We're all living in a world gone Geek, and today we're diving into something super special that really embodies our fandom for good: Extra Life! This episode is dedicated to the amazing charity event where gamers unite to play for 24 hours straight, raising funds for Children's Miracle Network hospitals. Join Jeff (aka Grounded Geek) andYuta as they share their personal experiences and the impact Extra Life has had on their lives and the lives of others. We've got some fantastic guests lined up who'll share their own journeys with Extra Life, including the incredible ways this initiative has helped kids in need. So grab your favorite snack, kick back, and let’s get ready to geek hard or go home—because every dollar raised makes a real difference!
Takeaways:
- In this episode, we dive deep into the heartwarming mission of Extra Life, a charity that transforms our gaming passion into funds for children's hospitals.
- The hosts, Jeff and Yuta, share their personal journey with Extra Life, highlighting their 14-year commitment to gaming for a cause that genuinely impacts families.
- Listeners are encouraged to participate in Extra Life by playing games for 24 hours, raising funds for local Children's Miracle Network hospitals in their communities.
- The podcast emphasizes the camaraderie among podcasters during the 'Podcast On' initiative, showcasing how the community unites to support various charities simultaneously.
- Extra Life isn't just about gaming; it's about creating hope and bringing communities together to make a real difference in the lives of children facing medical challenges.
- With fun anecdotes and engaging discussions, the episode highlights how gaming can foster connections and encourage positivity in fandoms while doing good.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Extra Life
- Children's Miracle Network
- University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
- Promptly Written
We're all living in a world gone Geek.
Speaker BIt's time to geek hard or go home.
Speaker AThe podcast is real.
Speaker AHere's your host, Grounded Geek.
Speaker BWelcome back to another episode of World Gone Geek, where we celebrate the passions that bring us together.
Speaker BI'm Jeff, AKA Grounded Geek, and today we're focusing on something truly special that embodies our fandom for Good mission and that's Extra Life.
Speaker BWe have a whole episode dedicated to Extra Life.
Speaker BWe are participating this year in event called Podcast On.
Speaker BIt's all about convincing as many podcasts out there as possible to dedicate one episode of their show to a charity of their choice and to release those episodes simultaneously.
Speaker BSo in a coordinated effort.
Speaker BThis week, you are listening to an episode of our podcast that is part of Podcast on and we're going to be talking about Extra Life.
Speaker BBefore we jump into that, I do want to introduce my co host, Utah, who is with me here.
Speaker AGreetings, programs.
Speaker BWe are partners in this Extra Life thing and have been pretty much from the start of us even doing it, we've been playing this event together.
Speaker AIt's been what I think.
Speaker AI think this is our 14th year.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BAnd that just blows my mind when you think about.
Speaker BAlso is the 14th year.
Speaker BAnd since I want to make sure that we talk about this too, because I did mention on the last episode I was shaving my head for St.
Speaker BBaldric.
Speaker AJust, just.
Speaker BThere's official.
Speaker BIt's official.
Speaker BUtah was kind enough to point out how much I look like my microphone now when I'm wearing.
Speaker AI don't know who's talking into who.
Speaker BWhen I'm wearing my beanie.
Speaker BBut yeah, so we, I raised.
Speaker BI hit my goal for that, which was fantastic.
Speaker AThat's fantastic.
Speaker BSo now my attention has turned to Extra Life and we're going to be raising money for that now.
Speaker BAnd for those who don't know, Extra Life is an incredible chance charity program that turns our love of gaming into a real world impact.
Speaker BSo participants play games for 24 hours straight to raise money for Children's Miracle Network hospitals.
Speaker BAnd in our case, that's the amazing University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital right here in Cleveland.
Speaker BUtah and I both have Rainbow kids in our family and rainbow history.
Speaker BEverybody on our show tonight has connections and a history with Rainbow, and we're going to talk a little bit about that tonight.
Speaker BBut you can play for literally any Children's Miracle Network hospital.
Speaker BIf you're listening to us out in California, there are hospitals out there.
Speaker BIf you're listening to us In New York.
Speaker BThere are hospitals there where we can connect you there.
Speaker BSo we want you to know more about this.
Speaker BBut you'll play a 24 hour video game marathon to raise money for your local children's hospital.
Speaker BAnd today we've got three fantastic guests who are going to share their extra life experiences with us.
Speaker BAnd first we have Sam Strozewski.
Speaker BI wanted to say it before I asked you how to say your name beforehand and then I almost said it the wrong way immediately.
Speaker CI would have gone with it either way.
Speaker BWelcome to the show.
Speaker CThank you so much.
Speaker CThanks for having me.
Speaker BNow, Sam, you before I introduce the other guys, you work at Rainbow.
Speaker BTell us what you do there.
Speaker CSo I'm a development officer at University Hospitals and I primarily work as the program director for All Things Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, which includes Extra Life, which don't tell the other partners, but is one of my favorite, if not the favorite partner that I get to work with.
Speaker CSo I've been doing that secret safe with us.
Speaker BNobody listens to this podcast anyway, so.
Speaker AThat'S the two listeners will know, but that's it.
Speaker CI do.
Speaker CI love you guys.
Speaker CI've been doing this for 10 years.
Speaker CThis will be my 11th extra life this year.
Speaker CSo real excited to be here with you guys and talk all things extra life.
Speaker BAwesome.
Speaker BAnd we'll get back to you in a second because I do.
Speaker BWe want to know exactly how the hospital benefits and what you guys do there with the kids in involved there.
Speaker BAnd I also want to bring onto the show.
Speaker BHe's a friend of the show quite, quite basically he's one of the family.
Speaker BHe's been on the show many times.
Speaker BHe is the host of another podcast called Promptly Written and it's Matt Shierek.
Speaker BWelcome.
Speaker DHey, thanks for having me, man.
Speaker AHe's a super friend of the show.
Speaker BHe certainly is.
Speaker BAnd you also work at Rainbow.
Speaker BTell us what you do.
Speaker EI do.
Speaker DSo official title is senior digital content producer.
Speaker DSo 90% of that is photography.
Speaker DThe other 10% is some like small video production for the.
Speaker BAll right.
Speaker BAnd our third guest has been on the show before.
Speaker BWe featured him a while back and we got to talk a little bit about Extra Life, but we were focused mostly on his.
Speaker BHis Twitch streaming career and you can find him there on Twitch streaming quite often.
Speaker BPlease welcome to the show, Sean Gorey.
Speaker EHello.
Speaker BHello everybody in this panel that we're talking to right now has taken on the 24 hour gaming challenge and lived to tell the tale.
Speaker BTonight we're going to talk about those Tales.
Speaker BBut before we dive in, I want to share a little bit about why this matters so much to us at WorldGun Geek.
Speaker BSo we have a manifesto where we talk about harnessing our passions to make a positive impact.
Speaker BAnd I've talked about our manifesto before.
Speaker BCheck it out on our website.
Speaker BGo to about page.
Speaker BWe're all about trying to bring positivity back into fandoms.
Speaker BWe're trying to create a more positive world to be a fan of things tired of the gatekeeping, all that kind of fun stuff.
Speaker BAnd one tenet is using our powers, our superpowers, for good.
Speaker BAnd so that's through doing events like this.
Speaker BSt.
Speaker BBaldrick's Extra Life.
Speaker BAnything that we can to try to give back.
Speaker BSo we geek out and we give back.
Speaker BThat's kind of our, our motto.
Speaker BSo we want to harness G O G B.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BGeek out and give God.
Speaker BThere you go.
Speaker BRolls right off the top right now.
Speaker BBut Extra Life is the perfect, perfect example of harnessing our passions to make a positive impact.
Speaker BSo it's gamers of all types coming together, from casual mobile players to hardcore PC builders to console players, to Dungeons and Dragons sessions, to board gamers.
Speaker BWhatever it is, whatever game you're passionate about, you can unite around a shared love of games to help kids in need.
Speaker BAnd it doesn't get any more world gone geek than that.
Speaker BSo we're going to get started here again, like I said, Sam, where we'll start with you.
Speaker BI talked a little bit about how the charity benefits the local children's hospital.
Speaker BAnd there at Rainbow.
Speaker BTell us exactly what is Extra Life doing to help the kids at Rainbow?
Speaker CYeah, so at, uh, Rainbow, all of the funds raised through Extra Life go to, we call them, generally, areas of greatest need.
Speaker CSo what does that mean?
Speaker CWhat might surprise folks is that a lot of the things that happen at a hospital, and especially at a children's hospital, aren't covered by health insurance.
Speaker CAnd that's where these funds are going.
Speaker CSo things like making sure that patients have access to art therapy, to music therapy, to.
Speaker CWe have a horticultural therapist at, uh, we have a rooftop garden.
Speaker CAnd she actually brings the garden to patients in their rooms as well if they can't come up.
Speaker CSo ways to help kids not only survive what they're going through, but try to thrive and come out a little bit less scarred, if you will.
Speaker CIt definitely makes the hospital less scary for kids and for their families by providing them with some extra touches throughout their stay with us.
Speaker COne thing that we talk about quite a bit is trying to mitigate the fear of having to go to the doctor.
