Local Gamer Bachelor & Bachelorette Auction @ White Collar Crime Benefiting Duke Children's Hospital

submitted by megmurph on Tuesday, January 8 2008 at 2:37 PM

Ladies and gentlemen, put on your best biddin' shoes! TAP Interactive, the interactive media marketing and promotional division of Themis Group, Inc., is releasing the Triangle’s best kept secret at the first ever gamer bachelor and bachelorette auction, A Gamer’s Valentine.

The event will be held January 31, 2008 from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. at White Collar Crime with all proceeds benefiting Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Care Center. Gamers from local game development and production studios have volunteered themselves to go on the block. Auctionees and their highest bidder will win an exciting date provided by Raleigh’s finest restaurants and entertainment vendors.

This year’s auctionees are representing such local companies as: Red Storm Entertainment, Themis Group, Inc., Vicious Cycle, Destineer Studios and The Escapist Magazine. Winners will enjoy outings graciously donated by The Carolina Hurricanes, Big Boss Brewing Company, Goodnight’s Comedy Club, Adventure Landing, Scooterz Inc., Five Star Restaurant, Parizade, Vin Rouge among many others!

In addition to monetary donations, a limited number of donations will be accepted in the form of new or gently used PS2 gaming consoles and new or gently used video games to be given to the children’s hospital. Find the event page with auctionee information and the most recent updates at Facebook.com by searching A Gamer’s Valentine.

posted by marko on Tuesday, January 8 2008 at 2:47 PM

I'm gonna drink jagerbombs and heinekens all night there


and get my self a new haircut

1/8/2008 3:58:14 PM

i know this says bidding/donations are involved but what kind of money are we seriously talking about here. I'm thinking this might be a fun thing to do as a single guy and want more details. More specifically, how much is the norm for winning an auction?

1/8/2008 11:24:00 PM

The bidding will start at $10 and since this is a first ever gamer auction, we have no idea what the norm is. But most of the dates we have paired with the auctionees value around $50 to $150 so it depends on how many bidders we have!

Either way, this is a casual and fun event just to raise some money for the kids at Duke so I hope you will come by

1/9/2008 9:47:20 AM

$texas

I'll be there ;-)

1/11/2008 12:19:08 AM

I couldn't find it on facebook?

1/11/2008 2:17:05 AM

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=9469000428

1/11/2008 10:35:55 AM

this is retarded

1/15/2008 3:30:20 AM

^yeah seriously, raising money for kid's hospital.

1/15/2008 7:55:16 AM

i think he meant the event is retarded, not the benefit

gamers are not the social type, they sit in front of computers to communicate... they would probably raise more money auctioning the dates on eBay or /.

not only that but who's going to bet a high dollar amount on a guy/girl who has great social skills with computers and who's best trait is they're a level 79 in World of Warcraft.

and another thing, the other problem with this event is that it requires the gamers to leave their homes, go outside, and actually DRIVE somewhere... not very likely.

dumb. this kind of thing should not be celebrated. these people need to be educated. the money needs to go to medical research or medical costs for the children, not to give PS2's to kids. it's no wonder it's sponsored by video game developers

1/16/2008 6:52:08 PM

It is unfortunate that people still hold such a negative stigma towards gamers. Most people in this industry are highly sociable and produce some of the most innovative products and ideas of any industry, including serious games which help to create training programs for companies (including the military) and even medical rehabilitation programs.

I hope people would come to the event with an open mind and you will be surprised with the people you meet there.

I also suggest you do your research before making such a pompous remark and actually showing your ignorance.

1/17/2008 10:32:01 AM

ignorance is thinking that playing video games has no ill effect on people's work habits, social behavior, and engagement in life.

if it's meant for entertainment and done in moderation than i'd say that there's nothing wrong with video games... but for most people that call themselves "gamers", they have a hard time keeping it in check... thus the generalization they always get

the one benefit video games has is hand/eye coordination, hence why race car drivers, pilots, the military, and the medical field have simulations.... which are IMHO the only notable "games" (if you can call them that), worth playing, and i'd say these uses are in the FAR FAR minority of gamers.

