Extra Life

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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 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 $6,000 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 Draco has hosted the marathon from the regular Gatorbox set ever since. 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 (at the time) and marathon length. Despite not holding a marathon in 2017 Gatorbox still saw a few donations come in out of tradition from fans.

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. In 2020 a new world record was set for Croc's World. In 2021 a de facto record was set for Crimson Room: Decade.

Donation Incentives

Throughout the 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. Milestone incentives were brought back as a one-off 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).

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. As of 2022 the amount needed for a challenge has been raised to $100 due to the growth of the marathon's proceeds.

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.

Below are some of these runs:

  • Kirby's Adventure: Played on real hardware with an NES flight stick.
  • Super Off Road: Played with a steering wheel controller.
  • M.C. Kids: Draco eats something every time he dies (cheeseburgers, McNuggets, with or without hot sauce)
  • Bible Buffet: The quiz book is sometimes used.

Featured Games

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

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
102 Dalmatians:
Puppies to the Rescue
3D Body Adventure
3D Dinosaur Adventure
4-in-1 Fun Pak
Action 52
Adventure
Adventures of Rocky
& Bullwinkle, The
Aladdin
Anticipation
Arista's Ring
Asmik-kun Land
Atlantis no Nazo
Attack of
the Labyrinth
Back to the
Future II & III
Backgammon
Backyard Football 2007
Barbie Groovy Games
Barney's Hide & Seek
Bible Buffet
Bigfoot
Biker Mice From Mars
Bishoujo Senshi
Sailor Moon
Bishoujo Senshi
Sailor Moon S
Blackjack
Blast Corps
Blue Sphere
Board Game Classics
Boggle Plus
Bubble Ghost
Chalvo 55
Checkers
Chiki Chiki Boys
Chip's Challenge
Codename: Kids
Next Door
Contra
Cool Spot
Cosmic Spacehead
Crash Bash
CrazyCars 3D
Crimson Room
Crimson Room: Decade
Croc's World
Destruction Derby 64
Destruction Derby Arenas
Dian Shi Ma Li
Dig Dug
Digimon Racing
Dinosaurs For Hire
Donkey Kong Country
Doraemon: Nobita to
Tsuki no Oukoku
Doraemon: Nora no
Suki no Yabou
Dragon Tales:
Dragon Adventures
Dragon Tales: Dragon Seek
Dragon's Lair
Dragster
Duck Tales 2 X
Duke Nukem Forever
Dynamite Headdy
E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
Earthworm Jim 2
Ecstatica
Extreme Forklifting 2
Extreme Sports
w/ Berenstain Bears
F-Zero Climax
Fantavision
Forgotten Ones, The
Ghosts N' Goblins
Goma-chan no
Yuuenchi Daibouken
Gon' E-Choo! X
Gone Home
Goof Troop
Hacker, The
Harm's Way
Hot Wheels World Race
Ice Road Truckers
Innsmouth no Yakata
International Superstar
Soccer 2000
Island Xtreme Stunts
J League '96
Dream Stadium
Jeopardy!:
Teen Tournament
Jungle Book, The
Jurassic Park
Kamen Rider Black
Kendo Rage
Kirby Super Star
Kirby's Adventure
Kirby's Dream Land
Krazy Kreatures
Last Legion UX
Legend of Zelda, The:
A Link to the Past
Lost World, The:
Jurassic Park
M.C. Kids
Maniac Mansion
MANOS: The
Hands of Fate
Mario Clash
McDonald's Treasure
Land Adventure
Mega Man 4
MegaRace
Mercury Hg
Microsoft Entertainment Pack
Milon's Secret Castle
Mini Putt
Monster Truck Madness 64
Monster Truck Rally
Monster Trucks Nitro
NanoQuest X
Nanosaur
Natsuki Crisis Battle
Nightmare Busters
Ninja Gaiden
Nintendo World
Championships 1990
*NSYNC: Get to the Show
Othello World
Pac-Man
Championship Edition
Pepsi Invaders
Perfect Bowling
Pokémon Blue
Pokémon Fire Red
Power Piggs of
the Dark Age
Project S-11
Puggsy
Ray Thunder
River Raid
Robot Wars:
Extreme Destruction
Rugrats: Search
for Reptar
Running Battle
Sailor Moon S:
Kurukkurin
Shamu's Deep Sea Adventures
Shao-lin's Road
Shovel Knight
Sky Blazer
Snow White in
Happily Ever After
Sonic Jam (Game.com)
Sonic Pinball Party
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog:
Genesis
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Sonic Blast
Spot: The
Cool Adventure
Spot Goes to Hollywood X
Spyro the Dragon
Star Fox
Star Fox 64
Super Bowling
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 35
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Land
Super Mario Maker
Super Mario Maker 2
Super Mario World
Super Mario World 64
Super Nova
Super Off Road
Suzuki Alstare
EX Racing
Taboo:
The Sixth Sense
Tail 'Gator
Taz-Mania
Terminator, The
Tetris
Texas Trivia
Thunder Alley
Toobin'
Trick Trap 1771
Twisted Edge
Snowboarding
Twisted Metal III
Twisted Metal 4
Twitch Sings
Ultimate Brain Games
Ultimate Puzzle Games
Urban Yeti!
Tyrian 2000
Vectorman
Video Checkers
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense X
Virtua Racing Deluxe
Virtual League
Baseball
Wacky Races
Wayne Gretzky's
3D Hockey 64
Where's Waldo?
Wonderful End
of the World, The
Xena: Warrior Princess
Yoshi's Story
Yukkuri no Meikyu
Zoop

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

Trivia

  • Total games featured: 130
  • Most money raised in one marathon: $2,646 (2022)
  • Most games in one marathon: 57 (2020)
  • Most challenges in one marathon: 35 (2021)
  • Most featured game: M.C. Kids, Super Off Road (9)