Friday the 13th: The Game pits up to seven players controlling Camp Crystal Lake counselors against one player controlling Jason Voorhees. It is a semi-open world game, with players able to explore it further.[4]
Due to licensing issues with franchise creator Victor Miller, the game servers were shut down in November 2020. However, the game is still available to play online through peer-to-peer matchmaking.[5] The game was delisted at the end of 2023, due to the license expiring. However, the game will continue to function normally for those already owning it up until at least December 31, 2024.[6]
The game is an asymmetricalmultiplayer video game, with up to eight people able to play in one game session. One player is randomly selected to control Jason Voorhees[7] whose objective is to kill as many counselors as possible before time runs out. Playing as Jason grants special time-restricted abilities including being able to sense nearby counselors and to teleport anywhere on the map.[8][9] The remaining players control the counselors, who can temporarily stun Jason using firecrackers and bear traps as well as the various projectile and melee-based weapons that are found throughout the map. A player on the counselor's side may also control Tommy Jarvis, who becomes playable when certain conditions are met.[10] The main objective of playing as a counselor is to escape the map alive, which can be done more quickly by completing the map's side objectives (which are easier to complete when coordinating with other players) that will allow counselors to escape or to survive long enough until time runs out on the session. Jason may also be killed with an "epic win condition" that requires both teamwork and planning, and is difficult to perform.[7] To kill Jason, a female character is needed to find Jason's shack, don the sweater of Pamela Voorhees, and claim she is Jason's mother in front of him if his mask has been knocked off, distracting him as Tommy attacks Jason.
Although the game was originally planned to be multiplayer only, a single-player mode via an update was announced for a Summer 2017 release, despite the stretch goal for US$1.625million to unlock it not being reached.[11] The mode consists of objective-based missions that allow the player to take control of Jason against offline camp counselor bots. Some of the missions are adaptations of the films, while others are original scenarios.[12][13]
On October 27, 2017, Gun released a trailer teasing a new game mode called Paranoia.[14] However, on February 1, 2018, it was announced that development on Paranoia mode would be put on hold to focus on the new dedicated servers feature.[15]
Settings
Five primary maps are available, each of which are based on locations from the first five films, and each set concurrent with the films' time periods. Matches may take place at Camp Crystal Lake, the setting of the first film, in 1979; Packanack Lodge, the setting of the second film, in 1984; Higgins Haven, the setting of the third film, in 1984; the Jarvis House, the setting of the fourth film, in 1984; and Pinehurst, the setting of the fifth film, in 1989.[16]
Camp Crystal Lake, Higgins Haven, and Packanack Lodge were the original available maps, while the Jarvis House and Pinehurst were made available in October 2017[17] and January 2018,[16] respectively.
Characters
The game's primary killer is Jason Voorhees, the series' most recurring antagonist. Nine different versions of Jason are playable, based on his appearances from the second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth films, and make-up artist Tom Savini's own Jason created exclusively for backers of the game.[2]Roy Burns, the Jason copycat killer from the fifth film, is also playable under the moniker "Part V Jason".[18] In addition to the distinct versions of Jason, the version from the third film has an alternate model based on his appearance from the NES game. Each Jason has his own strengths and weaknesses and many have different weapons.
There are fourteen playable counselors in the game, each of whom have their own strengths and weaknesses. Original counselors created for the game are A.J. Mason, Adam Palomino, Brandon "Buggzy" Wilson, Chad Kensington, Deborah Kim, Eric "J.R." LaChappa, Jenny Myers, Kenny Riedell, Mitch Floyd, Tiffany Cox, Vanessa Jones, and Victoria Sterling. From the films are Part III characters Sheldon "Shelly" Finkelstein[19] and Fox.[19]
Also playable is Thomas "Tommy" Jarvis, the protagonist of the fourth, fifth, and sixth films, who assists the counselors when contacted from a randomly placed CB radio.[10] He is controlled by a randomly selected player on the counselors' side whose previous character was either killed or escaped. In addition to having perfect statistics and being immediately equipped with a shotgun, pocket knife, and first aid spray, Tommy is the only character capable of killing Jason.
