If not for its legal dilemma, Friday the 13th: The Game could be featuring a gameplay style akin to “Among Us”.
The game adaptation to the popular horror franchise Friday the 13th could have the success that some of its contemporaries enjoy. With a flair that sees a roster acting cooperatively against another for survival, games like it draw strength in engagement. The kind that a group of friends would easily substitute a popcorn movie for without regrets.
But despite its strong core appeal, the multiple game studio joint project is simply not meant to be. That is, following a legal dispute that sees its development seemingly put to a halt just a year post-launch. Yet, it’s situations like this that raises certain curiosities, especially of what could have been. As it appears, a lingering thought like that is not necessarily foreign to the game, more so to its creator.
From a Creative’s Perspective
Putting his sentiment on the matter, game co-creator Wes Keltner gave a piece of his mind on what could’ve been an exciting feature. This comes in a rather lengthy tweet via TwitLonger.
As per creator, the game was planned to have a game mode that is “kinda similar to Among Us”. Going on into details, the game designer raises a supposed feature called Paranoia. In it, all players would appear as Counselors in the game. Meaning, there’s no Jason to be wary of and survive from at the outset.
Common Feature
But what is an asymmetrical horror game with all but a killer in it? What is a game of cat-and-mouse, if what’s there are but only the mice, sans the feline? Yet, that’s where the similarity between the two aforementioned games draws from—one of the Counselors will inevitably turn into a villain.
Avid fans of Fortnite would probably seen the style already. Particularly, those who stuck around when the Battle Royale shooter tied-up with the Avengers by bringing Infinity War in it. During the event, a player can transform into Thanos by randomly coming across the Infinity Gauntlet. In similar fashion, Paranoia transforms a Counselor into Jason via a “Part 5” mask.
Mostly Fun
The shift, however, will not be visible from the outset. Thus, giving one of the players a sort of disguise as the witting villain. As suspense would be a dominating theme, participants are therefore put on their toes guessing who the killer is. Many, more or less, to their own intuition.
It is an interesting premise, especially for the genre, which Keltner himself attests. But he also comes into admittance that while it is so, the concept requires some more panning. “It had moments of fun, but needed more work”.
Image used courtesy of RabidRetrospectGames/YouTube Screenshot