We're live! The bus is out of the station and on the road, kicking off Desert Bus for Hope 2022. You can watch live here at desertbus.org and twitch.tv/desertbus.
We're raising donations for Child's Play, a charity that improves the lives of children through the power of play. Since 2003, Child's Play has partnered with children's hospitals and domestic violence shelters across the globe through donations, program grants, and, most recently, technology symposiums for child life specialists to share their knowledge.
So, how does this all work? Well, we're playing Desert Bus, an unreleased game that has you driving, in real time, from Tucson to Las Vegas. It. Takes. Eight. Hours. And just in case you thought you could just press the go button and walk away... oh no... the bus drifts to the side of the road, so if you don't keep it on the road it'll crash. This game is as boring as it sounds.
To keep ourselves, and you, amused the whole time, we have a variety of guests, prizes, and other hijinks. The more you donate, the longer we drive! 100% of your donation goes directly to Child's Play. (We don't receive your donations, but we have a tracker to see just how long this adventure will go for.)
Want to get involved? The most awesome thing you can do is just hang out with us here on the road by tuning in. If you want, you can also...
- Chat live with us over on Twitch.
- Submit a challenge for us to do on-air.
- Place a bid for one of our fabulous live auctions or silent auctions.
- Donate to one of our giveaways during the event.
- Check out our official DB2022 merch and t-shirt.
- Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
We'll see ya on the road!
We’re… oh geez… less than 24 hours from the official start of Desert Bus for Hope 2022? And yet we’ve got even more surprises as we’re ready to announce even more guests for this year’s event!
Ken Steacy
Wednesday, November 16th
9:00am PST
He’s back… it’s Ken “Value Added” Steacy, calling in to chat this year with the morning crew on Dawnguard. Ken decided at age eleven to become a professional comic book artist, a dream he’s realized since 1974. Since then, he’s worked on a plethora of projects and received awards including an Eisner, an Inkpot, and an induction into the Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Travis Eriksen
Wednesday, November 16th
8:00pm PST
Travis is the Executive Director of Child’s Play and the orchestrator of the Omegathon at PAX. Tapping his background teaching middle school math, he has helped Child’s Play move towards not only giving games and tech away but also to become a teaching resource in how to use games as an intentional part of therapy. He’ll be calling in to chat with the Night Watch crew on Wednesday night.
Don’t miss either of these call-ins… and don’t miss the official kickoff of Desert Bus for Hope 2022… which is… oh dear, very very soon!
🚌 Saturday, November 12th at 2:00pm PST 🚌
twitch.tv/desertbus
desertbus.org
Now if you don’t mind, we’re gonna go back to last minute panicking planning...
You know, the Desert Bus for Hope schedule just wouldn’t be complete without our guest call-ins. And, we’re happy to announce that our guest schedule is now live!
As with last year, we won’t be having any on-site guests, but we’re excited to have all these awesome people call in, chat with us, get into hijinks, and answer your questions throughout the event…
Coyote Wall & The Garages
Sunday, November 13th
8:00pm PST
Back for a third time, alt-rock musical collective The Garages are teaming up with the country-folk musician Coyote Wall to bring the house down again with another performance. Tune in live to check out their tunes, then check out their album from this year’s performance on Bandcamp!
Victoria Tran
Monday, November 14th
3:00pm PST
Returning guest Victoria Tran is the Community Director at Innersloth (creators of Among Us) and an organizer for Wholesome Games. She’s constantly exploring ways to create kinder game community spaces, so we hope she’ll feel right at home with the Desert Bus community.
SungWon Cho
Tuesday, November 15th
3:00pm PST
Returning guest SungWon Cho has a very to-the-point bio: “I’m a voice actor and do YouTube too.” We’ll add on to that… board game reviewer, podcaster, and all-around entertaining video creator.
