The woman, Cat, is the 25-year-old girlfriend of Mythic's Mike "Daarken" Lim, who has along with Dreamworks' Leif Jeffers organized an art auction supported by contributed works. Cat, who also works for Mythic, has already undergone a bilateral mastectomy and 16 weeks of chemotherapy, which are difficult treatments, to say nothing of their expense.

Lim and Jeffers recruited submissions from folks at Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Rockstar, ArenaNet, Big Fish Games, Red 5 Studios, Offset, Zynga, Massive Black, Disney Interactive and BioWare (and, of course, Lim's own Mythic.) Contributors also come from Hollywood's Pixar, Disney, Blur, Blue Sky Studios and, of course, Jeffers' own Dreamworks Animation. With a roster of more than 200 contributors finalized yesterday, they've already received 14 works (one, by Jeff Miracola, a freelance artist who has worked for EA, is above.)

Lim and Jeffers are looking to host the auction in February, either in San Francisco or New York depending on the availability of a good space. Meantime, they're considering releasing an art book, plus other smaller items that people may have for contributions smaller than buying original artwork. There are plans to coordinate live bidding with online bidding, Lim said.

The theme of the submissions is called "Beautiful Grim," a concept they've left up to the artists' interpretation. "So far, people have been sticking to their own industry," Lim told me when I asked if any works so far have been video game-inspired, or themed. "There should be a wide variety of entries, it will be interesting seeing all the different styles and genres of art."

For a full list of participating artists and much more information, see the link below.

Beautiful Grim [site]

My buddy Andrew and his housemates have been playing Rock Band for ages, so it wasn't much of a surprise to see them there at the event. What I didn't know is that they'd be bringing their LEGO heads. Other great acts of the night include Ironheade in full cosplay gear and the girls that rocked the Dixie Chicks.

That pink and black smudge with the tiara in the bottom right hand corner of the screen is actually me acting as Stage Manager Fairy, writing out Chris Kohler's script for the next act. Next year I think I'll procure walkie-talkies for the stage crew. Or possibly a bullhorn just for myself. Either way, I still don't have a voice today — but I have a ton of fun memories and a wonderful feel-good glow that comes from donating time, money and swag to Child's Play.

Thank you to everybody who came out. We'll see you next year!

The event features Rock Band on the big stage and tons of swag giveaways. It's open to all ages and the party goes from 7PM tonight 'til 2AM tomorrow.

Hope to see you! Will post pics!

The cause is "Marissa's Bunny," which seeks to support families and spread awareness of infantile spasms, a serious pediatric epileptic condition that causes seizures and leaves small children facing a life of physical and/or mental disability. All profits from the sale of "A Gamer's Alphabet" by the good contributors of Fazy Luckers, go to Marissa's Bunny, which you can learn more about here.

Here, you can order the book and preview a few pages from it. The softcover is $20.95, the hardcover edition is $30.95. If it looks right for the little gamer in your family, or for a big gamer who needs a grin, know that you're giving to a good cause in the process.

A Gamer's Alphabet [Fazy Luckers via Hawty McBloggy]

Seen any other stars doing game-related charity this year? Send us some pics!

The figure is especially encouraging in light of the crap economy in the U.S. Child's Play's Kristin Lindsay said the organization has been "amazed at the huge response.

"The game community is really digging deep and we're on track for a record-breaking year," she told GamesIndustry.biz.

Since its inception Child's Play has raised more than $5 million to help brighten the day for hospitalized kids. Notably, the recent Desert Bus for Hope fund drive pulled in more than $100,000 for the cause.

Child's Play Receives $1 Million in Donations [IndustryGamers]

Help out a sick Santa by maneuvering your yeti through town, avoiding police and delivering as many gifts as you can within the time limit. An advent calendar tells the back story of the game on a daily basis, while leaderboards help you keep track of what a good yeti you've been.

"Gift of the Yeti is BioWare's digital holiday card to its fans. We use social networking as a powerful tool to connect meaningfully with our tremendous fan community," said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare and the Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group at EA. "Gift of the Yeti is a fun, engaging holiday present from BioWare to our fans, the first in a series of compelling social experiences from BioWare Labs."

The game is cute, but it's goal is what's more important; each play of The Gift of the Yeti raises 1 penny for gamer children's charity Child's Play, to a maximum of $10,000 dollars. I've already played three times, so that means you folks have only got 999,997 plays to go before they reach their goal.

"Child's Play draws the bulk of our support from video gamers and the games industry, and we are honored to be part of BioWare's Gift of the Yeti campaign," said Kristin Lindsay, Program Coordinator, Child's Play. "Now gamers can help support pediatric hospitals in the US, Canada and worldwide simply by playing the game and having fun! When gamers give back, it makes a big difference."

As an added bonus, folks visiting the Gift of the Yeti game are entitled to 10% off the purchase of Dragon Age: Origins from the EA Store.

Charity, discounts, and yetis. What else could a gamer want for Christmas?

