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Friday the 13th: The Computer Game

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For the 2017 video game, see Friday the 13th: The Game.
Friday the 13th
Developer(s)Domark[2]
Publisher(s)Domark
Platform(s)Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum
Release1986[1]
Mode(s)Single-player

Friday the 13th: The Computer Game (often shortened to Friday the 13th) is the first game adaptation based on the films of the same name. It was released in 1986 by Domark for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.[2] The game was released on floppy diskette and cassette tape. The player's goal is to find and kill Jason, while making sure their friends or they themselves are not killed by Jason.

Gameplay

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The player can roam freely around the scenery and walk both inside and outside buildings. Jason, as well as other characters, do the same. It is the player's task to make sure their friends do not get killed by Jason, who often appears disguised as one of them, unless he is hit once and becomes visible as a man dressed in black.[3] Various improvised weapons (e.g., a chainsaw, a pitchfork, a machete, etc.) are scattered around the camp and inside various buildings such as a barn, a church and a cabin. Once picked up, they can be used to confront Jason.[4] There are five levels in the game and each time the player assumes the role of another character. The character assignment is random at the start of the round.[4] The game uses an early pseudo-3D view along with a more traditional side view, depending on the character's location.[4] The game also features a "fear meter", in the form of a blonde woman's head with hair standing on end, to symbolize the player character's level of fright at the time.[4][5] Unlike the later Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) title, the game included scenes of gore consistent with the film franchise.[4] For example, when a character is killed by Jason, sometimes there is a scream followed by a quick cut to a graphic image of a machete embedded into their head.[6][4]

Development

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Domark based the game on Friday the 13th Part 2.[7] The game was revealed to journalists at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in London, England. In the cellar of the pub, Dominic Wheatley, co-founder of Domark burst through a solid door dressed as Jason and holding a cleaver, scaring the assembled journalists.[8] According to The Games Machine, some magazines refused to run ads for the game due to the game's graphic packaging;[9] Crash ran ads for the game and prominently featured Jason Voorhees on the cover of issue #23, which caused the magazine to receive many complaints from parents, including one woman who also wrote to the Press Council about the incident.[10] Computer Gamer described the game's advertising as being "the subject of much controversy";[11] in March 1986 it was reported that ads for Friday the 13th were withdrawn by Domark due to complaints about their violent content, and the cover was redesigned.[12] Another redesigned version of the cover was used for copies sold at John Menzies stores,[9][13] omitting the knife.[14]

In regards to the game's controversial marketing and the criticism that children can buy the game, Dominic Wheatley stated that "Many X-rated films are accompanied by books which are often more vivid in their descriptions and yet under 18s can buy those. We are trying to amuse people — Friday the 13th will not incite anyone to run around and hurt someone."[13]

The game came packaged with two capsules of fake blood,[15] which was omitted when Prism Leisure re-released the game as a budget title.[9] To promote the game, Domark ran a trivia contest in Amtix magazine, with two winners receiving a "ghost hunting" trip to New York.[16] In a 1987 interview, Mark Strachan, co-founder of Domark, called the game "something I'd rather forget about", and said that the game's quality issues stemmed from being made by inexperienced programmers.[17]

Reception

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The game's main appeal was the obvious horror elements, which included atmospheric music and digitized screams.[5][6] Some criticized that it changed elements from the franchise, such as Jason being dressed all in black, which has nothing in common with his appearance from the movies.[6]

The game received otherwise negative reviews, regardless of the platform. Zzap!64 gave it 13%,[28] Your Sinclair gave it 3/10,[26] Crash 32%[24] and Sinclair User 4/10.

