You gave up a huge amount of your own time and effort to run your events, and the results will make an epic difference. We’re talking more adapted equipment, more resources to keep our teams on the road, more advice we can offer, and more inspiring ways to make video games accessible.
In short, you’ve just helped hundreds more people with disabilities to discover the magic of video games. Magnificent work!
]]>Hey, some important news: If you’re streaming, you can now search for GameBlast17 as a game in your Twitch broadcast options (you know this stuff). The GameBlast17 Directory itself is at https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/GameBlast17
Why are we all doing this? There’s a shedload of YouTube vids at http://bit.ly/2kQwHDl that show the impact of the money you’re about to raise. Feel free to grab or link to any of them for breaks in your stream.
In fact, here’s three downloadable ones to start you off: There’s John at http://bit.ly/2lOBJQh, Ceyda at http://bit.ly/2lcMaKd and some wonderful magic moments at http://bit.ly/2kQwHDl
The next few days are going to be totally bonkers. Watch out for the world record attempts on the GAME/Multiplay livestream at https://www.twitch.tv/gamedigital That stream will include teams from the new BELONG arenas in Hull and Portsmouth, plus Microsoft’s Graeme Boyd and comedian John Robertson. Props to Ubisoft, SUMO Digital, Wired Productions, Bethesda and Bandai Namco for offering their support through donations to auctions, versus gaming challenges and more.
Auctions??? Did I say auctions? Oh yes! http://ebay.eu/2lz5BOo
Pitching in elsewhere with their own livestreams over the weekend are industry teams from Ripstone, Rare, SEGA, Nomad and Testology – even JustGiving are throwing their hat in the ring! Kudos as well to our other official partners Twitch, FACEIT, Insert Coin and Ukie.
They’re all complementing the hundreds of gamers around the world who’ve signed up as individuals, friends and eSports teams. There’ll be laughter, pizza, tears, forfeits and more pizza. Probably in that order.
You may have seen the sad news earlier this week of the US streamer who died during another charity marathon. Please make sure you stay safe. There’s more advice at https://www.gameblast17.com/faq/ and some stretches at https://www.gameblast17.com/resources/ but, you know, be careful out there.
Keep in touch with everything @gameblast2017 and share your GameBlast pics! We’d love to see them.
Thanks to everyone who’s taking part, who’s supported, who’s donated prizes… you’re all legends! All the team here wish you a fantastic GameBlast weekend and once again, THANK YOU!!! You’ll be making a life-changing difference to the lives of hundreds of people with disabilities.
See you on the other side!
]]>Follow the latest on twitter at @gameblast2017
Stretchhhhhhhh goals
Keep your mind and body supple during your gaming marathon by downloading these six top stretches from the Resources page and including them in your regular breaks. We’ve teamed up with Sally Donegan at Go Girls Gym to bring you the best stretches for gamers, and here’s Fran and Tom of our GameBlast team trying some of them out at SpecialEffect Towers, with a little help from InTheLittleWood.
Added your streaming link to your fundraising page yet?
Another nudge to add your Twitch/YouTube URL on your fundraising page if you’re streaming. Best to include a link to your stream at or near the top of your page, like Heather, Adam and Sam have done at http://bit.ly/2lrsx42
Alex does GameBlast
We’ve helped Alex with his gaming for many years now, and we’re totally made up that he and his friends will be taking on a gaming marathon for us. Alex has spinal muscular atrophy and used to be able to use a regular mouse and keyboard, but now he’s using eye control (among other things) to play his games. Check out his page at http://bit.ly/2lewCpS
Never too late to get local media coverage
Rob Walker and his colleagues from GAME in Shrewsbury used the GameBlast press release template to craft this piece which appeared on shropshirelive.com http://bit.ly/2l09iho Nice one Rob.
No donations? No problem.
If your fundraising hasn’t taken off yet, don’t worry! Whether you raise £1 or £1000, it’s still an honour to have you on the GameBlast17 team, and every penny and cent really does count.
Where is your money going?
The short answer is that the funds raised from GameBlast17 going to fund a huge range of things such as assistive gaming technology, putting petrol in our vans so that we can visit people, specialist time spending time spent custom modding games controllers, paying the phone bills so we can answer questions from all over the world about accessible gaming… nothing is wasted.
GameBlast Tees
Still selling like hot cakes from the illustrious Insert Coin Clothing. Grab yours now at http://bit.ly/2ksGpbm
Too excited now…
Mark, Becky, Tom and the GameBlast Team
]]>What’s that controller?!?
Awesome, isn’t it? It’s been made by ExtremeConsoles and will be up for auction during the GameBlast weekend.
GAME on
GAME have just announced details of their GameBlast 24 hour livestream from the new Multiplay studio at GAME HQ on Saturday 25 February. The teams will kick off with a breakfast show and will be taking part in gaming, sports and other crazy antics throughout the day, aiming to break some gaming Guinness world records along the way! http://bit.ly/2kPTZWx
Totaliser livestream ticker now available!
