thatdemoguy

I do apologize for being slightly behind on talking about this, but happening RIGHT NOW as you read this, is the yearly event Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ for short).

 

What is AGDQ?

 

Well, at this event, gamers from ALL OVER the nation and the world come together to produce a week long event where they play games for charity. So for one ENTIRE week, 7 whole days, 24 hours a day, there's a game being played. Now the catch to this, that whole "done quick" part, is that the games being played are being done as speedruns. Now not to insult anyone's intelligence but for those who don't know what that means, its basically when the player (or runner) sits down to play a game, but in a way where they complete it as quickly as possible. And there's a huge community for this. There's world records. It's highly competitive. Especially when there are neat little stipulations thrown in to make things interesting. Stipulations such as ANY or a FULL completion percentage, or increased difficulty, or when they have multiple players playing the game simultaneously and they race to the end (if you haven't seen a Super Metroid race....go look it up NOW!!!!), or even when they have multiple players playing with one controller. It's very much thrilling and very much enthralling to watch. Each runner also has someone there that explains what they are doing step by step so for those who don't necessarily understand they why or how things are happening on the screen, so don't worry if you aren't a gamer, its very much viewer friendly.

 

If you've ever wanted to see your favorite games broken down to a science. This is where it will happen. They typically have themed blocks for the more popular titles as well. So there's a block of time that's set aside for your Mario, your Legend of Zelda, your Mega Man, your Castlevania, your Metroid. They may not play every game in a series, usually it’s one or more in particular that are chosen to be played, but it never ever disappoints.

 

And the kicker is that IT'S ALL FOR CHARITY!!!!

 

That's right, these gamers come together, sacrifice sleep, and put on these amazing shows, all for charity. This year's chosen charity is the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and as of THIS WRITING, with 4 days left to go, they have raised nearly $300,000. The mission of the Prevent Cancer Foundation is saving lives through cancer prevention and early detection across all populations. Their vision is to "Stop Cancer Before it Starts"! The Prevent Cancer Foundation is the only U.S. nonprofit organization solely devoted to cancer prevention and early detection. They have invested over $138 million in research, education, advocacy and community outreach programs over the past 30 years.

 

So even if you aren’t into the gaming aspect, I know that the cause is something that can be understood. Cancer has reared its ugly head and touched so many of our lives, be it directly or indirectly.

 

If you are interested in just watching or even donating, head on over to gamesdonequick.com and follow the desired links. The schedule is there, so you can be sure not to miss a particular run, and the donation instructions are there as well. And for those that donate, there are incentives. Sponsors throughout the community have donated prizes that are raffled out to those who donate at certain levels and during certain runs. So even giving can be rewarded.

 

All in all, this is a wonderful event for an amazing cause, and I intend to make a personal donation in the name of the site. I also hope to attend either AGDQ next year or even the midyear version Summer Games Done Quick.