Das Boot is getting a VR game
Boats on the ground.
Okay, stop everything. Das Boot is headed to VR. The legendary German U-boat movie from 1981 is resurfacing as a TV series in late 2018, and Remote Control Productions will be developing what sounds like the prototype for a virtual reality game in parallel.
Seeing that the movie is essentially set in a small corridor, this should be quite an easy fit for VR. Sure enough, a press release sent out this morning promised "oppressive narrowness", which is instantly my new favourite video game feature. I'm assuming it will also feature sweaty men with fabulous beards and a soundtrack composed of three people yelling "Einundzwanzig" in a loop.
In case you haven't seen it, Das Boot tells the story of the U-boat U-96 and its crew in the second world war. It's thrilling and oppressive and the team had to make a special camera to shoot smoothly within such cramped confines. Das Boot also gave a young Wesley Yin-Poole one of his favourite techno tracks. Testify:
"We're proud to bring one of the strongest German movie IPs ever to the world of gaming," says Hendrik Lesser, the CEO of Remote Control Productions, who goes on to suggest Das Boot might be coming to other "platforms" too.
Apparently, the VR game will have a strong emphasis on the movie's anti-war theme. Remote Control Productions has previously worked on games like Doghotel, Bus Simulator 16 and Cathotel.