Paul DeVries has been a former Division I football player, and worked in athletic administration at the University of Notre Dame, Western Michigan University and the University of Illinois. Now he's pursuing his dream of bringing the game of football to fans in a whole new way.
DeVries has created the basics of a new online football game and had them programmed. He’s turned to
Kickstarter for funding to get the rest of the programming completed. Funds also would allow for development of a connection with smart phone check-ins.
"What’s great about Kickstarter is that start-ups are able to generate funding above their own resources to be better prepared to approach venture capitalists," says DeVries, founder of CyberPlayerGames in Portage. "It’s a win-win for both creators and investors interested in backing unique and exciting projects that were unlikely to make it to market in the past."
DeVries is seeking $20,000 to bring about the game.
So what’s different about CyberPlayer Football? The game would allow you to create an online athlete that you train by playing online, in real life or both. CyberPlayer Footbal parallels the real life calendar with football games in the fall, playoffs in the winter, then recruiting, spring games, the combine, the draft and summer workouts before the season begins again.
Gamers choose how their athlete looks and the position he plays. (All positions are included in this game.) Gamers start by training their athlete in high school. How well the gamer trains the virtual athlete determines how well the athlete plays, which determines whether he earns a college scholarship and whether he attends a Division I, II or III school. Those who keep training in college can be drafted to the pros. The higher the athlete is drafted the more virtual money he earns. Virtual money can be spent on houses, cars and more.
Successful virtual players earn bowl bids, compete in the playoffs and win championships. There will also be suspensions, fines, legal issues, canceled endorsements, early retirement and potential bankruptcy for those who don’t play well with teammates.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the game is that it allows the athlete to be trained in "real life." Gamers who work out can check-in at the gym with their smart phones, work-out and earn more points than the player that trains his athlete only in the virtual world.
DeVries is one of a number of Kalamazoo and Portage area projects currently seeking crowd funding on Kickstarter. Others are
Hunting the Five Audiobook / Podiobook, a project to turn a novel into an audiobook with $525 in Kickstarter funding; and two music projects -- $6,000 for
Old Hills, Young Mountain: Vol. 1, which would gather folk and country artists from around the country into one studio in Kalamazoo, and $5,000 sought for a Hip Hop project by
Synergy Productions - The Catalyst: Vol. #1.
A total of 16 past Kalamazoo area projects have been successful in reaching their financial goal.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Denise DeVries, CyberPlayerGames and Kickstarter
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