Speaker CSo being in a hospital, it can be extremely scary.
Speaker CBoth Jeff, Utah, you both know quite well, I know everybody here does.
Speaker CIt can be a very scary experience.
Speaker CAnd having a child life specialist who can give you a tour of the unit that you're going to be admitted to, show you what your doctor is going to look like when they're all in their scrubs with the mask and a hat on and everything.
Speaker CHealthy rooms on every floor having wet floor signs that are shaped like banana peels.
Speaker CJust those little things that really make it a child friendly and honestly, kind of a happy place, a joyful place, despite all of the scary things that are happening there.
Speaker CSo it goes quite a long way.
Speaker CLike you said, you can support any of the Children's Miracle Network hospitals.
Speaker CThere are 170 of us across the US and Canada.
Speaker CBut right here in Cleveland, we're fortunate to have, uh, Rainbow, um, and we welcome, you know, extra lifers from all over the world.
Speaker CYou don't have to be here in Cleveland to support us, too.
Speaker ESo.
Speaker BYeah, that's awesome.
Speaker BAnd I'd like to use that to segue a little bit into Utah real quick to tell a little bit about your story, because I know child life was an important part of the stay when your son was there.
Speaker BCan you just.
Speaker BCan you just kind of give us a little recap of what you guys did and how child life made a difference for you?
Speaker ASure, sure.
Speaker ASo our Youngest Tyco, he's 14 now, but about six or eight months old.
Speaker AWe had him checked out a couple of different things.
Speaker AA pediatrician noticed a heart murmur, wanted to get that checked out, realized that he had what's called an atrial ventricular canal defect, Basically a malformed valve in the heart and not completely formed wall between the two of the chambers in the heart.
Speaker ASo his heart was working overtime, maybe 2, 300% harder than it needed to in order to keep things flowing.
Speaker AAnd so, unfortunately, the cardiologist said the only way to fix it was open heart surgery.
Speaker AAnd so, you know, when we were talking about a kid who's not even one, you know, doesn't talk, was just starting to sit up on his own.
Speaker AYou know, that's tough news to get, but, you know, thanks to the wonderful people at Rainbow, the cardiologists, the cardiology team, the nurses, everybody we encountered there in our preparation to the actual surgery for Tycho, you know, they did so much to reassure us and to, you know, comfort us and let us know that Tycho was in good hands and we got so much support from everybody there.
Speaker AAnd when it came to the day it actually happened that his surgery was on our 10th anniversary, 10th wedding anniversary.
Speaker ASo July 7th every year we celebrate our wedding anniversary and we celebrate Tycho having a successful surgery.
Speaker AAnd that day was, it was one of the longest days of our lives.
Speaker AYou know, we got there super early, had to hand him off to, he had just turned one and we had to hand him off to the OR nurse and not see him for a few hours.
Speaker AAs stressful as it was, we got updates from the nurse every 45 minutes to an hour.
Speaker AChild Life Services was around to kind of, you know, if we had any questions to explain to us, let us know what resources we had.
Speaker AOnce we heard that the surgery was done, we could visit and sit with Tycho in the pediatric icu.
Speaker AAgain, Child Life Services was there explaining what everything did, what all the machines and the tubes and the wires and the beeping and the sounds were.
Speaker ABecause, you know, as a parent, when you see your, your one year old lying in the bed unconscious and there are all these wires and tubes and beeping machines and everything else, you know, it's a little, it's a little off putting.
Speaker AIt's a little, you know, concerning, concerning.
Speaker AAnd even though we knew all that stuff was to help Taiko heal and get better, it's still just not something you, you get used to seeing or want to see, you know, as a parent.
Speaker ABut we stayed there and every day, Child Life Services, every hour or so, somebody would come in, check up not only on us, but on Tycho.
Speaker AThe nurses were all wonderful.
Speaker AEverybody treated us like family.
Speaker AWe felt very welcome and safe there and you know, it could have been so much worse.
Speaker ABut having that compassionate care, you know, it was, was key to us.
Speaker ALike you can get top notch medical care, you know, you know that the cardiologists, the surgeons, all that, they're going to be great, you know, whatever hospital you go to.
Speaker AWe've got, we're lucky here in Northeast Ohio we've got at least three, three plus incredible medical institutions.
Speaker ABut it was the mental and emotional support and care that we got as family members.
Speaker AEven when Tycho's brother or sister came to visit, they also got the same sort of treatment that support was.
Speaker AI can't even, was immeasurably helpful to get us through what we still consider the longest, you know, 12, 14 days of our lives.
Speaker AAnd you know, 13 years later, he's Tycho's 14 now, he's almost as tall as I am.
Speaker AAnd he's.
Speaker AHe's a nut.
Speaker AHe's a clown.
Speaker AHe's got lots of friends and his school, and he's thriving.
Speaker AAnd even during, you know, and even after all these years, it says a lot when I take him for a checkup.
Speaker AWe have to have checkups every couple of years.
Speaker AYou know, we go into the parking garage and there's that tunnel, and you've got the mirrors and everything.
Speaker AAnd Tycho recognizes where we are and that we're going to be there for something that's medical.
Speaker AAnd he's not concerned or worried at all.
Speaker AIn fact, he's kind of, you know, kind of happy because he knows that that place, even though, you know, it was.
Speaker AIt might have been a very scary place, that something very serious had to happen or did happen, that that place also was where we all came out on the other side.
Speaker AAnd we all came on the other side happy and same, you know, and that, like Sam said, it's great when the hospital.
Speaker AThe children's hospital is a positive place.
Speaker AAnd so I think it speaks volumes when you have children going to the hospital for not necessarily the best of reasons, but they're not scared, you know, they're.
Speaker AThey're okay to go there.
Speaker AAnd I think that that speaks volumes to the work that that's being done there at Rainbow.
Speaker AAnd so that's the main reason why I do extra life, because I feel like, you know, without that experience, without those people in that institution, Tycoon may not be here.
Speaker AAnd, you know, that's something that I could never repay.
Speaker ASo I try.
Speaker AI try what we can.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker BYeah, that's awesome.
Speaker BAnd this is how you've found a way to give back.
Speaker BAnd that's.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker ABecause, you know, I'm not going to run a marathon, but I can sit in the chair for 24 hours and raise money, so any way I can.
Speaker BAnd I think that's a testament, I think, also to Rainbow and probably other children's hospitals.
Speaker BBut I can only speak to Rainbow because of my experience there.
Speaker BBut, Utah, you'll remember the very first year you and I did the marathon at the hospital, we had a young man on our team who was a patient there named Javon.
Speaker AJavon, yeah.
Speaker BAnd Javon was.
Speaker BHe was 14 at the time.
Speaker BYep.
Speaker BAnd he was there for treatment.
Speaker BHe was in there for long periods of time.
Speaker BI spent a lot of time with.
Speaker BHe would come and help me do the shows that we would do sometimes there.
Speaker BBut that kid had been through so much.
Speaker BAnd when I Told him what Extra life was and the built video gaming and what he could do.
Speaker BYou know what?
Speaker BHe wanted to be involved so bad.
Speaker BLike, he just.
Speaker BAnd all of his nurses, all of his doctors donated.
Speaker BHe raised more money than any of us.
Speaker BBut it was also because the kid had, like, this infectious smile.
Speaker BAnd he was just this great kid.
Speaker BJust really was fantastic.
Speaker BYeah, but he wanted to give back.
Speaker BYou know what I mean?
Speaker BLike, it's like, I'm here every time I'm here.
Speaker BLike, I'm sick and I feel terrible.
Speaker BBut he still, like, loved the people in that hospital and wanted to give back.
Speaker BAnd so I think that's, you know, as now.
Speaker BI mean, I.
Speaker BI'm now also a father of a rainbow kid.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BCame later in life when she was a young adult, but.
Speaker BAnd I wanted to give back because I worked there with these kids.
Speaker BBut now it's like, as a parent, it's like, that's much, much more like we want to.
Speaker BSo the kids that come out of there want to give back too.
Speaker BThey love the experience that they went through.
Speaker BAnd, Matt, you've done it with us there on.
Speaker BOn site as well.
Speaker BTell us a little bit about how you first got involved in extra life and what it means to you.
Speaker DSo, I mean, the first year that I guess that I was made aware of it was the year that you were just speaking of the year with Javon, when we did it for the first time at the hospital.
Speaker DExcept I wasn't a participant then.
Speaker DI was, you know, I was on the team.
Speaker DYou were working there at the time.
Speaker DAnd I was just kind of there for, like, support.
Speaker DI think I hung out for a few hours, went home, went to bed, came back.
Speaker DBut, you know, I'm just kidding.
Speaker BIt just.
Speaker DWhen I came back to.
Speaker DTo help, like, clean up the next day, it's, it's.
Speaker DIt's.
Speaker DIt was patients like Javon that really motivated me to want to actually participate this the next year and treat it more like, you know, the charity that it is instead of just, like, work.
Speaker DAnd, you know, it was.
Speaker DI forget what was the.
Speaker DThe other patient's name that was with us that following year?
Speaker BDonnie.
Speaker DHe was the same.
