One of the most iconic war movies of all time is Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, released in 1979. Set during the Vietnam war, the film starred Martin Sheen as Captain Willard, who’s sent deep into the Cambodian jungle to assassinate rogue Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). Now Coppola has announced a video game adaption of the film, with his production company American Zoetrope working with the team of veteran game developers to bring the project to life, with the possibility of a virtual reality (VR) on the cards as well.
Directed by Montgomery Markland, executive produced by Lawrence Liberty and written by Rob Auten, Apocalypse Now – The Game features a team of creators, designers, directors, writers and producers who have worked on project like Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2, Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera, Everquest, DC Universe Online, PlanetSide, PlanetSide 2 and Star Wars Galaxies.
The project has launched a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign to bring the project to life, hopefully creating a psychedelic horror role-playing game (RPG) that will have players retreading Captain Willard’s steps. “We will create a game that challenges what an interactive experience can be; just as the original motion picture challenged the concept of cinema,” said Markland, in a statement. “We are making a game that we are excited to play. We will deliver a greater variety of experience and interaction than is currently available within the relatively static industry.”
Apocalypse Now – The Game puts an emphasis on actions and postures, rather than choosing the correct dialogue. While combat looks towards survival horror, with avoidance and stealth key mechanics. Progress must be cautious, with players having to manage limited resources; food, water, first aid supplies, anti-malaria medicine, drugs, ammo, weapons are vital and easily found in US controlled territory, but this is stripped away the further into the jungle they go.
The campaign wants to raise a minimum of $900,000 USD to make the project viable, but at this goal no VR will be available. It’s not until the stretch goals that VR gets included. These don’t start until $1.5 million rising all the way up to $3 million for a VR port. Funding tiers begin at $35 for a digital copy of the video game. Due to the projects official affiliation with American Zoetrope and Coppola, with higher tiers feature a wealth of goodies. The last three $4,000/$8,500 and $10,000 include props from the film.
“Forty years ago, I set out to make a personal art picture that could hopefully influence generations of viewers for years to come,” said Coppola. “Today, I’m joined by new daredevils, a team who want to make an interactive version of Apocalypse Now, where you are Captain Benjamin Willard amidst the harsh backdrop of the Vietnam War. I’ve been watching videogames grow into a meaningful way to tell stories, and I’m excited to explore the possibilities for Apocalypse Now for a new platform and a new generation.”
Apocalypse Now is estimated to launch in 2020, with early access coming in 2019 to correspond with the 40th anniversary of the motion picture’s original release. If the campaign hits the VR target VRFocus will let you know.
