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'''Extra Life''' is an American charity benefiting children's hospitals across the continental United States. Their flagship charity event, "Game Day", began in 2008 and has occurred annually since then. Starting in 2013 [[Draco]] has hosted a 24-hour fundraising marathon for Extra Life in an effort to raise money for Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Draco says he chose this hospital because when [[FPS Reflex|his brother]] was very young they saved his life. To date, Draco and the Gatorbox community have raised over $2,000 for the hospital which Draco has matched personally with additional donations of games, toys, and stuffed animals.
'''Extra Life''' is an American charity benefiting children's hospitals across the continental United States. Their flagship charity event, "Game Day", began in 2008 and has occurred annually ever since. Starting in 2013 [[Draco]] has hosted a 24-hour fundraising marathon for Extra Life in an effort to raise money for Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Draco says he chose this hospital because when [[FPS Reflex|his brother]] was very young they saved his life. To date, Draco and the Gatorbox community have raised over $2,000 for the hospital which Draco has matched personally with additional donations of games, toys, and stuffed animals.


Draco hosted his 2013 and 2014 marathons from the Extra Life event headquarters in San Antonio, Texas and was a featured performer both years; in 2013 his speedrun of ''Cosmic Spacehead'' was featured on the official event livestream and in 2014 he was a participant in some of Extra Life's live skits and comedy content. Extra Life eventually moved their headquarters elsewhere so in 2015 and 2016 Draco hosted the marathon from the regular Gatorbox set. A marathon was planned but ultimately not held in 2017 due to [[Hurricane Harvey]] destroying the studio where the show was taped. The annual marathon resumed in 2018 with a record-setting turnout both in funds raised ($644) and marathon length (~30 hours).
Gatorbox's 2013 and 2014 marathons were hosted from the Extra Life event headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. Draco was a featured performer both years; in 2013 his speedrun of ''Cosmic Spacehead'' was showcased on the official Extra Life livestream and in 2014 he was a participant in some of Extra Life's live skits and comedy content. The event headquarters moved in 2015 and since then Draco has hosted the marathon from the regular Gatorbox set. A marathon was planned but ultimately not held in 2017 due to Hurricane Harvey destroying the studio where the show was taped. The annual marathon resumed in 2018 with a record-setting turnout both in funds raised ($644) and marathon length (~30 hours).


Gatorbox's Extra Life marathons are styled after popular charity fundraisers such as Games Done Quick and feature 24 hours of video game speedruns with periodic breaks for meals. Starting in 2015 Draco began incorporating "challenge" games in an effort to raise more money; for every $50 raised a random game and accompanying challenge would be drawn out of a box and Draco would then have 15 minutes to complete it. These challenges were written by Draco himself, [[Roastmaster]], [[Tuna Boat Tony]], [[ElectricSheepCity]], and other members of the community through an open submission thread on the Gatorbox message boards. Some games are also scheduled with arbitrary challenges already in mind. In order to keep both ''M.C. Kids'' and ''Kirby's Adventure'' from going stale for being featured every year Draco played through the entirety of ''Kirby'' with an NES flight stick in 2016 and introduced the "Cheeseburger Challenge" to ''M.C. Kids'' that same year: for every death Draco would stop the game, but not the timer, and eat one McDonald's cheeseburger. He infamously ended up eating all six of the cheeseburgers he bought for the speedrun and now the "Cheeseburger Challenge" is a popular in-joke with the ''M.C. Kids'' speedrunning community. Both the flight stick and cheeseburger challenges returned in 2018 and have become a staple of the event.
Extra Life participants are permitted to do whatever they like for their Game Day fundraising events, Draco has elected to model Gatorbox's marathons similarly to popular speedrunning marathons such as Games Done Quick. Between 2013 and 2018 Draco hosted a 24-hour speedrunning marathon, however starting with 2019's broadcast the schedule was split into two 12-hour marathons in order to allow for better scheduling and a more restful break.


Occasionally, new world records are set in some of the games featured; in 2013 and 2014 new records were set for ''Super Off Road'' (as of 2015 Draco no longer holds the record).
Occasionally, new world records are set in some of the games featured; in 2013 and 2014 new records were set for ''Super Off Road'' (as of 2015 Draco no longer holds the record).


