tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173375703091750612024-03-07T13:47:31.208+00:00Lloyd of GamebooksA blog about writing gamebooks. My musings on how to write a gamebook and what makes a good gamebook. Create your story here!Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.comBlogger894125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-88516882656980816992024-03-01T11:26:00.002+00:002024-03-01T23:41:06.712+00:00Voting is open for the 2023/2024 Lindenbaum competition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwvmbgZjqO-ZMTWDzfPhEbvIp8R7Q03ViyluFI-Q3sKbUabp6a87kVpAIBF2tYppnOXNY3QDOnNNydI94I0E0xMvZwDSQOVKImJCXnVhC4QCP7IJyz6TZoqBsuGC_MEczhEy6-H6XupuvMPlf2Khe_-JcT2dMcTZEOYpVs_efi9t3D-6Vp3WZVSwZS3c/s371/Lindenbaum%20competition.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="368" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwvmbgZjqO-ZMTWDzfPhEbvIp8R7Q03ViyluFI-Q3sKbUabp6a87kVpAIBF2tYppnOXNY3QDOnNNydI94I0E0xMvZwDSQOVKImJCXnVhC4QCP7IJyz6TZoqBsuGC_MEczhEy6-H6XupuvMPlf2Khe_-JcT2dMcTZEOYpVs_efi9t3D-6Vp3WZVSwZS3c/w187-h189/Lindenbaum%20competition.png" width="187" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Hello everyone!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Edit - there is an entry I missed, so there are 9 entries this year!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Voting has now opened for the Lindenbaum competition. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here is a link to each individual entry, in a random order:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NBtA1A7HHNUKZfa-LLHGDs9BG9SOB4Z0/view?usp=drive_link">Operation Dead Dawn by Tom Perrett</a><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NBtA1A7HHNUKZfa-LLHGDs9BG9SOB4Z0/view?usp=drive_link"> </a> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_mYCMN1bGF8XzBJyj7HPScm9-Y1l61sc/view?usp=drive_link">Heart of Keros by David Donachie</a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JO7qIB5PukN6AbWZopOCce2Ot3p20-fG/view?usp=drive_link">The Curse of the Snake Queen by Christopher Bunte</a><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JO7qIB5PukN6AbWZopOCce2Ot3p20-fG/view?usp=drive_link"> </a> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qmdmp0vgpIhE3dEhs28ZBVjh_DWulVd2/view?usp=drive_link">Knighthood by Elie Merle</a></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bdpk3A5HU9YbrTTZnM48QEMUfWNTCXi1/view?usp=drive_link">Are you the Hero by Andrew Wright </a> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VESmwLAup8KFWSEz-cawCaLmAAEzNknR/view?usp=drive_link">A Slope of Pines by Per Jorner</a></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><span><span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mRoVvnh3KrPpKaCMCluCSlzFNiKjJWwm/view?usp=drive_link">What Lies Beyond the Standing Stone by Jeremy Johnson</a><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mRoVvnh3KrPpKaCMCluCSlzFNiKjJWwm/view?usp=drive_link"> </a> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><span><span><span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QpJ3sGFiEA6l1NYLCXB45U27sxgO03py/view?usp=drive_link">The Lost Treasures of Cap'n Blouchard by Sean Loftis </a></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rh6pfJ9upOcfZLMKPiOFcksYRcbMOqHw/view?usp=drive_link">Malevolence in Makivel by Tiago Filipe Costa</a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">You can find the 9 entries in the below link, both individually and in a zip file. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ld0T8FR5gROMwmTeq3FzY3URp-Rdzy8C?usp=drive_link">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ld0T8FR5gROMwmTeq3FzY3URp-Rdzy8C?usp=drive_link </a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p>Votes need to be sent to <a href="mailto:lindenbaumprize@gmail.com">lindenbaumprize@gmail.com</a>. Each voter must submit 3 books. If they submit less than 3, their votes won't count. If they submit more than 3, the first 3 will count.</p><p>Voting will close at 5pm GMT on the 30th April 2024.</p><p>Happy gamebooking!</p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-31878961756660769902024-02-21T00:14:00.000+00:002024-02-21T00:14:34.415+00:00Submissions are now closed for the 2023/2024 Lindenbaum competition<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwvmbgZjqO-ZMTWDzfPhEbvIp8R7Q03ViyluFI-Q3sKbUabp6a87kVpAIBF2tYppnOXNY3QDOnNNydI94I0E0xMvZwDSQOVKImJCXnVhC4QCP7IJyz6TZoqBsuGC_MEczhEy6-H6XupuvMPlf2Khe_-JcT2dMcTZEOYpVs_efi9t3D-6Vp3WZVSwZS3c/s371/Lindenbaum%20competition.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="368" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwvmbgZjqO-ZMTWDzfPhEbvIp8R7Q03ViyluFI-Q3sKbUabp6a87kVpAIBF2tYppnOXNY3QDOnNNydI94I0E0xMvZwDSQOVKImJCXnVhC4QCP7IJyz6TZoqBsuGC_MEczhEy6-H6XupuvMPlf2Khe_-JcT2dMcTZEOYpVs_efi9t3D-6Vp3WZVSwZS3c/w187-h189/Lindenbaum%20competition.png" width="187" /></a></div><p></p><p>Hello all! </p><p>Submissions have now closed for the 2023/2024 Lindenbaum competition.</p><p>I am excited to say that we have 8 entries for this year's competition. The entries will be made available on the 1st March when voting opens. </p><p>Votes need to be sent to <a href="mailto:lindenbaumprize@gmail.com">lindenbaumprize@gmail.com</a>. Each voter must submit 3 books. If they submit less than 3, their votes won't count. If they submit more than 3, the first 3 will count.</p><p>Voting will close at 5pm GMT on the 30th April 2024.</p><p>Happy gamebooking!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-34702174812766408612024-02-03T13:09:00.003+00:002024-02-03T13:09:40.049+00:00GNAT adventure gamebooks released<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa_61n_AqbX4gaQHYqlOZOXJBDFRwyImC1dZdZvFxL-FjmhXz3qF-YQPf90U5oawfRaURe2w0f47obLKOIF4TS6yTkkughNWJDfh3m92hFNivMNg8pAVBfgyq6WlhQN_TBTtNRPy5ZxsqQCTGTqr3x09VEiDg-rhYkcyAlJqAj2LbD8TP5ktj0ckLO2g/s715/Skull%20God.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="715" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa_61n_AqbX4gaQHYqlOZOXJBDFRwyImC1dZdZvFxL-FjmhXz3qF-YQPf90U5oawfRaURe2w0f47obLKOIF4TS6yTkkughNWJDfh3m92hFNivMNg8pAVBfgyq6WlhQN_TBTtNRPy5ZxsqQCTGTqr3x09VEiDg-rhYkcyAlJqAj2LbD8TP5ktj0ckLO2g/s320/Skull%20God.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I first found out about the GNAT system with the Lindenbaum 2023 entry Escape from the Tower of the Stars (found here - <a href="https://www.teuton.org/~stranger/GAMES/gnat/Escape_from_the_Tower_of_Stars.pdf">Escape_from_the_Tower_of_Stars.pdf (teuton.org)</a>).</p><p>Now we have more gamebooks released using that system, created by David Donachie.</p><p>GNAT is described as:</p><p>"...a rules system for solo adventures that emphasises speed of play and minimal record keeping.</p><p>GNAT defines your adventurous character with two numbers: Talent and Vitality. Talent covers both your luck and expertise, while Vitality measures your will to survive and capacity to endure harm. A limited pool of Fortune allows you to cheat the odds.</p><p>GNAT requires two six-sided dice."</p><p>The core rules are here - <a href="https://www.teuton.org/~stranger/gnat_core">David Donachie's Website : GNAT Rules Reference (teuton.org)</a>. They are short and versatile, covering most common situations that adventurers come across.</p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Temple of the Skull God by Paul Partington</b></u></p><p>Welcome to the Kingdom of the Sky, a land of adventure and opportunity. Discover the secrets of the lost city, hidden in the teeming jungle. Explore remote islands with fierce monsters and even fiercer warriors. Face evil demons in their underwater temple. Challenge a mighty dragon who is laying waste to the countryside. And finally, if you are brave and resourceful enough, confront the priests of the death god before they can bring ruin to the kingdom.</p><p>In this adventure gamebook you decide where to explore, which dangers to face and which quests to pursue. With over five hundred sections and a complete game system, are you brave enough to enter the temple of the skull god?</p><p>You can get the PDF from Drive Thru: <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/468904/Temple-of-the-Skull-God?affiliate_id=169004">Temple of the Skull God - GNAT Adventure Gamebooks | DriveThruRPG.com</a></p><p>You can get the paperback from Amazon: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CTJ6DJHP?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_P03X11D3Z7YVE15FJ6B1&language=en-GB">Temple of the Skull God: A GNAT Adventure Gamebook: Amazon.co.uk: Partington, Paul: 9798873830152: Books</a></p><p>You can get the keywords list from here: <a href="https://www.teuton.org/~stranger/GAMES/gnat/Temple_of_the_skull_god_checklist.pdf">Temple_of_the_skull_god_checklist.pdf (teuton.org)</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Grave of the Kraken by David Donachie</b></u></p><p>In a world only just recovering from the devastating wizard's war, you are given the task of brokering peace between two rival city states, but the road to Heldad bears dangers you could never anticipate, and an evil rising from the war-torn past.</p><p>This game is set in the World of Paldoria and is compatible with all other Paldoria adventures.</p><p>You can get the PDF from Drive Thru <a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/468984/grave-of-the-kraken">Grave of the Kraken - GNAT Adventure Gamebooks | DriveThruRPG</a></p><p>You can get the paperback from Amazon: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grave-Kraken-David-M-Donachie/dp/B0CTK6V28S">Grave of the Kraken: Amazon.co.uk: Donachie, David M: 9798875974021: Books</a> </p><p>You can get the keywords list from here: <a href="https://www.teuton.org/~stranger/GAMES/gnat/GK_checklist.pdf">teuton.org/~stranger/GAMES/gnat/GK_checklist.pdf</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>City State of Treysham by David Donachie</b></u></p><p>Treysham, city of Mages, city of the golden towers, has opened its gates after the long war and ushered in a new age of prosperity and madness. Emboldened, you can seek fortune in the ruins, glory in the arena, or death amongst its insane wizards.</p><p>City State of Treysham is designed as a hub adventure to be played between other Paldoria games. A place to resupply, gain XP, and accumulate rumours that will lead you to other games.</p><p>This game is set in the World of Paldoria and is compatible with all other Paldoria adventures.</p><p>You can get the PDF for free here <a href="https://www.teuton.org/~stranger/GAMES/gnat/City_State_of_Treysham.pdf">City_State_of_Treysham.pdf (teuton.org)</a></p><p>The paperback is coming soon.</p><p><br /></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-36493656739352240352023-12-08T16:35:00.001+00:002023-12-29T14:42:09.597+00:00Entries are now being accepted for the 2023/2024 Lindenbaum Prize<p>Entries are now being accepted for the 2023/2024 Lindenbaum competition.</p><p>The rules have changed this year. This year, 50% of the weighting for the results will be due to judges and 50% of the weighting for the results will be due to popular vote. </p><p>I also won't be hyperlinking any books this year.</p><p>Entries are to be sent to <a href="mailto:lindenbaumprize@gmail.com">lindenbaumprize@gmail.com</a>.</p><p>The closing date is 5pm GMT on the 20th February 2024.</p><p>Full rules to be found at:</p><p><a href="http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2023/11/20232024-lindenbaum-prize-announcement.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: 2023/2024 Lindenbaum Prize announcement</a></p><p>The Lindennbaum Prize is sponsored by Agapov, <a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/search/label/Peter%20Agapov">contributor to Lloyd of Gamebooks</a> and owner of <a href="http://augmentedrealityadventure.com/">Augmented Reality Adventure Games</a> who is very generously providing the first prize.