This guy just raised $38,000 to make a video game about being a bear

If you've ever wondered of what it would be like to be a bear, you're not far from finding out. Developer John Farjay's Kickstarter campaign for Bear Simulator crossed its $29,500 goal last night, meaning the FPB (First-Person Bear) game is going to become an (absurd) reality. Funding currently stands at $38,183 from 1,376 backers.

"Explore stuff, eat stuff, be a bear!" is the game's official tagline. Farjay describes Bear Simulator as "like a mini Skyrim but you're a bear." He's building the game by himself at Farjay Studios.

Farjay said recently released popular games like BioShock Infinite and Grand Theft Auto V fail to allow you to play as a bear, and he wants to fix this with Bear Simulator.

"It's quite clear the fat cats in Washington with their stove top hats and contemporary jazz music don't want us playing as bears," he said. "It's about time to fight back against the tyranny."

There have been bear-themed games in the past, like Banjo Kazooie and EnviroBear, but the industry still lacks a solid bear simulator title, Farjay argued.

"Sure it may seem like a 'dumb idea' or a 'really dumb idea' but you can't honestly tell me you've never secretly wanted to be a bear wandering around the forest. That's just an outright lie," he said.

Bear Simulator, which arrives on the hilarious heels of Goat Simulator, has players controlling an unnamed bear through a first-person view. The trailer you see above is presented in "bipedal mode," but the final, feature-complete version will have you controlling a bear who walks on all fours, only to stand on two feet to look around.

Bear Simulator also includes a melee fighting system that allows you to fend off other animals, as well an open, multi-environment game world. You'll also encounter a "variety of living things" in the world, a "catastrophic amount of secrets," mountain goats ("an extremely important feature"), and "Events," which will be explained later.

Farjay is also considering features like unlockable bear abilities, animal friends, ways to customize your bear, multiplayer, and maybe even Oculus Rift support.

Bear Simulator is expected to launch in fall 2014 for PC through Steam. Farjay is planning to release the title on Steam Greenlight. If he can't get the game on Steam, Farjay said he would consider the Humble Store, GoG, or some other way to release the game to backers.