When the world learned that a new Friday the 13th game was in the works, horror fans rejoiced. This was to be the most anticipated game of the year. Especially when it was learned that players could control the hockey masked psycho killer themselves…

G’Day. Rhiannon Elizabeth Irons, a.k.a Ahlephia, here with a rather special event. I’m not usually one to do interviews, but when Jason Voorhees is on the line, you better believe I’m packing my bags and hitting the road. I’m on my way to Camp Crystal Lake for an interview with Ronnie Hobbs, co-creator for Friday the 13th: The Game. Ronnie previously co-designed Breach & Clear, and consulted on major AAA titles for numerous publishers, including EA, Activision, Microsoft, Bethesda, and Sega. He also spent several years in the industry as a games journalist. His strengths are game theory, game production and all things horror.

So, without further ado, pull up your sleeping bags, and ensure you have an escape route all mapped out. It’s time to learn more about the return of Jason Voorhees.

REI: Could you please summarize the game; What’s it about and how did the original concept come about etc. for those people who have been living under a rock.

RH: Friday the 13th: The Game is a 1v7 asymmetrical multiplayer game, where one player controls Jason Voorhees while the remaining seven assume the role of Camp Counselors trying to survive the night. In a way, it’s like experiencing the final acts of a horror film, only with seven of your closest friends right there with you. Jason’s job is to eliminate everyone, while the Camp Counselors only job is to survive. It’s up to the individual to choose their side and play how they wish.

REI: The game was originally entitled Slasher Vol 1: Summer Camp; Who was your villain supposed to be prior to getting the Friday the 13th license?



RH: As you likely already know, we are lucky enough to be working with the legendary Tom Savini, and one of his original tasks was to design the killer in Slasher Vol.1: Summer Camp. The design process got put on hold when the Friday the 13th license holders approached us, so unfortunately Savini’s Summer Camp killer will never see the light of day.

REI: Seeing as the original title used the term “Vol 1”, is there any aspirations to create a horror survival multiplayer series based on other classic slashers?

RH: That was indeed our initial plan after the release of Summer Camp, and the fact that we were lucky enough to land the Friday the 13th license hasn’t deterred us from that line of thinking.

REI: Will this game be an open-world environment (can you travel to the town of Crystal Lake as well as other locations made famous by the films) and can you enlist the help of the police and townsfolk in order to survive?

RH: This is a semi open-world environment, but maps are still contained. Meaning the only way to escape the map is to repair the vehicles, or fix the phone and wait for aid from the local police. We do have 3 maps confirmed (Camp Crystal Lake, Higgins Haven, and Packanack Lodge), but places like towns or areas with an abundance of people tends to break our gameplay design. One of the key components that contributed to the success of the early films was the fact that Camp Counselors were cut off from help and isolated from any adults that could potentially save them. Of course that changed as the film series progressed, but that simple philosophy definitely applies to our game.

REI: Can Jason, and the counselors, use environmental objects to kill/defend themselves; ie a shovel, rock, tree branch etc.? More importantly, can I climb a tree to hide from Jason?

RH: Both. Jason has several ways to brutally dispatch Camp Counselors, with environmental objects definitely playing a major role. Walls, Rocks, Trees, Fireplaces, Toilets, and Doors are just a few examples. With Tom Savini designing the majority of our kills, it’s safe to say variety will never be an issue. As for Counselors, they can indeed find weapons to help defend themselves. The brave ones can even attempt to defeat Jason, but that’s not always the best strategy. Sorry, tree climbing is not a feature in our game.

REI: Damnit! Well, there goes my chance of survival. What was it like working with the likes of Sean S. Cunningham, Tom Savini, Kane Hodder and Harry Manfredini?

