Given that Kent Hudson has designed on games including Thief: Deadly Shadows, BioShock 2, and Deus Ex: Invisible War, it's perhaps little surprise that his first own game is a first-person, stealth-ish, story-exploring sort of thing. However, being indie means that he's free to make The Novelist about a ghost tinkering with the life of a writer who's struggling with his work and family, which sounds delightful.

The Novelist sees titular scribe Dan Kaplan retreating to a seaside house with his wife and son to write his next novel, only things aren't going so well. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, a curious ghost is around to read their thoughts and desires, and plant suggestions in their minds.

"It's up to you to decide how Dan's career and family life will evolve, but choose carefully; there are no easy answers, and every choice has a cost," the official site explains.

You'll need to sneak, because obviously the Kaplans will be more concerned about a haunting spectre than a father breaking a promise to build their son's pedal car. Being a ghost dad is tough.

Hudson isn't the only member of the immersive sim gang sticking with the genre but scaling it down after going indie. The BioShock 2 veterans at The Fullbright Company are also exploring family through observational storytelling in a single house with the fine Gone Home.

The Novelist is due on PC and Mac this summer. You can pre-order for $14.99, saving 25%.