Development
After IllFonic's polarized 2012 remake of Nexuiz and Gun Media's Breach & Clear: Deadline in 2015, IllFonic went to work on a game titled Slasher Vol. 1: Summer Camp, with little details on its release date with Gun,[20] in which the story took place in Camp Forest Green.[21]Friday the 13th director Sean S. Cunningham was in talks about an upcoming game based on Friday the 13th with Gun.[22][23] It is also the first video game IllFonic has developed with Unreal Engine 4, departing from CryEngine after the announcement of Project Advena.[24]
Sean [S. Cunningham] came to us in early 2015, but we quickly discovered these weren't the normal business conversations you would have when you try to secure a license as important as Friday the 13th. It was totally different. It was a conversation built on mutual admiration and respect for what each had created. Sean immediately noticed the passion we had for Friday the 13th, and after several incredible meetings over the next few months, we decided to upgrade our plans for Summer Camp and embrace the Friday the 13th video game license. After several incredible meetings over the next few months, Sean surprised us by offering the Friday the 13th video game license.[1]
Executive director and producer Randy Greenback organized both a Kickstarter campaign and a BackerKit campaign to fund the game's development. Overall, US$422,866 was raised by 18,068 backers in BackerKit and about US$823,704.20 from 12,128 backers in Kickstarter, collecting about US$1,246,570.20 from both platforms, becoming the 179th most crowdfunded project of all time.[1][25][26]
On October 13, 2015, it was announced that Slasher Vol. 1: Summer Camp had evolved into Friday the 13th: The Game,[27][28] with an announcement trailer released by Gun on their YouTube channel the same day.[29] On Halloween, Harry Manfredini uploaded a video to the Gun YouTube channel with files on his computer monitor being partially seen, implying that he was composing music for the game.[30]
On November 4, Gun released fly-through shots of the game's environment while in pre-alpha development.[31] On November 10, IllFonic posted a video on Gun's YouTube channel, which highlighted testing and development for the game, including 3D modeling for Jason.[32]
On February 25, 2016, Gun and IllFonic released camera footage showing stunt coordinator Kane Hodder, who portrays Jason, with Tarah Paige and Ryan Staats, the two actors who will play the men and women counselors in the game, performing motion capture at Digital Domain. The footage shows Hodder performing a list of kill animations for the game, with rigged placeholder characters used to track the kills and animations in real-time.[33] This was soon reuploaded by Bloody Disgusting in the same day.[34]
A developer panel for Gun Media and IllFonic was opened at PAX South 2016 in January with alpha footage and a list of kill animations,[35] with gameplay released at E3 2016 in June.[8]
On September 2, 2016, Gun released the PAX West trailer for the game, titled "XIII". The trailer showcased Jason Voorhees' kill animations specifically designed by Tom Savini, while set to "XIII" (pronounced "ex triple I") by Crazy Lixx.[36]
Casting
Several actors from the Friday the 13th films reprised their roles in the game. Motion capture for Jason Voorhees and Roy Burns was provided by Kane Hodder, who portrayed Jason in The New Blood, Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell, and Jason X, and is the only actor to play the character more than once.[37] Cast as Tommy Jarvis was Thom Mathews, who played Tommy in Jason Lives, and the character is modeled after Mathews' appearance in the film. Larry Zerner, who appeared in Part III as Shelly, reprised the role when the character was added to the game in December 2017.[38] Also featured are the likenesses of Part III actress Gloria Charles as her character Fox and A New Beginning actor Dick Wieand as his character Roy Burns.
The original counselor characters were voiced by Zeno Robinson as Brandon "Buggzy" Wilson, Benjamin Diskin as Chad Kensington and Eric "J.R." LaChappa, Cristina Vee as Deborah Kim, Kristina Klebe as Jenny Myers, Marisha Ray as A.J. Mason, Cherami Leigh as Tiffany Cox, Robbie Daymond as Adam Palomino and Kenny Riedell, and Noveen Crumbie as Vanessa Jones. The male counselors were motion-captured by Ryan Staats and the female counselors were motion-captured by Tarah Paige. Jennifer Ann Burton voiced Pamela Voorhees, whose voice is heard encouraging Jason's player during the game and in a collection of unlockable tapes.
