Zombie Studios' "Blacklight" game to become film, comic-book series

Longtime Seattle game developer Zombie Studios has landed a major deal that will transform the company over the next year.

Its upcoming futuristic military game "Blacklight" is being made into a feature film and comic-book series by Fox Atomic, a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment.

The deal is being announced today.

"We're hoping to graduate into the big league, frankly, with this one," Zombie co-founder Mark Long said. "Fox is a great partner to do that with. They're a big, well-integrated media company."

Long expects his 60-person company in downtown Seattle will add 30 to 40 employees.

"We are excited by the huge potential 'Blacklight' has to succeed across multiple platforms — theatrical features, comic books and video games," Fox Atomic President Debbie Liebling said in the release. "It offers us a remarkable franchise opportunity for film."

For about a year, Zombie has been developing "Blacklight," a game set 25 years in the future with a story line reminiscent of the movie "Apocalypse Now."

Here's how Long describes it: "You play an elite covert ops team that is sent after an American CIA colonel gone rogue who has lost all sense of restraint in his pursuit of the enemy. You're to either capture or kill him."

"Blacklight" is based on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 platform and uses a team tactical format, with four main characters. The special sauce includes a new, simplified way for players to switch characters, Long said.

Zombie has worked on lots of military-themed games since it was started in January 1994, including the government-funded "America's Army."

It also made several games adapted from movies, including ones based on Disney's "Atlantis" and action film "Ecks vs. Server."

The "Blacklight" deal is a twist on the typical movies-to-video games progression. Usually the movie becomes a game. Sometimes a game becomes a movie. Then there's the trend of comic books becoming movies and games.

With "Blacklight," Zombie now has a movie and comics deal, but it's still looking for a games publisher to finance and distribute the game.

Long referred to the Hollywood buzzword "transmedia," describing media franchises that are simultaneously developed for multiple platforms.

The same brand may even be used for different stories that appear in games, movies, comics and Web content.

The announcement said the film, game and comic-book versions of "Blacklight" "will feature the same characters and high caliber military action, but with unique, intersecting story lines that complement each other."

Starting with a game concept isn't so far-fetched, Long said, especially now that decisions are being made by studio bosses in their 30s who are gamers.

"I argue if you look at comic books and how they're being adapted for film, it's a pretty easy leap to look at video games before they are being developed and say that could or could not be adapted well for a feature," he said.

A date for the "Blacklight" movie and comic-book releases wasn't given, but they could appear in a year or two.

The game could be done around the same time.

Also participating in the project is Union Entertainment, a Hollywood-based talent and production company.

Brier Dudley: 206-515-5687 or bdudley@seattletimes.com