Slasher Film Based/Inspired Video Games: is there a market for them now?

[CB2001]

I'll admit, I still play video games. I like doing online gaming with others, in addition to playing co-op games with my Dad. Right now, my typical game list consists of Defiance, No More Room in Hell, Killing Floor and Contagion. Yeah, most of the current short list are co-op horror based games. I recently came across, by accident, a news article from Bloody Disgusting titled, The 'Friday the 13th' Game Has Claimed its First Victim. I'll admit, when I saw the title, I was like, "Wait... the NES game has gotten someone killed?" So, I clicked on the article and began to read. Apparently, there was a F13th game announced a couple of weeks ago, and there was an IP challenge against the makers of a game that was backed by Kickstarter, the game is called Last Year. Basically, the update has stated that the IP claim was over the artwork and design over one of the multiple in-game killers that looked striking similar to Jason Voorhees, to which the makers plan on changing that character's look and moving on. However, I found the Kickstarter video about what the game is going to be about, and have included the video here.

To me, this looks promising. I'll admit, the only slasher film-based/inspired games I've played were emulations of Halloween for the Atari 2600 and the old PC game of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and I played the NES Friday the 13th game. And there hasn't been much of official slasher film based/inspired video games lately. But Last Year seems rather promising (I hope that the IP dispute gets resolved so that this game can get released), and to me it appears that it can open the door for more slasher film like games (which honestly, would be refreshing, since the last few years have been about aliens, vampires and zombies, with only a small number of the games being good and a large portion of them being completely horrible). But, it got me wondering: is there a market for slasher film based/inspired video games now, in comparison to the 1980s (when slasher films were abundant) or the mid 1990s (the rebirth of the slasher genre)? What do you guys think about the idea of slasher video games, and do you feel they'd work well nowadays? Any thoughts and comments on this topic are welcome (including slasher films you feel would make interesting video games, if you want to do so).

 

[Mektar]

This would make for a great game online or offline but can already imagine the backlash it would get from people thinking this will create serial killers from their kids :rolleyes

 

[dascoyne]

I think a game based on Cabin in the Woods seems a lot more interesting.

 

[CB2001]

I think a game based on Cabin in the Woods seems a lot more interesting.

I know there was meant to be a Left 4 Dead tie-in with Cabin in the Woods. In the film, you can spot some of the special infected from the game (The Witch, Boomer, Tank and the Smoker). And from what I've read, Valve was going to be releasing a campaign for the game that had the Survivors from the game go to the cabin and into the complex seen in the film, but plans fell through due to the collapse of MGM.

Besides, I don't think a Cabin in the Woods game would work, especially with how the film ended.

 

[dascoyne]

I know there was meant to be a Left 4 Dead tie-in with Cabin in the Woods. In the film, you can spot some of the special infected from the game (The Witch, Boomer, Tank and the Smoker). And from what I've read, Valve was going to be releasing a campaign for the game that had the Survivors from the game go to the cabin and into the complex seen in the film, but plans fell through due to the collapse of MGM.

Besides, I don't think a Cabin in the Woods game would work, especially with how the film ended.

It would take place before the events of the film, as I see it.

 

[CB2001]

It would take place before the events of the film, as I see it.

But, isn't events before the film, basically, every single type of horror movie that came out before the film, including every slasher film and The Evil Dead series?

Not to mention, the premise's too complex to fit into a game. In fact, the entire situation is unique just to the film, as those from the previous sacrifices had no idea about the whole situation they were in. So, if there was a game set before the events of the film, it'd be nothing more than another Evil Dead video game, or another zombie based video game, or another type of creature/horror video game, wouldn't it?

 

[crabra comander]

Could work. I think one killer could be boring, but Alien did well. Not eeally my cup of tea...so maybe no more comments in this thread is appropriate. .. :lol

I want a werewolf game mmo survival. You have a group and slowly one or a few vecome infected or bitten by infected wolves and the rest prep as the infected rin off to transform giving them limited time and resources to peepare for an attack. I hate writing from my phone.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

I hope they get this mess sorted soon, a friend got me interested in this and I got money pumped into this. I've been hoping for a game like this for ages now, and now that it's close to a reality, this happens!

I think the horror game genre is fiending for some new blood (huh-huh) and I'm glad to see it coming up with indie developers and on the online community. For instance, I recently stumbled across this and it actually looks pretty solid. It's a free game called Babysitter Bloodbath and it's based off of the original Halloween movie and the early survival horror games.

Unfortunately, there isn't a trailer video for it and all videos of it are of these obnoxious commentary/playthroughs, so forgive me. It originally was an unlicensed fan game of Halloween, Michael Myers and all, but it was pulled down and retooled due to copyright blah-blah.

One the thread topic, it's such a shame that the "big guys" see some of these things as a threat when it's clearly an homage, as well as a cry for something new and exciting, and they try to sweep it out of existence and rip everything off from the thing they squashed, just to cash in on the market after the fact. The more I see and read of these things, the more my faith in humanity crumbles away.

