When Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope studio looked for partners to turn his iconic 1979 film, Apocalypse Now, into a videogame, most mainstream game development companies pitched a first-person shooter.

The studio, though, was looking for something different than standard war-game fare.

Monty Markland (American Zoetrope) Montgomery Markland is the director of the forthcoming game, which is currently raising funds on Kickstarter

The creative team is approaching the searing war drama as a horror.

Players will assume the role of Captain Willard, Martin Sheen's character in the original film. In the game version, players will be able to interact with the other characters as they choose.

"It's not required that you interact with them in the same way that the movie version of Captain Willard interacted with them," says Montgomery.

"You can interact...in any way that you desire within the constraints of what we've designed."

The branching narratives mean the choices you make affect subsequent play. You can even opt not to kill Colonel Kurtz, the reclusive quarry of Capt. Willard, played in the film by Marlon Brando. "It wouldn't be worth doing if we didn't offer that," says Montgomery.

How you deal with being driven off the path...determines your mental state, your emotional state and your psychological state.

Montgomery notes that the movie is based on Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness, and also on Homer's Odyssey.

The story of the protagonist's journey still has power for us, because each of us takes a journey in our own lives. We "encounter struggles that are unique...but also...have very significant commonalities with other people's," he says.

A still from Apocalypse Now, the video game. (American Zoetrope)

The Odyssey, Heart of Darkness, and Apocalypse Now all tell of a journey where the protagonist encounters obstacles.

"How you deal with being driven off the path...determines your mental state, your emotional state and your psychological state," notes Montgomery.

"In the context of a war, if you're Captain Willard, it helps you reach an understanding that war is about more than just pulling the trigger."