By now, many of you have been playing Halo 3 for several hours. If you’re on my friends list, chances are I’ve already beaten you. But there’s one gamer I haven’t yet beaten, and who hasn’t had a shot at Bungie’s latest hit: Aleksandar Crnogorac. That will change October 5, though, when Aleksandar takes his chances on a new Internet reality tv website (is that even a term?), WouldYou72.com.
The site puts fans of various things (at this point only a Halo episode is planned) in situations where they have to compete some sort of 72-hour-Iron Man challenge to win a prize. For Aleksandar, the challenge is simple: play Halo 3 for 72 hours straight, without taking a break for more than 5-10 minutes. If he completes the challenge? Well, in that case Aleksandar is the proud owner of a new Xbox 360 and Halo 3.
To make things interesting, the site’s operators will open the contest to votes as to what Aleksandar should do, and what kind of stipulations are placed upon challenges. (For example, one that he’ll face will be that in a 10 minute timeframe, every time he dies he needs to do 10 push-ups.)
The whole idea started when Aleksandar approached the guys who eventually started WouldYou72 asking if they’d give him $500 to buy Halo 3 and a 360. Instead of saying no, they decided to have some fun with it, and hence this idea was born. According to Aleksandar, "…they just kind of laughed it off and I told them that if I someone bought it for me, I’d probably spend 3 days straight playing it without sleep. I guess it took off from there."
Aleksandar isn’t too worried about completing the challenge. "I view it as a test of my own will," he said. "If I win I get a free 360 and Halo, and if I lose I find out what my limits are." One of the operators of the WouldYou72 operation, Mazyar Kazerooni, doesn’t seem to be so nonchalant about the whole thing.
"We’re definitely going to try to stop him," he said. "I don’t want to have to give it [360 and Halo 3] away if I don’t have to."
Either way, the 72 hour period (starting October 5) should prove entertaining for those of us looking to take a break from losing to me in Halo 3. Along with live streaming video and chat, WouldYou72 will also release a documentary chronicling the ordeal after its completion. Will Aleksandar complete the challenge? Will he die from ingesting too much caffeine and sugar? "That’s the cut-off point," he reassured me. "When I feel like my health is at risk, I’m done. I’m stopping"
For Aleksandar’s sake, I certainly hope he does.