</p><p>The Lindenbaum Prize is also sponsored by <a href="https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool/">Crumbly Head Games</a> who is providing <a href="https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool-pro/">free licenses to The Gamebook Authoring Tool</a> as prizes and also has a free version of the Gamebook Authoring Tool that goes up to 100 sections.</p><p>The Lindenbaum Prize is also sponsored by <a href="https://www.hauntedphonograph.com/fantastic-fights-and-where-to-find-them">HJ Doom</a> who is providing a miniature to the winner.</p><p>Many thanks to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/TM-Badowski/e/B07TDXSGKR/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1">Tammy Badowski</a> for donating her time to the Lindenbaum Prize.</p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-1139322499028522032023-11-05T07:15:00.003+00:002023-11-07T09:36:31.665+00:002023/2024 Lindenbaum Prize announcement<p> The Lindennbaum Prize is sponsored by Peter <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Agapov</span>, <a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/search/label/Peter%20Agapov">contributor to Lloyd of Gamebooks</a> and owner of <a href="http://augmentedrealityadventure.com/">Augmented Reality Adventure Games</a> who is very generously providing the first prize.</p><p>The Lindenbaum Prize is also sponsored by <a href="https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool/">Crumbly Head Games</a> who is providing <a href="https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool-pro/">free licenses to The Gamebook Authoring Tool</a> as prizes and also has a free version of the Gamebook Authoring Tool that goes up to 100 sections.</p><p>Many thanks to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/TM-Badowski/e/B07TDXSGKR/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1">Tammy Badowski</a> for donating her time to the Lindenbaum Prize</p><p>Hi all! I am excited to announce the 3rd annual Lindenbaum competition!</p><p>The award is inspired by the <a href="https://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html">Windhammer competition</a> which ran from 2008-2015. I loved entering my books, seeing other books, voting and getting feedback. To be fair, I loved every aspect of it.</p><p>So, when it was discontinued, it left a hole. Between 2016 and now, I was very busy. However, I have a bit more time now and I was also shocked when I was on an online gamebook meetup to learn that almost no one there had heard of the Windhammer competition.</p><p>If you look at the list of Windhammer entrants, you will see a few familiar names. This is basically what kickstarted a lot of careers for the new gamebook writing crew.</p><p>I would love for that to continue with the new fans we have picked up along the way so that they can have a gateway into the gamebook community. I found the chance to meet new people and get lots of expert feedback invaluable.</p><p>So, without further ado, here are the details for the Lindenbaum competition:</p><p><u><b>Entry requirements for the 2023/2024 Lindenbaum competition</b></u></p><p>All entries must be in English.</p><p>All entries must be original works incorporating unique characters and world settings. This can include real world settings, people and events as long as they aren't the property of someone.</p><p>All entries must be previously unpublished works.</p><p>All entrants must state clearly on the first page of their entries that they are the authors of the work submitted.</p><p>All entries must be in any format that I can edit and turn into a pdf and sent as an attachment and link to lindenbaumprize@gmail.com.</p><p>Formats I know I can do this with are: RTF, doc, docx, Google docs, pdf, - leave a comment if there is a format that you want to know about. I don't have access to Apple devices.</p><p>All character or status sheets provided with entries must be presented in a simple layout that does not include complex table formats.</p><p>All entries must be spell-checked and thoroughly tested prior to submission.</p><p>The total length of the entry does not exceed 100 sections and a word count of 25,000 words.</p><p>Illustrations will not be accepted as a part of an entry except in two specific circumstances. </p><p>Exception 1: Maps that are integral to navigation within the gamebook.</p><p>Exception 2: Graphics necessary as a part of puzzles or clues integral to the entry's narrative.</p><p>Graphics provided for these purposes must be in a format that is compatible with pdfs.</p><p>Graphics purely of an illustrative nature will not be accepted.</p><p>The entry may either be a complete stand-alone story or a self-contained excerpt from a larger gamebook adventure of your own creation.</p><p>The entry can be of any genre except erotica.</p><p>There is no entry fee.</p><p>All rights remain with the author and the author can withdraw their entry at any time during the course of the competition.</p><p>An entrant can submit one entry only.</p><p>All participants must have some way of receiving the prize money. I can send Paypal or BACS or a cheque in the post. Any other method will need to be agreed. Account information is not required by the organisers of this competition unless you are one of the winning entrants. Only at the time of winning a prize will you be asked for your details.</p><p><b><u>Hyperlinking</u></b></p><p>I will not be doing any hyperlinking of any entries. It is up to the entrant to hyperlink their entries or not.</p><p><u><b>Competition deadlines for 2023/2024</b></u></p><p>5th November 2023: Competition guidelines released</p><p>6th December 2023: Entry submissions begin</p><p>20th February 2024: Entry submissions close.</p><p>1st March 2024: Voting begins.*</p><p>30th April 2024: Voting closes.*</p><p>10th May 2024: Winners announced.*</p><p>* If there are more than 10 entries, these dates will be extended. The length of the extension will depend on how many entries there are.</p><p><b><u>Winning entries</u></b></p><p>This year, the winning entries will be decided from a combination of judges' decisions and reader votes. The judges' votes and the readers' votes will have equal weighting when determining the winning entry.</p><p><b><u>Judges</u></b></p><div style="background-color: white;"><div><span style="color: #222222;">We have 6 judges for this year's Lindenbaum competition. Here is who they are:</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Andrew Greene (winner of the first Lindenbaum award and merit award winner of the 2nd)</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Hieronymous J. Doom - presenter of the awesome Fantastic Fights podcast and writer of many gamebooks that you can get if you become his patreon.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Ashton MacSaylor - 3 time merit award winner of Windhammer, writer of The Good, The Bad and the Undead and other gamebooks (see his blog).</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Keith P. Phillips - author of Siege of Sardath and currently writing A Moral Paradox with several young people. Keith is currently doing an Arts Council funded project to make a gamebook video game: Literature Alive - Digital Writes</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Paul Gresty - Writer of The Frankenstein Wars, Fabled Lands 7 and Windhammer entrant.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Peter Agapov - writer of great gamebook analysis blog posts on his blog and mine. He also provides the winning prize money.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Things the judges are looking for</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Literary ability</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Good writing: i.e. vivid descriptions, believable dialogue, compelling characters and scenarios, etc.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How well the narrative flows</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How good the spelling and grammar is</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How engaging is the use of language is</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">The game system</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How good the game system is at complementing the theme and setting</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How intuitive the game system is</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How much the game system encourages strategic thinking and offers hidden tactics that enrich the gameplay.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">No blind choices (where you have no information whatsoever about which way to go)</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Reasonable odds (no 1 in a 100 chance of survival rolls)</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">The story</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Meaningful consequences of your actions (i.e. the results seem to actually follow from your choices)</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How well does the story flow?</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How much sense does the story make?</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Technical ability</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">All the section links work</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Every scenario, including draws or unexpected events, is adequately addressed.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Miscellaneous</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How innovative is the gamebook?</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How entertaining is the gamebook?</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How experimental is the gamebook?</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">How well are these ideas executed?</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Voting</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">A valid vote must be forwarded by email to lindenbaumprize@gmail.com. A valid vote must nominate the three gamebooks most favoured by the voter from the competition entrants. A vote with less than three nominations cannot be accepted. A vote forwarded with more than three nominations will only have the first three accounted for in the voting tabulation.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Only one voter email is allowed per reader. All votes will be checked for duplication of email addresses.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">Feedback to the authors may be forwarded to the competition sponsors at lindenbaumprize@gmail.com. All feedback given will be provided to authors at the end of competition as a part of the email notification of results.</span></div></div><p><u><b>Prizes</b></u></p><p><u>Winning entrant</u></p><p>A cash prize of £100 GBP (Great British Pounds) to be paid within 48 hours.</p><p>A desktop licence to the Gamebook Authoring Tool which lasts for 1 year.</p><p>A minifigure painted by Hieronymous J. Doom.</p><p>A First Prize certificate memorialising their success in the competition.</p><p><u>Merit awards</u></p><p>Two entries are chosen for Merit awards. These entrants receive:</p><p>A cash prize of £30 GBP (Great British Pounds) to be paid within 48 hours.</p><p></p><p>A Merit Award certificate memorialising their success in the competition,</p><p><u>Commendation awards</u></p><p>If there are 10 or more entries, there will be 3 commendation awards. The entrants receive:</p><p>A Commendation Certificate memorialising their success in the competition.</p><p><b><u>Gamebook writing help</u></b></p><p>If you haven't written a gamebook before, you might think that arranging and randomising the sections might be a problem. However, there are now good gamebook writing programs out there. One is The Gamebook Authoring Tool, which has a free version specifically designed to write a 100 section gamebook and export it to Rich Text Format. You can try it here: <a href="https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool/">About The GameBook Authoring Tool – Crumbly Head Games</a></p><p>Also, for tips on writing gamebooks, take a look at the reading list I have compiled (found at <a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2023/09/want-to-write-gamebook-then-heres.