There Will Be An Apocalypse Now Video Game

Francis Ford Coppola's film studio American Zoetrope is teaming up with a crew of games industry veterans to build a psychological survival horror RPG based on his 1979 classic film Apocalypse Now.

Just let that sink in for a second.

"Forty years ago, I set out to make a personal art picture that could hopefully influence generations of viewers for years to come," Coppola himself said via press release. "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 video games 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."

That's right. Players will be taking on the role of Captain Willard and his mission to assassinate the horrifying renegade Colonel Kurtz. Over the course of the game, players will apparently be able to make decisions that influence the original narrative, though it's not clear how malleable it will be.

"We will create a game that challenges what an interactive experience can be; just as the original motion picture challenged the concept of cinema," claimed Montgomery Markland, veteran of a great many games projects, most recently contributing as lead producer on Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera. "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 the relatively static industry."

Markland is joined by Rob Auten, who has writing credits on the Gears of War, Battlefield, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy games. Auten also worked on The Vanishing of Ethan Carter alongside Tom Bissell, who actually outed Auten's work on Apocalypse Now back in 2013 during a New York Times interview. Josh Sawyer, design director at Obsidian Entertainment, is also working on the project as a special advisor in the areas of gameplay design and crowdfunding.

Speaking of crowdfunding, Apocalypse Now is heading to Kickstarter to begin its predicted three-year journey to release. "We're crowdfunding this game, because traditional producers would want to turn it into a shooter," said executive producer Lawrence Liberty during the Kickstarter pitch video.

It's very early days for the project, but given the subject matter and the people involved, we'll be keeping an eye on it--much as we have been since we caught wind of it way back in 2010.

"I remember telling my editor Walter Murch that the more he worked on Apocalypse Now, the crazier he would get. If you experience this game, perhaps it'll have the same effect on you?" said Coppola in the Kickstarter pitch video.