Welcome to the Family
Gun set out to once again put players in control of some of the most notorious names in horror. This time around, we brought the whole family.
Jake Kontau Art
jakekontouart.com
Asymmetrical, multiplayer horror is nothing new to Gun, creators of Friday the 13th: The Game. But working with a team of killers? Well, that’s a whole new world. While it is true that most folks seem to think of asymmetrical gameplay as 1 vs Many, in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the family is an important part of the story to tell. How each member of the family works within the greater team, well that’s completely up to you. A deep metagame and progression system will give you the tools to pick your place at the family table.
“The original Texas Chain Saw Massacre sent shockwaves through the film industry when it was released in 1974. It was violent, gruesome, and downright uncomfortable to watch at times. It was a masterpiece in dread. A lesson in filmmaking that comes along once a decade, if we are lucky. As a young boy hiding in my basement secretly witnessing this terror unfold, I was both horrified and intrigued. Watching Sally, Kirk, Jerry, Pam, and Franklin try to survive the Slaughter family's deranged combination of horror and comedy was unlike anything I'd witnessed before. It was at that moment I became a lifelong TCSM fan, and to this day it's always been a dream of mine to work on the franchise.
Now, nearly 50 years after the films' release, the fact that myself, along with my colleagues at Gun Interactive and Sumo Digital Nottingham, are tasked with creating a proper video game based on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is surreal to say the least. This will be the first licensed game since 1983. And for a whole new generation, it will be their entry into the horror and macabre that left an impression on me so many years ago. To say this is an honor would be an understatement.”
–Ronnie Hobbs, Creative Director, Gun Interactive
Introducing new, original family members is not something Gun takes lightly, as authenticity is a key factor in everything we do. How can the team maintain authenticity while adding new elements to the original property?
“Working with Kim Henkel has obviously been incredible. He has placed an extreme amount of trust in our team to deliver an experience that matches the tone and authenticity of the legendary film he helped create all those years ago. In order to accomplish this task we felt it was paramount to focus on the one key aspect that separates Texas from most any other horror franchise in existence. This is of course the Slaughter family itself. You see, Texas doesn't feature a singular killer. Texas is different. Texas is all about family. The Cook, the Hitchhiker, and Leatherface all have specific jobs to do and roles to play. Without each other, the family simply couldn't exist and operate efficiently for very long. So when it comes to creating a multiplayer horror experience based on this film, we knew the family dynamic had to be a top priority. How they interact, how they work together, and how they all have specific strengths and weaknesses would be the basis of the killer experience.”
–Ronnie Hobbs
There lies the tightrope at the heart of our game. Creating opportunities for you to feel like it is your Leatherface, or your Hitchhiker. Then creating new characters to fit seamlessly in with original favorites, while still focusing on accuracy and authenticity. But who are these new characters? Not so fast, we’ll get to that later.
“Of course, it was quickly apparent that we would need additional family members in order to create the type of team-based multiplayer experience we were after. As interesting as The Cook, Hitchhiker, and Leatherface are, three killers simply wouldn't be enough to sustain the game for long periods of time. We needed more. Luckily, Kim Henkel came through again to help us solve this issue. Kim had several ideas for additional characters that never made it into the 1974 film, but ultimately he allowed us to create new Slaughter family members on our own. This level of trust meant the world to me. I knew each new family member had to be unique and memorable, while at the same time looking like they belonged. To put it simply, they needed to stand out, but not in a negative way. While I can't discuss specific character details, I can say a considerable amount of time and work went into crafting each of the new killers. Each one took well over a year from start to finish, and it's an aspect of the game that myself and the team is quite proud of.”
–Ronnie Hobbs
We cannot wait for you to see what we have in store for you with a few familiar faces and introduce you to a few new additions to the family. As always, please consider following us on socials to stay in the know on the latest news and be sure to keep an eye on the Community Hub for future posts detailing the Family and Victims in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.