Comedy troupe LoadingReadyRun has launched its second annual Desert Bus for Hope charity drive.

The gimmick here is that LRR members control the annoyingly monotonous Desert Bus simulator continuously as long as their mostly gamer audience continues to make donations.

A live stream shows the "drivers" at work (see pic). The game is reportedly part of the never-released Penn & Teller's Smoke & Mirrors, originally intended for the Sega CD system.

As a bonus, none other than actor Wil Wheaton (he's an ECA member!) will be checking in with the Desert Bus crew later today.

What They Play has a detailed explanation of the diabolical way in which the Desert Bus fundraiser works:

Viewers are asked to donate money via the Desert Bus website, and as the dollar total rises, so does the length of time the team must continue driving the bus... In order to limit the event to a few days, each additional hour costs more in donations than the previous hour did, until they become prohibitively expensive.

 

Despite this limitation, though, last year’s event ran 108 hours long. Viewers are encouraged to participate by e-mail, or by live internet chat, where they can ask questions of the crew, make requests, and become an active participant.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.