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: Want to write a gamebook? Then here's a reading list (2023 edition)</a>)</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ashton Saylor would like you to read this post in particular: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ashtonsaylor.com/2012/02/what-makes-good-gamebook-part-two-game.html&source=gmail&ust=1699253613657000&usg=AOvVaw2yHLRkbLvcPpOVM6Ofgfzw" href="http://www.ashtonsaylor.com/2012/02/what-makes-good-gamebook-part-two-game.html" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.ashtonsaylor.<wbr></wbr>com/2012/02/what-makes-good-<wbr></wbr>gamebook-part-two-game.html</a></span></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-80997950247650026772023-11-03T12:42:00.004+00:002023-11-03T12:42:46.401+00:00Gamebook Secret Santa (UK residents only)<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It's the 2023 gamebook secret santa!</span></p><div class="x1e56ztr" data-block="true" data-editor="bsuqt" data-offset-key="bv81e-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bv81e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="bv81e-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">*******This is for UK residents only******</span></div></div><div class="x1e56ztr" data-block="true" data-editor="bsuqt" data-offset-key="9he3b-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9he3b-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="9he3b-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">To join in, simply click on the link below (you might also need to sign up to Elfster).</span></div></div><div class="x1e56ztr" data-block="true" data-editor="bsuqt" data-offset-key="44j29-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="44j29-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="44j29-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">On the 30th November, Elfster will send you someone to be a secret santa for.</span></div></div><div class="x1e56ztr" data-block="true" data-editor="bsuqt" data-offset-key="2vs3t-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2vs3t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="2vs3t-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The budget is £20 and make sure you make a gamebook wishlist!</span></div></div><div class="x1e56ztr" data-block="true" data-editor="bsuqt" data-offset-key="44sq6-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="44sq6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="44sq6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Have fun!</span></div></div><div class="x1e56ztr" data-block="true" data-editor="bsuqt" data-offset-key="sj49-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="sj49-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span class="x1fey0fg" style="color: var(--blue-link); font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.elfster.com/gift-exchanges/f530e118-229b-4958-b9c9-2e7fe66dad8b/?join=zjuz">https://www.elfster.com/gift-exchanges/f530e118-229b-4958-b9c9-2e7fe66dad8b/?join=zjuz</a></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="sj49-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="sj49-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="sj49-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="sj49-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">Also, Lindenbaum announcement soon!</div></div>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-48138234248562008102023-09-01T09:29:00.001+01:002023-10-28T12:37:18.933+01:00Want to write a gamebook? Then here's a reading list (2023 edition)<p>Hello all! I first published the reading list back in 2017, but then realised that some people have written articles since then, so I will repost this reading list with updates every year. Here is the 2023 version. </p><p>Whassup! Here is the fruits of my labours on a little project I was working on. I wanted to collect a definitive list of gamebook analysis that anyone who wants to write a gamebook has to read. So far, I have come up with the following blog posts and links to give you a good grounding in the art and science of gamebook writing. Enjoy!</p><br />EDIT: The links weren't working because I had pasted hyperlinks in from a Word document (!?) but I have re-inserted the links so they should all work now.<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/"><b>Grey Wiz</b></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_859101860"><br /></a><a href="http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/03/the-problem-with-gamebooks-trilogy-part.html">http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/03/the-problem-with-gamebooks-trilogy-part.html</a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_859101862"><br /></a><a href="http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/03/the-problem-with-gamebooks-trilogy-part_15.html">http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/03/the-problem-with-gamebooks-trilogy-part_15.html</a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_859101867"><br /></a><a href="http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/04/the-problem-with-gamebooks-trilogy-part.html">http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/04/the-problem-with-gamebooks-trilogy-part.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/04/the-problem-with-gambooks-trilogy-part-4.html">http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/04/the-problem-with-gambooks-trilogy-part-4.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/06/the-problem-with-gamebooks-trilogy-part.html">http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/06/the-problem-with-gamebooks-trilogy-part.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/07/fixing-gamebooks-6-dont-break-story.html">http://blog.mysteriouspath.com/2013/07/fixing-gamebooks-6-dont-break-story.html</a><div><br /><a href="http://www.thebrewin.com/blog"><b>Andrew Drage </b></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thebrewin.com/blog/entry/the-brewin-guide-to-writing-better-gamebooks">http://www.thebrewin.com/blog/entry/the-brewin-guide-to-writing-better-gamebooks</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ashtonsaylor.com/"><b>Ashton Saylor </b></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ashtonsaylor.com/2012/08/game-design-principles.html">http://www.ashtonsaylor.com/2012/08/game-design-principles.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.ashtonsaylor.com/2012/02/what-makes-good-gamebook-part-1-story.html">Ashton MacSaylor: What makes a good gamebook - Part 1: Story (ashtonsaylor.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.ashtonsaylor.com/2012/02/what-makes-good-gamebook-part-two-game.html">Ashton MacSaylor: What makes a good gamebook - Part Two: The Game of Narrative Choices (ashtonsaylor.com)</a><br /><br /><a href="https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.com/"><b>Sam Kabo Ashwell</b></a><br /><br /><a href="https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/a-bestiary-of-player-agency/">https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/a-bestiary-of-player-agency/</a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_859101881"><br /></a><a href="https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/standard-patterns-in-choice-based-games/">https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/standard-patterns-in-choice-based-games/</a><br /><br /><b><a href="http://jakecaregamebooks.blogspot.co.uk/">Jake Care</a> </b><br /><br /><a href="http://jakecaregamebooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/classifying-and-rating-linearity.html">http://jakecaregamebooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/classifying-and-rating-linearity.html</a><br /><br /><u><b>Paul Gresty</b></u><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/gamebook-design-finding-workarounds-for.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/gamebook-design-finding-workarounds-for.html</a><div><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/"><b>Dave Morris</b></a><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/gamebooks-value-of-doing-it-with.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/gamebooks-value-of-doing-it-with.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/hot-and-cold-about-interactive.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/hot-and-cold-about-interactive.html</a></div><div><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/how-do-we-make-gamebooks-pleasure-to.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/how-do-we-make-gamebooks-pleasure-to.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/do-gamebooks-need-text.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/do-gamebooks-need-text.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/do-gamebooks-need-dice.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/do-gamebooks-need-dice.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/gamebooks-where-youre-not-hero.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/gamebooks-where-youre-not-hero.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/does-interactive-fiction-need-randomness.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/does-interactive-fiction-need-randomness.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/how-many-endings-does-gamebook-need.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/how-many-endings-does-gamebook-need.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/does-interactivity-have-downside.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/does-interactivity- have-downside.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2016/04/gamebooks-value-of-doing-it-with.html">Fabled Lands: Gamebooks: the value of doing it with dialogue</a><br /><br /><u><b>Richard S. Hetley</b></u><br /><br /><a href="http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/guest-post-richard-s-hetley-on-way-of.html">http://fabledlands.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/guest-post-richard-s-hetley-on-way-of.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/"><b>Jon Green</b></a><br /><a href="http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/how-to-write-adventure-gamebook-part-1.html"><br /></a><a href="http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/how-to-write-adventure-gamebook-part-1.html">http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to- write-adventure- gamebook-part-1.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-write-adventure-gamebook-part-2.html">http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-write-adventure-gamebook-part-2.