Meet the Ghost Camp team!

We’re a small indie team of seven developers working fully remotely, with most of us based in Scotland. While we now work from different places, our story started in Dundee, where we all first met as students at Abertay University. Back then, we were just a group of classmates making games together and somehow, despite the chaos that usually comes with group projects, we liked working together enough to keep doing it.

Originally, we created a student game built around some similar ideas, although that version never made it to release. Once university ended, we realised we weren’t quite ready to let the concept go, so we decided to keep building together. After a few changes, a lot of learning, and more than a few late nights, that original idea slowly evolved into what has now become Forest of Deceit.

The team behind Ghost Camp:

• Thomas Mackinnon – Designer / Producer

• Sam Flint – Lead Programmer

• Lewis Thomson – Programmer

• Claire McDonald – Programmer

• Elenora Pihlajisto – Environment Artist

• Allanna Maitland – Character Artist

• Oli Lerigo-Smith – Music & Sound Effects

The inspiration for the game came from our love of social deduction games - the kind where trust disappears quickly and betraying your friends somehow becomes the best part. Board games have been doing that brilliantly for years, but when we first started exploring this idea back in 2018, there were far fewer video games capturing that same kind of tension. Now, with games like Among Us and shows like The Traitors proving just how fun deception can be, it feels like the perfect time to bring our own version into the mix.

And, for at least some of us, there was another unexpected influence: an old CBBC reality show called “Trapped!” (IYKYK)

One of the biggest goals for Forest of Deceit has always been making sure that literally anyone can play it. Some social deduction games can be difficult for complete non-gamers to jump into, even when they’re fantastic. We wanted to create something that still delivers that deliciously suspicious experience, but in a way that lets you invite in friends, family, or anyone else you feel like accusing.

Honestly, one of the things we’re most proud of is simply that we’ve made it this far. Anyone who has ever tried to finish a side project while balancing full-time jobs knows how hard that can be. For a long time, Forest of Deceit was something we could only work on one day a week, so the fact that we’re finally approaching the finish line together means a lot to all of us.

As for team traditions, one of our favourite long-running jokes comes from our university days. A lecturer once described the moment in a team project when members try to overthrow the leader as “storming.” For some reason, that wording made everyone laugh, and ever since then threatening to #Storming the project lead has become part of Ghost Camp history.

Also, there’s Geoff. Geoff is a demon who occasionally appears in the background of the game.

We love Geoff.

Right now, Thomas is working on the final narration script for the game, one of the last pieces needed to bring the world fully to life with the help of a real voice actor, which never stops being exciting to say!

More than anything, we can’t wait for players to experience that perfect moment when someone you were absolutely certain was innocent turns out to be the traitor all along. Structured heartbreak!