Virtual Cabin
On June 30, 2016,[39] IllFonic previewed a 3D development diary to complement behind-the-scenes interviews, footage, and in-development stock called the "Virtual Cabin". Besides overviews, the Cabin has item rooms that house information upon characters, scenes, or easter eggs.[1] An item room called the "Jason Room" was unlocked on July 18, 2016[40] and a room containing the main counselors was unlocked on August 12, 2016.[41]
On December 18, 2017, a Virtual Cabin 2.0 was added to the main game. It features much more Easter eggs and is at a much larger scale than the previous cabin. Completing all the challenges reveals confirmation of the addition of Uber Jason and a map depicting the spaceship Grendel from the film Jason X coming soon.[42] However, this was officially canceled in a statement from Gun Media due to a rights lawsuit involving Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller in which Gun Media representative Wes Keltner stated: "Is there a chance of any content being added to the game if a ruling on the dispute occurs in the near future? The answer is no. We can't keep building content that may never see the light of day. That's bad business."[43]
Soundtrack
Harry Manfredini, who created the soundtrack for the original film, composed the soundtrack of the video game.[1]
During development, Gun Media released two tracks from the upcoming soundtrack, which released as "Harry Manfredini Full Track – 01" on November 9, 2015[44] and "Harry Manfredini Full Track – 02" on May 14, 2016.[45]
A trailer of the game released for PAX West 2016 featured the theme for the game, "Killer", recorded by Crazy Lixx. Other songs included in the game from Crazy Lixx include "Live Before I Die" and "XIII" which can be heard when the radio is played.
The song "Friday the 13th" by punk rock band Misfits, from their 2016 EP of the same name, can be heard on any radio in the game and also in the car when escaping.[citation needed] Gun Media uploaded a trailer featuring the song during the game's development.
Release
The game was pushed back from the fall release date, multiplayer came out on May 26, 2017, and the campaign was released in Q3 2017. The initial release was digital exclusive,[46] with a physical copy published on October 13, 2017.[2]
On June 11, 2018, Gun Media announced that it had canceled all future content updates including DLC for the game, citing a dispute between Cunningham and Victor Miller over rights, lawsuit and ownership of the original film as making it "unfeasible now or in the future". The studio still plans to offer maintenance patches.[47][48] Miller won the lawsuit on September 28, 2018.[49]
On September 25, 2018, it was announced that Black Tower Studios would take over as the new development partner for the game.[50]
Friday the 13th: Ultimate Slasher Switch Edition for the Nintendo Switch was released on August 13, 2019.[3] On November 10, 2020, the dedicated servers were reverted to peer-to-peer matchmaking, due to Gun Media not making any money from the game. However, Wes Keltner and Gun Media have teased that they will be making more horror-based games.
Caitlin Cooke of Destructoid gave the game 6.5/10, concluding "There aren't many games that can offer a camaraderie aspect to the survival horror genre, and Friday the 13th delivers in that regard. It could certainly use a lot more fine tuning and adjustments, but for now, it delivers on a solidly campy experience."[55]
James Kozanitis of GameRevolution wrote: "Is it perfect? Not by a long shot. Indeed, you'll experience graphical bugs and other quirks that break your immersion. But, after getting into Friday the 13th: The Game, and I mean really getting into it, discovering all its intricacies and more technical aspects, these problems will seem so small as to evaporate, and balance issues you once perceived will be corrected. And what's left is a truly unique experience, unlike any other multiplayer game you've played (certainly a cut above other asymmetrical titles), where cooperation, wits, and sometimes ruthless murder are what it takes to survive."[57]
Peter Brown of GameSpot gave the game a mostly negative review, writing: "As of now, a week after launch, it's short on content and performs poorly all around, especially on consoles. The story goes that the developers weren't prepared for the amount of people who wanted to jump on day one, but that does little to assuage players who were convinced that they were paying for a finished product. Despite showing potential that may one day be realized, Friday the 13th comes across as an unfinished game that shouldn't have been released in its current state."[58]
IGN's Daemon Hatfield concluded: "Lopsided gameplay and egregious bugs almost kill the mood of Jason's murder spree in Friday the 13th: The Game."[59] Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer wrote that it "needs more maps, but right now Friday the 13th is a gory game of hide-and-go-seek that's fun with funny people."[60] Austen Goslin of Polygon wrote that "Friday the 13th: The Game mimics the surface level of the classic film series, but misses the spirit."[61]
The game has sold 1.8 million copies as of August 2017.[64] Despite mixed reviews, the game went on to win the Best Indie Game award at the 35th Annual Golden Joystick Awards,[62] though it was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game.[65] The game was also nominated and became a runner-up for "Best Multiplayer" at the IGN Best of 2017 Awards, although it won the 2017 People's Choice Award.[63] In addition, the game was nominated for "Game Design, New IP" and "Game, Original Action" at the 17th Annual National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.[66][67]GamesRadar+ ranked the game 14th on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017.[68]
↑ Since September 2018, Black Tower Studios took the lead on support and development on the game.
