On your mark, gets set, GO! With three weeks left before Extra Life, Team FableVision is kicking its fundraising efforts into high gear. Still not sure what Extra Life is? Here’s the simple answer: Extra Life is a 24-hour gaming fundraiser for a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital of your choice. As a team we are playing for the Boston Children’s Hospital. Folks are encouraged to support the team as a whole, here. But you can also pledge your support to specific team members.
Now, there’s a bit of competition with some team members (**cough Gary Goldberger cough**). So we thought, why not level the playing field, introduce Team FableVision, and let them explain why they are fundraising.
Name: Gary Goldberger, President
Favorite game you played as a kid: I don’t know if there is one single game. I would play M.U.L.E. with my friends on the Commodore 64 for hours at a time.
Favorite game to play now: Currently my family and I are playing Settlers of Catan and I am diving into Don’t Starve…I love the look and feel of the game.
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: There were a ton of great memories…here are a few – I learned 4 or 5 new board games, enjoyed losing our voices playing Resistance, but the best was looking around at 3 a.m. at the team and feeling proud that we were all banding together to make a difference.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? The staff of Boston Children’s Hospital directly impacted my life when my son had a life-threatening medical emergency, and they were there for weeks after, during recovery. In some way, Extra Life is a small way to pay it forward to them and the children who are in need now.
Fun fact about yourself: I collect hobbies. Currently it's bee keeping and wood working (I am making a farm table for our dining room).
Name: Matt Brelsford, Developer
Favorite game you played as a kid: Super Metroid
Favorite game to play now: Super Smash Bros
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: N/A (Editor's Note: He's the new guy.)
Why are you participating in Extra Life? For the kids! And to beat John Groh as Megaman.
Fun fact about yourself: Majored in Theatrical Lighting Design.
Name: Renee Kurilla, Lead Artist
Favorite game you played as a kid:
I have a few favorite games that would be hard to choose from! When I was younger, I remember the magic of getting a Nintendo for the first time. I loved all the Mario games, I still do. When I was older, I played computer games…my favorite being Day of the Tentacle. A highlight of my adult life was having my floppy disks signed by co-creator Tim Shafer last year at PAX East!
Favorite game to play now: Animal Crossing, it’s just so adorable and relaxing.
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: I had a great time last year hanging out with co-workers and even sleeping over at FableVision…but I think my favorite part was the live stream thank-you speech from Extra Life founders in the morning after the 24 hours had passed. It made me really feel like I did a special thing. While it’s fun to play games for 24 hours, it was nice to remember why we did it.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? While I love to play games, I would not have the stamina to do it for 24 hours if it wasn’t for helping the kids at Boston Children’s Hospital. I’m hoping we can surpass last years fundraising goal!
Fun fact about yourself: I can beat Super Mario Bros. 2 in approximately 25 minutes.
Name: Jordan Persson, Production Assistant
Favorite game you played as a kid: The (Even More) Incredible Machine. Or Mousetrap. Or Gizmos & Gadgets. I guess I really loved weird contraptions.
Favorite game to play now: Currently, the new Super Smash Bros. game has a lot of my attention.
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: Watching a group try to get through a game of Arkham Horror at 2 a.m. A character sprained an ankle, then later sprained the other one, which (according to the game's rules) meant that they were sucked through a hell portal on the spot. It's just like real life!
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Fortune and glory. I mean, it's a win-win-win event! I get to hang out with fun people, play games, and raise money for charity all at once. Why wouldn't I participate in Extra Life?
Fun fact about yourself: My band once opened for Afrika Bambaataa.
Name: Andrea Calvin, Brand and Development Strategist
Favorite game you played as a kid: Crackers in my Bed and The Bride Game
Favorite game to play now: Apples to Apples
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: This might not seem like a game, but the nail polish game was a ton of fun. We set up a nail station and folks of all ages took turns painting nails. When an 8-year-old asks to paint your fingers…that is a huge challenge!
