Frequently Asked Questions

Who are you?

My name is Brian Brinegar, I'm a 29 30 year old web developer located in Lafayette, Indiana. I love video games, and have been a Super Mario fan since the release of Super Mario Bros for the NES.

Why are you doing this again?

Well, last year was so much fun and so successful, we couldn't help but do it again. We were also featured as a platinum sponsor of Child's Play and took that as a challenge to do that again.

Are you planning anything different for this year?

Yes! The details are still in the works, but we plan to do more! There are 599 stars/levels in the games we played. Last year we completed about half of those stars/levels. Check back for details on exactly what we'll be doing during this marathon.

Who will be playing the games?

The three players for this marathon will be: Brian "Shirt Guy" Brinegar, John "Couch Guy" Groth, and Chris "Slouch Guy" Deckard. Our other team member Dan "Chair Guy" May will be out of the country, but we hope to have him on via Skype for some part of the marathon.

Where did this idea come from?

The concept was borrowed (with permission) from a guy named Cameron Banga and some of his friends, who attempted to complete Four 3D Zelda games in 48 hours. Watching how much fun they had, I couldn't help but want to attempt something similar. It started out with me asking a couple of my friends if they'd be down for a weekend of non-stop gaming, that turned into us deciding that we might as well make it official and document the whole thing online and see if we can raise some money for charity.

How will my donations get to Child's Play?

We are using a service called ChipIn to track donations which are sent directly to Child's Play. You will receive a PayPal receipt which can be used for tax purposes.

Are you good at these games?

No! Last year we took about 55 hours to complete the seven games. If things go as planned we'll be playing even longer this year.

What versions of these games will be played?

We intend to play all of the games on the Nintendo Wii via the Virtual Console, Gamecube, and Wii discs.

Is warping allowed?

Yes. On the main page of the web site we've listed out our play schedule. Initially we will play through all 7 games using warps. Then, based on the donations raised we will revisit each game to complete the remaining goals and beat the game 100%

Are continues allowed?

Continuing is allowed as long as it's within the limits of the game. For example, Super Mario Bros. 2 has a limited number of continues, where others have unlimited. So, if we were to run out of continues on Super Mario Bros. 2, we would start again from the beginning.

Why aren't you playing XYZ?

Who knows, maybe we will play XYZ this year. We'll see.

What order will you play through the games?

We will play through the games in order, starting with Super Mario Bros on Friday and completing Super Mario Galaxy a few days later. We will then start the series over, to complete the levels we skipped in the first run through.

How do you plan to stay awake?

The pure excitement of Mario saving all those princesses should keep us going.

Is there anything I can do to help?

At this point we're just trying to get the word out. Do what you can to promote the event.

How can I submit Fan Art for the web site?

This year we've setup a fanart submission process to assist us in getting the art up and to make it easier for everyone to browse the artwork. Use the Fan Art Submission Form to get started.

How do you plan to webcast the video?

Ustream.tv is being used to host our video stream. Equipment wise, we've got a Microsoft Webcam, a Diamond Video Capture device, two omni-directional microphones, and a sound mixer hooked up to a Dell PC running Windows XP and webcammax.

Won't your Wii overheat?

We've got three Wiis (Plural Wii? Woo?) which we can swap in and out.

I want to run my own gaming marathon, any suggestions?

We've put together some notes which you can read in the article, Notes on Running a Gaming Marathon.

Got a question we haven't answered?

Send me an e-mail and I'll get you an answer.