WAYWARD MANOR: Neil Gaiman's First Game Oozes Charm

Neil Gaiman has been quite busy of late, what with his recent Q&A tour, co-writing Guardians of the Galaxy with Brian Michael Bendis, and bringing one of his creations, Angela, over to the Marvel Universe proper. Now he's adding Game Creator to his already impressive resume, and the game is called Wayward Manor. He has partnered with The Odd Gentleman, makers of The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (a game that itself is incredibly charming and different) to construct a puzzle game that credits you with the task of scaring everyone out of your home. Think of it as the "I can't find a peaceful place in my house so everyone get out!" simulator, but ghostly. Plus, it has a butler, and any game with a butler is immediately more enjoyable (Fable 3 would not be as enjoyable without a Jarvis, and yes, I did actually enjoy Fable 3). 

"Set in a 1920s Victorian Gothic pastoral estate, WAYWARD MANOR players unravel the mystery of a ghost (player) seeking a peaceful after-life. After a remarkable cast of characters moves into Wayward Manor and wakes him from his post-mortem slumbers, the ghost must find ever-more inventive and brilliant ways to scare them away. As the ghost learns more about the living characters, he also learns more about his own death and after-life, and the danger they are all facing."

Watch Gaiman's pitch below.

You can head over to the official website and contribute towards the game via some Kickstarter like packages. $10 is mighty tempting to own the game, at least for me. Here is a bit more of what Neil had to say about the game (via his interview with Mashable) 

"Normally in a game, if you're in a haunted house, you are going to be walking through it intrepidly with your flashlight, your bell-book and candle, and your copy of the Necronomicon and you keep going until you find the ghost. In this one all you want to do is be left in peace with your lovely house and be left alone. I don't want to give anything away but it's safe to say you were killed in the 1880s and you were killed for a reason."

Sounds interesting to be sure. The game is aiming for a Fall 2013 release on PC and Mac, and if successful there will be future episodes, so if you're interested make sure to give it some support.