Speaker DI mean, he was a little more quiet and whatever, but the passion was there.
Speaker DAnd to see.
Speaker DTo see these kids that are.
Speaker DThat are patients of a hospital wanting to give back to the hospital.
Speaker DI mean, I just think it speaks volumes.
Speaker BI mean, literally, while they're going through.
Speaker DTreatment, I mean, it' I mean, the.
Speaker BWorst times of their lives and just.
Speaker DWanting to give back I think it really is a testament to just how powerful of a place it is.
Speaker BYeah, it's pretty great.
Speaker BAnd then you joined us the, the next.
Speaker DI did.
Speaker DI joined you the following.
Speaker DSo I'm a year behind you guys.
Speaker DYou guys are at 14, I'm at 13.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker DAnd you know, it's, we don't do it at the hospital anymore for various reasons.
Speaker DYou know, there was so many complications just in getting that done.
Speaker DBut, you know, my, my own son has been participating with for what I think maybe like the past six years or something like that.
Speaker ASounds right.
Speaker DAnd you know, we have a little spot that my in laws own up in Michigan and we go up to there just to isolate ourselves to do this marathon.
Speaker DAnd you know, he's become passionate about it.
Speaker DHe has his friends donating just because of the stories that I, I come back with about the hospital and the good that they do.
Speaker DAnd he's out fundraising me.
Speaker DAnd you know, I'm, I'm just kind of glad that he still wants to do it with me.
Speaker DAnd you know, he's, he's 20 years old now and he can't wait to go up to, you know, the, the state of north with his dad to play video games.
Speaker DYou know what I mean?
Speaker DSo I, I'm actually, I'm actually upset that, that I have a red background right now.
Speaker AOh, come on.
Speaker DI mean, but whatever.
Speaker AIt's scarlet.
Speaker AIt's a scarlet background.
Speaker DIt's scarlet.
Speaker DThere you go.
Speaker DBut yeah, I mean, it's just, it's been a wonderful experience and I, I just really do enjoy doing anything I can to, to help give back.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd I'm glad you shared that because that's what I was hoping that you would, is like how you have made it a family affair.
Speaker BAnd that's another thing.
Speaker BI want to encourage people who are listening if you want to get involved in extra life.
Speaker BIt's like, well, I don't play video games.
Speaker BMy kid does.
Speaker BAnd, and a lot of times when I'm out recruiting at events and things like that, people will say that, they're like, well, I'll have to tell my kid about it.
Speaker BI'm like, well, did you not play board games?
Speaker BHave you never played Monopoly?
Speaker BHave you never done.
Speaker BYou know, and it's like, it really is for everybody.
Speaker BAnd now I'm finding out that families are doing, instead of 24 hour marathons, they might do like a 12 hour board game marathon where they just kind of go through all their favorite board games in a day.
Speaker BEvery kid picks out a different game and then they just play them all through the day and they, as a family, they raise money.
Speaker BAnd so I, I love that you guys do that together.
Speaker BI think that's just the coolest thing.
Speaker BAnd I, I want to encourage people to consider that as well.
Speaker CI love.
Speaker BAnd so that brings me to Sean.
Speaker COh, sorry, I was just gonna jump in real quick.
Speaker CI love that you brought up that there are multiple ways to do this because we don't require you to do a marathon.
Speaker CWe have people who will play games once a.
Speaker COr once a week for the entire year.
Speaker CWe'll have people who will do, you know, a game night where they have friends come over and it's only a few hours.
Speaker CAnd then we have crazy folks like you all who typically do the 24, or if you do it on game weekend 25, because it is when we change the clocks.
Speaker ABecause it's a scam.
Speaker DYeah, they're sneaky is what they are.
Speaker CSo there's no requirement for how you go about playing games to give back.
Speaker CYou can do it however it makes sense for you.
Speaker CYour family, your friends.
Speaker CMix and match.
Speaker CI cannot survive a full marathon anymore, but I try.
Speaker CI do a solid 12 hours.
Speaker CBut yeah, it's just you can really make it your own and involve everybody in your efforts.
Speaker BAnd I've been involved in a 12 hour Dungeons and Dragons.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BRPG campaign and that was part of a fundraising effort for this as well.
Speaker BSo really, it's.
Speaker BThat's what's great about Extra Life is it's kind of a Do it Yourself fundraiser.
Speaker BYou know, people have done dance marathons.
Speaker BPeople have done.
Speaker BThere's, you know, at the case, they do a.
Speaker BDo they still do that?
Speaker BThe dance.
Speaker CWe were there and so last month, a month ago today.
Speaker BI think that's fantastic.
Speaker BFantastic.
Speaker ANice.
Speaker BSo there's lots of ways to do it.
Speaker BExtra life.
Speaker BAnd, and the.
Speaker BThe website gives you a way to raise that money without having to handle the money yourself.
Speaker BIf you want, like you can, people go right to the website and donate and all that kind of fun stuff.
Speaker BYou can fill it out yourself, decorate it with your own images and different things like that, and personalize it and do whatever it is that you want to do to raise that money, and it's all going to a good cause.
Speaker BOne question I always get when I do it in this perfect segue over to Sean here is people always ask me, well, do I have to stream it?
Speaker BAnd I'm like, no, no, you don't have to stream it.
Speaker BA lot of people Think that, you know, well, how do you know if I did it?
Speaker BAnd I'm like, well, we don't, you know, but the only people you're beholden to are your donors, right?
Speaker BSo if you tell them you're going to do it, you better do it.
Speaker BThat's up to you.
Speaker BBut you know, the money's for a good cause, so just go and do whatever it is that you can do for that.
Speaker BBut if you are gonna stream it, we've got someone who streams on Twitch quite regularly.
Speaker BSean Gorey from the the Gory Details.
Speaker BGory Details, yeah, is in the house.
Speaker BSo tell us.
Speaker BLast time you're on the show, you told us kind of like your, your how you got involved in streaming and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker BSo I'm not going to make you recap all that, but I do want you to recap, tell us a little bit about how you got involved in extra life.
Speaker BWhy, and kind of like how long you've been doing this.
Speaker ASure.
Speaker ESo the, the answer to the extreme question that we're not getting to is actually because of extra life.
Speaker EI went to school for game art design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Speaker EAnd just one day during the morning announcements, my professor casually mentioned like, hey guys, there's this 24 hour charity gaming marathon that's going on this weekend.
Speaker EIt's totally free and help sick kids.
Speaker EI'm like, let me get the straight.
Speaker EI get to play games all day and I'm going to help sick kids?
Speaker EHe's like, yes.
Speaker EI'm like, sign me up twice.
Speaker ESo sure enough, that first year I signed up, I think I raised like 25 bucks.
Speaker EAnd it probably was probably from my mom.
Speaker EAnd then the following year I, I got like the email notification saying like, hey, like it's happening again.
Speaker EI'm like, great.
Speaker ESo I did it again.
Speaker EI think that year I raised 50 bucks.
Speaker EAnd then that was 15 years ago.
Speaker ESo here we are.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd you've, I mean, it's exploded for you now because now you've got like a Twitch following and you, you, you, you, you stream on a regular basis.
Speaker BLike, how often do you, like, if we wanted to tune in, when could we find you on Twitch?
Speaker ESo when I first started with, actually if I wasn't streaming at all, I didn't know streaming existed.
Speaker EAnd like, you guys are saying, like, how will these people know if I did it?
Speaker EWell, to answer that question, if you were to run a 5k, you're not live streaming that, you know.
Speaker BNo.
Speaker ESo there was several years.
Speaker AWell, Maybe.
Speaker ENo, you're right.
Speaker EIf you got a GoPro.
Speaker EAnd really, nowadays.
Speaker BNowadays, people probably are.
Speaker EYeah, they got their whole.
Speaker ETheir cell phone the whole time.
Speaker BBut.
Speaker ESo, sure enough, there's a couple years.
Speaker EWhy?
Speaker EI just did it totally off cam.
Speaker EAnd then as time went on, XLF actually partnered with Twitch.
Speaker EI was like, I don't know.
Speaker EThis is.
Speaker EBut I'm gonna sign up.
Speaker ESo Extra Life came first, Twitch came second.
Speaker EAnd when I started.
Speaker BInteresting.
Speaker EAnd like, the very first time I ever streamed, it was in prep, like, the week before game day for Extra Life.
Speaker EAnd then after that, like, you know what?
Speaker ELike, I had fun.
Speaker ELike, I was talking to people.
Speaker EThey would see me like, hey, good luck.
Speaker EI'm gonna go to bed.
Speaker EAnd then they'd wake up like, you're still streaming.
Speaker ELike, sure I am.
Speaker EAnd like, cool, I'm gonna go to work and, like, see you later.
Speaker EAnd they come back, and I was literally like, you're still streaming?
Speaker ELike, sure am.
Speaker ESo, like, it was like a party.
Speaker EI'm like, I don't want to do this once a year.
Speaker EI'm going to do this once a week.
Speaker EAnd then it.
Speaker EIt sprawled into four times a week.
Speaker EAnd sometimes we sprinkle some more in there too, depending on if there's, like, actually related incentives.
