It’s been a challenging journey for the creators of the wildly popular ‘Friday the 13th: The Game’, from a horribly mishandled launch that was rich with errors, bugs and server crashes that halted the game’s momentum.
Since then the game has improved. Glitches are being addressed, the server’s have improved and a chunk of the errors that haunted this game during it’s launch have been somewhat rectified.
Now, with rumors heating up that the game is preparing for a new DLC for the game which will introduce a storyline mode and possibly new maps, councilors and killers.
All it’s issues aside, the game is addictive and fun, a fresh breathe of air in what can be at times a stagnant gaming industry that churns out games that only slightly differentiate from popular titles and franchises.
So, as Friday the 13th preps for a new DLC, here are some additions the game could make to make the experience that much better:
1. Add Pamela Voorhees
This isn’t anything “earth-shattering” but it makes sense. Anyone who has seen the first ‘Friday the 13th’ knows that the killer was Jason’s mother, Pamela Voorhees.
Adding good ole’ Mom to the game as a killer has it’s challenges as Pamela doesn’t have the same supernatural abilities that her living dead son Jason does such as ‘Shift’, ‘Morph’, ‘Stalk’ and ‘Sense’.
But, with a little creativity, Pamela can be added and be effective. Maybe she doesn’t show up on radar because of an insanely high stealth ability, which could make up for the lack of ‘Shift’ or ‘Stalk’.
‘Sense’ could be added to make things more balanced. Nobody knows these camps better than Pamela.
To make things even more interesting, maybe Pamela can call police, once they are called by a counselor, to tell them that the prior call was a prank, thus negating a call to police.
Pamela can also disable cars and boats that have had a battery installed, making counselors go back to find another.
Pamela would be an even bigger nuisance if she could enter cabins and rummage through drawers, taking items such as car keys, knives, health sprays and phone fuses before counselors could.
It’s a different element to the game but is makes Pamela a threat and a legit killer. Maybe she has a rage mode that allows her to violently attack a counselor she has in her sights and perhaps a cloaking ability that allows her to sneak up to kill an unsuspecting counselor.
2. Add More Counselors, Maps & Jason’s, Crazy Ralph, & Create a Counselor
This goes without saying. The 3 maps (Packanack, Higgins Haven and Camp Crystal Lake) have been exhausted.
While the game is true to the movie’s roots, adding maps such as ‘Jason vs. Freddy’. ‘Jason X’, and even ‘Friday the 13th (2009), would help keep the game fresh. Fans have even asked for a small ‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ version to liven things up.
Create-a-Counselor would be a welcomed addition and add more value to CP/XP and perk rolls. In addition to perk rolls, you can roll for abilities and incorporate a balancing system that forces players to choose which perks work best for their counselor while sacrificing others.
The franchise is rich with counselors there should be a dozen more added to motivate players to continue their efforts to level up.
And please add ‘Crazy Ralph’ would would be an additional “scare” element much like someone stumbling upon a dead body. Having Ralp bicycle around, hide in closets only to expose hiding counselors or scream “you’re doomed, you’re all doomed”, seems like so much fun.
3. Add A Single Player Mode (Non-Storyline)
This should be playable from a few different vantage points; Pamela Voorhees, Tommy Jarvis, A counselor and Jason.
There are endless routes to go.
4. Add A High-Risk, High-Reward Sex Component
What is associated with campy horror movies such as the ‘Friday the 13th’ franchise series than sex, sex, sex?
Allowing the option for a counselor to “hook up” with another counselor could be a fun high-risk, high-reward element to the game.
Perhaps upon “completion” (no pun intended), the two counselors see a significant boost in speed, stamina and composure for a specific amount of time.
The catch? Well, this is high-risk meaning that during this action players will be unable to disengage for a specific amount of time and be far easier for Jason to track, making them much easier to find. Maybe it allows him to see where they are without ‘Sense’?
Food for thought.
5. Add More Than Tommy Jarvis
Calling Tommy Jarvis is fun and effective and an essential part of the game, but adding some of the other counselors who were able to thwart Jason Voorhees in the movies would be ideal.
Perfect candidates include:
Tina Shepard (Part 7)
Chris (Part 3)
Ginny (Part 2)
Alice (Part 1/ for Pamela Voorhees)
Creighton Duke (Jason Goes to Hell)