==Donation Incentives==
Throughout the many years that Gatorbox has broadcast an Extra Life marathon there have been numerous attempts to incentivize donations. The marathons hosted in 2013 and 2014 included basic "milestone" style incentives such as turning an "Any%" run of a specific game into a "100%" run. These incentives were eventually discontinued due to the issues they posed with scheduling.
In 2015 the idea of performing a quick game "challenge" for every $50 raised was introduced and this proved to be a much easier incentive to incorporate into the show. Every time the marathon's total donation amount reaches a multiple of $50 Draco draws a random challenge from a box of community-submitted ideas and has 15 minutes to complete it.
Milestone incentives were brought back as a test for 2019's marathon, though this time the incentive would be placed at the very end of the marathon to avoid scheduling issues and to offer as much time as possible for viewers to donate. The game in question, ''Twitch Sings'', would only be added if the marathon's goal of $500 was met (which it was).
==Gimmick Speedruns==
There are numerous games that are featured multiple times in Gatorbox's Extra Life marathons and some of them are included every year. In order to avoid these games becoming "stale" to viewers Draco occasionally mixes up their features to include fun gimmicks and keep them interesting.
Thus far, ''Kirby's Adventure'' has been played through in its entirety with an era-appropriate NES flight stick, ''Super Off Road'' has been attempted with a steering wheel, and ''M.C. Kids'' has incorporated a "Cheeseburger Challenge" gimmick where each time Draco loses a life in the game he keeps the clock running while he eats a whole McDonald's cheeseburger. In 2019 the cheeseburgers were replaced with chicken nuggets when ''M.C. Kids''' run was changed from Any% to 100%.
==Featured Games==
Below is a table showing every game that has been featured in a Gatorbox Extra Life marathon.
Below is a table showing every game that has been featured in a Gatorbox Extra Life marathon.


Revision as of 19:10, 4 November 2019

Extra Life is an American charity benefiting children's hospitals across the continental United States. Their flagship charity event, "Game Day", began in 2008 and has occurred annually ever since. Starting in 2013 Draco has hosted a 24-hour fundraising marathon for Extra Life in an effort to raise money for Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Draco says he chose this hospital because when his brother was very young they saved his life. To date, Draco and the Gatorbox community have raised over $2,000 for the hospital which Draco has matched personally with additional donations of games, toys, and stuffed animals.

Gatorbox's 2013 and 2014 marathons were hosted from the Extra Life event headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. Draco was a featured performer both years; in 2013 his speedrun of Cosmic Spacehead was showcased on the official Extra Life livestream and in 2014 he was a participant in some of Extra Life's live skits and comedy content. The event headquarters moved in 2015 and since then Draco has hosted the marathon from the regular Gatorbox set. A marathon was planned but ultimately not held in 2017 due to Hurricane Harvey destroying the studio where the show was taped. The annual marathon resumed in 2018 with a record-setting turnout both in funds raised ($644) and marathon length (~30 hours).

Extra Life participants are permitted to do whatever they like for their Game Day fundraising events, Draco has elected to model Gatorbox's marathons similarly to popular speedrunning marathons such as Games Done Quick. Between 2013 and 2018 Draco hosted a 24-hour speedrunning marathon, however starting with 2019's broadcast the schedule was split into two 12-hour marathons in order to allow for better scheduling and a more restful break.

Occasionally, new world records are set in some of the games featured; in 2013 and 2014 new records were set for Super Off Road (as of 2015 Draco no longer holds the record).

Donation Incentives

Throughout the many years that Gatorbox has broadcast an Extra Life marathon there have been numerous attempts to incentivize donations. The marathons hosted in 2013 and 2014 included basic "milestone" style incentives such as turning an "Any%" run of a specific game into a "100%" run. These incentives were eventually discontinued due to the issues they posed with scheduling.

In 2015 the idea of performing a quick game "challenge" for every $50 raised was introduced and this proved to be a much easier incentive to incorporate into the show. Every time the marathon's total donation amount reaches a multiple of $50 Draco draws a random challenge from a box of community-submitted ideas and has 15 minutes to complete it.

