Yes, Have Some

Ghostbusters again? So soon?

Well yes! We have an update on the new animated streaming series and I got to run a one-shot of my homebrew/kitbashed Ghostbusters AD for some very special friends last week. What better reasons do I need? 

Ghostbusters: Night Shift

New information and some concept visuals for next year's animated streaming series Ghostbusters: Night Shift were unveiled by Ghost Corps, Sony Entertainment, and Netflix at the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival and here's what we know: 

The story takes place in New York City in 1994, five years after the events of Ghostbusters II. A new supernatural menace arises and a group of scrappy, young New Yorkers find themselves in the middle of the madness. Some aspects I find particularly interesting are the Proton Packs being cobbled together, the Terror Dog Puppy, and their vehicle, the Ecto-94.

Check out the details here and here. More info keeps trickling out and GB fans are all over the scant data we have, so expect further in-depth analysis coming in the next fews days [and beyond]. 

While I find some of the creative choices a bit peculiar, I am intrigued. I like some of the character ideas and how they get their equipment, as well as the descriptions of the few paranormal entities mentioned. They sound honestly scary and while the creative team has assured us that the series is most definitely a comedy, I'm personally happy to hear the ghosts will be appropriately spooky.

I've got a positive feeling about this so far. It's not exactly what I was hoping for but its premise is interesting enough to peek my curiousity. I am also just happy to see the franchise expanding. Ghostbusters has always been a universe ripe for expansion, as evidenced by the Real Ghostbusters animated series, the original West End Games RPG, and of course the various Ghostbusters Fan Clubs. 

Speaking of which, check out WhoYouGonnaCall.Org for a listing of over 320 Ghostbusters Franchises worldwide. It isn't complete however, as I noticed none of the Japanese franchises are listed. Very likely the site covers the greater connected Ghostbusters fan community and the Japanese, for example, don't connect with the American groups all that often.

On the subject of Japanese Ghostbusters fans...

My friend Yasa, whom Barking Alien readers may remember from our games of Goblin Slayer, Meteor City - Star Rainy Days, and his running of our co-designed adventure for Ghostbusters: Tokyo Ghost Research, has been in California for two weeks visiting relatives. His first time in the USA in many years as I understand it.

With the two of us being in more reasonably related time zones, it seemed a shame to waste the opportunity to play something together [over Discord]. We actually got in two games, the latter of which was Ghostbusters AD - my homebrew/kitbash of West End's original, InSpectres, and the ALIEN RPG by Free League. 

We had four players with myself as GM and set the game in Yasa's hometown of Chiba City in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Everyone had a blast and I'll probably do a full write-up of it in the near future. 

This definitely won't be my last Ghostbusters post this Summer.

AD

Barking Alien