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'Desert Bus' video game charity has raised nearly $80,000
Each year a group of selfless volunteers agrees to play what some call the world's most boring video game for hours on end in an attempt to raise money for the Child's Play hospital charity. Now in its 13th year, the Desert Bus for Hope fundraiser kicked off today. In its first five hours, it has raised nearly $80,000.
Desert Bus classic gets an iOS port, for charity's sake; AaAaAA!!! coming too
Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors is one of the weirdest cult titles in all of video gaming -- it's an old game for Sega CD that was more of a prank than anything else. While it did teach you to do a few tricks, the most famous minigame in the entire package is called Desert Bus, a weird little game that's designed to more or less accurately replicate a bus trip between Tucson and Las Vegas. In other words, you need to drive a bus along a highway at 45 mph for about eight hours, at which time you get a point, and can opt to drive back for another one. It's silly and kind of mean and very strange -- all the things you expect from Penn and Teller. Every year around this time, a group of folks actually plays this game, streaming it live on the Internet for charity, and this year they're going one step further: the title's actually been released as a port for iOS, and all profits from the game itself will go straight back to Child's Play, a group that helps put video games in hospitals for sick and recovering children to play. I don't actually recommend buying the title for anything but charity: the bus lists to one side as you play, so you literally have to "drive" for eight hours if you want to beat the game. But it's only a buck for a universal version, and since all of the proceeds go to a good cause, I recommend it anyway. In other, more traditional port news, the really excellent but strangely titled AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity is also getting an iOS port -- and yes, that is its name. The game has you falling through space, trying to hit various objects and miss others, and it was a whole lot of fun when it came out on the PC a couple of years ago. There will be new features and content, but the developer hasn't announced a release date yet, so stay tuned. AaAaAA!!!, as it's called in shorthand, has a weird title but is a lot of fun, so we'll keep an eye out for it on iOS.
Eidos Life President Livingstone speaks out against mainstream media's game coverage
During the Westminster eForum this week, Eidos head (and Life President) Ian Livingstone had some less than favorable things to say about the mainstream media's coverage of the gaming industry. "People just couldn't accept that games are a great learning tool," Livingstone told the crowd of "industry representatives and their advisors, interest groups, local authorities, the voluntary sector and academia, along with members of the reporting press," reports MCV. He asked for mainstream news outlets to focus less on violence in games and to instead look at "the poor skills the UK has to make games." In his eyes, the mainstream media's overwhelming focus on violence in games -- and consistent ignoring of the economically beneficial side of the game industry -- certainly isn't helping to bring the development tax breaks he's been pushing in the UK for quite some time now. To help change minds, we suggest that Mr. Livingstone get in touch with the two people who have been most able to clearly convey our feelings on the violent video game debate -- Penn and Teller, of course!
Watch Penn and Teller: Bullshit! video game episode on YouTube
If you missed the recent video game-centered episode of Penn and Teller: Bullshit! it's a real shame. It was a really astute and occasionally even moving take on the whole situation. Plus, they make Jack Thompson look dumb, which, like falling off a log into a vat of Sierra Mist, is easy, but still totally refreshing.Right now, you can actually catch the episode on YouTube, though you'll likely want to act fast -- we can't imagine it'll be up for too long.
PSA: 'Penn & Teller: Bullshit!' episode on video games airs this week, features Jack Thompson
The time has come, folks. This is the week that Jack Thompson compares violent video games to polio on broadcast television! Are you ready? We've known this episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! was on the way since way back in February but had no idea of when it would air until just today (this Thursday at 10 PM EST -- set your DVR!). If you're looking for some lunacy before the show lands on Showtime later this week, hit the break for a preview featuring the "fire triangle" you see above. Seriously.
Jack Thompson talks violence, polio with Penn and Teller
You don't need another reason to watch Penn & Teller: Bullshit -- its regular skewering of nut jobs is more than enough to warrant your half hour -- but we've got one for you. Our buddy, Jack Thompson, will appear on the show's seventh season, as you can see in the promo after the break.As you probably guessed, Thompson will be discussing the therapeutic powers of crystal manipulation and -- oh, sorry, wrong episode. No, he'll talk about how bad Grand Theft Auto is and we'll make fun of him for it. Because that's the way it works.[Via Gay Gamer]
Penn & Teller call 'BS!' on video game violence
Penn & Teller are taking aim at the video game violence controversy in an upcoming episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! -- an ongoing television series that debunks misconceptions and popular fads. Earlier in the week, Penn Jillette revealed the video game themed episode had begun filming, via Twitter. Guests interviewed for the episode will include Grand Theft Childhood co-author, Dr. Cheryl Olson, along with her husband and writing partner, Dr. Lawrence Kutner. Disbarred Miami attorney, Jack Thompson, will also be featured in the episode. A Penn & Teller producer told GamePolitics the episode would likely air during the summer, but did not reveal a specific date. We can only hope that Penn gives Thompson a suitable tongue lashing or that the magical duo makes him disappear. Either way, we're good.
Penn & Teller SegaCD game unearthed
Last September Frank Cifaldi, the founder of Lost Levels, posted a review of magic/comedy duo Penn and Teller's never-released SegaCD game, Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors. Now Waxy is hosting a torrent of the game, so you can download it, burn it, and just load it up in the old SegaCD... what's that? You don't have a SegaCD? Well, for those couple of you without one on hand, there's instructions for getting it to run with an emulator also. The game's most notable element is undoubtedly the "Desert Bus" minigame. From Frank's review: "you drive a bus in the desert. Your goal is to go from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas. Your bus never goes more than 45 miles per hour, so the trip takes approximately eight hours (in real time) to make. There is no scenery or even other cars on the road, just plain desert, for 8 hours. Oh, and your bus veers to the right just slightly, so it's impossible to just tape down a button and go do something else. Rumor has it that if you make it to Vegas, you score one point."Waxy is also hosting an MP3 of Penn talking about the game on his radio show! He confirms the Desert Bus minigame's scoring, and says they had plans to reward high scorers with outrageous prizes. Frank transcribed some of Penn's comments over at GameSetWatch, here's what he had to say about Desert Bus: "...you couldn't take your hands off the controller, and if you did... it didn't have a spectacular crash, it just slowly went into the sand, and then overheated and stopped, and then the game was you being towed backwards all the way back to Tucson." Sounds like... uh, fun? Anyone gonna try and score a point?[Via Boing Boing]
