Summer Camp, the tale of an unlucky group of teens on the worst vacation in the universe, was originally revealed last fall. It was clearly an ode to the classic slasher flicks of the 80s, most obviously Friday the 13th. But today developer Gun Media announced that it has become more than just a tribute: It is now an official, fully-fledged Friday the 13th game, and it's on Kickstarter.
According to the pitch, Gun Media, whose previous game was Breach and Clear, was actually approached by Friday the 13th creator Sean Cunningham shortly after Summer Camp was revealed to the world. He eventually offered the license, which the studio said was "literally a dream come true," but with that came heightened expectations and the need for a bigger budget.
"Unfortunately, just because we have the license doesn't necessarily mean bags of money came with it," Gun Media co-founder Ronnie Hobs told GamesRadar. "The videogame license is separate from the film rights, which explains why we haven't seen a F13 videogame since 1989. So that's where Kickstarter comes in."
Interestingly, a conventional publishing deal is out of the question because "gore and nudity aren't just concepts to consider—they're necessities," the studio wrote. "Collectively, we wanted to make certain that this game delivers the same kind of fun, brutal scares and creative kills that the franchise is known for and didn’t want to risk having to tell our story with a 'T' for Teen rating. We don’t want that. You don’t want that."
The basic concept of Summer Camp as an asymmetric slasher game doesn't appear to have changed much. Friday the 13th can be played as either Jason Voorhees, the goalie mask goon with a thing for machetes, or as a camp counselor. And unlike the movies, the game will offer more routes to survival than simply running away: It won't be easy, but Jason can be defeated.
The Friday the 13th Kickstarter is live now and runs until November 13, with a goal of $700,000. Find out more at F13Game.com.