Molly Lewis
Thursday, November 17th
4:00am PST
Though Zeta survivor and singer-songwriter-ukulelist Molly Lewis couldn’t join us for the entire run this year, she’ll be calling in to say hello and hang out Thursday morning. She writes humorous-yet-poignant songs about history, current events, popular culture, and occasionally herself.
Laser
Friday, November 18th
9:00am PST
Returning guest Laser will be calling in to chat with the Dawnguard crew on Friday morning. He’s a trans musician known for the Doubleclicks, his musical Teaching a Robot to Love, and his new project Laser the Boy. Laser is also an improviser, TTRPG streamer, and Kickstarter coach.
Merch! Merrrch! Get ready for yer merch! We got shiny things, flat things, textile things galore! The gift shop ain’t open yet, but when we are… ohh boy, we got goods to buy. And part of the proceeds from each sale goes to Child’s Play Charity… and makes the bus run just a bit longer.
Check out the new and returning shinies we’ve got comin’ up this year…
2022 Desert Bus Poster
$12.00 USD
We can’t show a photo of this item yet… because it doesn’t exist yet! Every year, the talented M Lee Lunsford (@MLeeLunsford) illustrates this poster over the course of the entire run, bringing their artistic interpretation to all the shenanigans that happen while the bus is on the road.
This 11”x15.5” poster is printed and will be shipped after the run ends.
2017-2021 Desert Bus Poster Bundle
$50.00 USD
Missing a poster from a previous year? We usually only offer posters the year of each run and then they’re lost to the sands of the desert forever. But… this year, we’re offering a rare reprint poster bundle from the last five years of Desert Bus for Hope, 2017 thru 2021.
Dance Party Button Pinny Arcade Pin
$25.00 USD
This year’s official Pinny Arcade pin features the one… err, two… uhh, four… ya know, I’m just gonna stop counting… and only Dance Party Button. While pressing this limited-edition button facsimile will not play a randomly selected tune to dance to, it will look shiny in your collection.
This is a limited-quantity item… when they’re gone, they’re gone!
Desert Bus DBLoon Challenge Coin
$15.00 USD
Originally an exclusive item for volunteers and prize winners, in recent years we’ve offered a limited run of Desert Bus DBloons in our store. This year’s official limited-edition DBloon is made of antique silver and features the Desert Bus for Hope making a nighttime drive along the desert landscape.
This is a limited-quantity item… when they’re gone, they’re gone!
DB Shifts Playmat
$20.00 USD
Returning this year, the Desert Bus Shifts playmat features the banners for Dawnguard, Alpha Flight, Night Watch, and Zeta Shift. Use these playmats at your next Magic: the Gathering game or on your desk as a really large mouse pad.
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers…
Where can I buy these? When can I buy them?
The Desert Bus for Hope merch store is hosted by LoadingReadyRun. You can get there by visiting store.desertbus.org starting on November 12th at 12:00pm PST.
The store will remain open until shortly after the run ends, whenever that may be.
Where do you ship to?
We follow the same shipping policies as the LoadingReadyRun store. And, good news EU & UK friends… this year we’re able to ship to both the EU & UK during the run!
When will my items ship?
Most items will ship as soon as we can! However, since the poster isn’t done until the end of the run, the poster will be printed and shipped after the run ends.
Are any of these items limited?
Yes, the Dance Party Button Pinny Arcade pin and Desert Bus DBLoon are limited stock… once they’re gone, they’re gone! If any pins or coins remain after the run ends, we’ll offer the remaining stock for sale in the store during next year’s event.
All other items are not limited and will be printed or re-printed based on demand.
Where's that really snazzy Desert Bus 2022 T-Shirt?
The Desert Bus T-Shirt is sold and shipped by Fangamer. Stay tuned for the reveal of this year's T-Shirt. When it's available, you can purchase the shirt at shirt.desertbus.org.
Where does the money from each purchase go? How much goes to Child’s Play Charity?
The split of proceeds from each purchase varies for each item. Please check the merchandise description on the store for details.
