Sunday, March 27, 2022

News for March 2022 and upcoming news for April 2022

 Hello all!  Here is this month's news.


Gamebook releases

Lone Wolf

You can now get the Definitive editions of Lone Wolf 4, Chasm of Doom and Lone Wolf 5, Shadow on the Sand. Definitive Editions – Magnamund - Holmgard Press

Adam Mitchell

Adam Mitchell is releasing another D66 gamebook, A Bullet is Forever. The book is set in World War II. It will first be available on Amazon.

Amazon.co.uk: Adam Mitchell: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle

Choose Your Own Adventure

To celebrate Pi Day (March 14th), Choose Your Own Adventure is releasing The Dregg Disaster: An Algebra 1 Gamebook by Chris Matthews.

Algebra I teacher Chris Matthews guides students through Algebra I lessons in this unexpected framework: each choice you make leads to an equation unlocking the next chapter of YOUR adventure with the nefarious Dregg corporation, and brings you one step closer to undoing their evil actions, and becoming an Algebra I Wizard!

The book is out in October.

The Dregg Disaster: An Algebra 1 Gamebook – Chooseco LLC (cyoa.com)


RPGs

Advanced Fighting Fantasy

This is not new but Andrew Bartlett has made an Advanced Fighting Fantasy module called Viscera which is a collection of how adventurers can get scarred and injured.

Viscera 1.02 280317.pdf - Google Drive

Arion Games has released Return to the Pit miniatures

Advanced Fighting Fantasy Minis: Return to the Pit Set IV - Arion Games | Kapsalis Miniatures | Advanced Fighting Fantasy | DriveThruRPG.com


Crowdfunding

Destiny's Roll

KALEIDOSCOPE FRENZY is the fifth book in the DESTINY'S ROLE adventure gamebook series and is the long-awaited sequel to FRAGILE BEAUTY which appeared in DESTINY'S ROLE 0: ZERO TO HERO. FRAGILE BEAUTY was a modern day-set hard boiled detective adventure concerning the mysterious disappearance of a young woman. KALEIDOSCOPE FRENZY follows on from that adventure, allowing the player to continue the story using the same character or, like all DESTINY'S ROLE gamebooks, KALEIDOSCOPE FRENZY can also be played stand alone with no previous knowledge of FRAGILE BEAUTY, but the concept is that the FRAGILE BEAUTY case greatly increased the fortunes of your character, to the extent that work is now in ample supply. 

Destiny's Role 4: Kaleidoscope Frenzy by Mark Lain — Kickstarter


Social media

Joe Cheal has set up a Facebook group for his gamebook series, Imaginarium Gamebooks. You can find it here.

There is a forum here with gamebook playthroughs:

In The Trenches - The Gaming Den (tgdmb.com)


Podcasts

Instadeath Survivors'Support Group

This month, we have had episodes with Jeremy Morgan who was part of  the Pericle team, a playthrough of Steam Highwayman and some news reports from me.

Future episodes will be with the authors of the Lone Wolf definitive editions.

You can get the episodes here

Welcome to Instadeath Survivors Support Group by Instadeath Survivors Support Group (anchor.fm)

For early access to ad free episodes and bonus content, you can support Brian on Patreon.

Brian Hazzard is creating A podcast about gamebooks and the readers who adore them | Patreon

Fantastic Fights

This podcast is currently playing through Masks of Mayhem.

Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph

Campaign on Dice

The podcast is revisiting The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

Campaign On Dice – Podcast – Podtail


Google Alerts

I have a weekly Google alert for "gamebook". Normally, the links I get are all about golf game books, but last week I got a link about how the Infosec Institute won an interactive fiction award for a gamebook about infosec: InfoSec Institute Wins Best in Class Award for Choose Your Own Adventure® Security Awareness Games (itnewsonline.com)



Sunday, March 20, 2022

Orphaned sections and their uses

 Hello gamebookers! If you haven't already voted for the Lindenbaum competition, there are 16 days left, so please vote!