 

[CB2001]

Could work. I think one killer could be boring, but Alien did well. Not eeally my cup of tea...so maybe no more comments in this thread is appropriate. .. :lol

Well, they give you multiple killers to choose from. I wouldn't be surprised if each one of them have a particular set of skills and perks (i.e. one moves faster than the others, one is much strong than another, etc). It may not be at all boring with one killer, especially if this is a slasher film scenario (where it'd probably be better for you to work as a team and not perform a direct confrontation because the killer's got a high level of health). Not only that, on their Facebook page, I read that they have it set up where if one of the teen players is killed and the group manage to contact the police, the player that was kill can take on the role of the police officer coming to investigate (not sure if this is true though). Another interesting detail is that you can play the pet rat for the nerd when the nerd character sets him off on a task, which can be used to go crawling through vents, finding supplies and unlocking doors from the other side, which is also interesting a well.

I want a werewolf game mmo survival. You have a group and slowly one or a few become infected or bitten by infected wolves and the rest prep as the infected run off to transform giving them limited time and resources to prepare for an attack. I hate writing from my phone.

Well, I know that change into a werewolf is possible in video games. I know it's not werewolf related, but for No More Room in Hell, whenever someone is infected, their HUD slowly forms pulsating veins and the screen begins to go dark before their character is killed from the infection. And a few seconds later, the player's character model gets back up as a transformed zombie. Like I said, it's not werewolf related, but I can imagine such a change over for a game occurring for a werewolf.

I hope they get this mess sorted soon, a friend got me interested in this and I got money pumped into this. I've been hoping for a game like this for ages now, and now that it's close to a reality, this happens!

I hope so too. By the way it looks, the game is going to be interesting and fun to play.

I think the horror game genre is fiending for some new blood (huh-huh) and I'm glad to see it coming up with indie developers and on the online community. For instance, I recently stumbled across this and it actually looks pretty solid. It's a free game called Babysitter Bloodbath and it's based off of the original Halloween movie and the early survival horror games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbt8CTt5S7U

Unfortunately, there isn't a trailer video for it and all videos of it are of these obnoxious commentary/playthroughs, so forgive me. It originally was an unlicensed fan game of Halloween, Michael Myers and all, but it was pulled down and retooled due to copyright blah-blah.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei_Be1AWxog

Yeah, I've seen the footage of the game in its Halloween incarnation and have come across the trailer for the revised version. It looks very interesting in concept, and when I saw the footage I was like "this is like a Halloween version of the first Resident Evil game, not that its a bad thing/)

One the thread topic, it's such a shame that the "big guys" see some of these things as a threat when it's clearly an homage, as well as a cry for something new and exciting, and they try to sweep it out of existence and rip everything off from the thing they squashed, just to cash in on the market after the fact. The more I see and read of these things, the more my faith in humanity crumbles away.

Well, to be fair, with some of the game art presented in the trailer, there are a couple of the pre-visual shots that look straight-up like Jason Voorhees (more from the remake than the original), so its understandable that they would make that kind of mistake (in fact, according to the article that I posted, the makers explained the claim was due to the artwork that had a character that looked too much like Jason Voorhees, and that they were going to redo the picture and remove that particular look so that they can proceed with getting the game done). However, I agree with you, it sucks that the big guys can't just be honored that their work inspired a very promising video game that could potentially open the door for more viewers of their film (seriously, if no one heard of the Friday the 13th films and played Last Year, knowing it was inspired by many of the 1980s slasher films, there's a good chance those gamers may decide to go out and buy the films that inspired the game just to see what they're like).

 

[Monkey67]

A cabin in the woods game would be great. Have different cabin layouts & many different monsters to be summoned. Only 1 monster per a game run tho. Family of hillbillies count as 1. Just make it where you can win / beat the monsters. Have it online with multiplayer action as a team / camping group of friends. This way your friends can help you or be the dick that does stupid things that causes someone else to die. No re spawn at all, you die you die. None of this I found rocket laugher or Uzi to use bs either. Only thing you get is what a normal camp / cabin has. Yes, you can have a shot gun or rifle since you might be on a hunting trip. Maybe even be able to set traps and combine items to make weapons ( flare + propane tank = bomb) nails + 2 x 4? I'll be all over a game like that.

 

[CB2001]

Hey, got some good news (or at least a good sign) in relation to Last Year. The copyright infringement notice is no longer on the Kickstarter page. Maybe this means that the issue has been resolved and the game may be back in full swing soon? PoopaPapaPalps, you may want to check the update to confirm it for us.

Also, I found another slasher-film style game called Until Dawn, which will be released this upcoming Summer. The game stars Scream 4 alumni, Hayden Panettiere.

 

[dascoyne]

What this genre needs is oculus rift.

 

[CB2001]

What this genre needs is oculus rift.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl_AXIAhuBs

I'm sorry, but I think the Oculus Rift is nothing more than a gimmick. I mean, come on, remember in the 1990s, when we thought VR was going to take off?

And remember all the 1990s films and TV shows that used Virtual Reality as a part of their premise?

