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Neil Gaiman reveals haunting-puzzler 'Wayward Manor,' his first video game

Neil Gaiman reveals haunting-puzzler 'Wayward Manor,' his first video game

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Neil Gaiman has written books, films, graphic novels, and even audio plays, and now he's stepping into the realm of video games. The acclaimed fantasy author has announced that he'll be collaborating with two game studios to produce Wayward Manor, a puzzle and adventure game made under his creative control. The title will throw players into the midst of 1920s New England, but they won't be out enjoying the speakeasies — they'll be dead, forced to haunt intruders out of their home.

"I try and find the right medium."

Gaiman said that the game is inspired by the "crazy, mordant, playful, funny, weird" films that he loved as a kid. The story had apparently been on his mind for some time, but he found that it just didn't make sense for traditional mediums. "I’m an author, although more specifically than that, I suppose I’m a storyteller," Gaiman said. "I try and find the right medium to tell the right story in."

Wayward Manor will be released on Windows, Mac, and unspecified "tablets" — though the mobile developer attached to the project has exclusively published games for iOS so far. The developers are aiming to release it by December of this year, but they're putting it up for a Kickstarter-like presale today. The game is being developed no matter how many copies are sold, but different purchase levels are available to entice buyers with some extra perks. The basic game is selling for $10, a digital art book and soundtrack will come alongside it for $35 more, and beyond that, T-shirts and limited edition posters are available for successively higher sums. Getting customers to drop more money than necessary on an unreleased game would be hard work for most, but Gaiman's legacy of great fantasy works should be all that Wayward Manor needs.