Today, I wanted to list all the uses of orphaned sections. For this post, I'm defining an orphaned section as a section that is not mentioned in any other section. You are never told in the gamebook to turn to it from another section. 

It sounds like orphaned sections wouldn't be needed. I mean, the whole point of a gamebook is to turn to sections, after all? 

Nope, it turns out that there's lots of reasons for them.


To start the book

I suppose you are told to turn to this section at some point in the book, but not from another section. People have to start somewhere, both metaphorically and literally, so the start section has to be an orphaned section for this reason.

To make up numbers

You have finished your gamebook and it's 399 sections long. Maybe you like round numbers, so you stick in a short section that sounds like its something that someone would read, but it's unreachable. There, you now have 400 sections. This is actually true of Fighting Fantasy 1 - The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Section 192 is an orphaned section. 

Answers to riddles

Creatures in gamebooks like asking riddles with numbers as answers, which is very convenient because then you can just turn to the section that is the answer. You also have to state that if the section makes no sense, then it's the wrong answer and the return to the original section (or another section with a wrong answer). If you really want a particular riddle, but the answer is bigger than the largest section number or another important section is the answer, you could tell people to multiply the answer by 2 or add X or some other function. 

To represent a word

Maybe your character needs to give a password or someone's name. Well, you can use that as an answer by doing the old A=1, B=2, C=3... trick. This way, you can convert a word into a number.

To prove you have an item

Some gamebook items have numbers associated with them to open up secret sections. These items used to have numbers carved onto them, but some people wanted more creative reasons to have a number associated with an item (I mean, after all, how many of your possessions have numbers carved into them?). For example, being associated with a number (like how many years old it is) or a person or place is associated with it (in which case, use the A=1, B=2 trick). 

If the item has more than once use, then one use could involve its number, one could involve multiplying its number by another number or adding or subtracting another number from it.

If you need 2 secret items, then you could add their numbers (such as in Siege of Sardath with the potions or the rings)

To find out what certain items do

If you have a mystery potion or other item in a gamebook and you want to increase the tension by not telling someone what they do, then you can tell them that they can find out the results by turning to a certain section. This is fun (for the writer) and tense (for the reader).

To find out what certain stat changes do

Some stats are significant if they reach a certain value (usually 0) and if they don't automatically mean death (which sometimes doesn't require its own section), then they will require their own section. To be fair, they still usually mean death, just a different kind of death (such as committing seppuku in Sword of the Samurai or running out of time in Slaves of the Abyss), but sometimes, they might mean something else has happened (such as reducing your Ferocity to 0 in Crimson Tide).

To find out what are in certain places

It can be boring having sections that constantly ask if you want to go left or right or open a door, so one way of saving sections for more interesting things is having maps with section numbers on them, such as in this map from Grailquest 3. 





To be all meta and tell you that you have won without you playing the gamebook


Finally, this little gem, Inside UFO 54-40, mentions that you cannot reach the end in any conventional sense and it is right. The winning section is an orphaned section that you can only read by flicking through the book. Cunning twist, Mr Packard!


Sunday, March 13, 2022

AFF2 monster - Mothman



The mothman is seven feet tall and has a 10 foot wingspan. Mothman sightings usually occur before or after a disaster in the area where the disaster took place.

MOTHMAN

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED:  1

LOCATION:  Anywhere

REACTION:  Unfriendly

INTELLIGENCE:  Average - High

CREATURE TYPE:  Humanoid

SKILL:                      7

STAMINA:               12

LUCK:                      7

MAGIC:                    0

MAGIC POINTS:     0

SKILLS: Strength 3, Awareness 3,

WEAPON: Large claws

ARMOUR: Light

SPECIAL:

Flight: The mothman can fly.

Glowing eyes: The mothman can make their eyes glow at will (as the spell)

Disaster sense: Whenever a disaster is just about to happen or has just happened (up to a week) in a mothman area, roll a die. On the roll of a 1, then a mothman will turn up.

