Good day to you all! The gamebook interviews keep pouring in. Here is Jamie Fry aka The Warlock, aka the webmaster of the official Fighting Fantasy website. He is also the creator of the Fighting Fantasy Collector website, which is no longer being maintained, but it is still a great resource for Fighting Fantasy material. Jamie also releases his Collector list every year. You can also follow him on Twitter. Here is the interview...
How has the last 12 months of being the Warlock of the
official Fighting Fantasy website gone?
Pretty much the same as it happens. I would like to find
more time to induldge but what with everything else I cannot seen to find the
time. The books are still as popular as ever and I get a steady flow of
enquiries. I have passed on a lot of merchandising enquiries onto Steve and Ian
lately but not sure where they are headed. It has been a quiet year for
outings as well as we do not get enough support from Icon books
which doesn't help.
What's the best thing about being the Warlock?
It is a great privilage and it humbles me .The fact that I
am called the Warlock is amazing. I sometimes feel like I have
special powers! That I get to hear about FF related news very quickly and
get to tell the world first (most of the time!) and I get to see and hear about
stuff before most people and I have good, direct contact with Ian and Steve.
Maybe I should exploit my position more? It does make me feel part of the team
and not just a fan. I should dress up and go on tour in Schools.
Is there anything big coming up that you're allowed to tell
us about?
No and No. Even if I did I would be under strict orders to
keep quiet, even the Warlock has gagging orders! Seriously though I am wanting
to see a few ideas floating around to become reality such as a board game and
the books turned into audio gameplay versions. I could at any moment receive an
e-mail asking me to launch something or other and it will be the first I have
heard of it as Steve and Ian like to keep things close to their chests right up
to the last minute. On a personal note as it is not official Warlock business,
I am having my Collector's guide made into an app, very early stages but all
the same exciting. You can definitely pass on that the House of Hell movie is
not going to happen. Fans want new books but that is falling on deaf ears,
maybe we should write official ones!
How is your Fighting Fantasy collection coming along?
Fine, although I am struggling to find the books locally as
I can only ever find them on-line. I seem to be amassing more artwork of late
but that is expensive to collect regulary. Extra special collectables with
provenace is what i am after now really as I have most things. Original artwork
seems to be released more often these days and more accessible but quite often
you have to make contact with the artists direct as these pieces rarely make it
to sites like ebay. I have started hunting down news articles and interviews as
well. I, like a lot of other investors are still waiting for the 'You are the
Hero', come on Jon! I really need to do the collection justice and display it
properly.
What kind of rare Fighting Fantasy merchandise do you think
more people need to know about?
i think it is the draft manuscripts that Steve and Ian etc
still have including the maps they have hand drawn in the planning stages. The
preliminary drawings for the interior and cover art. Sample books cover
never released and things like the early moulds and models from Clarecraft etc.
These things are rare and hard to come by. Iam sure there are still posters out
there I am not aware of.
Is there anything else that you are looking for?
Something from the personal collections of Ian and Steve I
haven't already got. I am starting to show interest in collecting the foreign
titles as well. I am still missing a few newer box sets, some of the
older software and the plastic figures are a few of of things still to
get.
What makes a gamebook stand out for you?
I am sure it is the artwork as I never get the same feeling
when I read other gamebooks without it. It sets the scene for me and I can imgine
myself immersed into that environment. It makes the book a much richer
experience to enjoy. It conjours up (I am the Warlock after all) other scenes
in my head and able expand the setting beyond the words. Good descriptions
otherwise are key.
What spoils a gamebook for you?
No artwork or even bad artwork. Bad writing and short
paragraphs and in contrast if the paragraphs are too long with little choice or
interaction.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to write a
gamebook for the first time?
Start to think about what genre, space, fantasy etc you
would like to write about. Start planning/creating your own world, places,
people, monsters, encounters, items, names, tests, traps etc. Think
of a storyline and about the setting and the maps, the terrain, how it will
flow and the different spin-offs that could be created in the story. The
hard part is putting it altogether and making it work. This is rich coming from
someone who has never written one so I feel unqualified really to
comment otherwise as the drivle above is my poor attempt at having a
go.
What is your wish for gamebooks?
Not sure as I am torn between more apps that put a new twist
on the original with new content and wanting new phsyical books to play. I for
one would like to see more merchandise.
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