Neil Gaiman is teaming up with the developers of PB Winterbottom

Novelist, comics writer and screenwriter Neil Gaiman, whose works include Coraline, Stardust and the Sandman comics, is now turning his gaze toward video games. As first revealed by Mashable and in the video above, posted by publisher Moonshark, Gaiman is partnering with The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom developer The Odd Gentlemen to create Wayward Manor, a multiplatform serial title for PC, Mac and tablet devices. The first chapter is due out this fall. The premise of the game involves players taking on the role of a ghost within a New England Victorian manor, as they attempt to scare away the house's living residents. "It's lighthearted, it's goofy, it's nice to flip points of view," Gaiman tells Mashable. "I was playing around with an idea essentially about a man and a house over a period of 200 years, thinking how much more fun it would be if the story of this relationship was actually something you could get involved in." In the video above, Gaiman discusses his choice to partner with The Odd Gentlemen, praising their previous games as having "expertly blended the macabre with the glorious -- which was exactly what I was looking for." A number of successful creators from other industries have branched over into games in the past, with varying degrees of success. Steven Spielberg, currently attached to oversee a live-action Halo series for Microsoft, served as original series creator for Electronic Arts' Medal of Honor, while more recently Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro saw his game project InSane cancelled by THQ several months ahead of the publisher's eventual collapse late last year. Gaiman spends the latter half of the video advertising the game's new website, which in addition to taking preorders also facilitates crowdfunding... with plenty of reward tiers, including a dinner with the author, of course. "We will have the single spookiest dinner anybody has ever had," Gaiman promises prospective backers, with the caveat: "...in Los Angeles."