Here’s a new thing: It’s an easy to setup, self-updating ticker that’ll display the overall GameBlast total on your livestream, courtesy of the wonderful Simon Agius Muscat. Boom. http://bit.ly/2j8PKUz
About that livestream link on your fundraising page
No need to remind you to include a link to your livestream on your fundraising page, right? Thought not.
GameBlast Raglan Tee
Just received ours this morning, and couldn’t resist a cheesy photo with Becky, Nomi and Tom. Get yours now at http://bit.ly/2ksGpbm
More about you
So many people doing great things. LSESU Gaming Society have already raised over £300 in their second annual 24 hour livestream, the bonkers team at GAME Denton are dyeing their hair purple for GameBlast (http://bit.ly/2kPXMU1) and we love the way Hayley Tolley’s thanking her donors via updates to her fundraising page at http://bit.ly/2kWCCWA
Partners
As always, give a big hand to our GameBlast partners GAME, Twitch, Multiplay, Ukie, and Insert Coin. They’re being an enormous help in making GameBlast17 the best ever!
And as if you needed a reminder about the difference you’re helping to make, take a look at the smiles on this video clip: https://youtu.be/OhIbKX0jSbo Surely there couldn’t be a better reason to game your heart out!
Huge thanks again for just being fantastic.
]]>What about a story in your local paper?
If you’re up for shouting about your marathon beyond social media, try contacting your local newspapers or radio station to give them a news piece that’s a bit out of the ordinary. There’s a press release template on the resources page at https://www.gameblast17.com/resources/ to get you started.
Journalists will want an angle, so make the most of any memorable forfeits you’ve planned, and press them to include links to your fundraising and streaming pages. It’s also worth mentioning that there’s some big gaming names like GAME and SEGA joining in the fun.
Let us know if you get any front page coverage!
Make the most of your fundraising page
JustGiving features lots of ways you can make your fundraising page stand out from the crowd, including uploading in your own profile and banner pics, writing a personal story as to why you’ve chosen to support SpecialEffect and adding updates as you firm up your plans. And if there’s anything else you need to spice up your page, just shout out to [email protected]
GameBlast tees
They’re raglan. They’re limited edition. They’re modelled by a bloke who looks vaguely Norwegian. You’d be mad not to preorder one now! http://bit.ly/2ksGpbm
Why we’re GameBlasting
The invaluable funds you raise through your GameBlasting will be supporting people like Nick, who we visited just a couple of days ago. He’s tetraplegic and hasn’t been able to use a console controller for quite a while, so he got in touch to see if we could help. He was really hoping to be able to play FIFA on a PS4.
He’s got great head movement, and we found that mounting the controller by his chin meant he could use the left analogue stick really well for player movement. he also has good movement from his arms and shoulders, and he was able to press some large buttons for pass, shoot and options.
As a result he’s back enjoying the game he loves, and it’s all because of the generous support we receive from your efforts. You’re all part of Nick’s team!

All the best with your prep!
Mark and the GameBlast team
]]>Those fabulous folk at Insert Coin have done themselves and us proud yet again and come up with a top quality midsleeve stunner!
We pondered long and deep about updating the design from last year, but instead decided to offer it in a different style. Sooo if you bought a tee last year (thank you!), you’re still in the loop.
These limited edition tops are available for preorder NOW and come in a unisize style with sizes from S to 3XL.
Order yours now at http://bit.ly/2ksGpbm
Thanks again to Dan, Jon and all the amazing team at Insert Coin Clothing for their support.
]]>Livestreaming? Start planning your forfeits
Forfeits really do make for a difference. Things like: ‘For every donation of £20 we’ll dress up/dance/sing the song of your choice.’ Or completing a couple of levels of Mario while riding an exercise bike. They’re a big incentive for donations and break up a stream brilliantly. Here’s the kind of thing that people have done in the past:
- Wearing stupid hats or tees
- Singing song requests
- Wearing a rival football team top
- Waxing legs or arms
- Shaving a beard or head
- Just Dance routine
- Just Dance routine in costume
- Cracking an egg over your head
- Marshmallow chubby bunny challenge
- Eating a vile combination of food (like fish fingers and custard. Or just plain Marmite. Yak.)
- Showing an embarrassing vid clip/photo of yourself or your team
- Hot chilli challenge
- Cinnamon challenge
Um, about those last two. With my health & safety hat on I’m duty bound to mention that Twitch’s Code of Conduct states that ‘Any activity that may endanger your life or lead to your physical harm is prohibited’. Just sayin’. And the livestreamed GameBlast parkour you were planning? Might want to go easy on that.
Here’s a great example list of forfeits from our FAQ page.
At £25: Phil will give a live rendition of a Rocksmith song (requests taken)
At £50: we’ll publish our best screams from our horror gameplay videos
At £75: we’ll all take on the cream cracker challenge (and fail miserably)
At £100: we’ll reveal a secret video of Craig talking to his cat!