On the 5th and 6th of December, Activision will donate money for each person that logs onto an online game in Modern Warfare 2 in the UK — up to a total of £250,000 GBP ($416,450 USD). The money goes to benefit the War Child Charity, a British non-profit organization founded by filmmakers Bill Leeson and David Wilson to help kids in conflict-heavy areas.

And if just now you're turning away because you don't have a Gold Account and wouldn't shell out for one just to take part in GAME for Good — Gold Memberships on Xbox Live are free that weekend just so people like you can take part.

So score a copy of Modern Warfare 2 and get ready to play for two days straight, UK gamers. We wish you luck!

GAME for Good Weekend [GAME via GamesRadar]

Donate Games is a charity that works a bit differently than most. While other charities have had players donating games to entertain sick children, Donate Games is a fully-functioning games trade-in service. Players can send their used titles in exchange for a tax-deductible receipt, or they can purchased used games via the charity's website, with all proceeds going towards helping children affected by and raising awareness of orphan diseases.

Orphan diseases are those that affect less than .05% of the population, and therefore don't get the sort of attention more prevalent disorders do - diseases like Chordoma, Progeria, and Rett Syndrome.

"Our user-friendly model takes charitable giving to a whole new level of fun and interactivity, presenting families with a unique way to extend their holiday generosity," said Jim Carol, CEO and founder of Donate Games, who founded the charity after his own son and video game enthusiast, Taylor Carol, survived an orphan disease. "We've streamlined the process of raising rare disease support for hurting children who need our attention-and deserve our kindness during this season of giving. Donate Games, save lives. It's that easy."

So if you are looking for a Christmas present or simply in mood to browse the used bin at your local game store, stop by DonateGames.org first. The prices are nice, and the warm and fuzzy feeling comes free of charge.

Kneebouncers is the brainchild of Jim Robinson, the father of three non-brain children who was frustrated that his slightly older children could play on the computer while his young daughter could not. His solution? Kneebouncers, a collection of web-based video game activities that only require that the baby or toddler playing be able to hit the keyboard.

Most of the activities are simple flash animations with colorful characters that animate when a button is pressed, almost like turning the page in a storybook. They are primitive, and barely even games as we define them, but it's less dangerous than crawling about on the floor eating plastic and licking electrical outlets, so I approve.

Bring your drooling offspring to http://www.kneebouncers.com to play. It's free, though a percentage of donations and proceeds from the sale of shirts and plushies goes to the Children's Aid Society.

The marathon, a project of the comedy troupe LoadingReadyRun benefiting the Child's Play charity, kicked off on Nov. 20; the final numbers were announced Friday after much rejoicing. And sleep.

DBfH started off its third annual fund raiser with 88 hours of driving booked by pre-event donations. Subsequent donations added another two full days, no small feat considering each successive hour had to be "bought" by donors committing 6 percent more than was raised in the previous hour.

The team collected more than 10 "points" although the actual final score wasn't reported. One hundred thirty-six hours computes to 17 points overall but the bus crashed at least once. The game tows a crashed bus back to its point of origin in real-time, but the DBfH guys just restart the game rather than wait it out, because the point is for them to actually be driving all of that time.

Last year's drive netted about eight points, I think. Remember, the big joke of Desert Bus was that one completed eight-hour trip ticked up your score counter (a five-digit odometer) by just one.

Congratulations to LoadingReadyRun, its many sponsors, and all who gave to the cause.

Desert Bus for Hope [site]

GameStop is donating $1 from every gift card purchased this holiday season to the Make-A-Wish foundation (up to $100,000), and they've gotten wish recipient Emily Adkins to pitch in with her own original artwork.

"During the holidays, we have a lot of parents and grandparents who want to buy games as gifts, but they aren't quite sure which title would be the right one," said Dan DeMatteo, chief executive officer for GameStop. "By selecting a gift card, gift givers can be assured the gamers on their lists will be thrilled, and they have the added bonus of helping a worthy charity like the Make-A-Wish Foundation."

Nice work Emily. I'd say I could do better, but that would be a) cruel and b) likely untrue.

Online sketch comedy team LoadingReadyRun is back behind the wheel, promising to play the most boring video game ever designed - Desert Bus, from Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors for Sega CD - in return for your donations. Desert Bus is a simulator that depicts driving a bus between Tucson, Ariz. and Las Vegas in real time. The game cannot be paused.

The first hour of driving - which begins this very minute at LoadingReadyRun's bus campaign HQ in Vancouver - requires only a $1 donation. But additional hours require donations that increase by 7 percent every hour. You keep donatin' and they keep drivin'. As of writing, they had already collected $5,640 before even cranking the bus' engine, buying a total of 88 hours so far. By their scale, a million dollars donated would double that playing time.

The bus crew played the game over five days last year, raising $70,000 in the process. Penn Jillette referred to the marathon in the latest edition of Game Informer, marveling that the team was able to pile up a score of "eight points." You get one point per completed trip between the two cities.

