Broadcast media

Behind the scenes of Ghosts, an FMV-based game that can only be played once per day

Ghosts’ unique combination of FMV games and appointment TV

Hideo Kojima’s Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand and Ghostwatch, the cult ‘90s BBC faux documentary, are two things not often mentioned in the same breath. But they’re among the reference points raised during our conversation with Jed Shepherd, the filmmaker taking his first step into videogames with Ghosts. And if these inspirations seem an unlikely crossover, then the Venn diagram required to fully encompass Ghosts’ conceit – a “realtime live-action horror videogame” involving the makers of both Siren Head and Big Bird – is outright inconceivable.

Shepherd is certainly no stranger to high-concept horror. He was the co-writer of Host, a 2020 found-footage movie about a séance which played out entirely within a Zoom window. He’s reuniting with the core of that film’s cast for this project, where they’ll once again play five women pitted against a ghostly threat – in this case, the so-called ‘Long Lady’, a figure of urban legend said to appear at times of great tragedy, haunting one south

London street in particular.

The cast – and player – find themselves on that street thanks to a Most Haunted-style TV series on a struggling cable channel. (That Ghostwatch comparison may be starting to make itself clearer.) You will take on the role of “an overworked, underpaid producer” sitting in an outside broadcast van, with full control over the show’s live feed. You’ll be able to cut between footage from static cameras in each room, a roaming camera on the street outside, and the feed from each presenter’s phone as they explore the house, and to switch to pre-recorded interviews and “sketchy footage” of your supernatural quarry – or even just throw to adverts.

Ghosts is, in other words, an FMV game – a genre so maligned that even the game’s own promo video promises “we’re making one of those, but good”. Nevertheless, Shepherd tells us he has a genuine affection for the likes of Night Trap and Double Switch, as well as more recent, superior, entries in the genre. “Her Story is one of my favourite games,” he says, somewhat reassuringly.

That’s the live-action part of the description covered, then, but it’s the realtime aspect that holds the biggest twist. Just like the in-game TV show you’re producing, Ghosts will air at 10pm each night and then play out ‘live’, with no ability to pause. “You can’t just go away to get a drink and come back to the game five minutes later – you have to be ready,” Shepherd says. You’ll be penalised for leaving the game unattended. Adverts can buy you time, we’re told, but Ghosts wants to keep your eye on the screen even when you might prefer to look away.

There’s at least one reason why the latter option might be more sensible: the legend claims looking into the face of the Long Lady means death. Still, we’re willing to take the risk, given the talent involved in her creation. The design is by Trevor Henderson, the Canadian artist best known for creating Siren Head, while the Long Lady’s physical form is being fabricated by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, whose puppets recently graced the screen in Netflix’s Dark Crystal series. In-progress videos of the

ACTIVE DUTY

While you will sit in the chair as Ghosts’ producer, your role is set to be more than that of a passive observer. Each of the five presenters wears a heart-rate monitor that will warn you of impending danger, giving you the chance to call them to the safety of a Big Brother-style diary room – or, to look at it another way, it can alert you to a potential money shot. Audience figures provide a fail state almost as grave as letting your presenters die, and the challenge will lie in balancing the two. “You’ve got to keep them alive. Look out for the Long Lady. Keep the show afloat,” Shepherd says. And then there’s the matter of the strange noises in the van around you…

creature have started to arrive from the LA studio – and the final result, Shepherd clarifies, “is very, very unlike a Muppet”.

While Ghosts isn’t due out until February 2022, Shepherd is keen to make use of this creation before then: “There will be something else about the Long Lady that comes out towards the end of the year, to supplement the story you see in the game.” He’s got plenty of plans, even though the project is still at the crowdfunding stage – at the time of writing, Ghosts is just shy of its funding goal on Kickstarter. But Shepherd is bullish about its chances, and promises that there’s a backup plan in place to ensure the project comes to fruition regardless. In fact, he’s already talking about what comes next. “Maybe there are other episodes of Ghosts. Maybe there are other shows on this cable channel,” he says. “A film version is something I want to explore. I want it to live in other media.” These transmedia experiments have already begun, we’re told. “I have to be careful about what I’m saying,” Shepherd says, “but some of the actions you take in the outside world affect what happens within the game, and that starts right from the Kickstarter.”

As a found-footage enthusiast, Shepherd is keen to blur the lines between fiction and reality. Which brings us back to Boktai. Shepherd says the Game Boy Advance game, which had a photometric light sensor built into its cartridge, is one of his biggest inspirations for Ghosts. “Because you played a vampire hunter, you had to go outside and use the real Sun’s rays to play – and that always stuck with me.” We’re starting to see what it and Ghostwatch have in common. “That interactivity between the real world and the fictional world,” Shepherd says, “is so interesting to me.”

Ghosts will play out live, with no ability to pause. You’ll be penalised for leaving the game unattended