At £125: Lisa will allow us to bleach her long dark locks to a bright shade of blonde
At £150: want to see us spend the rest of the marathon in animal onesies?
At £200: we’ll reveal what happened when we caused trouble in Trafalgar Square
At £250: the entire team will wear lipstick for the remainder of the marathon
At £300: Phil will have to try out his cheesy chat-ups in a nearby bar
At £350: we’ll all wear our pants on our heads for the rest of the night
At £400: want to see a video of us singing at a karaoke bar?
At £450: in a break from gaming, we’ll put on a fitness video and do the routine
At £500: Craig and Phil will have to face their greatest fears – crabs and squid
At £550: we’ll be shaving the head of our Events Manager, Tom
Any more suggestions? Tweet ‘em over on @gameblast2017
Pick up the pace of your fundraising
Don’t worry if your fundraising is still static or slowly ticking over at the moment, there’s plenty of time left to ramp things up. If you’re stuck, there’s ten great general fundraising tips from JustGiving at http://bit.ly/1TPHBT2 that might be handy. There’s also a whole bunch of resources on the GameBlast16 resource page.
Team news! Team news!
Great to welcome teams from SEGA Hardlight, Nomad Games and Ripstone, and we’re absolutely made up that the crew from the William Merritt Centre in Leeds have joined the good ship GameBlast once again (http://bit.ly/2jyEJyS). They’re a fantastic group of gamers who’ll be using a wide variety of equipment such as foot switches, eye-gaze and head switches to battle each other. You can meet them at http://bit.ly/2jx4iAO
If speed runs are your thing, it should be hoot to watch Gunshot Radio (http://bit.ly/2jQPrh7) build on their GameBlast16 madness by playing all the games from Splinter Cell. Bonkers.
Oh, and GAME have been in touch this week as well, and we can’t wait to let you know what they’ve been planning!
Action stations for Steph
If you haven’t seen it, take a moment to check out how we helped Steph recently. She’s an enthusiastic gamer with muscular dystrophy who, thanks to some clever repositioning and remapping of her controls, is now able to play Call of Duty and Little Big Planet 3.
It’s your fantastic support that’ll help us transform more lives like Steph’s every week, so thanks once again for your GameBlast support!
]]>Another mahoosive thank you for signing up for GameBlast17 from all the team at SpecialEffect! You’re going to make a serious difference to so many lives, and yet again it’s been humbling to see so many people already getting involved. We’re well over the 100 mark now!
Firstly, so sorry if you had trouble signing up! We’re pretty sure we’ve sorted it now so for anyone else you recommend, signup should be smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy.
Just a couple of things:
Done anything with your fundraising pages yet?
We’re already seeing some great fundraising pages, so if you’re struggling for inspiration about what to include, check out these belters:
Significant Others’ page at http://bit.ly/2jrBfLV covers the all bases perfectly. All the info’s there and they’re posting regular updates.
Team NGB’s page at http://bit.ly/2jMiR3N promises an exciting stream with a great description!
ACOG’s barmy branded page at http://bit.ly/2jMi1o2 is short and snappy, and the image they’re using is unbeatable!
So, go for it! Give as much detail as possible on your fundraising page about what you’re planning to do, when you’re going to do it, why you’re doing it and your fundraising target.
If you’re really stuck for text, use this as a starter story and modify away:
“I’m taking on the challenge of a 24-hour video game marathon on XXXX to raise money for an amazing charity called SpecialEffect. They put fun, inclusion and confidence back into the lives of people with disabilities by helping them to play video games.
Please help me reach my target of £XXXXXX so that people with disabilities can enjoy the games we take for granted. The more people that know about SpecialEffect, the greater their impact, so if you could share this page with your friends and family that would be fantastic!
Don’t forget to join me on my livestream at (Your Stream URL) from (time) on (date)
Thanks in advance for donating! You can find out more about SpecialEffect at http://www.specialeffect.org.uk”
Early next week I’ll post again with some great forfeit examples to share and take inspiration from.
What do you mean you haven’t followed us on Twitter yet?
Tsk. @gameblast2017
Have a great weekend and thanks again!
Mark and the GameBlast17 Team
Below: ACOG. Nutters. We love them.
eSports teams Barrage and Cognate have thrown their hats in the ring, along with XBox One UK, publishers Ripstone and Wired Productions, streamers Josh (Vinewood Motors, Grand Theft Auto), DVarin (Runescape) and Aaron Briggs (aka Commander Neo, Elite-Dangerous) to name just a few!
Back again at the extreme marathon end are our old friends @zeldathonuk with their 72hr spectacular but don’t feel youhave to go to such extremes to get involved! Retro games party, Fifa tournament, Forza race night… or gaming marathon, it’s up to you!
Thank you for making the decision to level the playing field for gamers with disabilities. It’s YOUR help that’ll be making the difference! Please take a couple of minutes to watch this thank you video and learn about how we helped Corey to game again!
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