It’s very difficult to talk about games at a time like this. We keep hearing pundits telling us that life should go on, that we shouldn’t allow the terrorists to dictate our behavior&but in the face of something of such unprecedented magnitude, it seems an insignificant distraction, at best.

Following the events of September 11, 2001, people all over the globe have offered any assistance that they could give to the victims and their families. Volunteers flooded into New York City to assist with rescue and recovery operations. People lined up to donate blood.

The adventure games industry is no exception. With the numbers of victims in the attacks reaching staggering proportions, we all have been affected, to some degree or another. However, Gary Thompson, a British gamer, and Webmaster of www.fiction-fantasy.net, decided to do something about it. He spearheaded the efforts to create a fundraising auction within the gaming community, the proceeds of which will be going towards the relief effort.

We recently had a chance to interview Gary Thompson, and ask him some questions about the auction:

For those of you who are unfamiliar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m 32 years old, married to my lovely wife; Anne-Marie, I also have a 9-month-old son called Ryan.

I have a very flavored background, having spent 6 1/2 years in the British Army, followed by 3 1/2 years as a Police Constable. Unfortunately I left the Police after being injured, and fell into the IT world; support, servers etc. I now work full time on web related projects. I run fiction-fantasy.net, a gaming industry news and portal site.

What is the auction, what do you hope it will accomplish?

The auction, or by it’s now known name - The Gaming Industry Disaster Fund Auction (GIDFA) is an online auction, supported by many companies, freelancers and gamers to raise money towards the relief efforts after the September 11th atrocities.

The money raised will be split between the American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/ - The largest relief organization world wide, which has been spearheading the efforts in the US, and the United Way of New York and the New York Community Trust’s “September Eleventh Fund” http://www.uwnyc.org -A blanket fund that provides immediate support to established emergency assistance agencies involved in the attack.

Not one single penny, cent, dime, dollar or pound is being taken for administration. All time is given by volunteers, the same goes for hosting, software or promotion. An official bank account for GIDFA has been opened with Lloyd TSB Bank (In England), and they have said they are willing to wave any commission fees when the funds are transferred to the charities.

What prompted you to begin this effort?

I was reading some of the conversations on a few of the industry mailing lists I am on a few days after the attacks, and many people wanted to do something to help. So I sat and thought about what I could do, and what they could do. I knew I wanted to do something, but wasn’t sure what, then it came to me. So I suggested the idea of an auction to one of the gaming industry lists, the rest is, as they say, history.

How does the auction work?

Quite simply as far as contributors or bidders are concerned, you simply register an account, log in and bid away. There are options to Sell Items (create auctions), but they must be channeled through the GIDFA site administrators first. Unsolicited entries that are not registered first will be deleted.

A Fund Board is being assembled that will make important decisions and oversee the running of the fund. The members of this board include gaming industry professionals and concerned members of the gaming public.

How has the response been from the gaming industry?

I have one word for that - Unprecedented.

In all my time dealing with the gaming industry I have never seen such an outpouring of support for one idea. I realize that the circumstances are very different, but it is great to see many companies and individuals pulling together so well.

Within 4 hours of suggesting the idea I had over 20 pledges of support. Within 24 hours that had grown to over 40, 48 hours later I had over 300 e-mails. That night we started work on a site, and started thinking about the auction itself. To date I have received over 4500 e-mails regarding the GIDFA, there are over 80 contributors, and the auction is being promoted on sites everywhere.

What are some of items up for auction?

I won’t give you any specific details here, but if your really interested, go to the following URL where I am keeping a list of current pledges. Please be aware that nothing is confirmed until the auction starts and you see it listed.

GIDFA Pledges

What challenges have you encountered?

Technical ..? Lots. Arranging something like this has been an administrative nightmare, not only with the site, the auction area, e-mail, phone calls etc. I challenge anyone to organize something like this without full time staff.

Personal ..? I have no life at the moment, my Wife, Anne-Marie has been more than a little understanding, I come home from work and I’m working on the auction, I get up, and I’m working on the auction. Don’t ask how many nights I’ve seen the sun coming up before I’ve been to bed. If it were for any other cause, I may not have been willing to sacrifice my personal life to see the job done, but this is one cause that touched me. I never want to see those news pictures again.

Now, most importantly—How can people get involved?

First off go visit the site: http://www.gidfa.org

People or companies wishing to contribute items for the auction, please send a mail to webmaster@fiction-fantasy.net and gemini@fiction-fantasy.net stating such. If possible please include the following:

1. A full list of the item(s)/service(s) you are pledging.
2. As good a description as you can manage for each item or service.
3. Any graphics or photos that can be used for illustration of the item(s)/services(s) in either .gif , .jpg or .png format.
4. An indication of the reserve price (minimum total bid to win) for each item/service.
5. Your FULL contact details including name (personal or company), address, phone, fax, e-mail etc.
6. A company logo if appropriate.
7. An indication of whether you are happy to retain the item(s) and fulfil shipment yourself.
8. Any special provisions or requirements your item(s) / services(s) require.

Thank you, Gary. Well folks, there you have it. The auction itself begins this week. Watch the site for updates.

See ya in 7.