By Amanda
On June 22, Twitch.tv started hosting the annual event Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ). The stream lasts for seven straight days, and over 150 games will be played by speedrunners to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. Games range from the classic (Mega Man) to contemporary (Halo) to the downright bizarre (Octodad), but all promise fun and community building that has made Twitch such a phenomenon in gaming—you know, for those of us who pay attention to that sort of thing.
Proceeds are generated by donations to the event as well as revenue from Twitch subscriptions. Games Done Quick runs this charity as well as Awesome Games Done Quick, and they partner with other organizations as well to provide other goodies such as Humble Bundles and t-shirts from Yetee. Last year’s SGDQ event raised just over $255,000 in donations, while its sister program has raised over $1 million.
The charity streams combine the format of the telethons of yesteryear with the recent growth in popularity of crowdfunding including sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and more. Part of the screen is dedicated to the game, while the current speedrunner and spectators watch in another portion of the screen. While this isn’t conducive to quality viewing, the appeal is really the entire gaming community coming together. There is always something streaming, so you can enjoy the event as you have time. Plus Twitch has a fairly enjoyable chat system—when it isn’t filled with a bunch of pre-teen trolls.
Twitch hosts a number of charity events throughout the year. Through June 30, the Twitch store is selling Praise Helix t-shirts to benefit Extra Life and St. Jude PLAY LIVE, both gaming-oriented charities to hospitals specifically focused on children. Participating in St. Jude PLAY LIVE even counts for community service hours for scholarships, grants, and graduation requirements, according to Twitch’s blog. (Where was this when I was in high school?!) Another charity event, Operation Supply Drop’s “8-Bit Salute,” took place in May for 24 hours to money for fun, stress-relieving care packages to send to soldiers. And this is just a small sampling of the generous events that gamers have established on the online gaming channel.
Games Done Quick and a schedule of all SGDQ events can be found at http://gamesdonequick.com/. Be sure to check out SGDQ on Twitch as well at http://www.twitch.tv/speeddemosarchivesda.
Proceeds are generated by donations to the event as well as revenue from Twitch subscriptions. Games Done Quick runs this charity as well as Awesome Games Done Quick, and they partner with other organizations as well to provide other goodies such as Humble Bundles and t-shirts from Yetee. Last year’s SGDQ event raised just over $255,000 in donations, while its sister program has raised over $1 million.
The charity streams combine the format of the telethons of yesteryear with the recent growth in popularity of crowdfunding including sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and more. Part of the screen is dedicated to the game, while the current speedrunner and spectators watch in another portion of the screen. While this isn’t conducive to quality viewing, the appeal is really the entire gaming community coming together. There is always something streaming, so you can enjoy the event as you have time. Plus Twitch has a fairly enjoyable chat system—when it isn’t filled with a bunch of pre-teen trolls.
Twitch hosts a number of charity events throughout the year. Through June 30, the Twitch store is selling Praise Helix t-shirts to benefit Extra Life and St. Jude PLAY LIVE, both gaming-oriented charities to hospitals specifically focused on children. Participating in St. Jude PLAY LIVE even counts for community service hours for scholarships, grants, and graduation requirements, according to Twitch’s blog. (Where was this when I was in high school?!) Another charity event, Operation Supply Drop’s “8-Bit Salute,” took place in May for 24 hours to money for fun, stress-relieving care packages to send to soldiers. And this is just a small sampling of the generous events that gamers have established on the online gaming channel.
Games Done Quick and a schedule of all SGDQ events can be found at http://gamesdonequick.com/. Be sure to check out SGDQ on Twitch as well at http://www.twitch.tv/speeddemosarchivesda.