Quote :

"I hope people would come to the event with an open mind and you will be surprised with the people you meet there."

i hope you're right... and i DO hope i'm wrong.

1/21/2008 1:04:41 PM

^stop watching fox news.

1/29/2008 8:18:48 PM

BAGS OF DICK

1/31/2008 9:46:27 AM

Prospero,

Could it be that your are simply expressing your personal character traits and not those of today's gamers. I am not sure if you have ever been to the Game Developers Conference but the best part of that event is the social parties after hours. Every Hotel is San Fran is booked solid with all night parties sponsored by the biggest developers and publishers.

I can only imagine you know barely anything about the actual games industry itself. Gamers may not be that social but game developers are insanely social. I have worked in many industries since my time at NCSU and I have never met a more social group than game developers.

Also please understand that a game developer could be a marketing major, communications major, design student, or artists. Todays games actually require a very small number of hard core programmer types compared to the armies of artists and writers who are employed by game design firms.

Not to mention that most of the money comes from the publishers who may have no programmers or engineers on staff.

I'm pretty sure Prospero that you are simply projecting your own hangups and not describing reality itself. Maybe you had a bad Sim's Night Life Experience and are sad you can't pull a good event together like the organizers of this event.

Let the flames begin :-)

[Edited on January 31, 2008 at 10:21 AM. Reason : ...]

1/31/2008 10:19:24 AM

[Edited on February 6, 2008 at 2:50 AM. Reason : f]

2/6/2008 2:50:13 AM

Post-Event coverage in dBusinessNews daily email....
Congrats on the success!!!!

http://triangle.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=150209&type_news=latest

Quote :

"Duke Children’s Hospital Is Truly A Gamer’s Valentine Triangle - TAP Interactive Event Raises Over $10,000 in Donations Durham – The patients of Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center are getting a special treat for Valentine’s Day this year. A Gamer’s Valentine, a games industry focused auction, collected over a hundred video games and consoles and nearly $6,000 in monetary donations. TAP Interactive, a division of Themis Group, Inc., hosted the Triangle’s first ever gamer bachelor and bachelorette auction featuring from the area’s hottest gaming companies including Red Storm Entertainment, Themis Group, Inc., Destineer Studios, Vicious Cycle, NWN Corporation and The Escapist magazine. Local industry leaders supported from the crowd including Epic Games, Icarus Studios, Emergent and more. The event raised nearly $6,000 in monetary donations and auction bids along with $4,000 valued video games and consoles. “We are thrilled at the amazing response from the local industry,” said Alex Macris, CEO of Themis Group, Inc. “All of us here are overjoyed to have helped spearhead an event that has benefited such a great cause. With the rapid expansion of the local game development, we hope this is only the first of many events benefiting the Triangle.” A Gamer’s Valentine was held January 31, 2008 from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. at White Collar Crime. Close to 150 attendees enjoyed a light-hearted auction with dates donated by local restaurants and entertainment vendors. Dates were donated by the Carolina Hurricanes, Big Boss Brewing Company, Goodnight’s Comedy Club, Adventure Landing, Scooterz Inc., Five Star Restaurant, Parizade, Vin Rouge, Dead Broke Farm, Duck & Dumpling, The Raleigh Times Bar, and The Pit. About TAP Interactive With offices in Durham, North Carolina and Stamford, Connecticut, TAP Interactive is a boutique marketing agency founded in 2001 to provide custom-tailored marketing services to the rapidly growing interactive entertainment industry. An early leader in video game marketing, TAP Interactive’s success has led to expansions into mobile entertainment and digital media marketing. TAP Interactive has earned a reputation for excellence in producing successful results while providing top-quality customized client service through optimally utilizing word-of-mouth, viral and influencer marketing. Our team’s industry knowledge and familiarity with the digital generation gives them a unique insight and approach to marketing this demographic. By approaching marketing as a "client-first" business, TAP provides the services of a first-class marketing team that will strengthen your brand and promote your message to those who need to hear it first. Posted on: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 08:02 PM "

2/7/2008 11:32:09 PM