With only three weeks until it goes live, the next Nintendothon marathon is officially on the horizon! We write this blog post in acknowledgement of the uncharted waters we are entering with Nintendothon New Horizons. Not only is it taking place in the midst of a global pandemic, but we are also using it as a jumping off point to redefine a fresher formula for Nintendothon going forward. We truly are searching for new horizons with our trademark event this July, aiming to increase the engagement, entertainment, and production value for all those who watch, regardless of how much or if you donate. We hope that you are excited with the announcements being made regarding Nintendothon New Horizons in the coming weeks, and there’s no better time than the present to get started with the new incentive model for this marathon, Mystery Balloons!
“Mysterious balloons have been spotted off the coast of Nintendothon Island, and a local legend foretells that they appear during the New Horizons Festival, where offerings to a good cause are presented en masse by island visitors. No one knows where they originate from, only that the giftboxes that hang from them contain challenges and prizes so engaging that the island residents feel it only right to share them.”
Mystery Balloons are the new donation incentive system for Nintendothon New Horizons! For a donation of a certain size or larger, you can send a mystery balloon in for the attendees at Nintendothon! Hanging underneath each balloon is a giftbox which contains a random donation incentive or reward that will then be completed for your entertainment!
There are three different types of mystery balloons, that each require their own minimum donation, and contain a different level of punishment inside their respective giftboxes:
- Green Mystery Balloon– $25 Donation Minimum
- Contains common donation incentives, including blindfolded makeovers, pies in the face, and more!
- Blue Mystery Balloon – $50 Donation Minimum
- Contains rare donation incentives, including eating raw garlic, and minigames to raise even more money for our cause!
- Gold Mystery Balloon – $75 Donation Minimum
- Contains ultra-rare donation incentives, including eating it or wearing it, and additional stream extensions of non-Nintendo games!
As can be seen, Mystery Balloons that correspond to higher donations offer more significant donation incentives, meaning that when you see a Gold balloon flying in, it’s sure to be a good time!
Nintendothon New Horizons will take advantage of the “Reward” system built into Tiltify to send in Mystery Balloons. We’re here to give you a quick tutorial on how it works. When the marathon begins, you’ll see a “Rewards” button above the live broadcast, like so:
If you click on the Rewards button, you’ll be greeted with the three different types of Mystery Balloons to select from, alongside their associated minimum donation:
By clicking “Select” next to one of the Mystery Balloons, you’ll learn more about what the Mystery Balloon offers.
When you click “Select this Reward”, you’ll be taken to the page to fill in information for your donation with your desired Mystery Balloon selected! You can see what reward you have selected on the right side underneath your Donation Amount:
You’ll also be reminded of which type of Mystery Balloon you’ve selected twice during the donation process, with an opportunity to remove the reward and change it to another if you’d like!
Forgot to select a Mystery Balloon before clicking that donate button? Never fear, for Tiltify presents you all of the available rewards while filling out your details! You even have the option of increasing your donation on the spot to send a more rare Mystery Balloon our way!
One important note is that selecting Mystery Balloons does not affect the amount of your donation that goes to charity in any way, simply serving as a fun bonus to your contribution!
We will only be sending in Mystery Balloons that are selected through this system (barring unique circumstances), so we hope this tutorial has assisted in increasing your understanding of it. We’re super excited to add this sense of mystery to our incentive model at Nintendothon New Horizons, and hope that you are too!
“When significant milestones are reached at the New Horizons Festival, the residents on Nintendothon Island treat the visitors to special treats! Stick around for them and you’re sure to have a good time! Yes yes!”
Are you in need of some certainty in our donation incentive model? Never fret, for the Major Milestone incentives are returning once again for you! To help every single donation count towards something, we have placed a donation incentive for every $250 that is raised for the campaign, allowing four additional popular donation incentives to be unlocked! For Nintendothon New Horizons, our Major Milestone incentives are as follows:
Lemon Social – Unlocked at $250 Raised
This classic incentive was featured at GFGC’s first charity event all the way back in 2013, and is making it’s return at Nintendothon New Horizons! Join the attendee crew as they pucker through eating lemon wedges on stream!