I think this really cool thing should be on the poster…
Please don’t ask to add specific events to the poster! What appears or doesn’t appear on the poster is at the sole discretion of the artist and their interpretation of the event. And, we think they’re pretty darn great at capturing the spirit of the event every year without any input.
You're walking in the woods, minding your own business, and suddenly, a voice rings out: "Hello-o? Can you hear me? Help me! I'm stuck.". You investigate the voice, and find... A jar? A really big jar. This is no mason jar, though. It's shaped like a friend, and has arms for huggin'.
His name is Alexander, or, more specifically Iron Fist Alexander, and he wants to assist you on your quests. We've bravely rescued him from his hole in the ground, and now he's ready to go on adventures with you!
Standing roughly 6.25" high, 8" wide and 8.75" deep, this Warrior Jar is constructed of the finest porcelain, glaze and clay. Though he may not swing at your enemies or get stuck in various mudpits, Iron Fist Alexander is ready to hold whatever dark secrets you might have in his (not food safe) interior. He comes ready to serve with arms crossed in repose, as well as a beautiful red clay seal gilded with the Erdtree itself.
Like the real Iron Fist Alexander, it is not advised to use this Jar Warrior for any food related purposes. He is happy to serve you as a planter, a storage container, or simply as a stoic figure cheering you on from a bookshelf or desk. He is also more fragile than he looks, so don't take him to any combat related festivals or similar scenarios.
Iron Fist Alexander was rescued from his hole in the ground, sorry, hand-crafted and donated by Michelle Rapp, the extremely talented ceramics artificer and improv wizard!
Alexander is a prize on offer for this year's Desert Bus run, and you'll have the chance to make him your own either as a giveaway or live auction! We're posting the full rundown of when prizes will be available soon, so make sure to check back, and get your alarms set! You don't want to miss out on this integral party member!
Are there more previews coming? More surprises? More announcements? Of course there are!!! Things are heating up as we get closer and closer to the start of the run, so keep your eyes on our socials and watch this space!
We at Dawn Guard have finally come to an accord, just in time for our contractually obligated appearance on the Desert Bus for Hope blog. We hope you enjoy, and please, leave your questions for after the meeting.
Entertainment is as follows:
James is a founding member of the Desert Bus for Hope charity marathon. Between Desert Bus, LoadingReadyRun, and digging holes in Minecraft he keeps pretty busy. One time he at an entire pumpkin pie to himself. He's survived by his wife Ashley, and dog Jade. In lieu of flo— wait... was this meant to be an obituary?
i like coffee
Ashton's back for another year of guarding the Dawn, and trying to keep these 6 wheels on the road.
I edit let's play videos for PlayFrame, the YouTube channel I run with my husband, Daniel. We make chill and cozy videos with a focus on animation. Daniel records most episodes solo, and I join him each Sunday, sometimes also joining our occasional Twitch streams!
Liz Smith, also known as Dammit Liz, is a person of many talents. She loves video games, dogs and the beach. Fortunately, she recently moved to Los Angeles where there is sun and beach. Prior to the pandemic she was producing live comedy stage shows where she enjoyed working with her friends to make people laugh. She hopes to do that again soon. These days Liz is a Producer at Riot Games in Santa Monica, California.
I'm Kate, sometimes known as billsmom ( Hi Chat !) I witnessed the birth of LRR before DB1. I earned fame on the Bus when it was feeding time. Left alone on air, the studio was invaded by government men. I used my Jedi training to convince them. Since they were now on live stream, to auction something !?! That moment, was auctioning a houseboat trip, and then men in suits dancing. My proud DB milestone.
And Now, The Other Ones™:
Az is on the comms team for blog, and they are currently writing this. I also do art stuff, and I'm a spooky witch who likes the moon a little too much. Please do not perceive me.