RH: Honestly, it’s been nothing short of incredible. You have to remember, we grew up worshiping Friday the 13th and other slasher films of that era, so at first it was truly surreal for us. Thankfully, these guys are absolute professionals in their respective fields, so the transition from films to video games has been pretty seamless. It’s funny, but the best part for us has been showing Sean, Tom, Kane, and Harry frequent updates on the game. That’s when they officially get to see their handiwork replicated in-game. Watching Kane hunt down and murder Counselors as Jason in our game is almost too incredible to describe. The same goes for seeing Tom react to all of his gruesome kills, or when Harry realizes how his music affects gameplay, both from Jason and the Counselor’s perspective. Sean is a little different of course. He gets to watch everyone’s work come together, so in a way he’s the final approval for everything. Luckily for us, he knows how much we love the franchise and that it’s in the proper hands.

REI: Will any of the voice over work be made by previous cast members of the films?

RH: Tommy Jarvis has been confirmed for our game, but we haven’t revealed which of the three actors who portrayed Tommy in the films will reprise the role in our game yet. Beyond that, stay tuned.

REI: You are such a tease. Why focus on the summer camp concept? Surely that’s been done to death (pun intended).

RH: The summer camp setting has indeed been done numerous times in films, but it’s fairly new to gaming world. In fact, the Slasher genre as a whole has yet to invade the gaming world, so honestly it just felt like the right time. As for why we specifically chose the summer camp setting, instead of creating an homage to Texas or Nightmare first for example, it was pretty simple… we felt the isolated environment that a summer camp setting provides fits our gameplay design the best.

REI: What has been the hardest part about developing this game?

RH: I think the most difficult aspect has been balancing our “Counselor versus Jason” gameplay. If the Counselors die too quickly that can cause frustration for the player, but if the Counselors live too long the match lacks tension and suspense. The same applies to Jason. He needs to be this ruthless, unstoppable killing force that projects fear and demands respect, but somehow not kill every Counselor instantly or at least not during the first encounter. So really that’s our biggest challenge, and it will be an aspect that get’s constantly retooled up until release.

REI: What is your favorite horror movie?

RH: Excluding Friday the 13th, of course. My top 3 are The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Suspiria, and The Thing.

REI: Be honest, if you were at Camp Crystal Lake and you were being stalked by Jason, how would you rate your chance of survival?

RH: 10/10 – Jason would never hurt one of his own.

REI: What was your reaction when you got word that Slashers Vol 1: Summer Camp was to become Friday the 13th?

RH: A lot of high-fiving, partying, and celebrating of course. Unfortunately, that only lasted about a day before the pressure set in. We realized that millions of Friday the 13th fans would soon be counting on us, so we went quickly back into work mode.

REI: You recently announced that the game was to be delayed due to adding a single player mode. What can us single gamers expect from this latest addition?

RH: Sure. The Single Player portion of Friday the 13th: The Game is essentially a collection of missions and challenges that will be played from Jason’s perspective. We haven’t revealed too many specifics, but anyone who is familiar with the Hitman franchise will know what to expect. We won’t have the deep story of that game, but missions and challenges will play out similarly. An example might be, “Jason needs to eliminate 10 Camp Counselors in under 3:00 minutes without being detected”. That’s just one small example of many gameplay scenarios that we can choose from. Plus, we added offline bots so that players can enjoy the standard multiplayer mode offline by themselves against computer A.I., so that’s a pretty big deal for certain players. The delay also allowed us to add new features and elements to the multiplayer version, with a playable Tommy Jarvis and the Packanack Lodge map headlining those additions.

REI: Can you give us a sneaky update on how the game is going?

RH: Development is going great. We are heading very close to beta, so before the end of the year fans will finally get the chance to play as Jason Voorhees…or, try to survive against him.

REI: Followers of my Twitter account would have noticed I was quite active recently, live tweeting all the Friday the 13th movies. I did tease that it would be awesome to have a future DLC pack that features Freddy Krueger so gamers could literally play Freddy Vs Jason. Hypothetically speaking, would that be something you’d look at doing if you were given the licensing for A Nightmare On Elm Street?

RH: A lot of gameplay elements would have to change to support that, so we would actually prefer to give Freddy his own game if the opportunity existed. That just feels like a better way to handle such a legendary IP, and the proper way to pay tribute to such a legendary horror icon. I think Freddy deserves that much.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Ronnie for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions. It is truly appreciated.

If you want to get in on the Friday the 13th action, you can still order the game here https://friday-the-13th-the-game.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

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