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-write-adventure-gamebook-part-3.html">http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-write-adventure-gamebook-part-3.html</a><br /><br /><a href="http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-write-adventure-gamebook-part-4.html">http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-write-adventure-gamebook-part-4.html</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/"><b>Heather Albano from Choice of Games </b></a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/2010/04/sailors-are-not-dragons/">https://www.choiceofgames.com/2010/04/sailors-are-not-dragons/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/"><b>Adam Strong-Morse from Choice of Games</b></a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/2010/05/dont-start-at-the-beginning/">https://www.choiceofgames.com/2010/05/dont-start-at-the-beginning/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/"><b>Dan Fubilich from Choice of Games</b></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_859101929"><br /></a><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/2011/03/five-tactics-for-designing-games-while-depressed/">https://www.choiceofgames.com/2011/03/five-tactics-for-designing-games-while-depressed/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/2011/07/by-the-numbers-how-to-write-a-long-interactive-novel-that-doesnt-suck/">https://www.choiceofgames.com/2011/07/by-the-numbers-how-to-write-a-long-interactive-novel-that-doesnt-suck/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/2011/07/7-rules-for-designing-great-stats/">https://www.choiceofgames.com/2011/07/7-rules- for-designing- great-stats/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.choiceofgames.com/2011/12/4-common-mistakes-in-interactive-novels/">https://www.choiceofgames.com/2011/12/4-common-mistakes-in-interactive-novels/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://emshort.blog/2016/04/12/beyond-branching-quality-based-and-salience-based-narrative-structures/"><b>Emily Short</b></a><br /><br /><a href="https://emshort.blog/2016/04/12/beyond-branching-quality-based-and-salience-based-narrative-structures/">https://emshort.blog/2016/04/12/beyond-branching-quality-based-and-salience-based-narrative-structures/</a><br /><br /><a href="http://visualgamebookadventures.blogspot.co.uk/"><b>Peter Agapov </b></a><br /><br />Just about anything on his blog. It's all so in depth.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/search/label/Peter%20Agapov">Lloyd of Gamebooks: Peter Agapov</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/">Victoria Hancox</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-1">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #1 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-2">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #2 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/marketing-your-gamebook-insider-tips">Marketing Your Gamebook: Insider Tips (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-top-tip-3">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #3 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-4">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy Tip #4 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-4-1">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #5 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/what-s-that-they-say-about-old-dogs-and-new-tricks">What's that they say about old dogs and new tricks? (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/behind-the-scenes-on-the-nightshift">Behind the Scenes on the NIGHTSHIFT (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choosing-the-right-route-interactive-fiction-vs-gamebooks-the-wandering-a-kind-of-review">Choosing the right route? Interactive fiction vs gamebooks The Wandering - a (kind of) review. (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/paulson-s-peak-a-masterclass-in-gamebook-writing">Paulson’s Peak — A Masterclass in Gamebook Writing! (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-6-putting-it-all-together-aka-where-do-i-even-start">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy Tip #6: Putting It All Together AKA Where Do I Even Start? (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://mitchell-ac.wixsite.com/acma/books">Adam C. Mitchell</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/all-about-newsletters">All About Newsletters (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b> <a href="https://randomencounters.wraithwright.com/">Random Encounters (wraithwright.com)</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://randomencounters.wraithwright.com/2021/09/exposition-tools-in-solo-adventures.html">Random Encounters: Exposition Tools in Solo Adventures (wraithwright.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://randomencounters.wraithwright.com/2021/08/locational-mapping-and-timed-events.html">Random Encounters: Locational Mapping and Timed Events (wraithwright.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://randomencounters.wraithwright.com/2021/07/reputations-in-solitaires-method.html">Random Encounters: Reputations in the Solitaires Method (wraithwright.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://randomencounters.wraithwright.com/2021/07/loss-of-continuity-in-solo-gamebooks.html">Random Encounters: Loss of Continuity in Solo Gamebooks (wraithwright.com)</a></div>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-44756166423219511132023-08-19T18:20:00.008+01:002023-11-07T02:21:47.579+00:00Writing Gamebooks the Uncle Mac Way<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiyKwWwcc4VnzT_0gfri2pKnv4nh-bUhUiVR2UcWxdsTr4vBELG_YjM2iEdcQVbVE6U5FHztE54B5HqGDlil6K_nkHRZIo8WObYdxPKgjZwdnbadzrSS1j63gdLcCSN3Gg7MlgyAVMHrbfAVi6y7BcPfB2uEaU03bpB5vaR0RPzO_jF1ol5A0U44EF-sw/s2016/buks.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiyKwWwcc4VnzT_0gfri2pKnv4nh-bUhUiVR2UcWxdsTr4vBELG_YjM2iEdcQVbVE6U5FHztE54B5HqGDlil6K_nkHRZIo8WObYdxPKgjZwdnbadzrSS1j63gdLcCSN3Gg7MlgyAVMHrbfAVi6y7BcPfB2uEaU03bpB5vaR0RPzO_jF1ol5A0U44EF-sw/s320/buks.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>All right, kids, gather 'round and park your butts. <a href="https://gamebookshack.com/">Uncle Mac</a> is gonna talk your ear off for a bit.</p><p>Quite a few of you write gamebooks, or want to write them and are still figuring out the best way to do it. Word on the 'net is there are a number of softwares you can use to help navigate the labyrinthine process of piecing a gamebook together. I shall refrain from commenting on those, because I am what you might call a "cantankerous old coot" and prefer not to go out of my way to learn newfangled technologies if I don't find it absolutely necessary.</p><p>Writing screenplays, for example, <i>required </i>that I purchase special software to write in screenplay format easily. My word processor of choice is problematic enough without my having to jury-rig its default formatting to the anal retentive degree required by the film industry. So I broke down and bought Fade-In (not a plug, but kind of a plug).</p><p>My approach to writing gamebooks was different. I didn't bother getting any computerized aides because I found a way to write and organize gamebooks without them that suits me fine. And also because I prefer to do things the hard way, apparently.</p><p>Being a decent writer is a good start to writing a good gamebook. Natch. Most of you probably figured that out already. But it's best if you <i>also </i>have experience as a game designer. For simpler gamebooks like CYOA, it can help you better organize the book's structure and keep it engaging; for more advanced works ranging from Interplanetary Spy to Fighting Fantasy, it's essential if you want to design effective mechanics, puzzles, and games. In either case, it can help a lot with worldbuilding, too. You'd be surprised how much easier it is to world-build with a board game, video game, or tabletop RPG prototype than with a simple novel and a ream of research notes as long as your leg.</p><p>So far I'm wearing my Captain Obvious cape. You didn't come here to listen to me prattle about writing a chapter book. Writing a chapter book isn't all that hard. The tricky part is writing a chapter book with forking paths, and then mixing them up, all without losing track of which choices lead where.</p><p>I have seen a few useful ideas for structuring a gamebook on the 'net, but when I started out writing gamebooks I found their usefulness was pretty limited. The most common method I've seen is to map the book somehow, either with a diagram, or with index cards / sticky notes.</p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Ghetto Scribble Diagram Method</span></i></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRMTQ7nO0am6BzSgRVB6AnmnpYd_SeUJx1l684XzAcea5NrYzDmXDczql-yUIU8VZeE8QkTIa1kjK5vQxot4tlBzk6kBdOLiNKcNCcyjZjI77n_90_QqDYJtzL1FU05bUBp4wb22bth3VubHMQIUXVIxxmgBAT3kDJdSnLp1Ws7c9NZM3OoQaxOL90Spw/s1008/mapdinah.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRMTQ7nO0am6BzSgRVB6AnmnpYd_SeUJx1l684XzAcea5NrYzDmXDczql-yUIU8VZeE8QkTIa1kjK5vQxot4tlBzk6kBdOLiNKcNCcyjZjI77n_90_QqDYJtzL1FU05bUBp4wb22bth3VubHMQIUXVIxxmgBAT3kDJdSnLp1Ws7c9NZM3OoQaxOL90Spw/s320/mapdinah.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plot Map for Dinah-Mite #2 and several painkillers.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>At a glance, the diagram approach looks like it's more trouble than it's worth. I've found it does have its uses, however. Much like writing a synopsis before tackling a story in detail, a plot map like this can help get you started on a new gamebook project when you aren't quite sure where you're going. </div><div><br /></div><div>It <i>is </i>messy, however, due to the amount of erasing you'll end up doing whenever you re-plot a section, and I mostly recommend this method if you want a quick and dirty way to get the ball rolling.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Index Card / Sticky Note Method</span></b></i></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TRIoCTIltap9vOcvjmGH5SNfhkYaAjjFIIppaKavr6Fpxg6hbOs3Vsj4Zy_hCz_x5hh1qKUvSt-cr8UVO5WuBIVl9wy64Urz5ZP0HCEKYXKTMv15c0G70yZQ_MXbD69AU_MCiwE8T4IUBEfIXWsocdNHEV5ych_0ENhGsFRJBw-iFv5Qbpx6wMC9QLbC/s2016/sticky%20notes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TRIoCTIltap9vOcvjmGH5SNfhkYaAjjFIIppaKavr6Fpxg6hbOs3Vsj4Zy_hCz_x5hh1qKUvSt-cr8UVO5WuBIVl9wy64Urz5ZP0HCEKYXKTMv15c0G70yZQ_MXbD69AU_MCiwE8T4IUBEfIXWsocdNHEV5ych_0ENhGsFRJBw-iFv5Qbpx6wMC9QLbC/s320/sticky%20notes.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>The index card/sticky note method has its uses, too. Basically it's the same as the plot map technique, except it's easier to rearrange things and add new chapters. It has the added bonus of making it a <i>lot </i>easier to decide on chapter order: once you have all your paths sorted out, rearrange the cards into whatever order suits you and then number them.</p><p>The downsides here are 1) running out of space, which may require the purchase of a bulletin board dedicated to your gamebook projects; and 2) the page-organizing aspect only really works if you are going the CYOA route of one-page chapters, OR the Fighting Fantasy style gamebook with paragraph chapters rather than page chapters. If you want to write a basic gamebook with more involved narrative like Dragontales, the sticky notes won't help you with reorganizing pages.</p><p><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Uncle Mac's Method</span></b></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvTnj3c9eBSGHEopeobzfSCXHraqfWC5zU0085tuyOAX90uIrwqtBKQXKmKgcKtC2O_16IM2az-VG_c79uWMPTM--qdvWK0WE9EduYctUxnhDF4XdFkQAS0TR7tD10eJIfZLZR2ph72MzuvyusITdiDILkX-ZxmZpNYaIlP3bxysSOc3OsL5rUb9S__HM/s766/spider%20encounter%20tiny.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="766" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvTnj3c9eBSGHEopeobzfSCXHraqfWC5zU0085tuyOAX90uIrwqtBKQXKmKgcKtC2O_16IM2az-VG_c79uWMPTM--qdvWK0WE9EduYctUxnhDF4XdFkQAS0TR7tD10eJIfZLZR2ph72MzuvyusITdiDILkX-ZxmZpNYaIlP3bxysSOc3OsL5rUb9S__HM/s320/spider%20encounter%20tiny.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>When I sat down to write the first Dinah-Mite gamebook, <i>Holiday in Castle Quarantine, </i>I quickly realized that the above techniques would only get me so far. I didn't want to write chapters as short as Which Way, nor as long as Dragontales; and I wanted a protagonist with a backstory rather than the generic "You" of CYOA. Essentially I wanted to write a maze-like adventure in the style of <i>The Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter,</i> and <i>The Neverending Story</i>, something that would stand on its own as a story <i>or </i>as a gamebook.