Kelly is also on comms, but on social media. They are a long standing face at DB and very good at their job. Sometimes they like to dress up in kigarumis and spread chaos into their general surroundings.
Ashley is a cool person with a weird husband. She works in shipping and has previously been our beloved Prize Mines Mistress. She has a cute dog name Jade, and loves to scream "AAAAAAFRICAAAAA" at the top of her lungs.
Paxton is a site manager human man who's a big teddy bear and very good at cleaning up after others. He's also good at other stuff! But you'll have to ask him.
Boomer is chaos incarnate and makes very good cookies. She works in broadcast and likes to dress up and do cool make up, and they give very good hugs, as long as you ask for consent first!!!
Shawn also works in broadcast and helped Ian develop the ever elusive Dance Party Button!! If you can't tell, he is incredibly good at his job.
We will now go back into our chambers and finish the legal proceedings over the coffee pong incident. Good luck and we will see you soon!
In a bus, where shift clocks tell the time, and the volunteers swap out every six hours, there exist the Unbound. These volunteers know no shift, and make their own schedule, all for the benefit of the bus. These are their stories.
Fugi works tirelessly as both an event organizer for Desert Bus for Hope, as well as one of the web techs behind DesertBus.org, and all of the numerous back end (heh, back end) pages needed to keep everything rolling along. If you can read this, it means everything is working as expected, so don't forget to say "Thank you Fugi!"
Johnny (he/him) is our broadcast producer and head of the broadcast team. The broadcast team keeps the stream on the air when it oughta fall down. Or, if it does fall down, picks it back up, dusts it off, and gets it back on air! You may see Johnny on air, or popping in as a disembodied voice during the run.
Remember when Desert Bus was written up in that thing you like? Or plugged by that person you like? That's all due to Dan (he/him), our head of public relations for Desert Bus! He's responsible for our press releases, liaising with news outlets, and generally spreading the good word of Desert Bus for Hope.
Look at this photograph, every time I do it makes me laugh. Likely because it was taken by Kolin (he/him), our official Desert Bus photographer! Kolin always gets the perfect shot, and harkens in a random dance party for every photo dump to photos.desertbus.org
Jason (he/him) is a video production master, having helped out remotely for various bits and intros for a few years, but now he'll be back in person for the first time since DB 10! He's on hand to support the Broadcast team, as well as getting behind the scenes videos. No bloopers, though, as Desert Bus is a blooper in and of itself.
We have one more volunteer preview on the way, but that's not all! We also have more prize previews, merch previews, and other surprises up our sleeves! Stay tuned! Same bus time, same bus channel!
BOY! When I was your age I had to climb up the Jötunheim mountain in the snow, both ways, just to look at a God of War replica axe and hammer as beautiful and perfect as these ones made by Sam's Skunkworks. You kids have it so easy these days with your deserts and your buses bringing the Leviathan Axe and Mjölnir right to the comfort of your cozy, weak little home where you can gape at them freely and maybe even bid to win them after the ride starts. You could bring them both home in a wooden chest and you don't even have to slaughter an entire pantheon to do it! ARRRRGH
Keep coming back to this MISERABLE website for more previews of the disgustingly awesome prizes and events in store for you after #DB2022 starts on November 12. That's only 3 days after God of War Ragnarök comes out but you make your own choices about how to spend your time.
Kids these days just want to dance around and support a worthy charity instead of battling ancient foes on the edge of a cliff like real, mature adults...
Night Watch stands ready for another year of Desert Bus antics. It takes a village to drive a bus, for some reason, but our volunteer village is up for the task! Come to our town hall every day from 6pm to 12am Pacific Time, starting on November 12, and join the ride with this ensemble cast of night riders.
Entertainment
Graham Stark (He/Him)
A founding member of Desert Bus for Hope, Graham continues to fill his November with DB weirdness because he knows no other way. When not performing unhinged nonsense for charity, Graham spends the rest of his year as a producer, director, writer, and performer, creating comedy and light entertainment with the team at LoadingReadyRun.
