Jed Shepherd, writer and executive producer of 2020’s genre phenomenon Host, has partnered with Visible Games & Limited Run Games to launch a Kickstarter in hopes of developing a full motion video, horror game called “GHOSTS.”
The game will be a live-action game in the vein of games like “Night Trap,” “Phantasmagoria,” and “The 7th Guest” with a twist, in that it takes place in real-time, meaning you will be required to play the game at 10 pm in your local time zone. The game takes inspiration from Manx screenwriter Nigel Kneale’s works, and the blurring of fact and fiction in the found footage movies from the last 25 years. However, just because it looks to the past for inspiration, Shepherd makes it very clear that the goal is to bring this oft-forgotten genre of game into the modern era.
The game reunites Shepherd with the cast of Host and will star Emma Louise Webb, Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Radina Drandova, and Caroline Ward, who play a team of ghost hunters and the stars of the fictional series GHOSTS. The once-successful series drew millions of viewers on a major network only to be dropped after a rating decline. After a few years of appearing on various freeview channels, the series was scooped up as the flagship series for failing cable network FrightTV. In the game, players will take on a FrightTV producer’s role, operating the outside broadcast van for series.
Your job is to ensure the team’s safety during a “live” broadcast as they explore the urban legend of The Long Lady. Terrorizing a neighborhood for decades, The Long Lady appears in times of tragedy and peers into the windows of houses along the street. It’s said that if you look directly at her face, you die.
As the producer, you’ll have access to all of the camera feeds streaming from the location, as well as heart rate monitors for the cast. What gets sent to the LIVE feed is your choice and can affect the show’s future (and perhaps the safety of the cast). In addition to ensuring the team’s safety, you’ll also need to keep viewers entertained. Thankfully you’ll have a few tricks to employ to help ‘spice up’ the live show.
You’ll also have various documents, videos, and audio files, collected throughout the years from the community that you’ll need to decipher to help understand more about the legend of The Long Lady and perhaps stop something horrifying from unfolding.
Being in real-time means the game will also pick up on lack of interaction. Leave your post for a bathroom break or a snack, and you may return to find your cast has been killed.
As of this writing, the game’s Kickstarter has raised just over $80,000 of its $226,157 goal with 25 days left in the campaign. A pledge of £15 (about $21) will score you a digital copy of GHOSTS on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, or STEAM along with your name in the credits. Physical copies of the game on the Nintendo Switch or PS4 are available at £40 (about $55) or more. If backed, the game is scheduled to be released in February 2022. To back the project or see the full range of pledge rewards, visit the GHOSTS – The Real-Time FMV Horror Game Kickstarter page.
