A masocore video game is one that is difficult. No, difficult is too kind of a word. It’s one with near impossible tasks, with a world of possible mistakes and little redemption. It’s a game that seems unwinnable. They tend to lead to rage quits…. tantrums of excessive frustration thrown by a gamer when they fail at a task.

And you can watch a room full of people play these games and throw these tantrums… FOR CHARITY.

Made by Zalar Creative Design… And he’ll be there, too.

I’m involved with a group called High Charity. This group throws a couple of marathons a year to raise funds for Child’s Play Charity. Child’s Play provides game consoles and other toys to children’s hospitals.

Picture this: A little girl is diagnosed with leukemia. She’s in the hospital, going through an awful ordeal. but the room has an XBOX 360. Video games. This is a thing she knows. This is a way to pass the time she needs for her body to fight cancer. It’s a distraction. It keeps her from focusing on all the needles and doctors. It brings a bit of normalcy to a horrid experience.

Child’s Play provides that console, with money raised by various gamer groups running marathons and collecting donations.

How does our Masocore Marathon work? Simple- the more you donate, the longer we have to play frustrating games for your amusement.

The games we’re playing are:
I Wanna Be the Guy
La Mulana
Bit Trip Runner 2
N+ Co-Op
Super Meat Boy: Dark World

We play these games, and they’re live-streamed to our website HighCharity.org, where you can watch the marathon and chat with the gamers.

Now, as we play through these games, you can donate money. When you donate, you can pick your favorite games, and at certain intervals, we will play the game that garners the most donations.

You can also donate money to buy us a drink if you’re feeling sympathetic. Or think we’d be funnier drunk (you would be right).

We will also have various auctions, raffles, and rewards.

And if that isn’t enough, there will be special guests throughout the weekend. Apropos of Nothing will be there. Mr. Skullhead of Kingdom of Loathing will be there. the Glovers from Vilification Tennis, Fearless Comedy, and Geeks Without God will be there. The Choosatron (and its creator) will be there. Local talent from around the twin cities will be there. Ridiculous Puppets will be there.

Can a puppet play video games? Maybe we’ll find out.

So, starting at Noon today, we play videogames. Pop on over and watch me play games and throw a tantrum.

For the children.