Matt Wiggins (He/Him)
Once upon a time, long long ago, Matt was a member of loadingreadyrun. Then he moved to Vancouver, and was replaced with a different Matt. You may know Matt from previous Desert Busses, a number of older LRR videos, from his streams on twitch, from one of the videogames he has worked on, or far more likely, as that guy who appears in photos of videos of his puppy Maple sometimes.
Ian Horner (He/Him/They)
Purveyor of quantified bullshit since 2005. Charismatic megafauna for LoadingReadyRun. One of the Olds.
Andrew Ferguson (He/Him)
Andrew has been a Desert Bus volunteer & organizer for over a decade now, starting out as our first official photographer at Desert Bus 6. Now, as our Communications Director, Andrew leads the thirstiest team on the bus and helps oversee our social media, blog, photography, & PR presence on the web. In addition to Desert Bus, Andrew's active in the indie game scene working on games, giving the occasional talk, and by assisting with Indiecade & the IGF awards.
Andrew also runs chiptune shows as a co-founder & emcee for the Vancouver Chipmusic Society and is the current board president of the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival. Andrew also has two incredible partners, Sara & Sandra, a very round calico cat named MySpace, and a sunglow boa constrictor named Helios. Andrew is not sure why he is writing this in the third person. Andrew is listening to loud hyperpop and has had too many coffees today.
Jordan Hopkins (He/Him)
Jordan Hopkins is a long time Desert Bus wordsmith and entertainer based out of Seattle. When not doing K-pop shenanigans or Gundam goofs at Desert Bus, Jordan streams too many roguelikes to count and crafts Social Media Marketing plans for Magic at Wizards of the Coast!
Max Loy (They/Them) – Stage Friend
Someone's got to fiddle while Rome burns, and Night Watch's stage friend Max is perfect for the job. They keep the show on rhythm while the entertainers waltz around, and sometimes soothe the wild beast that is our souls with their amazing live fiddle performances.
Broadcast
Ben Ulmer (He/Him) – Broadcast Producer
Cory McElrea (He/Him) – Broadcast Director
Broadcast magicians Ben and Cory let us beam our antics into your home, and they do it in style, with scintillating hi-def and quippy chyrons.
Site Manager
Brett Johnson (He/Him)
Night Watch is in person again this year, which means we have all these people in one physical location, which in turn means someone has bring order to the chaos that is the Moonbase. That wonderful someone is Brett.
Shipping
Alexandra Eastveld (She/They)
You know those fairy tales about helpful elves that come out at night to bake your cookies or cobble your shoes? Alex is that elf. If you get a prize from Desert Bus, Alex will emerge from a cozy cubby behind that bookshelf to ship it to you.
Communications
Juliana Cooper (She/Her)
Soraya Een Hajji (She/Her)
Julie (socials) and Soraya (blog) are both a mix of museum curator and intrepid reporter: they curate the finest gifs and bring you the latest news from Desert Bus. Without them, no one would know what's going on! ...Even with them, sometimes no one knows what's going on.
Next up for our previews is a painstakingly created piece of art made by Johanna Iles Art. This wool painting has been inspired by the wonderful generation 1 Pokémon characters.
Snorlax has a case of the munchies and is chowing down on his favourite thorns!
Nestled in the forest alongside him you'll find Pikachu, Cubone, Diglett, Charmander, Caterpie, Jigglypuff, and Eevee.
Every aspect of this picture has been sculpted from ethically sourced wool and natural fibres, using needle and wet felting techniques. The thorny vines are wired inside and can be carefully adjusted. Cubone is jointed with thread allowing their limbs and head to gently move.
If you love Pokémon you're going to love this prize, and if you love this prize I'm sure you'll love many more of them! So make sure to stay tuned because this prize and many more will be auctioned off & given away during our run, and starting Saturday, November 12th at 2pm PST!