Cody Thompson is going on a long journey so like any sensible gamer he’s packing his 3DS. In fact, the trip is so long he’s been saving up a bunch of games to fill the time.
The 36-year-old former-EMS dispatcher is travelling from North Carolina to California. But this isn’t some dreary five-hour fly-over, cramped in Economy. He’s walking the whole way. It’s going to take him eight months to cover the 3,000 miles. 
“I’ve spent months on the planning,” said Thompson in an interview with IGN. “Now I’m a few weeks out from setting off, so it’s a good time to start talking about this and raising some funds for Child’s Play. I’m seeking about $8,000 to fund the costs of the journey and everything else is for the kids. The sky’s the limit. But however much I get, I’m doing this.”
He explains, “When I was a kid I had an eye disease and the doctor actually advised that I get a games machine to strengthen my eye muscles. My parents bought me an Atari 2600. I wasn’t hospitalized, but games helped me. They had a beneficial impact. They helped me to see and I think that Child’s Play is wonderful, what they do. Kids in hospital need escapism as much as anybody.”
Cody says the advice he’s received from people who have previously walked across the United States is that the kindness of strangers is a powerful good. “I’m told that if you knock on a door and explain what you’re doing, nine times out of ten they’ll let you pitch your tent in their yard. But I plan to to be flexible. I’m not going to be in any hurry.”
After a long day’s walking, that 3DS is going to come in handy. “I’ve been saving up games. I have Paper Mario, Professor Layton and Fire Emblem planned, so that’s something to look forward to at the end of every day.”
Annual Child's Play Event.
Child’s Play’s Jamie Dillion told IGN, “Cody's efforts in this endeavor have been immense. It takes a lot of planning and preparation to walk across the country. We are so grateful for all of his hard work, planning, and his kind generosity in supporting Child's Play. We deeply appreciate it, and we are so proud of people like Cody and the community that supports us.”
Cody plans to blog and tweet on his way across the country and he hopes to run into a few gamers as he-and-jogging-stroller cross North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. He’ll be following a route, roughly, parallel to Highway 40 (it’s illegal to walk along the Interstate itself.) You can find out his planned route on his website, and you can donate to his efforts. He’s also on twitter @walkinggamer.
IGN will be updating stories on Cody’s journey in the months ahead.
Colin Campbell is a feature-writer for IGN. A good way to get in touch and chat about games is via Twitter. This week I've been writing about Dead Space 3 and BioShock: Infinite.
Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com
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