Alright, older gamers, here it is. You've heard (read) the rumblings, you knew it was coming, now get your controllers vibrating for the first annual, one, and in fact only, 2old2playHALO Pwnathon 2008! Brought to you by the 2old2playHalo Clan.
The What
The 2old2playHALO Pwnathon 2008 is a month-long charity drive, consisting of fundraising based on challenges. For our first campaign, we've selected a charity that means a lot to many of our longtime clan members - and one in particular personally - PKDCure.org. The not-for-profit PKD Foundation leads the fight against polycystic kidney disease through research funding, advocacy, patient education and support. While there are 600,000 Americans (0.2% of the population) suffering from PKD - one story touched our clan very personally.
The Why
This is not for a clan member, but a clan member's son. SwankyVariable joined our clan in April of '07. He quickly became a crowd favorite, due to his excellent game play and irreverently awesome attitude. And we were all happy for him when his son, Nathan, was born in August. What we didn't know for a while, until January, was that his beautiful son was afflicted with PKD. Swanky posted in January on his blog of the hardships they had faced to that point - and to be honest, I'm not sure anyone has had an update since then. Due to all of the issues with this, he's been out of touch. But you are all gamers, and most of you are in a clan. As much trouble as you give each other, real friendships form, and endure. Swanky is still in our clan, minds, and hearts. When Hubristes suggested doing a fundraiser, PKDCure.org and the PKD Foundation were a natural fit. Swanky does not - and may never - know we are organizing this, but it is our way of supporting a fellow clan - and 2old2play.com - member. Hub contacted PKDCure.org and we were on our way!
Double What (and When)
So here's what the Pwnathon is. From June 7 to July 7, keep an eye on the official thread coming soon in the Halo Series forum, Hub will be keeping the challenge thread. Members of 2old2playHALO will be putting their hard-earned money on the line in a series of challenges. But this campaign is not limited to the clan - in fact, we encourage the entire site to participate. The challenges will be mostly within Halo 3, but some will be for other games as well. When the challenge is met, the money will be donated to PKDCure.org. Lest you think we can only raise a small amount, please know that our clan raised around $500 last year in order to buy a 360 for our last 360-less member. We've done it before, and we'll do it again. That's our goal, only this time, with your help, we'll do it bigger and better than before!
A Quick Note
Before I get to how this works, I do want to pass this on in advance from the members of our clan. We thank you. We appreciate your support, your effort, your time, and even - yes - your money in support of the Pwnathon. This is a good cause - and one that is not nearly as well known as others. Please, if you haven't, scroll back up - read Swanky's blog post - see the pictures of his beautiful kid. I'll never be one to try to guilt anyone in to supporting a cause, but please know this is important to us; it is important to our friend; it is a good cause; and we thank you for helping us make the Pwnathon a success.
The How
So it's simple, right? You meet a challenge, we pay up. If we're lucky, you decide you might want to match 25%, 50% or even 100% of the challenge amount. Paypal it to the official 2old2playHALO Pwnathon 2008 Paypal account, and Hub will deliver that to the National PKD Foundation. Gaming for a good cause - what better karma can there be?
To get everyone started, five 2old2playHALO members have ponied up an opening bounty. But it doesn't end there. New challenges will be posted in the official thread in the Halo Series forum, new donations made; you can even just donate money to a good cause. Keep an eye on that thread, because there will be more - oh, yes there will. So read the opening challenges below, take them head on, and if you beat the challenge, your name will live in infamy in the official thread as a site leader; one who will not let a little skill (or luck) in gaming stand in the way of a good cause.
Thank you. Let's get these challenges, get our fundraising goal and have a heckuva lot of fun doing it!
Opening Challenges
Contact the person listed to submit, they will coordinate verification with Hub or myself. VERY IMPORTANT - please use the wonderful Halo 3 film clip capability to capture video for that game... I hear rumours of a feature length film...
1) Your Team Name Here, sponsored by WastedBoomer - Got a team for the Halo Junkies tournament? Be the first to PM WastedBoomer, and he will sponsor your team for $25. But could it get better, Mulch, you ask? Why yes it can. If you come in second, he will donate another $25. And if you can miraculously pull of a tournament win, he'll double that for a grand total of a $100 donation! In short, do nothing, he donates $25. Pwn some noobs, he donates $50 or $100! If you can come up with a video of your game play, or featuring your WasterBoomer sponsorship - all the better!
2) Whiskey in a Whammy Bar - Mulchinator228's Guitar Hero III obsession has been well documented. Now's your chance to take down his ego and prove your supremacy. On Friday, June 13, starting at 8 pm Central, Mulch will be online in GH3. If you beat him, heads-up, at Cliffs of Dover on Hard, he'll donate $15. Now, he's no slacker at this, so to even the playing field, for every person he beats, he'll do a shot of whiskey. The law of diminishing returns (or skill) will prove out and someone will beat him. Guaranteed $15 donation. If the first challenger does it, we'll make it $20. PM Mulchinator to get on the list. First come, first served. If you can cap video of this, rock on!
3) Mod your Motto - Could this one get any easier? All you have to do is put "www.pkdcure.org" in your Xbox Live Gamertag motto. Keep it there for the duration of the Pwnathon, and Naveeda will donate $5. In fact, the 'Veedster will donate for 10 people to do this. I'll be one of them, won't you? Potential $50 donation here, let's not let it go to waste. PM Naveeda when you've updated your profile.
4) Do it DreadDEW! - He said this was for "clan night", but hell, I'm opening it up to anyone on Tuesday or Friday nights. DreadDEW thinks he can't be stuck; want a chance to prove him wrong? It'll bring a $2 donation if you stick him (no betrayals please). And get this - an extra $1 if you enact 2old2playHALO's Proposition T - yup, you guessed, give 'im a nice teabag afterwards. Proving to be a gentleman, Dread says that goes to $2 if you happen to enact Prop P - a peach punch. His goal is around $50 - let's see how much of his wallet we can open - sounds like it is open season on DreadDEW! Video is especially welcome when you have a cool sticky!
5) Jonny #12 Needs Input - Our fearless overlord, jonny12gauge, loves the craziness that is Halo 3. The guy has played it over 80% of the days it has been out (thanks, 360voice.com)! So he's seen it all, but he's never seen this. For a donation of $15, you and at least 6 of your friends need to put together a Halo 3 screenshot and send it to him, including the following:
- 2 Green Spartans and 2 Pink Elites shooting each other with SMGs
- An airborne mongoose with a Blue Spartan driver and a Red Spartan Passenger
- A grav lift
- Someone on fire
- missiles from a missile pod (the shooter does not have to be in the shot)
You can do whatever you have to do to accomplish this shot. The only rule is that the screenshot can not be taken in Forge (we don't want to see spawn points, what fun is that?). You can, however, forge a map as you need to.
The peeps of 2old2playHALO tried to get a screenshot of something similar - and it was a BLAST, even though all I did was throw a bubble shield and teabag. So it can be done, but can you be the first to do it and send the screenshot to jonny12gauge? Also, setting up for these is often hilarious - as are the failed attemps to do it - so be mindful of that and cap some film clips!