Speaker ESo.
Speaker EYeah, so typically we're doing like, a Monday through Thursday kind of thing, but it's always, always in flux.
Speaker EIt's a moving goalpost.
Speaker BYeah, no, I.
Speaker BI get that.
Speaker BAnd I know that you've been hugely successful at raising money.
Speaker BSo tell it.
Speaker BGive us.
Speaker BGive us some hints, some advice.
Speaker BLike, what, What, What, What.
Speaker BWhat are you doing?
Speaker BI'll tell you, because I.
Speaker BI want to be as successful.
Speaker EI'll tell you.
Speaker ASriracha.
Speaker EYes.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker ESo part of.
Speaker BI can't do it.
Speaker BGo ahead, though.
Speaker BPlease, please tell us.
Speaker ESo part of the customization, Jeff, that you talked about was you can add milestones.
Speaker ESo, like, hey, guys, we've raised a hundred bucks.
Speaker EIf we.
Speaker EIf we can get to this goal or this milestone, I'll do something silly like, I'll shave my head.
Speaker EYou know, there's also incentives.
Speaker ESo, for example, like, hey, Anyone who donates $5, I'll write your name on a T shirt that I'm going to wear on game day with, like, a cloth Sharpie.
Speaker ESo I just kind of.
Speaker EIf you build it, they will come kind of situation, and they kind of shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you'll land in the star situation.
Speaker EI have created a lot of milestones and a lot of Incentives.
Speaker EThings that like, no one's gonna donate a thousand dollars to make me play Fortnite.
Speaker EIt's happened three times this year.
Speaker AThey did.
Speaker DNo kidding.
Speaker BThey would have to donate a thousand because I do not like fort.
Speaker ESame, Jeff.
Speaker ASame.
Speaker AOh, come on.
Speaker DIt's not that bad.
Speaker BI don't dislike it.
Speaker BIt's just not my.
Speaker BIt's my.
Speaker BYou know what I mean?
Speaker DLike, no.
Speaker BI can either shoot or build.
Speaker DNo, the key.
Speaker DBut there's zero.
Speaker DBuild.
Speaker EThere is a zero.
Speaker AThere's a mode that you don't have to build.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker DBecause building is nonsense.
Speaker EYes.
Speaker BI'm just not.
Speaker BJust not competitive.
Speaker ASure.
Speaker BLike that anymore.
Speaker BI'm a co op guy now.
Speaker EYeah.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BMuch more co op now than I used to.
Speaker BI used to be super competitive, but not anymore.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AStill can't.
Speaker BThat's awesome.
Speaker BSo tell us about some of the incentives that you have done though.
Speaker ESo that's a.
Speaker EI.
Speaker EI've got a good old gambit.
Speaker ESome from as little as a dollar to again, some over a thousand and shooting for the moon land in the stars gun situation.
Speaker EOr if you build it, they'll come.
Speaker ESo I've got some where if I swear on stream, I donate a dollar extra life.
Speaker EI've got Matt.
Speaker BMatt.
Speaker DOh, my.
Speaker BYou could raise so much.
Speaker EIs he a sailor over there?
Speaker BIf we just put a swear jar on your extra live stream.
Speaker DDude, that is insane.
Speaker BYou would go broke.
Speaker BI can't afford that.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AY.
Speaker ERefinance the house at the end of the stream.
Speaker AMatt.
Speaker AMatt would be like, okay, I don't have enough money to get back home, so.
Speaker ERight.
Speaker AHe's stuck in the cabin.
Speaker DI would be stuck in the cabin.
Speaker EI've got some donation incentives where it's like, if you donate like $10, I will like Utah was saying, eat a tablespoon of sriracha.
Speaker AAnd of course that's crazy.
Speaker EAnd I'll have.
Speaker AI've seen you've done multiple tablespoons at a time, and I don't even.
Speaker DYeah, at a time.
Speaker EYes.
Speaker AAt a time.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker ELike $10.
Speaker ESomeone will donate 10 times.
Speaker ELike, that was 100 bucks.
Speaker EBut enjoy that entire bottle, buddy.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BOh, my gosh.
Speaker AHe does it on camera.
Speaker AAnd I feel so bad for you every time I watch.
Speaker DThat is wild.
Speaker EWhat's funny?
Speaker ELike, there's.
Speaker EWe were talking about, you know, before we went live here.
Speaker EThere's those bean.
Speaker EBoozled beans where that could be like really good or really gross.
Speaker ELike, is this raspberry PI or is this an old band aid?
Speaker EYou know they make spicy versions of those.
Speaker ESo we're just.
Speaker AThat's just wrong.
Speaker DWait, did you guys do that last year too?
Speaker BSo not last year.
Speaker BWe did it the year before.
Speaker AThe year before.
Speaker AYeah, it was.
Speaker BWe were miserable, but it was.
Speaker BI mean, we raised money.
Speaker AIt was worth it.
Speaker BPeople did it.
Speaker BFor sure.
Speaker APeople were.
Speaker APeople were donating.
Speaker AAnd by the end, by the end.
Speaker BWe should do it again.
Speaker BI mean, it did work, but I was so gross.
Speaker EIt is gross.
Speaker BSo bad.
Speaker AIt is gross.
Speaker DBut, yeah, I enjoyed it.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker EI would rather do the gross ones over the spicy ones.
Speaker ECause like, the gross ones, like, oh, it's toothpaste.
Speaker ENo, thanks.
Speaker EBut the spicy ones, like, tears are running down my face.
Speaker ELike, my stomach hurts later.
Speaker EAnd then step three is you gotta go to the bathroom.
Speaker BYeah, yeah.
Speaker BThat's not.
Speaker ALet's not do that.
Speaker BNot survive the spicy.
Speaker BThat's not for me.
Speaker CI think one of the smartest ones you do is during marathon, I tuned in at the exact right moment where you were doing like squats and pushups and.
Speaker CAnd all sorts of things, which sounds miserable, but I feel like if you're going to be sitting in a chair for 25 hours, having somebody challenge you to do some is really smart.
Speaker EWhat's.
Speaker EWhat's funny too is like almost every game day, someone makes me do that immediately when I go live.
Speaker ESo it's like, cool.
Speaker EI know.
Speaker EYou got 25 hours to go.
Speaker ELet's knock this out.
Speaker ELike, it's 8:00am, buddy.
Speaker ELike, what's wrong with you?
Speaker BAnd they're donating for you to do that.
Speaker EThey are.
Speaker AI've even got incentives.
Speaker EYeah, I've got a donation incentive too that says I'll extend my stream.
Speaker EAnd I've had people donate during the 25 hour stream.
Speaker EAnd I know going for 27 hours.
Speaker EOh, yeah, Hashtag worth it, though.
Speaker BThat's nuts.
Speaker BYeah, yeah.
Speaker AHashtag worth it.
Speaker CThat's fantastic.
Speaker CTo let folks know how worth it it is just to give Sean a little shout out here he is already over the $12,000 mark.
Speaker CIt is the beginning.
Speaker CThat is 2000 over his $10,000 goal for the year.
Speaker CSo just he's doing the most often.
Speaker CI think we can all.
Speaker BThey just opened registration like last month, right?
Speaker EJanuary 1st, 2025.
Speaker AYep.
Speaker BOh, the first.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker BI knew it was very recently.
Speaker ASo he's already going to get whatever the in the big incentive is.
Speaker AThey haven't announced.
Speaker AThey have.
Speaker AThey haven't announced it yet, but he'll get it.
Speaker AThey've done rugs, controllers, keyboards, let's talk.
Speaker BAbout that for Lamp second.
Speaker EI love lamp.
Speaker BS.
Speaker BSam or Sean, which.
Speaker BWhoever wants to take this, tell them a little bit.
Speaker BI mean, I could do it too, but I don't want to always talk the.
Speaker BThat's why I have guests.
Speaker BSo that you can talk the.
Speaker BThe metals, the different incentives.
Speaker BIf you're a platinum, it only costs 19 to become a platinum.
Speaker BAnd then you.
Speaker BYou can receive some swag, right?
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker ESo that's totally optional, too, which is awesome.
Speaker CYeah, you can buy it completely free.
Speaker CUm, if you become a Platinum Participant 15, I think it's like 1973.
Speaker CIf you cover the cost of the credit card processing, but you get a T shirt if you hit.
Speaker CI think it's $200, right?
Speaker A200.
Speaker CAnd then you get medals for certain milestones of how much you raise.
Speaker CAnd there's different incentives throughout the course of the year.
Speaker CSo, like, y'all were just talking about, we had a.
Speaker COh, there's your metals.
Speaker CI was gonna say mine are.
Speaker CMine's in a closet that's currently behind a bunch of construction things.
Speaker CSo I'm not going to be able to get out for y'all.
Speaker BThis is a 2021.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BSilver one.
Speaker CT shirts are always great.
Speaker CUm, I wear them daily at this point.
Speaker CI found them.
Speaker CThe neon light was really cool.
Speaker CSo there's a neon extra white.
Speaker AThat's my favorite.
Speaker DI'm super jealous of those who got that controller.
