Play games for 24 hours straight, and you're a lazy bum. But do the same thing in the name of charity, and you're an all around decent guy. That's what Scott Marley, Paul Lithgow and Scott Watson will be doing at the end of this month.
Over a 24 hour period, the three gamers are putting their thumbs on the line to raise money for SpecialEffect, a charity organization who makes controllers so that any and all can play video games. But the threesome have picked quite the game to tackle, Gearbox's Borderlands 2, and not just the game, but all of its associated DLC as well.
Speaking with the Daily Record, Marley said he chose SpecialEffect after seeing the team at last year's Eurogamer Expo.
"I've been a keen gamer since I was eight and over the years its brought me a lot of joy, I remember my excitement when I first picked up a joystick and played Paperboy on the ZX Spectrum. The guys and I want to help ensure that everyone, regardless of their ability, can get that same joy from gaming."
Anyone who's played either the first or second Borderlands titles knows that there's a LOT to do, even if you're just sticking to the game's main campaign mode. Fetch this, kill that, explore here, etc., which is exactly what makes completing it in a mere 24 hours so daunting, never mind the four separate DLC campaigns: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirates Booty, Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage, Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, and Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep.
When Brady Games tackled the game so they could make a strategy guide, Randy Pitchford revealed it took them a bit over 58 hours to beat it: "Their approach was that they were going to start by taking a character and just playing through the game really fast, and then they would play the other characters, do second playthroughs, find hidden stuff and do all of the challenges...That very first, quick playthrough took them 58 hours, so they had to extend the time here to more than double, and come back a second time just to see everything...Part of why that happened is, when we were playing the first Borderlands, for most of us it became a hobby, just as it did for a lot of our fans. So we really took the idea that Borderlands 2 needed to be a hobby as well."
It's doubtful if the trio can complete all of Borderlands 2 in such a limited amount of time, but their cause is noble. They hope to raise a minimum of £500 for the charity. You can contribute here.