Hofstra grad starts lacrosse gaming site

Like most kids in college, Tom Kessler used to spend a lot of time in his dorm room playing video games with his friends. A two-time All-American lacrosse player at Hofstra, Kessler and his teammates would compete in various electronic versions of their favorite sports, from football to hockey to skateboarding. Eventually the irony hit Kessler: Here are all these lacrosse players at game consoles with no decent lacrosse video games to play.

There were lacrosse video games on the market. But Kessler said they generally had subpar graphics, a clunky interface, and difficulty matching the spirit of the sport. Even now, the fastest game on two feet has never been able to translate its energy and excitement to two thumbs.

That thought stuck with Kessler long after those bleary-eyed all-nighters ended, and now, after kicking the idea around for nearly a decade and trying in vain to raise enough money to move forward, he's closer than ever to his dream of becoming the John Madden of lacrosse video games. He's just hoping a few hundred thousand of the most ardent lacrosse fans in the world can help carry him over the last step.

On Tuesday, Kessler launched MyLacrosseVideoGame.com, an interactive online community with the goal of not only raising money to create the ultimate lacrosse gaming experience, but also allowing fans to have a direct say in exactly what they want to see from that game.

It can cost $5 million for the type of research and development that goes into top-shelf sports video games. Lacrosse may be growing, but it's still a very small market compared to football, basketball or even hockey and soccer. Companies were hesitant to invest in Kessler's concept because the return -- even if moderately successful -- might not match the initial outlay.

So what Kessler is trying to do is use the tight-knit lacrosse community not as a disadvantage but as a resource. The website was launched with the purpose of bringing lacrosse players together to develop their own game. It's an of the people, by the people, for the people approach.

It's not the first time a small group has been able to raise funds for a larger project in this way. In England in 2007, a group launched MyFootballClub.co.uk which bills itself as "the world's first Internet community to buy and takeover a real-world football club." They currently run Ebbsfleet United.

What do members of MyLacrosseVideoGame.com receive? A voice in game features, sponsorships and the chance to vote online. Members can also submit logo designs, ideas on the name of the game, and front-cover images that will go in front of the community for a vote. Eventually there could even be tiers, Kessler said, such as a specific dollar amount that gives you the ability to design your own player for the finished product.

"If I want to be Tom Kessler, wear number 9 for Hofstra, and be a lefthanded attack, I can do that," Kessler said. Such a player would be incorporated in the final version of the game.

How much would that cost? It's likely a topic being discussed right now on one of the website's forums. In this venture, everything is democratic.

Kessler launched the site this week to coincide with the start of the NCAA men's and women's lacrosse tournaments and the beginning of the MLL season, and he's also been advertising at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships in Prague. But part of his goal, he said, is to help the sport develop in areas where it's not already growing.

"Not everyone who plays Madden football or Tony Hawk skateboarding plays those sports in real life," Kessler said. "If you get a cool, high-impact, fast-paced video game that relates to lacrosse, I think more people than just lacrosse players would want to play it."