Related Research Articles
Friday the 13th is a 1980 American independent slasher film produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, written by Victor Miller, and starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, and Kevin Bacon. The plot follows a group of teenage camp counselors who are murdered one by one by an unknown killer while they are attempting to reopen an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past.
Jason Voorhees is a character from the Friday the 13th series. He first appeared in Friday the 13th (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamela Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S. Cunningham and Tom Savini, Jason was not originally intended to carry the series as the main antagonist. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, comic books, and a crossover film with Freddy Krueger.
Jason X is a 2001 American science fiction slasher film directed by Jim Isaac and written by Todd Farmer. It is the tenth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. It stars Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, and Kane Hodder in his fourth and final appearance as Jason Voorhees. In the film, Jason is cryogenically frozen for 445 years and awakens on a spaceship in 2455 after being found by a group of students who he kills one by one.
Friday the 13th Part 2 is a 1981 American slasher film produced and directed by Steve Miner in his directorial debut, and written by Ron Kurz. It is the sequel to Friday the 13th (1980), and the second installment in the franchise. Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer, and Walt Gorney reprise their respective roles from the first film as Alice Hardy, Pamela Voorhees, and Crazy Ralph. Amy Steel and John Furey also star. Taking place five years after the first film, Part 2 follows a similar premise, with an unknown stalker killing a group of camp counselors at a training camp near Crystal Lake. The film marks the debut of Jason Voorhees as the series' main antagonist.
Pamela Voorhees is a fictional character and the overarching antagonist of the Friday the 13th series of horror films. She was created by Victor Miller, and first appeared in Sean S. Cunningham's Friday the 13th (1980), played by Betsy Palmer. Pamela is the main antagonist of the first film, in which she is known only as Mrs. Voorhees, and remains an antagonistic presence in its sequels, in which she is seen mostly as a severed head or a figment of her son's imagination. In Friday the 13th Part III (1982), the character appears as a reanimated corpse in a hallucination, played by Marilyn Poucher. Paula Shaw played Pamela in the crossover Freddy vs. Jason (2003); according to Palmer in Friday The 13th Reunion, she was asked to reprise her role in the film, but turned it down after reading the script. Nana Visitor played Pamela in the 2009 reboot.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is a 1986 American slasher film written and directed by Tom McLoughlin, and starring Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, and C.J. Graham. It is a sequel to Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) and the sixth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. It was the final film to feature Tommy Jarvis (Mathews) as the protagonist and marked Tony Goldwyn's film debut. Continuing from the events of the previous film, the plot follows Tommy after he accidentally resurrects mass murderer Jason Voorhees (Graham) while attempting to destroy his body to ensure he will not return. While Jason returns to Crystal Lake for another killing spree, Tommy must overcome his fear of the masked killer that has haunted him for years and find a way to stop him once and for all.
Tommy Jarvis is a fictional character in the Friday the 13th franchise. He first appears in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) as a child interested in special effects who encounters a seemingly unstoppable slasher—Jason Voorhees. In his debut, he is portrayed by Corey Feldman. A teen and adult version of the character is portrayed by John Shepherd and Thom Mathews in the consecutive films Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), respectively.