I'm sorry, but I don't buy into Oculus Rift.

 

[dascoyne]

I'm sorry, but I think the Oculus Rift is nothing more than a gimmick. I mean, come on, remember in the 1990s, when we thought VR was going to take off?

I'm sorry, but I don't buy into Oculus Rift.

The problem with VR has a lot to do with image latency, frame rate and other factors. In theory there should be no reason why projected images on a mask couldn't be 100% immersive. In practice the processing power, lag etc were limiting factors that made the 90's VR a nauseating experience. Yes I tried all of those.

Douglas Trumbull did an early study with his Showscan process which was a high definition film with a faster framerate resulted in a dramatic heightened sense of reality. Demonstrations of the process had an announcer come on stage and talk for a few minutes to an audience until they realized he was just a 2D projection.

Oculus Rift addresses a lot of the barriers that affect the sense of presence. I've tried their developers kit (DK2) and it's actually pretty impressive. I was standing outside a Tuscan villa with no perceptible lag. The final product has yet to be released but I think the end product is going to be amazing. Everyone who has tried the developer's kit is blown away. This wasn't the case with the VR of the 1990's which was too primitive.

The Oculus Rift as a product isn't a new idea. Everybody knows this. But, for the first time, the execution to fool the brain for an immersive experience might be technologically feasible.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

@CB2001

Yep, got the update email saying things are back into full swing, and as a bonus (as well as a side-step to any further legal troubles), the developer is adding a new map layout which he's just calling "The Suburbs", right now. If I remember in the email, it said it'd be a couple of blocks, a school, a park, and a playground and some of the homes can actually be used to hide in or walk through.

Here's looking at smooth sailings here on out!



Also, as a side note, I completely agree with CB on the subject of the Oculus Rift; I don't buy it, either. I'm glad this technology exists and it's amazing how far it's progressed, but in the entertainment industry as it is, I think, is just a gimmick. I don't need things like it to be immersed in what I'm playing or watching, but I'm happy it's an option for others.

 

[CB2001]

Since I subscribed to the Last Year game's Facebook page, the game developer's just posted a teaser, featuring a bit of a gameplay.

And, of course, we've got a couple of updates from the Friday The 13th: The Game.

Also, I've noticed a lot of positive reviews for the game Until Dawn (which I mentioned previously in this thread), which utilized a lot of horror movie tropes, including slasher film tropes. And since Friday The 13th: The Game is still on the way, I am hoping that both games open the door for more slasher film style games. Next to zombies, the slasher film genre seems like the next best idea for video game play. And if virtual reality takes off, maybe it'll open the door the door for a VR slasher film experience that hasn't been experimented with previously.

 

[CB2001]

While bumming around on YouTube, found another slasher film like game in development called Dead By Daylight, a four-on-one game.

Gameplay Footage:

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

As pleased as punch as I am that you can play as (as it seems) almost every version of Jason, I'm still cheesed that it was put into development as Last Year was picking up steam and they tried to impede the development of Last Year as a response so they could catch up.

Dead By Daylight looks okay but there's just something about that gameplay that looks, I dunno, static to me.

As for the VR slasher film, I've always felt that the Nightmare on Elm Street was meant for that. Freddy's a classic now but I've always felt that the best of what NoES can be still hasn't been reached yet. Potential unfulfilled. Get someone talented enough to bring that feeling of experiencing a lucid nightmare to the VR and the film and I think that would be magic.

 

[CB2001]

As pleased as punch as I am that you can play as (as it seems) almost every version of Jason, I'm still cheesed that it was put into development as Last Year was picking up steam and they tried to impede the development of Last Year as a response so they could catch up.

Dead By Daylight looks okay but there's just something about that gameplay that looks, I dunno, static to me.

As for the VR slasher film, I've always felt that the Nightmare on Elm Street was meant for that. Freddy's a classic now but I've always felt that the best of what NoES can be still hasn't been reached yet. Potential unfulfilled. Get someone talented enough to bring that feeling of experiencing a lucid nightmare to the VR and the film and I think that would be magic.

As crazy as it sounds, I want to play Last Year more than I want to play the Friday The 13th: The Game, though I'd like to play both of them.

Yeah, the Dead By Daylight's footage is still pre-release, and the demo footage I linked was from a demo given away at PAX. But some of the concepts seem interesting, such as the competitive and cooperative options to play (choosing between being selfish and being selfless). The environment concept for the killer is also something that seems intriguing.

Technically, any slasher film could be useful in the VR concept. But honestly, I think something like Evil Dead would be more interesting to use for VR, or maybe even Phantasm. But when it comes to slasher games, I'm interested in seeing a legit Halloween game (I know there's the fan one, but if someone could dedicate themselves to do a Halloween one like how they're doing with Friday The 13th: The Game, it'd be cool to be able to walk around Haddonfield as either Michael or as one of his potential victims).

 

[CB2001]

Well, new updates. There's some beta gameplay footage of Dead By Daylight, which is pretty funny watching because of the reactions.

And there's even early Alpha footage of Friday the 13th: The Game.