Milestone incentives were brought back as a test for 2019's marathon, though this time the incentive would be placed at the very end of the marathon to avoid scheduling issues and to offer as much time as possible for viewers to donate. The game in question, Twitch Sings, would only be added if the marathon's goal of $500 was met (which it was).

Gimmick Speedruns

There are numerous games that are featured multiple times in Gatorbox's Extra Life marathons and some of them are included every year. In order to avoid these games becoming "stale" to viewers Draco occasionally mixes up their features to include fun gimmicks and keep them interesting.

Thus far, Kirby's Adventure has been played through in its entirety with an era-appropriate NES flight stick, Super Off Road has been attempted with a steering wheel, and M.C. Kids has incorporated a "Cheeseburger Challenge" gimmick where each time Draco loses a life in the game he keeps the clock running while he eats a whole McDonald's cheeseburger. In 2019 the cheeseburgers were replaced with chicken nuggets when M.C. Kids' run was changed from Any% to 100%.

Featured Games

Below is a table showing every game that has been featured in a Gatorbox Extra Life marathon.

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
3D Body Adventure
3D Dinosaur Adventure
Anticipation ♦
Arista's Ring
Asmik-kun Land
Attack of
the Labyrinth
Bible Buffet
Biker Mice From Mars
Blast Corps
Blue Sphere ♦
Boggle Plus ♦
Bubble Ghost ♦
Chiki Chiki Boys
Codename: Kids
Next Door 		♦
Cool Spot
Cosmic Spacehead
CrazyCars 3D ♦
Dian Shi Ma Li ♦
Donkey Kong Country
Dragon Tales: Dragon Adventure
Duck Tales 2 X
Duke Nukem Forever
Dynamite Headdy
E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial ♦
Ecstatica ♦
Extreme Forklifting 2 ♦
Extreme Sports
w/ Berenstain Bears 		♦
Forgotten Ones, The
Gon' E-Choo! X
Goof Troop
Hacker, The
Ice Road Truckers ♦ ♦
Island Xtreme Stunts ♦
Jeopardy!:
Teen Tournament 		♦
Kirby Super Star
Kirby's Adventure
Krazy Kreatures ♦
M.C. Kids
Maniac Mansion ♦
MANOS: The
Hands of Fate
McDonald's Treasure
Land Adventure
Mega Man 4 ♦
MegaRace
Microsoft Entertainment Pack ♦
Milon's Secret Castle ♦
Mini Putt ♦
Monster Truck Madness 64
Monster Truck Rally ♦
NanoQuest
*NSYNC: Get to the Show ♦ ♦
Pac-Man
Championship Edition
Pepsi Invaders ♦
Pokémon Blue ♦
Puggsy
River Raid ♦
Robot Wars:
Extreme Destruction 		♦
Rugrats: Search
for Reptar
Shamu's Deep Sea Adventures ♦
Shao-lin's Road
Shovel Knight
Sonic Jam (Game.com)
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ♦
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Spot Goes to Hollywood
Spyro the Dragon
Star Fox
Star Fox 64
Super Mario Bros. ♦ ♦
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Maker
Super Mario World 64
Super Off Road
Taboo:
The Sixth Sense 		♦
Tail 'Gator
Tetris ♦
Trick Trap 1771
Twisted Metal III
Twisted Metal 4
Twitch Sings
Tyrian 2000
Vectorman
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense X
Virtua Racing Deluxe
Wacky Races
Where's Waldo? ♦
Wonderful End
of the World, The
Yukkuri no Meikyu
Zoop ♦

* 2017's Extra Life marathon was cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey.

Games noted with a diamond (♦) signify titles that were featured as a "challenge" and not a full speedrun. An "X" denotes a run that was cancelled during the marathon due to technical difficulties or other unforeseen problems.

Trivia

  • Total games featured: 89
  • Most money raised in one marathon: $644 (2018)
  • Most games in one marathon: 38 (2019)
  • Most challenges in one marathon: 14 (2018)
  • Most featured game: Kirby's Adventure, M.C. Kids, Super Off Road (6)
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