We are extremely excited to welcome Hipster Whale as a sponsor for Desert Bus this year! Hipster Whale is the studio behind the breakaway mobile hit Crossy Road. Formed by Andy Sum and Matt Hall with art by Ben Weatherhall, their flagship title has taken both the App and Google Play stores by storm. This is also the title that took most of the Desert Bus 8 crew by surprise storm last year! Think Frogger crossed with a host of wonderful characters and you have the infinite playability of Crossy Road.

We are super thankful for their support this year!

Ready to adventure into the land of Tamriel? Our next giveaway is for the Imperial Edition of Elder Scrolls Online. Donate $6.03 (or multiples thereof) for a chance to win. We’ll run this donation drive until 5:50 AM PST. Here’s a description of what’s in this edition:

Explore the mysteries of Tamriel like never before with the Imperial Edition of Elder Scrolls Online for PC! Venture alone or with friends in this MMO set roughly 1000 years before the coming of the Dragonborn. How will you shape your destiny?

In addition to the game, the Imperial Edition includes:
– 12″ Molag Bal Statue 
– The Improved Emperor’s Guide to Tamriel 
– 21 x 26″ Physical Map of Tamriel 
– Limited Edition Steel Case Packaging 

As well as the following exclusive collection of digital content:
– Play as an Imperial
– White Imperial Horse 
– Mudcrab Vanity Pet 
– Rings of Mara 

Our first challenge of Cam’s shift is inspired by our giveaway prize: two signed books from the Caesar Americanus series, the second of which hasn’t been released yet. For a chance to win these books, we’d like to hear your best alternative history story.

Send your submissions (no greater than 250 words) to [email protected] with “Alternate History” in the subject line. You’ll have until 6:00 AM PST to submit your entries. Also, be sure to include the name or handle you’d like us to use on air should your submission win.

During Fugi’s shift, we challenged the community to develop creative works related to Fugi’s favorite game, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Here’s the winning entry, by Eskar:

And here’s our runner-up entries:

Check out the rest of the community’s submissions after the jump…

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We’re running a donation drive for an official Desert Bus 9 t-shirt! Donate $5.01 (or multiples thereof) for a chance to win. We’ll run this donation drive until shortly after 4:00 AM PST.

Fugi’s shift is coming to a close, but we’ve got one more giveaway first. Donate $9.14 (or multiples thereof) for a chance to win this one-of-a-kind set of Pez dispensers of the Desert Bus crew. We’ll run this donation drive until 1:55 AM PST.

It’s dangerous to go alone… so take this! It’s a Legend of Zelda 8-Bit Hylian Shield and Master Sword Quilt. Donate $7.03 (or multiples thereof) for a chance to win this giveaway. We’ll run this donation drive until 1:10 AM PST.

The beginnings of this year’s poster as it was a few days ago.

On air, we’ve been checking in periodically to view the Official Desert Bus 9 Poster as it continues to evolve. Michael Lunsford produces the poster throughout the marathon, adding in highlights as we go. Our most recent additions include the army of Fugi faces and the Murder Hallway.

The Video Strike Team has prepared this webpage where you can see the poster changes from revision to revision. As new revisions are available, the VST is also creating an image map from the poster that links directly to moments from this year’s run on YouTube. And, if you’re interested in getting the final poster, you can order it now on the LoadingReadyRun store.

As is tradition, our last live auction of the run will be the one and only large print version of the poster. Exact time is to be determined, so stay tuned to the feed towards the end of the run.

Ken is presented with the Valued Addition Award, in recognition of his contributions to the Desert Bus community over the years.

Ken “Value Added” Steacy’s last live auction wrapped up just a little while ago, and with that we have the final tally from this year’s visit. Over the course of this evening’s live auctions and giveaways, the community raised $41,304.87!

Just a reminder that a couple of Ken Steacy’s lots are still up for grabs in our Silent Auctions. Click the thumbnails below to jump directly to the lots. And, don’t forget to check the Silent Auctions page to bid on other great items throughout the rest of the run.