Sunday, March 6, 2022

Conspiracy theories part 2

 So, a while ago, I wrote a post on conspiracy theories which I only published in 2021 - it must have been part of my big collection of posts that I built up in case I didn't have time to write any for the week. For the most part, it worked, but sometimes the posts were released years after I had written them and sometimes they were about games that had decided to close on the day I published the post.

So, when I wrote about conspiracy theories before, I thought they were some harmless bizarre stories circulated in only a tiny proportion of the population and that it did no harm. When did I write that post. I think it was 2015.

I had no idea how far conspiracy theories could go.

The answer, it seems, was too far.

Now, in 2022, we now know that the internet is awash with people spreading false information (I'm not going to say it), hacking prominent figures' emails and releasing anything remotely incriminating in order to change elections. Companies are gathering our data and controlling what we see on the Internet so that we spend all our time on it. That usually involves reading things that completely agree with us or reading things that are guaranteed to make us full of rage so that we engage with them more.

The first Rulers of the NOW I wrote was set in 3012 and was a parody of a world where the conspiracy theories were true. Now, things are getting a little too real.

Rulers of the NOW has evolved. It is now set in a future I will probably be alive in. I wanted it to be like the book Make Room! Make Room! (which the film Soylent Green is based on).

I suggest you scoop it up.


Make Room! Make Room! is based in the near future (for the 1960s) in a world that is incredibly overpopulated. It follows a detective and his quarry and the horrible world they live in. Towards the end, the detective's flatmate has a monologue about how birth control is a good thing and might have stopped the situation they are in now. 

The book is telling you the consequences of an action and then telling you how to stop it. It is trying to show you a possible future and also how to avoid it.

The book is also based on very current worries of the time. In the 1960s, people were worried about the problems of overpopulation.

I want Rulers of the NOW to be a Make Room! Make Room! for 2021 - giving the possible horrible consequences of our current situation and hopefully, what I think we should do about it.

I finally released Rulers of the NOW this January. In fact, March 5th (the day before this post was published) 2042 is the date your character does something pretty risky. 

You can get Rulers of the NOW for free (at the time of posting, if you have any money, I would suggest you donate it to Ukraine instead) from Drive Thru or Itch.

That's enough for one day. I'm getting hungry. I'll go and eat something healthy.

You are what you eat!

Thursday, March 3, 2022

News for February 2022 and upcoming news for March 2022

 Hello all! I'm sorry I'm late with my post (again). Here is the latest news in the gamebook and interactive fiction world. There's a lot on!


Patreon

Ganesha games is creating support materials for games such as 4 Against Darkness. This is run by Andrea Sfiligoi who had to abandon his old studio in Ukraine. 

Ganesha Games is creating Support materials for tabletop games | Patreon

Music

London-based duo Andy Wood and Mark Cholerton met aged-ten thanks to a shared love of Lone Wolf and have set out to create a new song inspired by each book in the saga.

As musically-inclined chaps with a creative drive, they've been inspired to write and record a musical equivalent to all the great fan art we've seen over the years,

"We don't have any specific ambitions for the music other than sharing it with our friends, families and hopefully the Lone Wolf community out there," says Andy. "It's very much a passion project which helps us stay connected and sane amidst our busy day jobs and family lives."

So as we remember Joe, let's also give a little love to the amazing fans he helped inspire.

Brotherhood of the Crystal Star


New book releases

Don Bosco

This March, Don Bosco is releasing The Supergame.

This is Book 3 of the thrilling LAST KID RUNNING gamebook series for 10 to 12 year olds. YOU decide how the story unfolds.

You are Runner X, one of six contestants in the final round of Last Kid Running, the craziest game show streaming on the mobile web.

You’ve been waiting eagerly for this. But the pandemic strikes, and the ingenious Dr Yamato creates a home-based VR version of this event instead, to keep the fans entertained.