Speaker CThere's a rug last year.
Speaker CI think there's a gaming chair.
Speaker CWas that last year?
Speaker EYep.
Speaker AOh, there was a gaming chair.
Speaker AThere's a rug.
Speaker CThere's the rug.
Speaker DLook at you.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CSo, you know, just fun incentives.
Speaker CThere are some that are time constraints, so if you raise X amount during this month, you get this incentive.
Speaker CAnd some are based on the whole year, how much you fundraise throughout the course of the year.
Speaker CAnd they ship about pretty fast, and they're always really quality.
Speaker CAnd we have, like, a message board.
Speaker COne year.
Speaker EDuring Tabletop Appreciation Weekend, I think they had die cast.
Speaker AOh, they had dice.
Speaker E20S.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker EDid anybody get that 20s?
Speaker EThey.
Speaker EThey had, like, dice sets.
Speaker EIt was awesome.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker CThis year, the dice set came in last year.
Speaker CLED lights tower this year.
Speaker AOh, nice.
Speaker AA dice tower.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AYeah, that's right.
Speaker AI saw that.
Speaker CSo that's.
Speaker CThat's for tabletop this year, which is April 11th to the 13th.
Speaker CYes.
Speaker CI have the website up over here because I.
Speaker CThe 11th to the 13th is Tabletop Weekend, so we encourage folks to do some tabletop fundraising throughout the course of that weekend.
Speaker COr any time in April especially.
Speaker CBut there's some good examples on the website of, you know, print game night type themes you could do.
Speaker CThere's some one shot D and D games that they, they provide too, so you don't have to come up with your own.
Speaker CSo there's a lot of good resources which is nice.
Speaker CEven easier to raise money.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo there's, there's.
Speaker BI mean technically there's two game days if you think about it, but because there's tabletop and then there's the regular game day.
Speaker BRegular game day this year is November.
Speaker EThe second has the website Saturday, November.
Speaker AWhichever daylight saving is.
Speaker EI want to say it's the eighth because I think the first is the, the first Saturday.
Speaker CI'm trying to scroll to my something.
Speaker CI think you're right that it's the 8th.
Speaker CLet me double check though, because that feels wrong.
Speaker BSo as she's checking on that, just to be clear, you don't have to do it on the game day, correct?
Speaker BNo, we said Sean is doing it year round.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BBasically he's done and it's never done.
Speaker AThat's right.
Speaker A24 7, 100.
Speaker DSean, do you normally do the like the official game day?
Speaker EI do.
Speaker EAnd what's nice, Jeff, you're talking this earlier.
Speaker EI've got friends who will intentionally not do the main game day.
Speaker ESo that way they can support their friends during game day and then they'll do theirs like a week later.
Speaker EAnd it's like, you scratch my back, I scratch yours.
Speaker EThere was a year that was like out of the country.
Speaker EMy mom planned a trip and I was like, okay, well I can't say no.
Speaker ESo when I got back like a week later, like guys, it's a game day for me.
Speaker ELet's go.
Speaker ESo it's totally customizable, does not have to be broadcast on Twitch.
Speaker EYouTube, does not have to be video games.
Speaker ECould be card games.
Speaker ELike it's so unique and so customizable.
Speaker ELike I said diy.
Speaker EIt's perfect.
Speaker BYeah, we, we actually became one of those that does it after game day and then in the process ended up watching Matt's stream some of the time, even playing with him a little bit when he does it on game day.
Speaker BAnd then Utah and I have been doing it on Black Friday.
Speaker BSo we call it.
Speaker BThanks.
Speaker BGaming.
Speaker AThat's the game.
Speaker EI was, I'm like, you guys gave us clever title.
Speaker EI can't remember what it was.
Speaker BYeah, we're, we're trying to get what my goal is to guilt people who are out There spending all this money.
Speaker EOn Black Friday TV they don't need and that they're trampling some old lady in the way.
Speaker EGive a.
Speaker BTo also give a little bit.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BYou know, if you're going to trample.
Speaker ASome old lady, help some kids.
Speaker EExactly.
Speaker DDid you.
Speaker DDid you guys.
Speaker DDid you guys entertain?
Speaker DGames giving?
Speaker AYeah, that was on my emails and streams.
Speaker AI said games giving.
Speaker AThanksgaming.
Speaker EI love it.
Speaker BYeah, I did.
Speaker BI liked thanksgaming.
Speaker DI was just curious.
Speaker BThat's what we went with.
Speaker DI think they both work.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker BThey do.
Speaker ATurkey Gaming day.
Speaker ANo, that doesn't work.
Speaker ENo.
Speaker BBut yeah, so there's different opportunities.
Speaker BI think that actually came about because that's similar to you, Sean.
Speaker BI think I was.
Speaker BWhen I was.
Speaker BWe started doing it on a different day when I started going overseas travel for a conference.
Speaker BThen that conference every year was during.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BOn Extra Life.
Speaker BAnd so I would have to either come back and do it the week after or whatever.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSame.
Speaker BSame reason I was like, okay.
Speaker BAnd then we just kind of like it just became a thing that we just did.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BEspecially because I always.
Speaker BIt's always like that first weekend.
Speaker BFirst weekend in November.
Speaker EExactly.
Speaker BBut that's what's fantastic about Extra Life is that it does not have to be.
Speaker BYou don't have to follow the rules.
Speaker BYou can make your own rules.
Speaker BAs long as it's for kids.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAs long as we're raising money for kids, then.
Speaker AThat's right.
Speaker BThere's no wrong answers.
Speaker EExactly that.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker BPretty fantastic.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker CI'm not gonna lie.
Speaker DActually thinking I'm changing.
Speaker DWe might be changing up the strategy this year, I think.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker EYeah.
Speaker EThey're making more of a.
Speaker EA game week instead of a game day.
Speaker ESo again, it's all flux.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BWell.
Speaker BAnd they sent out a survey asking about that kind of stuff.
Speaker BSo I wonder if that's.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker BHelping them kind of narrow that down a little bit.
Speaker AI remember one of the questions of the survey was like, what incentives do you think we should do?
Speaker AAnd I don't think they're going to get any of my.
Speaker AAny of my suggestions.
Speaker ABut you know, I had jumped gloves.
Speaker AMouse.
Speaker AGaming mouse.
Speaker AAlso pet rat.
Speaker ABut you know, we'll see.
Speaker DI think the mouse is a potential.
Speaker DI'd like to see like a mechanical keyboard.
Speaker AGaming mouse seems to make sense.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ABecause they had the controller keyboard.
Speaker AYeah, right.
Speaker AThat seems to make sense.
Speaker AI don't know.
Speaker AI'm kind of pulling for the jumpsuit, but you know, whatever.
Speaker EWindbreaker, 80s style.
Speaker EYeah.
Speaker AMembers Only.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BSo I put on there having incentives that involve where we can dupe where we get to a certain point and we can actually duplicate the swag so that we get a T shirt and one of our donors gets like a giveaway.
Speaker DOh, that's cool.
Speaker BAnd then, you know, you can get a controller.
Speaker BBut if you raise this month, you can get a controller for the donor too.
Speaker BI don't know.
Speaker BYou know, stuff like that.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BHaving some options or something.
Speaker BI don't know.
Speaker EI want a hooded robe because this is definitely a cult.
Speaker EAnd I drank the Kool Aid.
Speaker AYeah, there we go.
Speaker BWell, I.
Speaker BI like the idea of being able to give away some of the stuff that I get to.
Speaker BAnd I have before as incentives.
Speaker BIn fact, for several years in a row when I was still at Rainbow, I would give my.
Speaker BI don't have my medals from the first, like four or five years.
Speaker BI give it to my patient.
Speaker BSo that was, you know, kind of like.
Speaker BBecause they're the real champions, right?
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker B100 reason that we're doing this.
Speaker BSo, you know, and now that I'm not at Rainbow, I don't have those connections anymore.
Speaker BSo I don't do that.
Speaker BBut to be honest, like, this is a 2021.
Speaker BWhen I get one every year for at least a silver.
Speaker BAnd this is the only one that's nearby.
Speaker BI don't know where the other ones are.
Speaker BI just, you know, again, I'm so used to like, just not having them.
Speaker BSo I would like stuff that we could give away.
Speaker BYou know what I mean?
Speaker AAnd then that makes sense.
Speaker BA few things for ourselves too.
Speaker CI love that idea.
Speaker CReally great.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BBecause that.
Speaker BBecause that's what.
Speaker BThat's how we get people to donate is incentives like that.
Speaker BAnd it's.
Speaker AIncentives are big.
Speaker BIt's enough to say, oh, here's an incentive.
Speaker BIf you donate 200, I get a T shirt.
Speaker ERight, Right.
Speaker BIt's just like, it's not as much.
Speaker BThey're like, well, whatever, dude.
Speaker EThat's a good feeling.
Speaker EWhat do they get?
Speaker EYeah, right, right.
Speaker BSo I have been offering, like, some world Gone Geek T shirts and stuff like that.
Speaker BApparently people don't want that.
Speaker BSo I gotta figure something else.
Speaker DDid.
