I was sitting on this one for awhile. Hundreds of people sent me links to this campaign but I stayed quite until the right moment (much like the campers of Camp Chrystal Lake).
Yes, Jason is back on the gaming platform and it's not in a 8-Bit form or a Mortal Kombat skin.
 |
| Sorry 8-Bit Jason, your day will come...oh yeah, never mind. |
Friday the 13th: The Game is a new multi-player video game where you have the choice of playing either as a Camp Crystal Lake counselor or as Jason himself. It breaks down like this: one person is Jason while up to seven other people play as disposable teens. Will you be the final girl (or guy) that defeats the unstoppable killing machine or will you be the immortal mamas boy that pops out eyes with his bare hands? The killing fields are unlimited. If that's not enough the world that is being built within the game is open, meaning that you can travel all throughout the New Jersey woods and explore the campgrounds. Hide in the old cabin. Stalk around the outhouse. Have sex in a van (okay, I'm not sure about that last one...but it seems like a possibility. Right?). All is open to you and your friends.
And that is the thing, these seems like a friend heavy game. Much how watching Friday the 13th with a group is funner so will be playing the Friday the 13th game. And I don't just mean your actual friends but also your online gamer friends. Those people you barely know but hear screaming at you during Halo or Call of Duty. Now you can ban together to defeat a masked serial killer (or you can kill the more annoying ones and gain some closure). The possibilities seem endless.
Being that it deals with a 80's franchise it only makes sense that the game itself will be steeped in retro details. The design team has promised that after every game session a montage will be created with the best moments from that play period in the style of a film trailer. This is the ability to make your own slasher film.
In perhaps the biggest bonus as well the game will feature that classic Friday the 13th sound. Yes, they have tapped original composer Harry Manfredini to help create a soundscape to go along with the ultra-violence.
Getting Manfrdini involved leads into the others that got brought on to the game which includes...
Wes Keltner, after working for such companies as EA and Activision, started his own game design company Gun to design games that he wanted to play. With a talented staff Gun unleashed its first title, Breach & Clear, shortly after to decent reviews. Now they want to make the world of Friday the 13th a (virtual) reality. The idea of the F13 game started as a pitch for game called Slasher Vol.1: Summer Camp based on, well, the slasher genre. While in development they got a call from someone who knows a thing or two about summer camps: Sean s. Cunningham.
Now, if I was developing a slasher game that takes place at a seasonal camp and the director for Friday the 13th came calling I would imagine one thing: a cease and desist order. Rather then a lawsuit Sean came with a desire to license the film franchise for a game. So started a collaboration that got a lot of other fellow alumni involved.
Now you had Harry Manfredini working on the score, Tom Savini designing the kills, and Kane Hodder mo-capping Jason. This became a game for fans of the franchise. That level of involvement transformed what could of been a clear shill into an outstanding tribute to the people who made the films famous.
Film to game translations are never easy (see Friday the 13th for the NES for more reference). Usually they are made in haste to capitalize on the popularity of film and usually never have the filmmakers input. This is criminal for many reason, most recently being that games have evolved to the point where they are almost stand-ins for film. Narrative film was always thought of as the playground for storytellers. Now games create universes immense with characters and mythology. While a film is propelled at 24 frames open games can be explored endlessly (depending on their design barriers). A film begins and ends the same no matter how many times you play it, games have the abilities to change with every attempt. It all comes down to the passive viewer VS active participant. I'm not going to get into game theory or viewrship (I'm not smart enough for either) but you see the potential games now have. Combine that with a beloved franchise and you understand why all eyes are on Friday the 13th: The Game.
It looks, from this vantage point anyway, that it is proving successful. As of writing this article the game has already met its Kickstarter goals and will be made. Why bother then? Because now rather then help get the game made you can become part of a huge part of one of the most famous film series ever. Every film/TV show that wants to make a slasher joke or reference uses the classic "guy-in-hockey mask" as a stand-in. Not a "guy-in-sweater" or "guy-in-blank mask-and-overalls" but a guy in a hockey mask. That is the power Jason has on popular culture. Hell, I've been using the killer first name only this entire article and you were never confused.
 |
| Maybe a little? |
Anyway, for all these reason we here at Culturally Significant! full-endorse Friday the 13th: The Game. Hurry, the Kickstarter campaign only has 11 hours left.
Pledge $5 or more
JASON LIVESStay connected and get the latest updates on Jason's return to Crystal Lake!
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
Pledge $15 or more
* Digital Soundtrack (Composed by Harry Manfredini)
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
Pledge $30 or more
DIGITAL CAMPER* Digital Download Key on either PC, Xbox One, or PS4
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
Pledge $45 or more
* Exclusive Beta Access on PC
* In-Game credit under "Special Thanks"
* Digital Download Key on either PC, Xbox One, or PS4
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1 & 2
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
Pledge $55 or more
* One additional Digital Download Key for a friend
* In-Game credit under "Special Thanks"
* Digital Download Key on either PC, Xbox One, or PS4
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
Pledge $75 or more
* Physical game with Kickstarter Exclusive cover art on either PC, Xbox One, or PS4
* Digital Art Book featuring concept art from the game's creators
* Exclusive Beta Access on PC
* In-Game credit under "Special Thanks"
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1 & 2
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
Pledge $140 or more
Limited (1769 left of 2000)
Rev. 2 PHYSICAL 'MACHETE' STEEL COLLECTOR PACK**Due to popular demand & immense backer requests, more units added**
* Physical game with Kickstarter Exclusive collectible Steel Case and altered variation of the original slipcover on either PC, Xbox One, or PS4
* Kickstarter Exclusive in-game playable Jason character designed by Tom Savini, with unique weapon
* Kickstarter Exclusive in-game Counselor Clothing Packs
* Digital Art Book featuring concept art from the game's creators
* Exclusive Beta Access on PC
* In-Game credit under "Special Thanks"
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1 & 2
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
Pledge $230 or more
SIGNED PHYSICAL GAME + DIGITAL CONTENT * SIGNED Physical game with Kickstarter Exclusive cover art on either PC, Xbox One, or PS4 (Signed by Sean Cunningham, Tom Savini, Kane Hodder, Harry Mandefrini, Gun Media & Illfonic)* Kickstarter Exclusive in-game playable Jason character designed by Tom Savini, with unique weapon
* Kickstarter Exclusive in-game Counselor Clothing Packs
* Digital Art Book featuring concept art from the game's creators
* Exclusive Beta Access on PC
* In-Game credit under "Special Thanks"
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1 & 2
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
Pledge $1,000 or more
Limited (4 left of 25)
JASON'S VICTIMS!* Be immortalized in the game! Have a tombstone with your name and short message on it placed in a graveyard in one of the maps
* Be immortalized again in the in-game Camp Crystal Lake Counselor Database
* SIGNED Physical game with Kickstarter Exclusive cover art on either PC, Xbox One, or PS4 (Signed by Sean Cunningham, Tom Savini, Kane Hodder, Harry Mandefrini, Gun Media & Illfonic)
* Kickstarter Exclusive in-game playable Jason character designed by Tom Savini, with unique weapon
* Kickstarter Exclusive in-game Counselor Clothing Packs
* Digital Art Book featuring concept art from the game's creators
* Exclusive Beta Access on PC
* In-Game credit under "Voorhees's Victims"
* Digital Wallpaper Pack 1 & 2
* Our eternal gratitude & a heartfelt "Thank You..."
No comments:
Post a Comment