Unnamed "Ghost Hunt" game Idea

[Sevenstitch]

Questions:
Is each scientist and ghost played by a different person, or is it one guy versus a computer?
I intend for it to be set up in a 5 vs 5 player scenario, all human players. I suppose if I ever get around to finding a programmer, bots for offline play would be an option to consider.
Do you intend to sprite the game yourself, or are you looking for someone else to collaborate with you?
I have been trying to sprite the game single-handed, but my free time is limited, so very little has actually been done. I've never collaborated with another artist, but design suggestions and mock ups would be appreciated. As for programming, I have virtually NO experience in any coding language, and programs like GameMaker and Construct confuse me, so I'll eventually need to find a programmer willing to take on the project. Keep in mind that I'll only go seeking one when I have a fair amount of resources to work with.
Suggestions:
You should consider making it 2D, I feel it would look much better that way.
I had intended to make it 2D, I would like the graphics to have a simple, low shaded look to them drawing insperation from games like Earthbound. I'm trying to not just copy the style though.
Ghost should be able to temporarily possess scientists, but it should cost a lot of energy for them to do so, they should be forced out either when they reach 25% energy, or if another scientist shines a flashlight on them, as a scientist they look normal, so they can sneak up on other scientists, and punch them and stuff. Possessed Scientists should automatically drop everything and be only able to punch/open doors.
I've considered this, but I kind of feel that players might get aggravated if the control of their character is suddenly given over to an opponent, especially several times in a match.
Flashlights should be what force ghosts out of items, the gun should only be used for firing the containers, instead of becoming permanently unusable, the illuminated item should have a cool-down time of two minutes before it is usable again.
I also considered this, but it kind of degrades the usefulness of the gun. The flashlight is simply meant to help you see in the level; I would like the level to be virtually pitch-black without the use of the flashlight, making it imperative to have battery power. The reason The gun is the item that captures ghosts, so it stands to reason that It would be able to expel ghosts from hiding places. Most items wouldn't have a very high resistance, and would force ghosts out rather quickly, but if a ghost ops to jump out of the item before that point, no damage will occur to them, so a ghost could repeatedly jump from item to item to escape crowded rooms.
I am aware that all of these things are buffs for the ghosts, and that is deliberate, for after reading your summary, I have gotten the impression that the scientists have a massive advantage tactically.
While it would seem like the scientists have a clear advantage, the ghosts have many freedoms that the scientists do not. One of the most important being that they can see in the dark, meaning they don't need flashlights. This is a serious advantage because ghosts at many points won't even have to be camouflaged in order to evade the scientists.
This game isn't meant be army vs army; its a game of cat and mouse, and only a clever mouse gets the cheese. All you have to do is outrun the cats for 10 minutes.