<div><br /></div><div>Both <i>Holiday in Castle Quarantine </i>and its upcoming sequel were written in two main drafts: the <i>Chapter Draft </i>and the <i>Page Draft</i>. Someone else probably writes their gamebooks the same way and has their own name for it, so I'll refrain from pretending I've invented something super unique and useful and worthy of accolades. I can only be so pretentious in one sitting.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Phase 1: The Chapter Draft</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Let's assume for the sake of argument that I'm writing a Dinah-Mite story where Dinah has a misadventure in the American West. I start by writing the first chapter as if it were a linear novel, and I give the chapter a header that reads "Ch1." When I reach the first fork in the plot at the end of <i>Ch1</i>, instead of listing a page number, I list a chapter number.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>If Dinah enters the saloon, turn to Ch2.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>If she explores the train station first, turn to Ch5.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Nearly all of the chapters are only a few pages long, so now I start adding blank pages with appropriate chapter headers (Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, etc). As I add each new page, I write a one-sentence summary of what will happen in that chapter. This helps spark ideas for what happens next, if I haven't already started a plot map like the one pictured earlier.</div><div><br /></div><div>If I don't know which chapter will come next, I'll use "ChX, ChY, ChZ" as placeholders. And if I think I might have a puzzle in a particular chapter, I'll list generic options that I can figure out later.</div><div><br /></div><div>=========</div><div><b>Ch2</b></div><div><i>Dinah enters saloon full of surly, uncooperative customers who are angry that the player piano isn't working. She tries to get piano working to lighten the mood.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>Solution A? Turn to Ch3.</b></div><div><b>Solution B? Turn to Ch4.</b></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>=========</div><div><b>Ch3</b></div><div><i>Dinah gets eaten by the player piano, but at least the music her dead body produces is catchy.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>~ THE END ~</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>=========</div><div><b>Ch4</b></div><div><i>Everyone starts dancing. Dinah befriends saloon keeper.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>~ Dinah gets the Poker Chips ~</b></div><div><b>Turn to ChX.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>=========</div><div><b>Ch5</b></div><div><i>Dinah enters train station and meets lost hillbilly kid, who helps her if she doesn't anger him.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>Choice A? Turn to Ch6.</b></div><div><b>Choice B? Turn to Ch7.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>=========</div><div><b>Ch6</b></div><div><i>Dinah and hillbilly kid hit it off. He hooks her up with a horse to ride to the next town.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>~ Dinah got the Work Horse ~</b></div><div><b>Turn to ChY.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>=========</div><div><b>Ch7</b></div><div><i>Hillbilly kid tells Dinah to jump in a lake and won't talk to her anymore. Now has to find another way to reach her destination.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>Turn to ChZ.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>=========</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Eventually I make my way through every possible idea for branching paths, coming up with games and puzzles on the fly (or creating placeholders). Once I know how many chapters I'm dealing with, I go back and write the chapters proper. When the entire book is written, and every chapter has been thoroughly edited and proofread, that leads into...</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Phase 2: The Page Draft</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>So now I have all the chapters written in the order I came up with them, and they all have a chapter header designation. Now comes the tedious part: I rearrange all the chapters until they're thoroughly mixed up (preferably with a lot of space between sequential chapters).</div><div><br /></div><div>I then go through the document and find every instance of the chapter headers listed thusly: Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, etc using the <i>Find/Replace </i>function, and replace them with their designated page number. So if Ch2 is on page 100, I <i>Find/Replace</i> all instances of "Turn to Ch2" with "Turn to Page 100."</div></div><div><p>Finally I go through every chapter and remove the "Ch" from the header, and probably add a cute bit of art around the chapter number to indicate which act of the book the reader is in.</p><p>==========</p><p>Some of you will no doubt find the Chapter Draft/Page Draft method standoffish. The disclaimer did mention that I like to do things the hard way. But I've found this method makes it easy to streamline cranking out chapter content. Also, by the time you're done putting it all together, it's already organized the way you want it, formatting and all. Relying on the sticky note method could lead to chapters occupying the wrong page numbers, forcing you to seek out the point where you went wrong and reorganize your chapters all over again.</p><p>Of course, the previously mentioned gamebook software probably makes all of this easier. If you don't want to bother experimenting with a new interface, though, give these methods a try and see if they gel with you a little better.</p><p>Time for bed. Uncle Mac out. <a href="https://gamebookshack.com/" target="_blank">Come visit anytime.</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oXXNIrAPCqG0-q64TiibE3mN96hdITyCMIIAZeVy0CSqhg56CZxmfcJE0FWsGpF21nyG-dFqEpuEQL3_2Vdu2TSqg7dUqRl1Wop8pOdebF8N5NBX90ARVny1d9ysxfJBpYeWLLyzTtHdwMd5EIXKbtrbCVC1xNdc6liPJHi_0QnVjqUOEf35nfhaIjMr/s3200/sale%20banner%204.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="3200" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oXXNIrAPCqG0-q64TiibE3mN96hdITyCMIIAZeVy0CSqhg56CZxmfcJE0FWsGpF21nyG-dFqEpuEQL3_2Vdu2TSqg7dUqRl1Wop8pOdebF8N5NBX90ARVny1d9ysxfJBpYeWLLyzTtHdwMd5EIXKbtrbCVC1xNdc6liPJHi_0QnVjqUOEf35nfhaIjMr/w540-h152/sale%20banner%204.png" width="540" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Uncle Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18117887486154825971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-70114356640316485362023-06-25T06:10:00.003+01:002023-06-25T06:10:46.123+01:00Ravages of Hate<p> Hello all! Yesterday, I finished a project, which was a reboot of Green Blood and Coils of Hate, both by Mark Smith. I have now completed it. It is called Ravages of Hate. You can get it here:</p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OFy8EsspwBRdXT_dcQt1rVVzVl77jriF/view?usp=drive_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OFy8EsspwBRdXT_dcQt1rVVzVl77jriF/view?usp=drive_link</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Any playtesting feedback would be welcome! Many thanks!</p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-73176121233618008262023-06-11T10:43:00.002+01:002023-06-11T10:43:50.348+01:00A question...<p> <span data-offset-key="3isn5-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So hen I was running Lindenbaum, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">someone</span><span data-offset-key="3isn5-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> suggested that there could be an "open" gamebook competition with no limits on sections or word count. I'm not against running one, but only if it's a Nanowrimo type event where people just write something over a month or some other time frame just for the challenge because I don't want to spend any more money on prizes or spend any more time running another competition.</span></p><div class="x1e56ztr" data-block="true" data-editor="27giq" data-offset-key="bvbbm-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bvbbm-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="bvbbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Any interest in a gamebook Nanowrimo?</span></div></div>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-25689328243507318052023-05-30T02:07:00.002+01:002023-05-30T09:42:39.953+01:00News<p> Hello all! I'm very sorry, but the recent few weeks have been very busy. Here is a lot of news from the gamebook world.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>The passing of Russ Nicholson</u></b></p><p><b><u><br /></u></b></p><p>Russ Nicholson, a superb artist who has illustrated <a href="https://gamebooks.org/Person/6/Show">many, many gamebooks</a>, passed away recently. He will be greatly missed.</p><p>I never met or worked with Russ, but I loved all of his artwork from the books he illustrated. </p><p>You can read dedications to him on <a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2023/05/he-showed-us-marvels.html">Fabled Lands</a> and on the <a href="https://officialfightingfantasy.blogspot.com/2023/05/russ-nicholson-passing-of-legend.html?fbclid=IwAR2XbZXLO9Zmho9Hku1xsDCTauVj6DFp2-HdqRfVcfuEZvp9kZYAGRg0v8U">official Fighting Fantasy blog</a>.</p><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKhke_xr8wR2m1SsDrVH4berEre5HrixQl63CGtfedhElik_E6kyQ0ibUvqpIFS2-mpYu8l9Qf_dMQVb-6Ko2hgzwE-oK08yle0-eGCZ4Ews75G7Op69sPv0GBNCoV_BQLblhfyJiQ4QeJ-pcUOQyzkZrBAmJYEBjsiI7JDsWHoE8Lf4cZzwtqGk5/s720/Russ_book_signing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKhke_xr8wR2m1SsDrVH4berEre5HrixQl63CGtfedhElik_E6kyQ0ibUvqpIFS2-mpYu8l9Qf_dMQVb-6Ko2hgzwE-oK08yle0-eGCZ4Ews75G7Op69sPv0GBNCoV_BQLblhfyJiQ4QeJ-pcUOQyzkZrBAmJYEBjsiI7JDsWHoE8Lf4cZzwtqGk5/s320/Russ_book_signing.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>New releases</b></u></p><p><u>The Citadel of Bureaucracy</u></p><p>The Citadel of Bureaucracy holds many perils for civil servants unprepared for its labyrinthine cubicle walls. Yet enter you must. Working against the clock, you must fight unreliable transit, dodgy IT, the dreaded Canada goose, and a rising sense of nihilism in order to get paid and clear your desk for a much-needed vacation.</p><p></p><p>YOU decide which paths to take, which dangers to risk, and which colleagues to confront. May the Janus-faced God of Finance and HR be with you, for you’ll find little succour in the Citadel’s unhallowed halls.</p><p><a href="https://www.jdmitchellwriter.com/novels">Novels | J.D. Mitchell (jdmitchellwriter.com)</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>One Roll Gamery</u></p><p>One Roll Gamebooks has released the Seeker of Valenreath</p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0645661503?geniuslink=true">The Seeker of Valenreath: Amazon.co.uk: Makin, Matthew D: 9780645661507: Books</a></p><p>If you seek adventure, then enter the fantasy realm of Lorelos and embark on a quest to find an ancient relic. You are a Seeker and must choose one of multiple paths you can take to reach your goal. You will need one six-sided dice, a pencil and an eraser to keep track of your attributes, record your discoveries and determine the victor in battles. You will use a unique, 1d6 combat system to do battle with Orcs, Goblins and many other formidable foes. Your success will oftentimes be decided by your strategy and the roll of one six-sided dice, be it combat or the execution of a task or skill of your choosing. You may come across puzzles to solve and riddles to decipher. Use alchemy to overcome the many challenges you will face and discover items and potions to aid you in your quest. You will journey through the mysterious Faewood or the marshy Fens of Lorelos, before embarking on your perilous ascent of the Blackspire Mountains to find the entrance to the ancient ruins. The many challenges that you will face and the characters you will meet on your journey, are contained in this adventure gamebook of over 350 pages and 1000 paragraphs. There are multiple paths to achieve your goal and each playthrough will be different depending on your choices and selected abilities. Containing 50 hand-drawn illustrations, your friends and foes are revealed in 22 full page illustrations with many secrets to discover.