In this video game the blood is real, and it could save lives.
A group of Canadian programmers are developing a video game system that draws actual blood from the gamers when their character loses blood in the game.
This may seem like high stakes for a fantasy realm, but Blood Sport creators Jamie Umpherson and Taran Chadha aren’t doing it to make the game sadistic. They plan to use the technology to encourage gamers to donate blood. They even envision one day hosting video game tournaments at blood banks.
“We are simply creating the gaming hardware that will allow us to get gamers thinking about more important issues while still doing what they love,” the organizers said on their now-suspended Kickstarter page.
The fund-raising campaign sought to raise $250,000 to develop a two- player system that can travel around the country. But the crowdfunding website suspended the project Monday.
A Kickstarter spokesman tells the Daily News the company does not comment on its moderator actions. Once a project is suspended it cannot be undone, the company’s website says.
Chadha told The News they do not yet know what issue prompted Kickstarter to suspend their drive.
“Our guesses are that perhaps it has to do with our tie in to medical equipment or charity, or safety concerns since we’re not officially partnered with a blood clinic yet,” he said.
But Chadha said they are meeting with representatives of blood donation organizations to talk about a partnership to motivate the gaming demographic into getting involved with the cause.
The project raised $3,390 from 39 backers in the past week.
They also encouraged people to practice for the system’s release by donating at a blood bank, in a YouTube video.
The game creators explain how Blood Sport works in the video. A needle is stuck into the player’s vein and the console is connected to a machine that draws blood.
When the controller rumbles, to signify the character being hit, the blood collection machine turns on. The project would work on any video game that causes the controller to rumble, they said.
The machine successfully draws blood from the player’s arm. The person demonstrating the prototype seemed woozy by the end of the game.
“With Canada’s blood supply shortage, don’t wait for Blood Sport to come out,” Umpherson says at the end of the video. “Grab your buddies, go to any of your local blood clinic and see who gets dizzy first.”
jlandau@nydailynews.com Follow on Twitter @joelzlandau
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