You can follow the action on two live streaming cams: The driver cam, and the bus cam. Donation info is at the link below.

Desert Bus for Hope [site]

The two new non-combat pets now available for purchase at the Blizzard Store represent the first time actual in-game items could be purchased directly with real money outside of the World of Warcraft game proper. Lil' K.T. is a chibi version of everyone's favorite undead agent of the Lich King, Kel'Thuzad, while the Pandaren Monk is a...Pandaren Monk. The pets run players $10 apiece, with half of the proceeds of every Pandaren purchase going towards the Make A Wish Foundation until December 31st, after which the kids can just make their own wishes come true.

Look for more pets to show up in the Pet Store in the coming months, and who knows? If this takes off, we could be witnessing the beginning of full-fledged World of Warcraft item store.

Introducing the Pet Store [WoW Forums via WoWHead]

The game's called Chime (out "soon" for 360 and PC), and was developed by British studio Zoe Mode. Lumines fans should feel right at home looking at the clip below, as should fans of artists like Moby and Philip Glass, whose works the game features.

OneBigGame's goal is to raise money and awareness for charitable causes, specifically Save the Children (a group assisting impoverished children) and the Starlight Childrens Foundation (the guys granting wishes for sick kids). To this end, Zoe Mode did the game for free, cutting out any development costs, which was awful nice of them.

Shine is just the first of many upcoming games to be published by OBG, with secret, future titles being worked on by people like Masaya Matsuura (PaRappa), Dave Perry (Earthworm Jim) and Charles Cecil (Broken Sword).

Assuming word doesn't come down from on high that I should break this bad boy open and get down to business, I'll be tossing Neft N-Strike Elite to the Ümloud! onto the pile of swag I'm amassing for the December 9 event.

I do recall playing this game at PAX 2009 while I waited in line for an APB demo. The consoles for it happened to be set up close enough to the line for the PR rep to lean over and let us take turns shooting virtual Nerf darts at targets and robots. I was sort of "meh" about the whole thing (but totally grateful for something to do in line), until the guy told me that the Wii peripheral gun you plug your Wiimote into is actually a real Nerf gun you can use outdoors. On your brother. Like I would have done right then and there if he'd been around.

If you want the game for yourself and you're not going to Ümloud!, it's out now.

The evening will be filled with Rock Band and DJ Hero up on stage, a mountain of swag that we'll be giving away and a few high-end silent auction items.

We're still gathering up what we will be auctioning off. But I can show you two things that will be available to bid on for those who come:

A box showed up on my doorstep yesterday with a copy of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter's Edition. No note, or mention of why I received it, so I'm going to auction it off. Thanks to whoever sent it my way. The edition includes those download keycodes as well as a CD of the game's soundtrack and a copy of the Brady Games guide.

Michael James, founder of 8BitVintners, is donating a 3L etched bottle of his wine for the event. These limited run bottles aren't for sale anywhere. Check out this video to see the wine being bottled.

We also have the limited edition Brutal Legend statue to auction off.

I'll be posting more details about our Nov. 19 event as we get closer to the day. Hope you can make it!

Not to sound ungrateful to EA Black Box for providing this thoughtful and theme-appropriate swag. I'm just terrified of skateboards, even ones without wheels. You ever read Calvin & Hobbes strips where Calvin's afraid of his bike? That's me with skateboards.

Luckily, Ümloud! is right around the corner, so I've got a place to send it straightaway. I already sent the bulk of my swag to the boss in Denver. And if nothing else, this skateboard should be a lot easier to carry on public transit in San Francisco than a 25 pound box of t-shirts.

Extra Life's super huge gaming marathon started at 8 AM on October 17 in participants' local time zones. Gamers were allowed to play literally any game they wanted starting from that time until 8 AM the following morning to honor their commitment. A make-up day went down on October 24, which brought in almost $8,000 more to the cause.

Between the two marathons and all of the participants' sponsors, Extra Life raised a little over $150,000 for charity — $30,000 more than they made last year. The proceeds go to pediatric cancer research and treatment.

"It was a huge success," Sarcastic Gamer publicist Lesley Adams said. To make it even more so, they're keeping the Extra Life website open to donations through November 8 — although no more marathon gaming sessions are required at this point.

So who here answered the call to arms and played for the whole 24 hour period?

Ümloud! is round two of Child's Play's annual charity benefiting sick kids in hospitals across the country. It's going down at the DNA Lounge at 375 Eleventh Street in downtown. There will be Rock Band 2, a ton of prizes and a suggested $10 donation gets you in on it. (Note: I think it's 21 and up, given the full bar.)

ETA: Ümloud! says it's an all ages event.

Regrettably, the DNA Lounge is a bit of a walk from Civic Center BART, but the Muni should get you there and back in one piece if you're coming in from the South or East Bay. And on the bright side, I already sent three cubic feet of swag (which weighed 25 lbs. at the post office) to Brian Crecente for the Denver party. So at least I won't have to lug that through SOMA on public transit.

See you there!