Speaker DDid they ever start, like an extra life store so you could go in and buy, like, other stores?
Speaker EThere is a merch store, the Miracle Store.
Speaker COkay, I can send you the link.
Speaker CIt's my miracle mall, I believe is what it's called.
Speaker CBut it should be linked on the Extra Life site too.
Speaker CThere is a cape, not quite a hooded Robe, but it is.
Speaker AWait, there's a cape.
Speaker EYes.
Speaker EI saw water bottles and hats.
Speaker ELike, you name it, they got it.
Speaker DI expect that stormtrooper to be wearing a cape the next time I see you on video.
Speaker AWell, you know, Utah, I think we.
Speaker BGet, we have to wear the cape when we do the stream though.
Speaker BI think it's like that's got to be the.
Speaker EI don't know, man.
Speaker EI saw the Incredibles.
Speaker ENo capes.
Speaker BNo capes.
Speaker BNo capes.
Speaker ANo capes.
Speaker ENo capes.
Speaker EMy God, you've gotten fat.
Speaker DWell, that was spot on.
Speaker BThat was pretty good.
Speaker AYeah, that was a very good.
Speaker AEdna.
Speaker BYep.
Speaker BCan you do the walk?
Speaker BHave you seen the person on TikTok that does the walk?
Speaker AYeah, he's like not on his knees.
Speaker BHow does that basically do that?
Speaker BJust glide crazy.
Speaker DYeah, I haven't but we said it out loud, so I'll see it later, I'm sure.
Speaker BYep, There you go.
Speaker EAlgorithm.
Speaker EThat's right.
Speaker BYep.
Speaker AIt's popping, it's popping up on your, your thumbnail on my screen already.
Speaker AI, it's just, it's too good.
Speaker BSo we talked a little bit about how different ways to do it.
Speaker BLike I said, I've done 12 hour d d marathon before.
Speaker BSo if you're into D D, this is a great opportunity to do it.
Speaker BMost of you I know, if you're out there and you play D and D, 12 hours is nothing, right?
Speaker AThis is for.
Speaker BIs probably yes.
Speaker BSo, or, or do a weekend.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BTwo 12 hour campaigns, go home, I come back and finish the campaign in the next 12 hours.
Speaker BWhatever.
Speaker BAgain, do it yourself.
Speaker BBut since we're talking about games, I'd love to ask you guys what.
Speaker BSo Sean, I know that you're doing it like all the time, so it's usually I would ask somebody, what's your go to game this year for Extra life?
Speaker BWhat.
Speaker BWhat's on your list to play this year?
Speaker BBut for you that could be any time.
Speaker BSo I guess tell us what's your go to game like right now?
Speaker BWhat are you playing?
Speaker ESo right now I, I, at the, in 2024, I set up a 10 game Nintendo 64 roadmap for myself to go through for the year.
Speaker EIt was the top 10 best selling games.
Speaker EFurther than 1064.
Speaker EI know.
Speaker EBanjo Kazooie, Star, Star Fox, you know, Goldeneye, Goldeneye, Smash Bros.
Speaker EYeah.
Speaker EPokemon Stadium.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker ESuper Mario 64, Mario Kart, you name it.
Speaker EAnd so I worked through that.
Speaker EBut like I couldn't do Legends of the Ocarina Time and then not Do Majora's Mask.
Speaker ESo we kind of snuck in a little bonus game in there and we were in the middle of that.
Speaker EBut I do have a donation incentive.
Speaker EAre a bunch of donation incentives where donors can squeeze games into my schedules, my stream schedule, including like a really frustrating games like getting over at Bennett Foddy, which is that bucket guy climbing the mountain.
Speaker AI haven't heard.
Speaker AOh, I haven't heard that name in like decades.
Speaker EIt's been a minute.
Speaker EBut.
Speaker EBut so sure enough, Fortnite was one of those donation incentives and someone donated to it three times consecutively.
Speaker ESo I'm like, I guess I'm not.
Speaker EI'm doing next week.
Speaker AYou have to do it.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ESo yeah.
Speaker AYeah, I have to do that.
Speaker EThat's a moving target, Jeff, to say the least.
Speaker BFor sure.
Speaker BFor sure.
Speaker BWhat about you, Sam?
Speaker BEither what you're playing now or what you're.
Speaker BYou're going to play when you.
Speaker BWhen you do Extra Life.
Speaker CSo on Extra Life Day, I typically am stream hopping and saying hello to all of you.
Speaker CSo I'll join in on games every once in a while with you all.
Speaker CBut my spouse and our friends often host at my house.
Speaker CSo typically I'll jump in during Call of Duty.
Speaker CThat's like my go to Call of Duty and Halo.
Speaker CAll right, fun fact.
Speaker CGetting into.
Speaker CI grew up playing video games.
Speaker CKind of grew out of it into adulthood and then getting back into it.
Speaker CMy.
Speaker CMy spouse got me to play props on Call of Duty and it is funniest thing.
Speaker DInsane.
Speaker EOh my God, the panic is so real.
Speaker CI'm sorry.
Speaker CWhy is there a trash can running down the street?
Speaker CLike, it's just so funny.
Speaker CSo I'm gonna whistling all of it.
Speaker CI'll pop into those.
Speaker CWe just started Split Fiction, which is a couch co op.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker CReally enjoying that.
Speaker CSo we've only played a little bit.
Speaker BMy son and I are playing that.
Speaker CThat's.
Speaker CThat's the big one right now.
Speaker CThat aside from Call of Duty and Hilo, which are my old standbys, I.
Speaker EThink I just read that Split Fiction sold like either 1 million or like 10 million copies within like the first 48 hours.
Speaker BThat's.
Speaker DWow.
Speaker BThat's for.
Speaker CIt's.
Speaker CIt's really good.
Speaker CI'm enjoying it a lot.
Speaker BI mean, if you.
Speaker BIf you've played It Takes Two.
Speaker BYes, similar.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker BIt Takes Two is.
Speaker BIs now pretty much on one of my top 10 games of all time.
Speaker BLike, I just was blown away by how creative at the storytelling and then how creative the gameplay.
Speaker BSo many different game Styles in one game.
Speaker BIt was just.
Speaker BIt blew my mind.
Speaker BI've heard I had to get split fiction.
Speaker EI've heard a rumor that couples counselors are using It Takes Two as like a tool.
Speaker ELike, this is how you work together.
Speaker BWow.
Speaker EYeah.
Speaker BInteresting.
Speaker DNo kidding.
Speaker BWell, I.
Speaker BAnd you know, I was sort of awkward because I played it with my son.
Speaker BWe.
Speaker BWe both played it and we're just like.
Speaker BThe whole like, you know, the, the relationship thing was still a good story, but we're just kind of like, you know, okay, whatever.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BRight now, now we're playing split fiction together.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BYeah, it's.
Speaker BIt's a great co op stuff.
Speaker BAgain, like I said, that's my similar vibes.
Speaker CWe played Unraveled too.
Speaker AOh, yeah.
Speaker CReally great.
Speaker CFunny you mentioned couples counselors because my husband is a therapist, so I'm sitting here getting all frustrated and he's talking.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker EProfessional.
Speaker CYeah, it's great.
Speaker BSo tell me how you're feeling.
Speaker EYeah, sure.
Speaker BI was gonna say, is he.
Speaker BIs he available on game day when we're playing to be able to kind of talk?
Speaker CBring him on streams with me.
Speaker DI'm gonna need that.
Speaker AYeah, we, we could, we could have used him when we were doing back rooms last year.
Speaker AThat was for sure.
Speaker EThat's too funny.
Speaker BFor sure.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker BMatt, what's your go to right now?
Speaker DOkay, so I mean, I usually have like three.
Speaker DLike I always play Fortnite with Josh because he's really into it.
Speaker DI force him to do zero build because I can't stand when like somebody shoots him.
Speaker DAnd then he's got a freaking six story fortress around him and I'm like down on the ground like getting shot at because I don't know how to get up in his stupid building.
Speaker EY.
Speaker ABut instant cover, instant cover.
Speaker DIt's wild.
Speaker DBut I also, I always play dead by daylight for a crazy amount of time.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker DAnd then we jump in on Call of Duty and then when you guys join me, it's kind of whatever co op adventure we're doing at the time.
Speaker DI mean, it's been Evil Dead, the game, it's been Ghostbusters.
Speaker DIt's all over the place.
Speaker DPhasmophobia, asmophobia.
Speaker DSee, I always look forward to see what's going on.
Speaker EAre you a survivor or are you a.
Speaker EA killer when you play dead by daylight?
Speaker DSurvivor.
Speaker DI'm no good first person.
Speaker DLike, it's.
Speaker DIt's wild.
Speaker DAsk these guys about how good I am at first person games.
Speaker DIt's ridiculous.
Speaker BHe's great.
Speaker EHe's the best.
Speaker DAmazing.
Speaker DI.
Speaker DI'm.
Speaker DI'm as good as Jeff drives.
Speaker EOh, ding.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BYou don't want me to drive in.
Speaker BIn the co op games, I'm not the driver.
Speaker EI was talking about real life and he's like a real dig at you.
