'Geek' Show Playing 'Oregon Trail' For Charity

By Helen E. Wassell
Special to iBerkshires
03:35PM / Friday, December 19, 2008

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It used to take months to travel the Oregon Trail but the cast and crew of "Geeks With Issues" will try to make the trek in 24 hours — virtually, that is.

Beginning at midnight Friday night, members of the Pittsfield Community Television show will boot up the classic computer game "The Oregon Trail" to raise funds for Hillcrest Educational Centers and the international charity Child's Play.

The coolest and "truly geekiest" point of this undertaking is that it will be streamed live on the Web.

"Since 'Geeks With Issues' was conceived, I've always wanted to do some sort of event that raised money for a good cause," wrote Matthew "Tuck" Tucker, the public access show's executive director, in an e-mail. "I believe firmly in being as altruistic as one can be, especially around the holiday season. Luckily for me, the Geeks agreed with my standpoint, and wanted to come up with an event as much as I did."

The North Adams resident said the event was inspired by the online group LoadingReadyRun that holds a "Desert Bus" game marathon every year in which the player drives a bus to Las Vegas along deserted roads in real time. 

"The Oregon Trail" isn't as desolate. Created by educational software creator MECC in the 1980s, the game was designed to teach children about life along the historic pioneer trail. Players engage in various activities and overcome obstacles, gaining points along the way. The game seemed right, said Tucker, both because it echoed the compelling journey idea of the "Desert Bus For Hope" and is remembered "fondly" by the generation that played it.

The event, named "The Battle Against Dysentery," taking note of the malady both real and virtual trekkers have to deal with, won't take as long as the five-day "Desert Bus" marathon.

Submitted photo   'Geeks With Issues' Director Chris Chamberland, left, and Executive Producer Matthew 'Tuck' Tucker. Top photo, Trevor Flagg, Mollie Simon, Chamberland, Tucker and Jonathan "Ogre" Henry in the 'Geek' basement.

"We couldn't do something so dramatic – all of us have full-time jobs, and there's not enough of us to play any game for five days," said Tucker. "However, 24 hours was ambitious enough without being unreasonable."

Director Chris Chamberland, Veteran Jonathan "Ogre" Henry, Girl Geek Mollie Simon, and Combat Geek Trevor Flagg will each take four-hour shifts with the last four hours shared with crew and guests. There will also be discussions, guests and "Geeks" antics.

More importantly, viewers will be able to donate through PayPal on the Web site as they cheer on their favorite Geeks.

"In trying to choose the right charity for this event, there were a few criteria that the Geeks were considering. We wanted to help people who couldn't help themselves," said Tucker. "We wanted an event that reflected the spirit of the holidays that we all share, which is very childlike and in search of joy. And we wanted something that jived with our geeky natures."

With the idea of making this as much a global as well as a local event, one charity stood out: Child's Play, known as the "gamer's charity."

"For years, members of the Geeks have been sending donations to Child's Play, and finding inspiration in their message of gamers unified to help sick children," said Tucker. "In fact, I personally was involved in a semi-successful fundraiser event when Child's Play first started.  Bringing the efforts of the Geeks to help this charity seemed like an excellent match."

Selecting a local charity was tougher "because there are so many good charities, doing so much good around the world, and across the area."

It was the local best-seller "The Alejandro Tree," about the ripple effect of one boy's good deed, which tipped the scales to Hillcrest Educational Centers, where the boy was being treated.

"It was a story that touched our hearts, and we were driven to find out more about the organization that helped foster such a good deed," said Tucker. "It was then that we found out how many children Hillcrest helps, and how their efforts change these children's lives for the better. In many cases, Hillcrest is able to give these children their lives back, in a fashion that was very similar, yet quite different, to Child's Play. When we considered it, it just clicked."

Before Tucker got back to preparing the wagons for the interactive charity event, he wanted to touch on two points.

"First is that 'Geeks With Issues,' their guests and their crew are 100 percent volunteers — we all do the show because it's something that we passionately love sharing with our audience. ... Second is a detail that I've not mentioned to anyone else — this entire event has been by the seat of our pants."

He said it was conceived and executed over two weeks. "Any amount of success will be extremely satisfying for our Geeks, considering how feverishly we've worked in such a short time."

More importantly, Tucker said, "We're doing this event on Saturday because we're passionate about making the holidays a little bit better for some kids in need this season."

"Geeks With Issues" features discussion about issues of interest to the "geek" community, including but not limited to movies, television, comics, video games and technology. The show is cablecast across Berkshire County, as well as in Boston and Manhattan, N.Y., and is webcast at www.geekwithissues.com.