Strange Soda Test – Unlocked at $500 Raised
Pouring it’s way into Nintendothon New Horizons is the Strange Soda Test! In this classic incentive, attendees sample sodas with strange flavors. From pumpkin pie to ranch dressing sodas, you never know what strange concoctions are going to pop-up in this incentive!
6AM Pool Dunk – Unlocked at $750 Raised
The 6AM Pool Dunk… Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay… is returning at Nintendothon New Horizons! The incentive is self explanatory, attendees will be forced to jump into the pool at 6AM, resulting in some chilly wake-us-up moments!
Improvathon – Unlocked at $1,000 Raised
The fan-favorite Improvathon rounds out our milestone incentive selection at Nintendothon New Horizons! In this “Whose Line is it Anyway?” inspired donation incentive, attendees play classic improv games, such as Party Quirks! With viewer submitted character quirks and lines, the Improvathon is a must-see incentive that’s entertaining for both us and you!
We’re excited for these popular, legacy incentives to return as milestones once again! Help us unlock them by donating to the charity campaign so you can see us go through them!
“Nintendothon Island is known to be bustling at all times of day, with island residents and visitors alike taking part in the New Horizons Festival during both day and night.”
Scheduling is now underway for Nintendothon New Horizons! This marathon, we will be returning the “Sword and Shield” style scheduling model, allowing for games to be played at any time of day and range in duration from 1 to 6 hours. In addition to this, we’re returning to a scheduling style more reminiscent of our pre-Legacy events, with solely games filling our schedule from start to finish. Currently, we are slated to play a total of 46 unique games at Nintendothon New Horizons, featuring both returning classics and some new releases to keep the energy going! This does mean there will be no sort of finale-type party this time around, but we’re hoping that what we do play in the meantime encourages you to stick around!
“The Town Carnival is a popular spot at Nintendothon Island during the New Horizons Festival, with the star attraction being the Spincentive Wheel. Round and round the spinner wheel goes, where it stops, nobody knows! Stick around and watch the wheel spin, and receive entertainment that’s sure to make you grin! Yes yes!”
The fan-favorite Spincentive wheel will be making a return at Nintendothon New Horizons, but with a couple of changes to account for the new format of donation incentives at the event!
The first change is in regards to how Spincentives are earned at Nintendothon New Horizons. A Spincentive is now earned with any donation $10 or greater, due to the larger donations needed to send in Mystery Balloons. To help account for this and reward larger donations with more spins, we are stuffing bonus spins in the giftboxes of Mystery Balloons!
Green Mystery Balloons – Include one bonus spin, resulting in two total spins in addition to the incentive contained inside.
Blue Mystery Balloons – Include two bonus spins, resulting in three total spins in addition to the incentive contained inside.
Gold Mystery Balloons – Include three bonus spins, resulting in four total spins in addition to the incentive contained inside.
Our last adjustment is an exciting one for all of our dedicated viewers: for the first time at a Nintendothon event, we’re giving an opportunity for viewers to cause donation incentives without donating! By watching Nintendothon New Horizons while it’s live, you’ll be accruing a currency called Impact Points. These can be found by clicking the circle symbol at the lower left corner of the Twitch Stream Chat:
You’ll be able to earn Impact Points by watching the stream, following the channel, and claiming special bonuses during the event. When you accrue a certain number of Impact Points, you can claim numerous rewards, including a free Spincentive!
Simply select this reward and we’ll send that Spincentive wheel spinning for you! Set at 4,000 Impact Points, free Spincentives will reward viewers like you for your continued and lengthy viewership of the Nintendothon New Horizons event!
These changes to the Spincentive model have been curated to help provide a more engaging and entertaining quick reward system for both donors and viewers alike at Nintendothon New Horizons, and we’re looking forward to you experience them!
Whew, what a lengthy update this has been! That’s unfortunately it for our announcements and news today, but tune into the blog next week for even more updates regarding the event! Nintendothon New Horizons, begins at 4:00PMCT on July 16th, 2020, over at the GFGC Twitch Page, and we hope you’ll join us for five days of a summer getaway! Want to make an impact before the stream even starts? Consider a donation to Direct Relief’s COVID-19 Response through the campaign today! The minimum donation is $1, and 100% of your donation will go straight to Direct Relief! We’re so excited to adventure to uncharted waters at Nintendothon New Horizons, and can’t wait to see you all there!