</p><p>You can follow them here:</p><p><a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/onerollgamy">https://www.buymeacoffee.com/onerollgamy</a></p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/4470681843036177/?ref=share_group_link&exp=8ce3">One Roll Gamebooks | Facebook</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Escape to Glitter Land</u></p><p><a href="https://fungamery.com/gamebook/staff/escape-to-glitter-land">Escape to Glitter Land (fungamery.com)</a></p><p>In this world are two kinds of people: The Privileged and the Unprivileged. Unfortunately, you are the latter. That's why you are trapped in Dunghill Land, forced to perform menial tasks day-in and day-out, just to survive. You long for a way out.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Meetups</u></b></p><p><u>Dragon Warriors Day of Legends</u></p><p>DRAGON WARRIORS is the key to a magic world. A land of cobwebbed forests and haunted castles. A land where dire monsters lurk in the shadows of the night, where hobgoblins shriek across the bleak and misty moors, where wizards and armoured warriors roam dank dungeons in their quest for gold and glory. The realm of your imagination.</p><p>On July 15th, 2023, we come together on a Day of Legends. We meet old friends and make new ones. We drink, we eat, we game, and we celebrate.</p><p></p><p>We gather just before midday at Brewdog Chancery Lane, London, UK. This is a face-to-face meet with no online element.</p><p><a href="https://warhorn.net/events/day-of-legends-the-ultimate-dragon-warriors-convention/?fbclid=IwAR2hnIjsNXGPwRTE3usgd8vAYDWD4-YmRn5kTZJ-GaCH5F-cnULSbziDeDw">Day of Legends. The Ultimate Dragon Warriors Convention | Warhorn</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Narrascope</u></p><p><a href="https://narrascope.org/?fbclid=IwAR1hdDcnk5dgDRrS_mEKwNPPyDfNb83o8gXK7jh_tRJ0BC40bpOUBJoYVlM">Home - NarraScope</a></p><p>Celebrating Narrative Games</p><p>June 9 – 11 at the University of Pittsburgh</p><p>In-person registration is now closed.</p><p>Online registration still open!</p><p>(through June 8th)</p><p>NarraScope first took place in 2019, live at MIT. In 2020, Narrascope was fully online, and for 2021 we skipped a year, returning for 2022 as an online event. Our conference aims to be a place for everyone interested in narrative games to hang out, exchange ideas and get inspired. We do this through a broad selection of talks, keynote speakers, discussions and workshops.</p><p>Subjects vary from interactive fiction tools to writing best practices and everything in between. Previous talks had titles like “Choosing Your Happily Ever After”, “Shaping Your Story with Emotional Intelligence” and “Adapting Film’s Techniques for Nonlinear Stories”, to give you a bit of an idea. The NarraScope History site lists everything we did over the past years.</p><p><a href="https://narrascope.org/?fbclid=IwAR1hdDcnk5dgDRrS_mEKwNPPyDfNb83o8gXK7jh_tRJ0BC40bpOUBJoYVlM">Home - NarraScope</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Zines</b></u></p><p><u>Voidspace</u></p><p>Voidspace is currently on issue 6.</p><p><a href="https://voidspacezine.com/2023/04/15/voidspace-6/">https://voidspacezine.com/2023/04/15/voidspace-6/</a></p><p><u>The Warlock Returns</u></p><p>The Warlock Returns is currently on issue 9.</p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/437155/The-Warlock-Returns-Issue-09?src=hottest_filtered">The Warlock Returns Issue #09 - Arion Games | Advanced Fighting Fantasy | DriveThruRPG.com</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Blogs</u></b></p><p>A Puzzled Adventurer's Journal is still exploring gamebook design.</p><p><a href="https://puzzlejournal.blogspot.com/?m=1">A Puzzled Adventurer's Journal (puzzlejournal.blogspot.com)</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Podcasts</u></b></p><p><a href="https://www.hauntedphonograph.com/fantastic-fights-and-where-to-find-them/">Fantastic Flights gamebook podcast is currently on Armies of Death</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.whenwagonwheelswerebigger.com/campaign-on-dice">Campaign on Dice is currently on Battleblade Warrior.</a></p><p><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/01ATEfWzDjE7subofiRVTZ?si=QOE4esLvRlqxxjvugHWdAg&fbclid=IwAR26sy9qKQyqt064qchWHdn3Bv-pmxzqWkbXfjUxWsSMjgltKhUrlD4tJis&nd=1">Fighting Fantasy 21 - Trial of Champions - Vintage Gamebook Podcast | Podcast on Spotify</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Crowdfunding</b></u></p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/antarcticagamebook/antarctica-a-solo-sci-fi-post-apocalyptic-gamebook">Antarctica: a solo sci-fi post-apocalyptic gamebook by Chronicle Craft — Kickstarter</a></p><p>Embark on a journey through a post-apocalyptic world after the climate has changed everything. Explore, survive & forge your own path.</p><p>This Kickstarter is yet to launch.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.wallacedesigns.com.au/">Wallace Designs – Everything Martin Wallace</a></p><p>Wallace Designs is excited to announce its next major release, ‘Fighting Fantasy Adventures’, which will be coming to Kickstarter on the 1st July 2023. Based on the iconic series of books created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone the co-operative card game allows up to four players to experience the classic adventures in a completely new way. Martin Wallace, the co-designer of the number one rated board game ‘Brass: Birmingham’ has developed an elegant card-based system that gives the feel of a role-playing game without the need for a games master. The first campaign will comprise of five adventures, based on four beloved books, with the promise of more to come.</p><p>In Fighting Fantasy Adventures (Campaign 1), you can experience the stories in a whole new way. Now you can play with up to three friends, in a co-operative format. Gameplay is easy to learn and engaging, downtime is limited to some dice rolls and your characters level up after each adventure.</p><p>This Campaign includes the stories below:</p><p>The Warlock of Firetop Mountain</p><p>Island of the Lizard King</p><p>Deathtrap Dungeon</p><p>The Forest of Doom</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/malivor/subterranea-empire-of-wrath-a-savage-realms-gamebook?fbclid=IwAR2KQj-mf75JOWCsrdjfUY3sz2Dn5rocnbkEpZQM0c9QlMn9NtSDzPHPRao">Subterranea: Empire of Wrath A SAVAGE REALMS GAMEBOOK by Savage Realms Gamebooks — Kickstarter</a></p><p>The small becomes large as the large becomes small. What you would normally squash in the palm of your hand, now stands equal to you. The shock of the sudden change in perspective is nothing compared to the dangers you now face. A pin becomes a weapon that could save your life! The beat of a fly's wings now deafens you! A spider's web is the deadliest of traps! To birds, you are food, but to the Murina People, you are an imposter in their realm and imposters are unwelcome in the black eyes and outlook of the Rat Emperor himself. </p><p>The underground miniverse of Subterranea and its denizens await you...</p><p>This Kickstarter is funded, but you can still follow it.</p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-211666871447278172023-05-13T12:19:00.000+01:002023-05-13T12:19:42.115+01:00Fantastic Fights gamebook podcast awesomeness<p>Hello all! Here is a post from Hieronymous J Doom, host of the awesome gamebook podcast <a href="https://www.hauntedphonograph.com/fantastic-fights-and-where-to-find-them/">Fantastic Fights</a>. His podcast involves playthroughs of the Fighting Fantasy books and other books along with his thoughts and some design lessons he has taken from them. </p><p>Hieronymous releases two podcasts per month. One is about a Fighting Fantasy book (at the time of writing, he is on <a href="https://www.hauntedphonograph.com/fantastic-fights-and-where-to-find-them/2023/4/27/episode-35-daggers-of-darkness">Daggers of Darkness</a>) and a bonus playthrough with a gamebook from a different series. These gamebooks have included Destiny Quest, Grailquest, Transformers books and many more. The podcast is always entertaining and informative.</p><p>Hierronymous also releases his own gamebooks. However, these are only available to people who back <a href="https://www.patreon.com/Hjdoom/posts">him on Patreon</a>. However, Hieronymous only requires as little as £1 per month, and since you get a lot of awesome gamebooks in return, it is a bargain!</p><p>You also get posts about Hieronymous's design process. Hieronymous has kindly let me copy one of his design posts to share here as a taster of the value <a href="https://www.patreon.com/Hjdoom/posts">you get for as little as £1 per month</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>I do a lot of my design in my head before I even start sketching out basic ideas. I like to turn ideas over and over, looking at them from different angles and considering what potential ramifications different decisions might have for the design of a game or a book. It’s not something I’d recommend to everyone, I’ve always had a good memory for this kind of thing. When I was a teenager I would regularly run roleplaying games with zero preparation and took very few notes. Instead I’d spend the intervals between sessions turning the characters and situations over in my head and thinking about possible directions that I could take events. I do the same thing in the early stages of designing a gamebook. I audition a bunch of ideas in my head and then turn them round, mentally sketch out different possible iterations and then try something else to see if that feels better. There’s a lot of instinct at this stage of design, I tend to wind up settling on something that just feels right. The important thing for me at this point is to start with something concrete that I can use to orient my thoughts. I think of this part of the process as being like improvising a musical solo, a guitarist needs to know what the basic chords of the song are in order to be able to improvise successfully. Quite often I’ll decide that I can’t come up with enough to do the premise justice. That’s when I move onto another premise and start turning that around to see what I can do with it.</p><p>These aren’t failed ideas, I quite often find myself coming back to them months or even years later and I’m always careful to make a note of what I had when I let the idea go so that it can act as a memory aid for future development. They just didn’t feel right for me at the time and that’s fine. Thinking about those ideas helps me sharpen my critical faculties. There’s nothing worse than starting a large project like a gamebook and finding out halfway through it doesn’t actually work.</p><p>I thought I would share some of the ideas that I tossed around in my head before abandoning and the reasons why I abandoned them. Then in the next development diary I’ll talk about the idea that made it past the mental stage. I think the majority of these are things I’ve mentioned at least in passing on the podcast.</p><p>The first idea that I auditioned was an idea for a science fiction book. I’ve always wanted to do a sci-fi one and this one would have involved the player trying to regain control of a spaceship that had been captured by space pirates. You’d be trying to free crew mates, take control of key sections of the ship before a final showdown with the space pirate chief. There’s definitely the kernel of a good idea here, I’d be riffing on Star Trek, a show I love, and big spaceship would lend itself well to gamebook design being a nice constrained space. I abandoned it only after reluctantly concluding that I couldn’t think of quite enough memorable encounters to get a full book out of it. The premise was great but I couldn’t see a way to avoid a certain amount of repetition without watering it down.