mention.

I have a team of GWJers that are interested in streaming an hour of a WoW: Legion dungeon run.

Man, if my rig could handle gaming and streaming at the same time, I would love to do this. I wonder if I can do 24 hours of something really lightweight like a roguelike or retro PC game.

Mixolyde wrote:

Man, if my rig could handle gaming and streaming at the same time, I would love to do this. I wonder if I can do 24 hours of something really lightweight like a roguelike or retro PC game.

Note that you don't have to stream if you do participate. Extra Life runs on an honor system. You also don't have to do it 24 hours in a row. So if you manage to just tweet or Facebook updates on your progress to your friends and family, that's all you need to do.

This is partially how some people manage 24-hour D&D sessions or tabletop nights, or other types of games.

Reaper81 wrote:

I have a team of GWJers that are interested in streaming an hour of a WoW: Legion dungeon run.

I do not have WoW myself, but I'll try and get in touch with you if you'd like to turn that into an Extra Life opportunity.

ccesarano wrote:
Mixolyde wrote:

Man, if my rig could handle gaming and streaming at the same time, I would love to do this. I wonder if I can do 24 hours of something really lightweight like a roguelike or retro PC game.

Note that you don't have to stream if you do participate. Extra Life runs on an honor system. You also don't have to do it 24 hours in a row. So if you manage to just tweet or Facebook updates on your progress to your friends and family, that's all you need to do.

This is partially how some people manage 24-hour D&D sessions or tabletop nights, or other types of games.

Reaper81 wrote:

I have a team of GWJers that are interested in streaming an hour of a WoW: Legion dungeon run.

I do not have WoW myself, but I'll try and get in touch with you if you'd like to turn that into an Extra Life opportunity.

That is what I meant. I apologize for not being more clear!

Alright, when I get a chance I'll send a PM your way.

Igneus wrote:

Not really sure of the guilds (as in what guild?), but I welcome any and all help. Facility management certainly wont be an issue as long as I get the "rental date". The biggest help would just be getting the word out to people. The Secret Cabal records out of this area so hey maybe I can get a mention.

To clarify, Guilds are essentially localized volunteer recruiters. I have attended events like TooManyGames out here in Oaks, PA in order to try and recruit folks in the Greater Philly region (though due to the YouTube personalities, we were actually getting a lot of folk from way outside). So your local guild might be able to help provide info into what Extra Life is for those unfamiliar and help with running things.

I don't want to speak for them, though, so I'll try and just get in contact with them first.

Really want to join up again this year, but I would like to stream it, my big nuisance is the fact I'm about to move home, and the only broadband provider with fast speeds where I live throttles your download speed of you have too much uploading going on. I'll have to see how it is in September when I finally get it and see if it isn't too much of an issue.

So you convinced me pretty well!

Would be happy to stream on my own little channel, I often do it for Bottle Rockets.
But I'm pretty new at the whole process, as much as I love doing it.

Chris - I've got an uh.... elgato game capture HD. As far as I know, I can do composite and component cables to it, and then just have it run to a PC with the software to stream from there.

Hurray Amoebic!

Right now I'm planning on organizing a night for Saturday, September 10th and one for Saturday, September 24th. I have ideas in mind, but those are definitely days where I'd be able to host a stream myself and be present for conversation and discussion.

I'm also considering a special stream in my own apartment around Halloween, so if anyone wants to hang around my apartment in Downingtown, PA and murder me and be on a stream where everyone's swapping the controller for Until Dawn, PM me. Especially if you'd like to attend and have the Playstation Eye because I don't got one o' those.

Note that if anyone else wants to stream something I don't have to be there. Just give me a solid date and I will make a front page post for you.

Reaper81, I'll be PMing you shortly to discuss WoW shenanigans.

EDIT: El Gato does composite as well? Huh. I'll have to double check mine (haven't even opened it yet).

Will anything be scheduled on the official "game day" November 5th?

I haven't been planning anything specific yet. Thus far the biggest game/turnout in an Extra Life year was I believe Battlefield 4, as it had just released and everyone was playing it as the new hotness. So I try to factor that in when planning for community games.

I tend to change games every two to three hours myself, but last year doing a Destiny Raid for about four to six hours was probably the best part of the night. So I'm hoping to do something like that again.

ccesarano wrote:

Hurray Amoebic!

Right now I'm planning on organizing a night for Saturday, September 10th and one for Saturday, September 24th. I have ideas in mind, but those are definitely days where I'd be able to host a stream myself and be present for conversation and discussion.

I'm also considering a special stream in my own apartment around Halloween, so if anyone wants to hang around my apartment in Downingtown, PA and murder me and be on a stream where everyone's swapping the controller for Until Dawn, PM me. Especially if you'd like to attend and have the Playstation Eye because I don't got one o' those.

Note that if anyone else wants to stream something I don't have to be there. Just give me a solid date and I will make a front page post for you.

Reaper81, I'll be PMing you shortly to discuss WoW shenanigans.

EDIT: El Gato does composite as well? Huh. I'll have to double check mine (haven't even opened it yet).

Yay! I am assembling the team.

So my church gave me the gym/kitchen/tables/chairs/facilities/playground for the the day. So looks like I will be hosting my own event, YAY! Now the trick is to get people to donate/show up. It's me. I will be joing the Flip The Table team as that is more of a boardgame group, but know in my heart i am all GWJ.

For those of you streaming veterans, mind giving me a little bit of help? I mentioned this to my friend and he was interested in joining me for 24 hours of World of Warcraft. The thing is, I've never really streamed before. Here are my questions and concerns:

1) How do I even go about streaming? I believe I have a twitch 3 month premium thing from one of the packs I bought so I guess I could use that.
2) Is it ok to not have your face live when streaming? I don't have a green screen or anything to put behind me
3) Is a headset ok? Is a desktop mic better?
4) What if I'm not worth watching? How do you guys deal when nobody is watching? I assume you still try to be awesome

I guess those might be stupid questions but I've never really done any streaming. I figure this might be a lot of fun and hopefully I can raise some money in the process. Just wondering how you guys started out and what I can expect.

I don't get more than three or four viewers when I stream for Extra Life, but I still try to commentate anyway. It's easier if you have other people on board, that way you're actively conversing with them in chat. I've never shown my face during a Stream, partially because my webcam is a piece of trash. I use a desktop mic for gaming at my desk, and headset for my PS4.

Twitch is free, so you don't need a Premium anything unless you plan on trying to "go pro". I'm trying to think of software other than XSplit you might use for streaming, but that's all I really use for PC games.

DeThroned wrote:

4) What if I'm not worth watching? How do you guys deal when nobody is watching? I assume you still try to be awesome

Even when I'm mostly by myself in my stream, I just keep talking, or vocalizing my reactions to whatever I'm playing. Maybe someone will tune in, maybe they won't? I've also talked about different topics on my stream, like favorite comic book characters, and other topics that aren't related to the game.

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