ExtraLife Game Day 2018

YEAR 7!?!

Hard to believe I've been doing this for 7 years now... and getting started on another 24 (possibly 25) hour marathon of games - the perfect opportunity to catch up on the gaming I've missed out on over the last few months due to work and school.

So, to address a few questions:
How did you get involved in this charity?
Seven years ago, my roommate (Jackie) in veterinary school had mentioned hearing about a 24 hour video game marathon, I was interested - it didn't matter what the cause!  Year after year, I've been playing and raising funds thanks to the support of friends, family, coworkers, and my mom's office.  From 2012 to 2017, we have raised $2,228 for the charity, and collectively, Extra Life has raised more than $40,000,000 since starting in 2008.

What games do you play?
It varies a little bit year-to-year.  I tend to be a solo player, so I play a variety of single-player video games.  However, if I have a friend or two stop by, we have played board or card games in the past (perfect opportunity to play that full game of Risk).  I post updates of game choices intermittently throughout the day.

Sounds interesting... how can I help?
As always, if you are interested in donating or checking out my fundraising for the year, please do so here:  Zadrya's ExtraLife 2018 Fundraising Page.  I've already hit my $500 goal for the year, but it's not too late to help out!  And remember, all proceeds raised are #FTK (for the kids) at Boston Children's Hospital.
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I will be continuing to blog throughout the day, just as I have in prior years.  However, I will also be posting public posts on Facebook (maybe with a video or two) with these updates intermittently.  I do also have a PetCube (which would be the only way I can essentially "life-stream"), so if you are interested in this opportunity, just contact me, and if I'm comfortable with you watching over my shoulder, I'll get you set up in the app to do so from your phone.  (You get the added bonus of being able to interact with the cat and dog while I'm away at work.)  I also have a Twitch account... but I have yet to figure out how to stream... 😂

Screenshot of the Title Screen

@9:30am:  Ugh... slept through the alarms again... I guess I really needed the sleep.  The nice rainy day start made it so hard to get out of bed - but, that's where the beauty of phone games comes in.  I've been occasionally playing a silly picture-based story game called Two Eyes (with similar gameplay to Minesweeper).  It's cute - and the artwork is very interesting (very Okami-like).  Just had the wolf and the deer meet as young adults, so we'll see where that story ends up.  However, it's time to get out of bed, take a quick break to feed the pets (the axolotls are hungry - I forgot to feed them last night), take the dog out for a quick walk, and pop some waffles into the toaster.  Coffee... yes... coffee is a must-have!

From www.guerrilla-games.com - official website

@10:35am:  Starting up again with a game I've been borrowing from Steve for a few months now (and where there's newer downloadable content, he's been asking for the disc back so he can play the new stuff) - Horizon: Zero Dawn.  In this game, you play as Aloy, a young tribal outcast, who is trying to find her place in the tribe and survive in a post-apocalyptic world where machines have taken many similar roles to animals in the forests.  The artistry of this game is beautiful, and I certainly am enjoying this game whenever I pick it up (although I've never been good at portions of games that require stealth as a key component).

@3:03pm:  Time for another quick break for the dog and to make a pit-stop by the leasing office.  Gonna have to decide on a game switch, as the PS4 controller is almost dead (and I only have one).  The Boston Extra Life team has supposedly sent us game-day kits, so I'm hoping it's sitting in the mail room...

@4:30pm:  Package isn't in yet... boo.  :(  So, I sat back on the floor (so the controller could reach to charge) to play some more Horizon: Zero Dawn.  Although I like this game, it gets tedious when you climb up a mountainside just to fall off when you can see the vantage point or banuk figurine you were aiming to get to...

Image from "Den of Geek"

@6:44pm:  Ok... enough's enough - time to move on to another game for a bit... so, I pulled up Call of Cthulhu, only to find out that it already has 3MB update to go through.  Still not feeling up to playing Mass Effect: Andromeda, I went for another oldie that I had been meaning to play - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (yeah, reppin' it old school with the XBox games here).  Wow... wow... wow... I don't know if I can deal with these graphics for very long... they're almost Final Fantasy VII bad.  And the combat!  Don't get me started - you can't even walk forward to get closer to the enemy without aborting your turn to attack...

Image from ign.com

@9:11pm:  Giving up!  Can't do this much longer, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Call of Cthulhu update had completed.  Back to this one - I had already played Chapter 1 the night I downloaded it... but I definitely won't be able to deal with the jumpscares too late into the night... luckily, these earlier chapters are more to set the stage - the creepier things probably won't start for a bit longer, from what I can tell.  I have yet to form a strong opinion on this game - but I can sure say that the Boston accents are ATROCIOUS so far... not even close...

@1:38am:  Oooookayyyy... getting to be a bit too much for this late at night with the start of sleepiness kicking in - the main character's panic attacks when in a claustrophobic environment are a really good simulation, for a video game (pulsating controller, screen getting all wavy, edges of the screen going black).  But now to decide what to play - do I go back to Horizon: Zero Dawn?  Do I do something a little more brainless until I catch my second wind?  I'm leaning towards brainless with a cell phone game again right now.

@4:30am:  Just riding my robot horse around the forest.  Don't mind me!  (Horizon: Zero Dawn)

@6:30am:  Seems to be the time every year that I start to crash and burn a little bit, isn't it?  I'm standing to try to play this game, but keep getting ambushed by the robots.  Robot uprising > tired Nicole. 

@8:40am:  Still in the throws of the bonus hour... less than one to go!