So this time tomorrow I'll have started my 24 hour gaming marathon for Sick Kids Save Point, raising money for Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children. The last time I did any kind of sponsored charity thing was back in Primary 3, at the tender age of eight. I vaguely recall it being something utterly daft like trampolining or somersaults, and that I managed a pitiful sub-20 count before bowing out in tears. I might well be in a similar state by the time this is over, but at least I feel I'm a bit more prepared for the challenge. My sleeping pattern is suitably skewed, my eyes have developed a resistance to screen-burn, and I'm fully stocked on sugary snacks and the blackest coffee money can buy. Would probably still break down if you asked me to give you 20 somersaults, mind.
After being handed this 24 hour time slot, one of the trickiest things was deciding what to do with it. Some other participants were dead creative with their ideas (I'm especially looking forward to following Scott Murdoch attempt to survive for 24 hours in Day Z), which made me feel that I should do something interesting with it myself. I thought of digging out creaky PS2 RTS Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII, and attempting to conquer all of China within the day. Trickier than you might imagine, and as a real favourite of mine it's one I'd be happy to pour the time into. But then I realised that, unlike me, normal people have next to no interest in reading about the obscure fictional exploits of long-dead Chinese generals. Let alone for 24 hours. And since I'm liveblogging this thing, having people understand and stay interested in what I'm writing is key. Gutted, eh?
So back to the drawing board. I don't have a working PC, else I'd be on some timesink MMORPG for the duration. No 360, which means no hours wasted chatting with fellow sufferers on Live. I'd thought of booting up a game of Football Manager, maybe see if how far up the career ladder I could climb. Sadly, my laptop would melt under the strain of running anything for 24 hours solid, so that was out. Dark Souls had crossed my mind, but the memory of being stuck at the Taurus Demon for six hours is still too painful. Back to the drawing board!
Long story short, I've returned to my original idea of tackling my list of shame. I've far too many games that were bought but never played, but that sadly includes modern classics like Resi 4, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Ico. So I'll be throwing at least five hours into each of those, with the aim of finally seeing what I've missed out on. First though, I get to kick the day off with some fighting action courtesy of my pal Martin, who'll be stopping by on the way home to his own marathon. I also noticed that I'll have to miss watching the Scotland Wales game in the evening, which is distressing. So to numb the pain, I'm going to play the fixture myself, in full, on FIFA. Should be a riot. Plus, if I get a better result than the real team, I might be in with a shout of Craig Levein's job. Bonus!
There's still time to donate as well. Thanks to everyone's kind efforts I've smashed through my target of £100, but every penny helps, so if you haven't already please consider donating through my JustGiving page. You'll be able to follow my progress on this blog, where I'm aiming to post at least once every hour, and on my Twitter, where you can enjoy my inevitable meltdown in bite sized chunks. By using the #sksp hashtag you'll be able to keep up with all the weekend action as well, as a legion of gamers across the country kick off their own marathons.
See you on the other side!
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