Friday the 13th Part III is a 1982 American 3D slasher film directed by Steve Miner, produced by Frank Mancuso Jr., and starring Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, and Richard Brooker. It is the sequel to Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and the third installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. Set directly after the events of the previous films, the plot follows a teenage girl (Kimmell) and her friends who go on a trip to a house near Crystal Lake where an injured Jason Voorhees (Brooker) has taken refuge until re-emerging for another killing spree. The film marks the first appearance of Jason's signature hockey mask, which has since become a trademark of both the character and the franchise, as well as an icon in American cinema and the horror genre in general.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning is a 1985 American slasher film directed by Danny Steinmann and starring Melanie Kinnaman, John Shepherd, and Shavar Ross. The film also features a cameo appearance from Corey Feldman, who portrayed Tommy Jarvis in the previous film. It is a sequel to Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) and the fifth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. Set years after the events of the previous film, the story follows a teenage Tommy Jarvis (Shepherd), who is institutionalized at a halfway house near Crystal Lake because of nightmares of mass murderer Jason Voorhees, whom he killed as a child. Tommy must face his fears when a new hockey mask-wearing murderer initiates another violent killing spree in the area.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday is a 1993 American supernatural slasher film directed by Adam Marcus from a screenplay by Dean Lorey and Jay Huguely, based on a story by Huguely and Marcus. The ninth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise and a sequel to Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), as well as the first installment in the franchise to be released by New Line Cinema, it stars John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Erin Gray, Allison Smith, Steven Culp, Steven Williams, and Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees, reprising his role from Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) and Jason Takes Manhattan. The film follows the ghost of Jason possessing people to continue his killings after his death. To resurrect himself, Jason must possess a member of his bloodline, but he can also be permanently killed by one of his family using a magic dagger.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Joseph Zito, produced by Frank Mancuso Jr., and starring Kimberly Beck, Corey Feldman, Crispin Glover, and Peter Barton. It is the sequel to Friday the 13th Part III (1982) and the fourth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. Picking up immediately after the events of the previous film, the plot follows a presumed-dead Jason Voorhees who escapes from the morgue and returns to Crystal Lake to continue his killing spree. The film marks the debut of the character Tommy Jarvis (Feldman), who would make further appearances in two sequels and related media, establishing him as Jason's archenemy.
Friday the 13th is an American horror franchise that comprises twelve slasher films, a television series, novels, comic books, video games, and tie‑in merchandise. The franchise mainly focuses on the fictional character Jason Voorhees, who was thought to have drowned as a boy at Camp Crystal Lake due to the negligence of the camp staff. Decades later, the lake is rumored to be "cursed" and is the setting for a series of mass murders. Jason is featured in all of the films, as either the killer or the motivation for the killings. The original film was written by Victor Miller, produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, and released by Paramount Pictures. The films have grossed over $468 million at the box-office.
Alice Hardy is a fictional character in the Friday the 13th franchise. Alice first appears in Friday the 13th (1980) as an artist working as a camp counselor. She is portrayed by Adrienne King—who reprises the role in the sequel Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and the fan film Jason Rising (2021). Alice's creator, Victor Miller, scripted her as a flawed character, envisioning her in an affair. Once production began on the original film, budgetary constraints limited the deeper exposition intended for Alice's character.
Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel, and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, from a story by Shannon, Swift, and Mark Wheaton. It is the twelfth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. The film stars Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Aaron Yoo, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, and Derek Mears. It follows Clay Miller (Padalecki) as he searches for his missing sister, Whitney (Righetti), who is captured by Jason Voorhees (Mears) while camping in woodland at Crystal Lake.
Friday the 13th is a video game developed by Atlus and published by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Based on the horror franchise of the same name, players control counselors at Camp Crystal Lake as they attempt to defeat Jason Voorhees. The game received generally negative reviews, with criticism centered on its high difficulty and poor gameplay.
Gun Interactive is an American video game publisher based in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded by Ronnie Hobbs and Wes Keltner in 2010.
IllFonic, LLC is an American video game developer based in Golden, Colorado, with further offices in Tacoma, Washington, and Austin, Texas. The studio was founded by Charles Brungardt, Kedhrin Gonzales and Raphael Saadiq in 2007. IllFonic is best known for developing asymmetric multiplayer games like Friday the 13th: The Game, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game.
Ginny Field is a fictional character in the Friday the 13th series. She first appears in Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) as a child psychology student working as a camp counselor assistant trainer, in which she was portrayed by Amy Steel. Writer Ron Kurtz conceptualized the character, while director Steve Miner intended to utilize Ginny to carry further installments as the main protagonist. Ginny has subsequently seen representation in other media such as novels and fan labor.
13 Fanboy is a 2021 American meta-slasher film directed by Deborah Voorhees and written and produced by her and Joel Paul Reisig. The film focuses on numerous actors that starred in a popular slasher film franchise who find themselves as the target of an obsessed fan that wants to replicate their death scenes in real life. It stars Hayley Greenbauer as Kelsie Voorhees, with Dee Wallace, Deborah Voorhees, C.J. Graham, Kane Hodder, Corey Feldman, Lar Park Lincoln, Judie Aronson, and Tracie Savage as fictionalized versions of themselves.
↑ "Nominee List for 2017". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 9, 2018. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
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