Speaker AOh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Speaker AIt's bad.
Speaker DBut like, what's great is, like, they've never seen me drive because I just refuse to do it.
Speaker DSo was wild when we were.
Speaker DI think it was Borderlands 2.
Speaker COh, yeah.
Speaker DWas the first time I experienced your driving and I was.
Speaker DIt was awesome.
Speaker DI was like, this is wild, but you're so much better than me.
Speaker DWe'd be going in circles.
Speaker BLike, I'm always wedged between two trees doing the whole like, Austin Powers thing, trying to get out, you know, like.
Speaker AYeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker BYou tell.
Speaker BWhat's.
Speaker BWhat's your.
Speaker BWhat's your current.
Speaker BSo I, I realized that I asked what.
Speaker BWhat are we going to play for game day?
Speaker BAnd.
Speaker BAnd you probably can't answer because neither can I.
Speaker BIt always depends on what's coming out in November.
Speaker BIf there's something new.
Speaker BI'll usually try to get that in time.
Speaker BBut what do you plan right now?
Speaker ASo right now, what am I doing right now?
Speaker ADragon Age Vale Guard was just part of the PlayStation plus extra monthly games.
Speaker ASo I downloaded that because.
Speaker ABecause for someone like me who wanted to buy it when it first came out, I decided not to because I have a backlog, as everybody does.
Speaker AEvery gamer has a backlog.
Speaker AAnd I decided to hold off and I'll.
Speaker AMaybe I'll do a mat and wait till it goes on sale and then pick it up later.
Speaker DThat's the way to go.
Speaker AAnd it just so happened that it dropped on PlayStation Plus Extra, which granted is a monthly subscription, but it feels free and so it sure does.
Speaker ASo I went ahead and got that, but I haven't started playing that yet.
Speaker AI started playing the Call of duty Black Ops 6 campaign because I planned on doing some of that for.
Speaker AFor extra Life last year and never got around to it because you got sucked into bathrooms.
Speaker BSucked in.
Speaker ALiterally.
Speaker AOh my.
Speaker AOh, lit list.
Speaker ALiterally got sucked in the back rooms.
Speaker AAnd so I'm starting that because I find that the Call of Duty campaigns actually have decent writing and a pretty good story.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker ABut yeah, Dragon Age Valgard.
Speaker AI'm tempted to go back into Taipan.
Speaker AJust started playing Mass Effect because he has a legendary collection.
Speaker ASo he's starting.
Speaker AHe's starting playing Mass Effect 1, which got me all nostalgic.
Speaker AI'm like, oh, actually miss those games.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker ASo I'm thinking of it up Mass Effect again and playing along.
Speaker AI'm enjoying watching your.
Speaker AJeff, your.
Speaker AYour alien isolation stream.
Speaker ESo scary.
Speaker AI can't handle it.
Speaker DI can't.
Speaker AI.
Speaker AMatt, if anything, Matt, if anything, the best, the best way to kind of dip your toe in is to watch Jeff.
Speaker DSee, I don't see.
Speaker DI do not do good with those games, man.
Speaker DI still.
Speaker DEvil within still haunts me, man.
Speaker ENightmare feels.
Speaker AWell, that's.
Speaker AThat.
Speaker AThat was the point of that game for sure.
Speaker DI know, but I was 23 hours in on the marathon when I was playing that.
Speaker AOh, so you're already delusional anyway.
Speaker DOh, it was rich.
Speaker ENope.
Speaker EThanks though.
Speaker AI choose well.
Speaker BThat's a good segue though, into what I'm playing.
Speaker BBut I.
Speaker BFirst, I.
Speaker BI don't have as positive a story about valeguard as you did.
Speaker AYeah, right.
Speaker BSo I.
Speaker BI bought Vale Guard and the potential that we might play it an extra life.
Speaker BLike I paid for it back then, thinking I'm gonna finally play this.
Speaker BHave not played it yet, never did it.
Speaker BNow it's free.
Speaker DOh, so messy.
Speaker BIt had been one thing if I'd played it for a few months and then it went free, whatever, you know what I mean?
Speaker BThat stuff happens.
Speaker BBut no, I.
Speaker BI bought it and then never got around to playing it because of other games or whatever.
Speaker AAnd there it is.
Speaker BSo that's my beef.
Speaker BI'm like, whatever.
Speaker ESo here's the question.
Speaker ASo we're.
Speaker AWe're on opposite ends of the spectrum there.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker EDid you buy it digitally or did you buy it like a physical copy that can collect us digitally?
Speaker EOkay, digitally.
Speaker ASo you can't even return it?
Speaker BNo, no, no.
Speaker DIt's PlayStation, right?
Speaker BXbox, I believe.
Speaker EOkay.
Speaker DCan you return digital on or are they kind of like PlayStation where.
Speaker BThis is not this late for sure.
Speaker ESo if Steam like looks at like your play time like you got 800 hours, you're not getting if like you have zero hours, like, yeah, here you go.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BSteve is much awesome.
Speaker BYeah, no, I have a PlayStation is like I bought.
Speaker BI pre ordered a game that I decided I didn't want anymore and they wouldn't even fund that.
Speaker BThe game wasn't even coming out for three more months.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BAnd they still wouldn't refund it.
Speaker AI'm like, I clearly have similar issues.
Speaker ESame thing happened to me pre order anymore.
Speaker DAnd I was arguing with them because I found a website where it was like, it says that you'll do this for me.
Speaker DAnd they were like, oh, that's the EU website.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker DSo they'll refund them in Europe.
Speaker BI had that.
Speaker BBut not in the conversation.
Speaker BThat's because the government forces it.
Speaker BThat's a.
Speaker BThat's a law.
Speaker AThat's a consumer protection.
Speaker BThat's a consumer protection protection.
Speaker AThat's a government over.
Speaker BWe need that in America.
Speaker DWe certainly do.
Speaker BI don't care who's the president.
Speaker BI will vote for them if they fix that.
Speaker BNo, I'm.
Speaker EThat's the deal breaker right there.
Speaker BThat is it.
Speaker BYou make PlayStation, refund that game, and.
Speaker AI.
Speaker AOh, my God.
Speaker BI'm voting for you, sir.
Speaker AI so want the next president to be able to say, well, you know, I won the election on refunds on digital downloads.
Speaker EAll right, I found my running platform right now.
Speaker EThank you, Jeff.
Speaker AThere you go.
Speaker BYou got my vote.
Speaker BSean, you got my vote.
Speaker AI'll be your running mate.
Speaker ABecause I can't vote.
Speaker AI can't run for president.
Speaker BPerfect.
Speaker ESee, we got a team.
Speaker EWe got a team.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AWe're done.
Speaker DI need.
Speaker DI need somebody to start playing Veil Guard for me, though, and make sure that within the first four hours, there's not going to be like a herding cattle moment for me because I'm just going to skip.
Speaker DI'm just going to skip.
Speaker BDifferent kind.
Speaker BThat's not.
Speaker BThey don't have that kind of stuff.
Speaker DBut there's going to be something stupid.
Speaker AThere's going to be something stupid.
Speaker ADragon Age is not like that.
Speaker DNo, those RPGs, man, they get you.
Speaker DIt's like, you got to go to this woman in this hut because she's going to make the potion for you.
Speaker DAnd you're like, okay, I'm going to go to the potion lady and get my potion.
Speaker DAnd then the potion lady's like, by the way, you need to go find all the ingredients.
Speaker DAnd I'm like, why don't you have.
Speaker AThe ingredients, potion lady?
Speaker ABut that's.
Speaker AThat's different than hurting.
Speaker AThat's different than what you just.
Speaker EBut there's all.
Speaker DIt's all.
Speaker EEvery episode of the Mandalorian.
Speaker AIt's the exact madness Mandalorian.
Speaker AIt's all about quest.
Speaker DI just want a game where if.
Speaker DI just want a game where if somebody's being called the potion lady, I go to the potion lady and get my damn potions.
Speaker AYou know what, Matt?
Speaker EHow dare you.
Speaker AI'm gonna go.
Speaker ESo reasonable.
Speaker AI'm gonna go find the herding simulation game and buy it for you.
Speaker DYeah, there's a hurting simulation game.
Speaker DThat sounds like one of My Seven Circles of Hell.
Speaker AAnd if there's not, I'm gonna make one for you.
Speaker EYes.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AUnbelievable.
Speaker BSo the game that I am planning right now is.
Speaker BIs Alien Isolation.
Speaker BSo I started a new series on.
Speaker BI'm trying to stream on a weekly basis now.
Speaker BAnd so every week I'm.
Speaker BI'm going through my backlog of games in a series I'm calling Grounded Geek is late to the Game.
Speaker BAnd I've got a theme song and everything, so you can check it out.
Speaker AThat's a great theme song, by the way.
Speaker BTwo episodes on YouTube right now and, and then they're on Twitch and I'm streaming on both Twitch and YouTube simultaneously with those.
Speaker BSo check those out.
Speaker BTrying to do those on Mondays.
Speaker BSo, yeah, except this Monday I think I'm actually playing some games with the kids for, for one of their birthdays.
