Long before Beyond the Sideline (BTS) Football was announced from OOTP Developments and put the football simulation community on notice, there was an initial concept game named ‘Football GM’.

The birth of BTS came from these early workings but exactly how far did Francis Cole (Lead Developer) get before joining forces with OOTP Dev’s and sharing the news?

From the looks of the video available from the developer’s YouTube channel (which GM Games has uploaded to our own channel in case of removal) it looks as if the initial concepts are quite strong. This includes the 2D engine, the statistics available. The UX interface needs some work to look modern but then again, we are talking about a text sim. Many fans still love games like Front Office Football regardless of the bells and whistles.

Let us take a look at what exactly we see in each of the videos:





Video #1 – Menu System

– UX Theme Changing

– Schedule, Upcoming Dates

– Cap Information by Year (Drop-downs)

– Salary cap summary review with notes from the internal staff

– Statistics by Year (Drop-downs)

– Player Profile has (Information, Contract Details – with negotiations, Career History – with Stats and Transactions, Health and Scouting)

Video #2 – You Call the Plays

– Plays are called by Formation.

– Base Formation

– Play as per Formation. Red defines passing play, white line from RB reveals running

Video #3 – Coach Calls the Plays

– Game can be watched with coach calling plays in real time (one second is a second)– Coach can call just offensive or defensive plays– Ability to advance time

Video #4 – Draft Information and Menu System

– Draft Menu Information

Video #5 – 2D Match Engine

– 2D Match Engine. Turning play calling on and off.

All in all there is work to be done and we are still a ways away from any type of BETA release to the public. The foundation is being laid but there is always room for improvement. Seems like a lack of media, player personalities, no online league concepts but if the nuts and bolts of the attributes and simulation engine is there, the rest would be icing on the cake.

The good news is, here is a guy, who works at Sports Interactive (the makers of Football Manager) that knows a thing or two about making a 2D engine. If the correct algorithms are applied, the sky is the limit but a limited product may lose its momentum.

Thanks again and we look forward to the day that more information is available to us. (As per Chris at GM Games)