GHOSTS - The Real-Time FMV Horror Game

GHOSTS is an upcoming real-time full-motion video (FMV) game that can only be played at 10pm in your local time zone.

Aiming to truly chill your blood and send FMV games screaming into the modern-day. This game by Jed Shepherd (writer and exec producer of HOST) takes its inspiration from Nigel Kneale and the blurring of fact and fiction from found footage movies of the last 25 years.

Starring the fantastic cast of HOST - Haley Bishop, Radina Drandova, Jemma Moore, Caroline Ward and Emma Louise Webb, GHOSTS features terrifying creature design by Trevor Henderson (SirenHead) and fabricated by the incredible Jim Henson’s Creature Shop (Labyrinth / The Dark Crystal).

How it came about

Last Halloween, frustrated by the UK lockdown, Jed turned to video games for escapism. Looking into horror games to scary himself and rediscovering FMV games of the 90s with a focus on games that dared to be different pushing the capabilities of the game systems.

“It suddenly dawned on me what I had to do - I had to make a live-action video game starring my friends Emma, Haley, Jemma, Radina and Caroline and make it as scary as hell. I want to make you afraid of even looking at your Nintendo Switch but feel absolutely compelled to play the game anyway to help the ladies survive.”

The Story

You play as the TV producer of the failing cable channel called FrighTV. Their flagship show is GHOSTS, and it is the only thing anyone watches on the channel. Back in its heyday GHOSTS once had viewers glued to their screens following the action of a team of eager ghost hunters exploring haunted locations around the country.

The show is LIVE, so you will have to think on your feet at every moment to keep things interesting whilst worrying about the safety of the cast exploring the location and strange noises surrounding your production van. Just the thought of the urban legend The Long Lady has had residents in chills for decades.

In front of you, you will have all the camera feeds and heart rate monitors for the cast. You will get to choose what gets sent to the LIVE feed and this can affect the future of the show. Also, to hand you have access to various documents, videos and audio files collected over the years by the local community which you can use to decipher the grave situation and hopefully help to stop the horrifying events from unfolding.

The full terrifying real-time version of the game is only playable at 10pm in your local time zone. If you load up the game before 10pm you will be met with a classic test card. If you can crack the ‘test’ you will have access to an unlockable pre-watershed version where you can breathe and save your progress, but once you hit 10pm all bets are off! There are consequences for all your choices though. Playing it safe is not always the best option!

If you at any point you stop playing or the game notices the lack of moment your session will end with the cast being killed off. You are responsible for the lives of all involved so that means no bathroom breaks, make sure you have got snacks and stay hydrated.

Learn more and back the project on Kickstarter:

GHOSTS is in development and is set to be released on all formats in early 2022.

GHOSTS

Release Date: 22nd February 2022

Platforms: Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox

Genre: FMV

Written and Directed: Jed Shepherd

Staring: Haley Bishop, Radina Drandova, Jemma Moore, Caroline Ward, Emma Louise Webb

In Partnership with: Visible Games, Limited Run Games