Playing video games for 16 hours is normal for a teenager on summer vacation, but if a bunch of adults were doing it, they would be said to be wasting their day. Not when those adults are defending castles from dragons or hunting zombies to participate in The Longest Day. For 16 hours today, a group of gamers — my fellow coworkers at Geektriumvirate.com, my girlfriend and I — are playing video games to honor those with Alzheimer’s.
I love playing video games. But more than that, I love my grandmother, who is afflicted with Alzheimer’s.
When I first saw the idea for The Longest Day in one of the Alzheimer’s Association emails, I knew immediately video games would be a great media to get friends and family involved. Video games now are rich with online gameplay and cooperative interaction that, for some of my friends, is the only way we are able to share each other’s time. I wanted to give my friends the sense of achievement you get from actually taking part in a charitable endeavor. But more importantly, I wanted to show my family how much I care about what my grandmother is going through.
Today, we are playing a variety of games — Borderlands 2, World of Warcraft, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag — all while sharing the experience with friends via Google Hangout and live streaming the event on our YouTube channel. The morning hours are starting great as teammates Andrew and Amanda are playing World of Warcraft with their guild. Their online guild consists of 250 members from all over the world. Just knowing this event is involving so many people makes me appreciate why I set out to create this event.
Many hours already into The Longest Day, and my thumbs are sore but my spirits are up. Friends and family have been checking in on us via Google Hangout to say hi and watch us. Tonight, we will cap off this important day by visiting the opening party for The Art of Video Games exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art.
Today has been truly fulfilling as we used the leisurely fun of video games to help an important and serious cause. I don’t want anyone else to endure what my grandmother endured with this disease. My hope is, there will be an end to Alzheimer’s.
About the Author: When Nathan Dean, 33, isn’t playing video games, he works as a logistics analyst for a marketing agency and is cofounder of the blog GeekTriumvirate.com in Grand Rapids, Mich. This is his first year participating in Alzheimer’s Association’s The Longest Day®.