In 1987, Crash called Friday the 13th "one of the worst tie-ins ever".[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Candy, Robin (December 1987). "Tie-Ins Part One". Crash. No. 4. Newsfield Limited. p. 36. ISSN 0954-8661.
  2. ^ a b "Friday the 13th: The Computer Game". IGN. Imagine Games Network. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. ^ John Squires (21 August 2014). "Remembering the 'Friday the 13th' Video Game That Time Forgot". Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Bernard Perron (2018). The World of Scary Video Games: A Study in Videoludic Horror. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 45, 223, 224 443. ISBN 978-1501316197.
  5. ^ a b Bernard Perron, ed. (2009). Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play. McFarland. p. 33. ISBN 978-0786441976.
  6. ^ a b c Judge Greg (1 December 2014). "Friday the 13th for Commodore 64". Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  7. ^ Spencer, Jeremy (December 1985). "D-D-Domark's N-N-New G-G-Game... Friday the 13th!". Crash. No. 23. Newsfield Limited. pp. 146, 148. ISSN 0954-8661.
  8. ^ "Domarketting a Game". Crash. No. 29. Newsfield Limited. June 1986. p. 51. ISSN 0954-8661.
  9. ^ a b c Gilbert, John (February 1988). "The Chainstore Massacre". The Games Machine. No. 3. Newsfield Limited. pp. 93, 94. ISSN 0954-8092.
  10. ^ Mangram, Lloyd (February 1986). "Lloyd Mangram's Forum". Crash. No. 25. Newsfield Limited. pp. 31, 32. ISSN 0954-8661.
  11. ^ a b Hamlett, Gordon (April 1986). "Friday the Thirteenth". Computer Gamer. No. 13. Argus Specialist Publications. p. 68.
  12. ^ "Gremlin". Sinclair User. No. 48. EMAP Business & Computer Publications. March 1986. p. 114. ISSN 0262-5458.
  13. ^ a b "Friday 13: too violent". Sinclair User. No. 56. EMAP Business & Computer Publications. January 1986. p. 7. ISSN 0262-5458.
  14. ^ "Censored!". The Games Machine. No. 20. Newsfield Limited. July 1989. pp. 54, 55. ISSN 0954-8092.
  15. ^ a b "C+VG FEB Software Reviews - Friday the 13th". Computer + Video Games. No. 52. February 1986. p. 35. ISSN 0261-3697.
  16. ^ Spencer, Jeremy (December 1985). "Aaaaarrrgh!!!". Amtix. No. 2. Newsfield Limited. pp. 46–48. ISSN 0952-3022.
  17. ^ Eddy, Richard (February 1987). "Mark Strachan - The man who put Mark into Domark". Amtix. No. 16. Newsfield Limited. pp. 80, 81. ISSN 0952-3022.
  18. ^ "La venganza de Jason - Friday the 13th". Micromanía (in Spanish). No. 10. Hobby Press. March 1986. p. 18. ISSN 9955-8726.
  19. ^ "Slasher". Commodore Horizons. Scot Press. February 1986. p. 15. ISSN 0265-4164.
  20. ^ Doyle, Eric (February 1986). "Friday the 13th". Your Commodore. No. 17. Argus Specialist Publications. p. 50. ISSN 0269-8277.
  21. ^ Hamlett, Gordon (January 1986). "Friday the 13th". Computer Gamer. No. 10. Argus Specialist Publications. p. 73.
  22. ^ Gilbert, Jason (April 1986). "Friday the 13th". Sinclair User. No. 49. Sportscene Specialist Press. p. 33. ISSN 0262-5458.
  23. ^ Moss, Andy (26 December 1986). "Horror story". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 5, no. 1. Sunshine Publications. p. 17. ISSN 0265-0509.
  24. ^ a b "Friday 13th". Crash. No. 29. Newsfield Limited. June 1986. p. 130. ISSN 0954-8661.
  25. ^ Lacey, Eugene (January 1986). "Screen Scene - Friday the 13th". Commodore User. No. 28. EMAP Business and Computer Publications. pp. 28, 29. ISSN 0265-721X.
  26. ^ a b Hughes, Gwyn (May 1986). "Screen Shots - Friday the 13th". Your Sinclair. No. 5. Sportscene Specialist Press. p. 3. ISSN 0269-6983.
  27. ^ Zimmermann, Bernd (May 1986). "Friday the 13th The Computer game - der flop des tages Friday the 13th" [Friday the 13th The Computer game - the flop of the day Friday the 13th]. Aktueller Software Markt (in German). Tronic-Verlag. p. 18. ISSN 0933-1867.
  28. ^ a b Gary Penn; Paul Sumner; Julian Rignall (February 1986). "Friday the 13th". Zzap!64. No. 10. Newsfield Limited. p. 37. ISSN 0954-867X.
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