</p><p>The second idea was a werewolf book where the player would take the role of a human afflicted with lycanthropy. The key thing I wanted to explore was phases of the moon, I loved the idea of the character’s stats and options changing depending on where the moon was in its cycle. I also liked the idea of the character being hunted by professional werewolf hunters. It would have been a great opportunity to bring in some gothic horror in the vein of Hammer horror. I mentally sketched a simple system for tracking phases of the moon but in the end it was clear that it would add a great deal of complexity to the book-keeping and complicate every single encounter design to an outrageous degree. Tracking time is also not something easy to do in a gamebook format where paragraph descriptions are set in stone. The simple answer is to move the phases of the moon from a system approach to a narrative approach, so that early sections of the book take place during the new moon and the climax takes place at the full moon. This a pretty good premise and would allow the finale to be the moment where the hero finally goes full werewolf but it wasn’t the book I wanted to write so I let it go.</p><p>This second idea failed partly because it was a mechanics led idea rather than a narrative led idea. I’m a sucker for a simple clever mechanic but I find that whenever I start from the mechanics the final idea is never quite as strong because I’m looking for a reason to justify my mechanics not a narrative hook. In general I believe starting from a mechanical approach is putting the cart before the horse for gamebooks and RPGs. The systems should always be in service to the fantasy not the other way round because you end up designing a board game with some narrative features. Board games with narrative features are a fine thing but it’s not something I think works all that well in a gamebook.</p><p>In the next installment I’ll explain what idea has wound up winning the audition process, why it doesn’t resemble my initial idea all that closely, why I think it has legs and what my next steps are.</p><p>Cheers,</p><p>HJDoom</p><p>So, to listen to HJ Doom's awesome podcast, you can get it here - <a href="https://www.hauntedphonograph.com/fantastic-fights-and-where-to-find-them/">Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph</a></p><p>To back HJ Doom on Patron, starting at a mere £1 a month (you can also give him more!) and get his gamebooks and access to his design posts, go here - <a href="https://www.patreon.com/Hjdoom/posts">HJDoom | creating podcasts and writing/journalism | Patreon</a></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-32602269339139693342023-04-30T11:00:00.004+01:002023-04-30T17:59:37.341+01:00Results announcement to the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum competition<p>I am pleased to announce that the winner of the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize for short gamebook fiction is Niall Turner with Phoenix.</p><p>Merit awards go to Thomas Betsworth with Milly and Joe Cheal with the Endless Asylum.</p><p>Commendation awards go to Jeremy Johnson with Awakening Aboard the Anastasia, David Donachie with Escape from the Tower of the Stars, Paul Partington with Ghost in the Shadows, Andrew Greene with Hollywood Noir and Sean Loftiss with The Horn of Blaat. This is due to a tie between three books.</p><p>I would like to thank everybody who participated, the authors and those dedicated readers who took the time to evaluate all the entries, and also a further thanks to those readers who provided feedback and comment to the authors.</p><p>If you intend to write feedback in a public place, please email me the address and I will link to it.</p><p>It is no small thing to as entrants to write original gamebooks. To write a gamebook (even one that must be limited to 100 sections) requires considerable time and creative effort. It is the type of writing project that can take months to accomplish and I appreciate greatly the work done by all the authors who entered this year's competition.</p><p>Many thanks for helping make this year's competition such an excellent competition with a wide variety of gamebook genres and styles. This was the second year I ran the competition and you continued to help me make it as brilliant as it was.</p><p>I would also like to extend thanks to Peter Agapov who sponsored the competition, Tammy Badowski who donated her time and talent to the competition and Crumbly Head Games who has donated free subscriptions to GBAT for the top 3 entrants.</p><p>The entries can be found here: <a href="http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/p/voting-is-now-open-for-20222023.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: Voting is now open for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize!</a></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-12187124872755606992023-04-22T19:37:00.001+01:002023-04-22T19:37:05.848+01:00Voting closed for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum competition<p> Hello all!</p><p>Voting has closed for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum competition.</p><p>This year's competition has been very exciting with many high quality entries.</p><p>If you would like to leave feedback to any of the entrants, you may do so by emailing <a href="mailto:lindenbaumprize@gmail.com">lindenbaumprize@gmail.com</a>.</p><p>The results will be announced on the 30th April 2023.</p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-75667944680296708792023-04-16T10:38:00.003+01:002023-04-16T10:38:33.760+01:002 days left to vote!<p> Hello all!</p><p>This is just a quick reminder that the <a href="http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/p/voting-is-now-open-for-20222023.html">Lindenbaum entries are out </a> </p><p>The voting period lasts until 11:59:59pm (GMT) on April 18th 2023.</p><p>In order to vote, you need to email your 3 choices to <a href="mailto:Lindenbaumprize@gmail.com">Lindenbaumprize@gmail.com</a>.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-48788999390542032392023-03-19T14:24:00.002+00:002023-03-19T14:24:18.975+00:00Voting for Lindenbaum!<p> Hello all!</p><p>This is just a quick reminder that the <a href="http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/p/voting-is-now-open-for-20222023.html">Lindenbaum entries are out </a> </p><p>The voting period lasts until 11:59:59pm (GMT) on April 18th 2023.</p><p>In order to vote, you need to email your 3 choices to <a href="mailto:Lindenbaumprize@gmail.com">Lindenbaumprize@gmail.com</a>.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-64697411165555312482023-03-06T08:41:00.002+00:002023-03-06T08:41:32.533+00:00Update to the gamebook reading list<p>Hello all! Back in 2017, I collected a list of blog posts that would help any gamebook writer to improve their trade and <a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2017/05/want-to-write-gamebook-then-heres.html">published them</a>. </p><p><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/">Dave Morris</a> tweeted about it which reminded me about it, so I decided to ask people if there were any updates in the last 6 years. Someone reminded me that <a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/">Victoria Hancox</a> had been writing since I wrote the post and now and that she had also made many blog posts about writing gamebooks. So here is Victoria Hancox's posts. </p><p>In future, I will make the list an annual event. I will release it at the beginning of September so that future Lindenbaum entrants can read it to help them with their entries.</p><p>Enjoy!</p><p>(also, <a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/p/voting-is-now-open-for-20222023.html">read the Lindenbaum entries and vote for them</a>)</p><div><b><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/">Victoria Hancox</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-1">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #1 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-2">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #2 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/marketing-your-gamebook-insider-tips">Marketing Your Gamebook: Insider Tips (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-top-tip-3">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #3 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-4">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy Tip #4 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-4-1">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy - Tip #5 (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/what-s-that-they-say-about-old-dogs-and-new-tricks">What's that they say about old dogs and new tricks? (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/behind-the-scenes-on-the-nightshift">Behind the Scenes on the NIGHTSHIFT (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choosing-the-right-route-interactive-fiction-vs-gamebooks-the-wandering-a-kind-of-review">Choosing the right route? Interactive fiction vs gamebooks The Wandering - a (kind of) review. (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/paulson-s-peak-a-masterclass-in-gamebook-writing">Paulson’s Peak — A Masterclass in Gamebook Writing! (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/choose-your-own-writing-strategy-tip-6-putting-it-all-together-aka-where-do-i-even-start">Choose Your Own Writing Strategy Tip #6: Putting It All Together AKA Where Do I Even Start? (victoriahancox.com)</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://mitchell-ac.wixsite.com/acma/books">Adam C. Mitchell</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.victoriahancox.com/post/all-about-newsletters">All About Newsletters (victoriahancox.com)</a></div>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-14038991786203079582023-03-03T19:10:00.006+00:002023-03-06T09:14:37.410+00:00February news and upcoming March news<p> Hello all! I'm sorry the news is late again. Here are some of the latest things going on:</p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Lindenbaum</b></u></p><p>The competition is going with 13 entries! Vote for your 3 favourite books. Closing date is 18th April 11:59:59pm GMT.</p><p><a href="http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/p/voting-is-now-open-for-20222023.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: Voting is now open for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize!</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>New releases</u></b></p><p><u>Computer games</u></p><p><u>Colossal Cave on Steam</u></p><p>Colossal Cave is one of the first interactive fiction games and I used to love trying to work out what was in the author's head. It is now on Steam with graphics.</p><p><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2215540/Colossal_Cave/?utm_campaign=Post%3A+%22%F0%9F%97%9E%EF%B8%8FBREAKING+NEWS%21%21%F0%9F%97%9E%EF%B8%8F%22&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&hsa_acc=3998391510386092&hsa_cam=23852969011300056&hsa_grp=23852969011330056&hsa_ad=23852969011380056&hsa_src=fb&hsa_net=facebook&hsa_ver=3">Colossal Cave on Steam (steampowered.com)</a></p><p><u>Deathtrap Dungeon</u></p><p>Deathtrap Dungeon is coming to Switch!</p><p><a href="https://nintendoeverything.com/deathtrap-dungeon-the-interactive-video-adventure-heading-to-switch/">Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure heading to Switch (nintendoeverything.com)</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Crowdfunding</b></u></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Destiny's Role: Dimensions 1</u></p><p>Mark Lain has taken his old school style gamebooks into sci-fi territory. The Kickstarter is running and is already funded.