It turns out to be a wild and futuristic adventure, with five levels full of twists, thrills and tricky challenges. Plus, you’ll need to solve the Riddlemaster’s Remarkable Riddle, which is the most baffling brain-teaser you’ve ever encountered.

Do you have what it takes to be the LAST KID RUNNING?

Read and find out!

Super Cool Books: LAST KID RUNNING _____ Book 3: The Supergame coming in March 2022, final gamebook in the trilogy

Dave L Lewis

Dave L Lewis has released Army of Bones, which is the sequel to his first book, The Demon Sorcerer.

You are a legend in your home world. YOU are the Wizard’s champion, slayer of the Demon Sorcerer and master of the blade, but your great deeds have attracted many powerful enemies. An ancient evil has risen from the Underworld. If you have any chance of defeating it, you will need more than just your brawn and wits. This time, you will need to make allies out of enemies. Set in a world of magic and mayhem, Army of Bones is the thrilling sequel to The Demon Sorcerer gamebook. Taking six years to create, the book includes full page illustrations, four hundred sections and an epic quest where you can shape your own destiny. Prepare to be thrown into a world of savage monsters, mighty Gods and battling armies.

Your adventure awaits!

Army of Bones: An Adventure Gamebook: 2 (The Demon's Bane Series) : Lewis, D L, Lewis, D L: Amazon.co.uk: Books

The Demon Sorcerer: An Adventure Gamebook: Amazon.co.uk: Lewis, D L, Lewis, D L: 9781916125001: Books

You can get a limited number of signed copies here: Army of Bones: An Adventure Gamebook by D. L. Lewis (PB) | eBay

Here is Dave L Lewis's Facebook group DLLewis Gamebooks | Facebook

Marvel

Marvel are releasing gamebooks!

ACONYTE BOOKS & MARVEL ARE ON A MISSION… TO THE MULTIVERSE – Aconyte Books

Destiny Quest

Michael J. Ward is releasing the Destiny Quest companion.

The DestinyQuest Companion » DestinyQuest (destiny-quest.com)


Audiobooks

OUT NOW – we are extremely excited to announce the EXCLUSIVE release of TITAN: THE FIGHTING FANTASY WORLD – an audio guidebook to the incredible fantasy gamebook world of Steve Jackson and Sir Ian Livingstone.

Spokenworld Audio


Computer games

To Carry a Sword

This is a computer game which Richard S. Hetley is involved in.

Story-rich roleplaying game mixing interactive events, strategic planning, and real-time combat. Become the guard of a medieval caravan in a journey where the social connections you make are just as important as the money.

To Carry a Sword on Steam (steampowered.com)


Zines

Red Ruin Publishing

Casket of Fays, the free Dragon Warriors zine will have issue 6 out around March. Keep your eyes peeled! The Cakset of Fays website is here.

Voidspace Zine

This is a new zine about all things interactive fiction.

voidspace _ – interactive arts (voidspacezine.com)


Podcasts

Fantastic Fights and Where to Find them

This podcast is currently on Robot Commando. Mech vs Dinosaur goodness.

Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph

Instadeath Survivors' Support Group

Brian is currently playing through the awesome Steam Highwayman series and talking to me about the latest in the gamebook world.

Welcome to Instadeath Survivors Support Group by Instadeath Survivors Support Group (anchor.fm)


Crowdfunding

Only The Dead Will Hear Your Screams - A Horror Gamebook by Jonathon Kelly — Kickstarter


Competitions

Lindenbaum is still going! Remember to read the 16 awesome books and vote!

Lloyd of Gamebooks: Voting is now open for the 2021/2022 Lindenbaum Prize!


Voyages in social media

I found this in the Gamebooks subreddit

This is from Mattocreates:

It's called Ever Soaring and the first chapter is complete, consisting of just over 9000 words spread across 59 individual passages. It's set in the Warhammer 40k universe, but that's just the setting and you don't actually need to know anything about 40k to enjoy the story. Just be warned that it contains written depictions of graphic violence.

https://mattocreates.github.io