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Why not? Boston Children’s Hospital holds a special spot in the Calvin house. My husband had heart surgery as a kid at Boston Children’s Hospital. He still talks about the care and attention he received there. I want to make sure other kids, facing scary medical situations, have the chance to feel safe.
Fun fact about yourself: I have a grumpy 17-year-old cat (see above) that likes to lick elbows and eat cheese.
Name: Keith Zulawnik, Lead Artist
Favorite game you played as a kid: Zelda: Link to the Past
Favorite game to play now: I'm really enjoying Luftrausers at the moment.
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: Attempting to play Arkham Horror for the first time at 3 a.m.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? It's a great cause, anything we can do to help Boston Children's Hospital. On top of that, it's just super fun. We don't all ever hangout for that amount of time, and this is a great excuse to all stay in one room and play games.
Fun fact about yourself: In my previous life I was a gnome.
Name: Sarah Ditkoff, Communications and Development Strategist
Favorite game you played as a kid: Flashlight tag
Favorite game to play now: Cribbage with my dad
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: I played Journey for the first time, which kinda blew my mind. I also enjoyed playing Dixit, where you get to make up stories based on an illustration.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Doing a worth-while cause with a team to back you up is a really great experience.
Fun fact about yourself: I think my green thumb is better than it actually is. But I did successfully grow basil, cilantro, oregano, and parsley this summer. I want to try veggies next year. Baby steps, right?
Name: John Groh, Creative IT and QA Specialist
Favorite game you played as a kid: Star Fox!
Favorite game to play now: Star Fox!
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: Being held hostage by a group of children who painted my fingernails and hands, rendering me unable to play any games without destroying their hard work. Dilemmas.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? For the kiddos, duh! Oh, and games are cool.
Fun fact about yourself: My life goal is to open a Karaoke Barcade, potentially in space.
Name: Brian "Mentally AFK" Grossman, Technical Director
Favorite game you played as a kid: Pitfall
Favorite game to play now: Taboo
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: Playing games with co-works and my kids -- all together.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Mostly because it's a great cause...but also because it's a ton of fun!
Fun fact about yourself: I consider myself a decent game player (and a native English speaker), but I am truly awful at word games. it's embarrassing!
Name: Taryn Johnson, Production Artist and Animator
Favorite game you played as a kid: Pretend! The closest thing to video games in my house growing up were educational computer games, but a few of my favorites were The Oregon Trail, Zoombinis, KidPix! and Thinkin' Things.
Favorite game to play now: Dungeons and Dragons
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: Playing Journey from start to finish. It's such a gorgeous experience.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Coming together to play games is a lot of fun, but I really like that Extra Life encourages the gaming community to give to others.
Fun fact about yourself: I was part of a wildlife rehabilitation program, where I raised an opossum named Oscar, cared after birds, squirrels, and tortoises, and learned how to give monkeys baths (it's not easy). I also rock at singing The Little Mermaid at karaoke.
Name: Ryan McNulty, Game Designer and Developer
Favorite game you played as a kid: Stop Thief!
Favorite game to play now: Mission: Red Planet (OK, I've never actually played, but the rule book is fantastic).
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: Settlers of Catan, first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee. More days should start like that.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Helping kids by binge-gaming for 24 hours straight? Yes, please!
Fun fact about yourself: This took me an hour to answer.
Name: Hannah O'Neal, Artist/Animator
Favorite game you played as a kid: Earth Worm Jim tied with Sonic the Hedgehog
Favorite game to play now: Legend of Zelda Series, Sword and Sworcery, FEZ, Walking Dead game...sooo many....
Best memory from last year’s Extra Life: Waking up early with everyone and getting coffee and donuts and recounting all the stuff we did. It was a happy/groggy/heartfelt end to the 24 hours. I can't wait to do it again!
Why are you participating in Extra Life? I love games, and I love helping people, especially kids! So if playing games can help a kid in need, I definitely want to be a part of that.
Fun fact about yourself: I used to live on a farm where we raised Ostriches for a time!