Speaker BSo I won't be able to do it this Monday, but on a regular basis.
Speaker BYou see that.
Speaker BBut yeah, Alien Isolation, it is freaking me out.
Speaker BAnd if you want to see a guy, a 52 year old man scared of his own drawers.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BFeel free to join.
Speaker AMy favorite part.
Speaker BEverything.
Speaker BIt's so.
Speaker BBecause I assume everything is bad.
Speaker BBut yeah, it's.
Speaker BIt's so funny.
Speaker BLike, literally like some, like a radio, somebody will start talking and I'm like.
Speaker BI actually have a heart monitor that actually off my watch that like displays while I'm playing.
Speaker BAnd surprisingly, even though I have been felt pretty anxious.
Speaker ANo, it's been pretty steady.
Speaker BI've been pretty steady.
Speaker DWe're gonna need to talk about that.
Speaker BYeah, it's cool.
Speaker DThat's awesome.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BBut addition, for sure, I've been key.
Speaker BI've been only hitting about 70 and now I am on medication to keep my heart rate.
Speaker BThere it is.
Speaker BYeah, too high.
Speaker BBut, but in my average is, you.
Speaker AKnow, that's a secret before he plays.
Speaker BAnd then it's like, it's, you know, I've gotten up to 75.
Speaker BThat's not too bad.
Speaker BI thought I was gonna be in the hundreds and worrying about a heart attack.
Speaker EI hit 136 last week.
Speaker AOh my gosh.
Speaker BPlaying a game.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker EAnd also like Chat was making me like do bicep curls and like push ups and like.
Speaker AYou guys actually doing physical.
Speaker AYou were doing physical activity?
Speaker EHot sauce.
Speaker ELike, like I'm red in the face.
Speaker ELike they just, they punish me, man.
Speaker EBut like I said, worth it.
Speaker BThat's fantastic.
Speaker BAll right, before we go, Sean, tell everybody where they can find you and follow you and all that fun stuff.
Speaker ASure.
Speaker EIf you just do a quick Google search for the gory details.
Speaker EThat's G O R E Y.
Speaker EOr go on Instagram or Twitch tv.
Speaker EThe gory details.
Speaker EAll my links are there, including links to our actual Life page, where you can donate or sign up or look for more information about this great cause.
Speaker EYou can join a team, create your own team.
Speaker EIt's pretty incredible.
Speaker ESo, yeah, it's all.
Speaker EIt's all there.
Speaker BAwesome.
Speaker BAnd if they want to know more about Extra Life, Sam, tell them where they can go.
Speaker CThe easiest place to go is the Extra Life website, extra-life.org.
Speaker DThere's a floof.
Speaker DSorry, I got distracted.
Speaker DThe floof took over.
Speaker BWhat happened?
Speaker BThe cat attacked your phone.
Speaker BThat's hilarious.
Speaker CSorry, my computer just froze because.
Speaker EOh, we can still hear.
Speaker AFloof attack.
Speaker AFloof attack.
Speaker AYeah, we can still hear and see you, so.
Speaker BAnd there's no way in heck I'm editing that out.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BThe cat leave that in there?
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BWhat's the cat's name?
Speaker EStorm.
Speaker EThat's.
Speaker EThat's Storm.
Speaker BStorm.
Speaker AStorm.
Speaker ANice.
Speaker DNice.
Speaker BStorm is now a guest on the show.
Speaker EWe have a Storm.
Speaker BWe have a guest.
Speaker BWe have a guest host, Kat, when Ali is on the show Genesis.
Speaker BSo now Storm is another.
Speaker AYes, yes.
Speaker CWell, before Storm so rudely jumped in, I was saying extra-life.org best place to get all the information about Extra Life.
Speaker CWhen you sign up, just make sure to select a Children's Miracle Network hospital.
Speaker CPreferably, you know, you're feeling near and dear to Cleveland or to this group.
Speaker CSelect, uh, Rainbow as your.
Speaker CYour children's hospital.
Speaker CUm, but like we talked about the beginning of the show, you can select any hospital that is a member and is close to your heart and sign up there.
Speaker CAnd lots of resources, lots of fun suggestions and.
Speaker CAnd things that you can add to your stream or do to host game nights.
Speaker CAll of that.
Speaker CIt's all on that website.
Speaker ALots of resources on there.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker BCool.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd, Matt, I mentioned at the beginning you're the host of.
Speaker BOf our, you know, a family podcast, someone that we consider very close because we've been on your show and you've been on our show.
Speaker DSure.
Speaker BSo we're all part of this one big happy family here.
Speaker BTell them where they can find Promptly Written.
Speaker DOkay.
Speaker DSo Promptly Written is going to be any podcast app that you have.
Speaker DWe're currently on a bit of a hiatus where my.
Speaker DMy normal recording area is kind of under renovation, so we're taking a quick break.
Speaker DWe should be back within the next month or so.
Speaker DBut just Search Promptly written.
Speaker DPromptly written Podcast.
Speaker ACom.
Speaker DAnd then when I do stream, which is very rare, but, you know, it's kind of excusable because I haven't reached affiliate status.
Speaker DSo it's not like I reached affiliate status and then stopped streaming out of nowhere.
Speaker DIt's just like, you know, I've never just been.
Speaker DI've.
Speaker DI've just never been that dedicated to it.
Speaker DBut anyways, I'll get there one day.
Speaker BBut that's directed at both of them.
Speaker DI'm Suge Knight on Twitch, but some jerk took the the actual spelling of Suge Knight, and I don't believe it's the actual Suge Knight, but it's S U G E N I T E.
Speaker DI couldn't get the cool K.
Speaker DI dig it.
Speaker DBut.
Speaker DBut yeah, that's where I'm at on Twitch usually these days.
Speaker DI'm really just streaming for Extra Life, though.
Speaker EYeah, can't imagine.
Speaker BI'm so glad that you guys came to be a part of this.
Speaker BIt's just been a great conversation.
Speaker BI want to thank Sam and Sean and Matt for shar and insights with us today.
Speaker BAs always, Utah, thank you for being here and being my brother in arms here doing this podcast together.
Speaker BAs we heard, Extra Life isn't just about playing games for 24 hours.
Speaker BIt's about creating hope, bringing communities together, and making a real difference in the lives of children facing medical challenges.
Speaker BSo here's our call to action for all of you amazing people out there, whether you're a hardcore gamer or casual gamer, we want you.
Speaker BSo we actually have a team.
Speaker BWorld Gone Geek has a team.
Speaker BYou're welcome to join that.
Speaker BIf you want to be part of the group, we'd love to have you join us.
Speaker BYou can create your own team and gather your friends together to join that team.
Speaker BYou can sponsor, like I said, any of the children's Miracle Network hospitals that are out there.
Speaker BAnd again, do something good with that passion that you have for gaming.
Speaker BSo visit extra extra-life.org search for WorldGungeek.
Speaker BIf you want to find our team, we're in there.
Speaker BYou'll see.
Speaker BUtah and I.
Speaker BMatt, you're on the team again this year, right?
Speaker BAll right.
Speaker BYou just haven't joined yet, so.
Speaker DI have not.
Speaker DI'm late to register, but I'll get there.
Speaker BSlacker.
Speaker BYou'll set up.
Speaker BYou'll set up your personal fundraising page.
Speaker BEven a small go goal makes a big difference.
Speaker BSo just make sure that you participate in some way.
Speaker BSpread the word to your friends, family and fellow gamers.
Speaker BAnd start playing, planning your game lineup for the big day.
Speaker BSo literally Someone mentioned a 5k earlier.
Speaker BThis is a 5k that you can do from your couch.
Speaker BThis is what I love about it.
Speaker BUnless you're Sean and then it still ends up being exercised.
Speaker EGuilty.
Speaker AHe brings it on.
Speaker AHe brings that on himself.
Speaker BYeah, that's all.
Speaker BThat's all.
Speaker EGuilty.
Speaker BAnd remember, if the 24 hour marathon seems intimidating, you can always break it up.
Speaker BWhatever works for you.
Speaker BPlay for a few hours over several days.
Speaker BTeam up, take shifts, or just support others with donations and encouragement.
Speaker BJump on the streams, make sure we're still awake.
Speaker BThat's, that's my biggest thing.
Speaker BIf you just showed up on the stream at 3am, it would just make my day.
Speaker D100%.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo every dollar raised goes directly to helping kids at these hospitals.
Speaker BIn our case, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
Speaker BEvery game played, every stream shared, every donation made.
Speaker BIt all adds up to something truly amazing.
Speaker BSo we're going to be sharing updates about our team and plans on all of our social channels.
Speaker BMake sure you're following us.
Speaker BWorld gone Geek pretty much everywhere.
Speaker BWe'll also have resources and tips for first time participants on our website.
Speaker BWorking on that now.
Speaker BSo from many fandoms, one community, let's show the world what gamers can do when we unite for good.
Speaker BJoin us for extra life because when we play this game together, everybody wins.
Speaker BSo thanks again guys.
Speaker BWe'll see you guys next time.
Speaker BFor Worldgone Geek, the podcast is real.