A horrible game, for charity!

Despite what the epic reviews say on the iTunes store, Desert Bus is the worst game.  Ever.  No really, this is a horrible game.  However, they are doing their next charity drive and raising tons of money for the children.  Think about the children and throw your money at the poor guys who have to play this horrible game.

Desert Bus is a parody game created by comedians and performers, Penn and Teller.  As explained in the New Yorker

“Every few years, video games are blamed in the media for all of the ills in society,” said Teller. “In the early nineteen-nineties, I wrote an article for the New York Times citing all the studies that show video games have no effect on a child’s morals. But we wanted to create some entertainment that helped make the point.” The conversation with Gorodetsky seeded the idea of a video game that casts the player as a bus driver in a rote simulation. “The route between Las Vegas and Phoenix is long,” said Teller. “It’s a boring job that just goes on and on repetitiously, and your task is simply to remain conscious. That was one of the big keys—we would make no cheats about time, so people like the Attorney General could get a good idea of how valuable and worthwhile a game that just reflects reality would be.

That’s exactly what the game is – an 8-hour bus drive through an unchanging landscape.  Yup, that’s it: 360 miles (579km) of simulated desert and a bus.  Oh, but apparently somewhere around the 5 hour mark you can end up with a bug splat – be careful!  One successful trip earns you one point – 8 hours of play and you get one point.  Just imagine what the high-score board must look like.

However, Desert Bus inspired an awesome charity – Desert Bus for Hope.  You donate money and it forces the team to play Desert Bus for longer.  Their first year, the team hit a high score of 5 points with 108 hours of continuous play, they are now going into their 7th year.  All proceeds go to Child’s Play, a charity that gives video games, toys and books to children’s wards in hospitals.  Such a worthy cause.  Also, it’s a form of sadism – with every dollar you give, you are forcing these poor guys to suffer through another hour of Desert Bus!  Let’s all go be sadists for a good cause.

Donate here, or buy the game on iOS or Android!

Last Updated: July 17, 2013