There are small victories: getting up in time for an 8 o’clock class, finishing a paper before its due date, and getting to bed before 2am. Then there are large victories like creating an app which will soon be available in the app store. Caleb Stultz, senior elementary education major and technology enthusiast is that victor.
The app is a game called speedoodle, and the idea came from Stulz’s own childhood.
“It’s based off a pen and paper game I would play with friends. One night I was thinking ‘that would be a really cool iPhone game,’” Stultz said.
The game begins with player one scribbling a doodle. This is then sent to player two who has a palette of colors to turn the doodle into something more. Once completed, the drawing is uploaded to Facebook automatically. The number of “likes” a picture gets determines the drawing’s rank and the top ranked drawings will be in the game’s hall of fame.
“After a certain time frame, in order for there to be something to come back to, there will be digital currency to buy new brushes and colors within the game based off ranking,” Stultz said.
Amy Drake, Stultz’s girlfriend was a little skeptical at first.
“When he first started with this idea, I reminded him he still has to do school,” she said. “I was the realist.”
Once the idea for the game had been established, Stultz presented the idea as a project on SellanApp, the equivalent of Kickstarter for app ideas. During 30 days, a collective $8,300 was pledged by a total of 48 people.
“I saw people from Australia, the Netherlands, America, South America [back the app],” Stultz said.
Every person who pledged is guaranteed a percentage of the profit. Sixty-six percent of the total profit will be distributed to backers.
Other rewards included becoming an admin on speedoodle’s Facebook page, seeing it before it goes to the app store, or a named “thank you” in the credit of the app in connection with how much the backer pledged.
The idea was picked up by a developer in Italy through Pushapp. As soon as it is developed it will be available in the app store.
“It’s like watching my baby grow up,” Stultz said. “I believed in the project, but so do 48 other people. It’s inspiring to feel supported in that way.”
“It’s crazy to see it become a reality. I know he’s a creative guy, but it’s been great to see other people support it,” Drake said.
What’s next?
“My big idea is that if this is successful, it would be cool to launch an independent developing company of my own,” he said. “I have other app ideas in my head and I want to turn them into real things.