In addition to some music videos, the cinema screened one of Bowie's movies, "Labyrinth." We've seen it several times, but doubt we'll ever tire of it.
AGDQ: I'm not going to sugar coat or deny this. We're spending an inordinate amount of time watching other people play video games this week.
Hey, what can I say? The football season is all but over, baseball seems so very far away ... what are we to do to otherwise entertain ourselves?
Just kidding, that's not the real reason we're watching video games. We're tuning in to a special event called Awesome Games Done Quick.
I assure you, our watching is not just a mindless, staring-at-the-screen affair. While watching, we're nearly nonstop talking about history (which game consoles and games came out when), as well as listening to and engaging in tech talk (game design, graphics, and more).
I'll have CJ and Annabelle give you the scoop. Annabelle's up first.
Awesome Games Done Quick (abbreviated as AGDQ) is a yearly charity even that rotates locations. For seven days with no breaks (other than setup sections and necessary ads), many gamers from across the country "speedrun" their favorite games live on stream. To "speedrun" a game means to play the game as fast as possible, with certain "categories" changing the method used.
Arguably the most important part of AGDQ is that all donations and proceeds go to charity. The organizers of AGDQ work with the Prevent Cancer Foundation to raise thousands of dollars twice every year; once at the beginning and once during the summer. The event is completely volunteer-driven, so you can rest assured that every cent you donate will go to the cause.
The event this year is held in Rockwell, Maryland and is only in its third day of running, so I strongly encourage donating before its end! The donation page can be found at https://gamesdonequick.com/tracker/ui/donate/agdq2019, and the game list is accessible at https://gamesdonequick.com/tracker/runs/agdq2019.
Games Done Quick (GDQ) is a biannual video game speedrunning (meaning "to complete a video game as quickly as possible") marathon which raises money for the organizations Prevent Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders. In each year from 2011 on, there are two marathons: Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) (held in January,) and Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) (usually, but not always, held in July.) Interestingly, in 2010 (Games Done Quick's first year) only one marathon was held, titled Classic Games Done Quick (CGDQ,) in January of that year. Most GDQ marathons run for one week.
GDQ has certain traditions and rituals, likely to remind the runners and attendees as to the roots of the event. For example, a staple at every GDQ event is "the couch." Not a couch, but the couch. To the extent of my knowledge, every GDQ marathon since CGDQ has used the same three-person (or four if they're feeling ambitious) couch to host persons of special interest. For example, during a speedrun of the indie classic I Wanna Be The Guy (IWBTG) a few years back, IWBTG creator Michael O'Reilly was present on the couch, and often spoke about the game's development and popularity. Speaking of IWBTG, it is also a GDQ tradition to have an IWBTG fangame featured on the marathon's penultimate night.
As of the time I'm writing this, the most recent GDQ marathon is AGDQ 2019, which is currently ongoing.
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