</p><p>DIMENSIONS 1 is the first gamebook in the new science fiction spin-off series from DESTINY'S ROLE adventure gamebooks. </p><p>The book will feature a colour cover by Krystyna Nowek (who recently created the colour cover for the Scorpio Falls add-on module which was an exclusive to the Destiny's Role #4: Kaleidoscope Frenzy Kickstarter campaign and you can see more of her work HERE) and 20 black and white internal illustrations by Nick Spender (Fighting Fantasy #15: The Rings of Kether, Destiny's Role #3: Red Monsoon, Destiny's Role #4: Kaleidoscope Frenzy).</p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/malthusdire/destinys-role-dimensions-1?fbclid=IwAR2gTdFiFJ6tQripKdkjn9ym6ORPXuEPwkqJlRrHG3UL3m7LIEPbsZXpqBg">Destiny's Role: Dimensions 1 by Mark Lain — Kickstarter</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Dungeon of Whatever</u></p><p>This one isn't out yet, but you can get notified.</p><p>A Gamebook of Unheard-Of DUNGEON CRAWLING MAYHEM intended for young readers of age 6+</p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/213792074/tales-from-ane-moni-the-dungeon-of-whatever">Tales From Ane Moni: THE DUNGEON OF WHATEVER by Panagiotis Vlamis — Kickstarter</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>The Millenium Bomb</u></p><p>This is an interactive comic by Ricky Lima. It is already funded. 9 days to go!</p><p> The Millennium Bomb is a graphic novel that I developed between 2019 and 2021. It's about a group of bodiless Millennials who find themselves stuck inside an art gallery after the world has ended. The art gallery is monitored by an A.I. called the Multi-Operational Mega Intelligence or M.O.M.I. for short. As the Millennials learn more about the gallery and how they got there it becomes clear that they must get out any way they can! </p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rickylima/the-millennium-bomb-gamebook?ref=discovery">The Millennium Bomb Gamebook by Ricky Lima — Kickstarter</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Talamander Fantasy gamebook magazine issue 1</u></p><p>This is a kickstarter for a gamebook zine. It is already funded.</p><p>Fighting Fantasy green spines, Steve Jackson's Sorcery, Grailquest and The Way of the Tiger. That's where it all started for me back in the '80s.</p><p>I've always loved gamebooks and I've always wanted to write one, but the years ticked by and I never quite got around to it. Instead I published many fantasy small press comics and of course the terror and fantasy trumps, right here on Kickstarter with Rik and Chatri.</p><p>It was the Fantasy Trumps set that really convinced me to go for it. I've had ideas for an ongoing gamebook series for such a long time and I finally realised if I wanted to do it, I should just do it!</p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/terrortrumps/talamander-fantasy-gamebook-magazine-issue-1?ref=android_project_share">Talamander Fantasy gamebook magazine issue 1 by Tim Brown — Kickstarter</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMZSz5njTUM">@MongoosePublishingLtd Shield Maidens - First look at the books for the new Cyberpunk Viking RPG - YouTube</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Social</u></b></p><p><u>Dragon Warriors meet up</u></p><p>Simon Barns of <a href="https://www.redruin.org/About.php">Red Ruin publishing</a> is planning a meet up in the summer for Dragon Warriors fans. If you would like to join in, fill in the survey below.</p><p><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv x1fey0fg" href="https://forms.gle/BBMHGVZoTaooY81B6?fbclid=IwAR0-9CPyrF6sBqsZOZonhU_0JxLDdWjAbOzOUuMcHSwtU0c444Dyz1OfPQw" rel="nofollow" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; white-space: pre-wrap;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://forms.gle/BBMHGVZoTaooY81B6</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Blogs</u></p><p>Here is another playthrough blog I have recently discovered.</p><p><a href="https://fightingfantastical.blogspot.com/2023/">ALL THINGS FIGHTING FANTASTICAL : 2023</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Podcasts</u></p><p>Fantastic flights has covered a couple of Transformers books and Sky Lord.</p><p><a href="https://www.hauntedphonograph.com/fantastic-fights-and-where-to-find-them/">Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph</a></p><p><br /></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-20769320155172750432023-02-21T23:44:00.001+00:002023-02-21T23:44:21.543+00:00Voting is now open for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize!<p> Hello all! </p><p><br /></p><p>I am pleased to announce that you can download the 12 Lindenbaum entries from the link below. Enjoy!</p><p><a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/p/voting-is-now-open-for-20222023.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: Voting is now open for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize!</a></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-12300324276319220532023-02-15T09:24:00.001+00:002023-02-15T09:24:43.266+00:00Entries have closed for the Lindenbaum competition<p> Entries have closed for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum competition. We have 12 excellent entries this year.</p><p>The entries will be made available on the 21st February when voting begins.</p><p>Voting will close on the 18th April.</p><p>More details for the Lindenbaum competition can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2022/10/20222023-lindenbaum-prize-announcement.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize announcement</a></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-35108550890262603992023-02-04T08:23:00.014+00:002023-02-08T08:34:37.890+00:00January news and upcoming February news<p> Hello all! Late again. Really sorry.</p><p>Here's what is going on so far...</p><p><b><u>Releases</u></b></p><p><u>Betrayal in Neo Sybaris: A gamebook from Samuel Isaacson</u></p><p>Neo Sybaris, the hedonistic city made possible by the Cybernetic Regime of Liberty and Justice, is a living hell for the Dust, the underclass that barely survive on scraps. But some are determined to bring change.</p><p>One small group of Insurgents, with connections into the privileged Veblen Stratum, sets off on a mission where a mysterious stranger approaches.</p><p>The Insurgent he approaches is you.</p><p>Immerse yourself in this dystopian web of lies in which no-one is to be trusted.</p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BT897TXX/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_apa_gl_i_YH1E7EW66ZNBAA8RCGCX?linkCode=ml1&tag=thouofsamisaa-21">Betrayal in Neo Sybaris: A gamebook from Samuel Isaacson : Isaacson, Sam: Amazon.co.uk: Books</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Zines</b></u></p><p><u>Warlock Returns</u></p><p>The Warlock Returns is an Advanced Fighting Fantasy Zine. Issue 8 is out now as a pdf and physical version. </p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/421664/The-Warlock-Returns-Issue-08&affiliate_id=2687566?fbclid=IwAR1cqeQArpVPmsm871MER0Wih1rLQ6NTjEJ5m3Gr3GQCMKJlFoY8HM7qfBw">The Warlock Returns Issue #08 - Arion Games | Advanced Fighting Fantasy | DriveThruRPG.com</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Blogs</u></b></p><p><u>Andrew Wright</u></p><p>Andrew Wright, who has written many, many Advanced Fighting Fantasy supplements is making an AFF dungeon for the Dungeon 23 challenge.</p><p><a href="https://fantasygamebook.blogspot.com/2022/12/dungeon23-inspires-dead-blog.html">Fantasy Game Book: #Dungeon23 Inspires Dead Blog Resurrection!</a></p><p><u>Deathtraps and Dungeons</u></p><p>They have done Appointment with Fear.</p><p><a href="https://deathtrapsanddungeons.blogspot.com/2023/01/appointment-with-fear.html?m=1">Deathtraps and Dungeons : Appointment with F.E.A.R</a></p><p><u>Adventure Gameblog</u></p><p>Various gamebooks from this blog.</p><p><a href="http://myadventuresendhere.blogspot.com/">Adventure Gameblog (myadventuresendhere.blogspot.com)</a></p><p><u>Gamebook Odyssey</u></p><p>More gamebook reviews. The latest is Proteus 8.</p><p><a href="https://gamebookreviews.blogspot.com/">Gamebook Odyssey (gamebookreviews.blogspot.com)</a></p><p><u>Nicholas Andriani</u></p><p>I think I found this on Facebook. It is a great post about interactive Midsummer Night's Dream.</p><p><a href="https://nicholasandriani.org/2023/01/03/a-midsummer-nights-maze-interactive-fiction/?fbclid=IwAR3GwUhrSKo8uWvCKQegxCpCWlQHW810ZLP4I6D70GzFGGKT-OpfQdfyV4U">A Midsummer Night’s Maze: Interactive Fiction and Narrative Design – Nicholas Andriani Rankin</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Films</u></b></p><p>There's an interactive Deathtrap Dungeon film in the works!</p><p><a href="https://www.walesinteractive.com/thegoldenroom?fbclid=IwAR3poRVUk7QNLa8n44MmfQx-M7QepZlycwmQ1Lb-YAoed9Y1dz6RGmbbB9Y">Deathtrap Dungeon: The Golden Room | Wales Interactive</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Crowdfunding</u></b></p><p><u>Destiny Quest</u></p><p>Destiny Quest book 5 is coming soon!</p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1122204373/destinyquest-the-wrath-of-ragnarok?fbclid=IwAR159prAWUNMfDT4ICLa3-_z83ilH9WdbBznLIDe_6mga1cuJjFJo28wfGA">DestinyQuest: The Wrath of Ragnarok by Michael J Ward — Kickstarter</a></p><p><u>Box of Delights</u></p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/the-box-of-delights-the-roleplaying-game">The Box of Delights - The Roleplaying Game (Make 100) by Jonathan Green — Kickstarter</a></p><p>The Box of Delights - The Roleplaying Game is an adaptation of John Masefield's Christmas children's classic, written by Jonathan Green and illustrated by Tony Hough - the creators of 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas - and licensed through The Society of Authors, the Literary Representative of the Estate of John Masefield. </p><p>The Box of Delights - The Roleplaying Game is a rules-lite RPG, designed to be picked up and played with minimal preparation. Players take on the roles of Kay Harker and the Jones children as they experience the events of the book first-hand, encountering the mysterious Punch-and-Judy Man and becoming embroiled in the sinister plot being perpetrated by the wizard Abner Brown and his coven of wolf-worshipping witches around the Winter Solstice in the run up to Christmas.</p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/the-box-of-delights-the-roleplaying-game">The Box of Delights - The Roleplaying Game (Make 100) by Jonathan Green — Kickstarter</a></p><p><u>The Temple of Shadows</u></p><p>In this gamebook you'll take on the role of a young ranger who wants to protect his home village Brinthal. On your way you'll have to explore an underground temple, fight against shadow creatures, discuss with troll spirits, solve puzzles, survive traps and face a sinister threat from ancient times.</p><p>The Temple of Shadows stands within the tradition of gamebooks like Lone Wolf and Fighting Fantasy, which I've always liked. This interactive book uses modern game mechanics to create the most varied and enjoyable game experience possible. The rules of the game are intentionally kept simple. All you need for playing is two six-sided dice (2d6) and a pencil.</p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/woohoomania/the-temple-of-shadows-a-fantasy-gamebook?ref=discovery_newest&term=gamebook&fbclid=IwAR191QmyFf6__hSWCxoZ6109igBmvs8FJwyzy3HUOwMYUNXcB8JNXrm5sds">The Temple of Shadows - A Fantasy Gamebook by Christopher Bünte — Kickstarter</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Quick and Dirties #4: The Priory of Red Peitor</u></p><p>That's an embarrassing thing to explain, innit? I kid. Don't worry, I'll explain the ins and outs of it, if you know what I mean.</p><p>Marching Order quick and dirties is a new type of delve. They're no nonsense adventures meant to be played in a single sitting. Each one comes on a twelve panel fold out brochure that fits real nice in your Marching Order box. If you're lucky, you'll survive your trip to the Priory and can spend some loot back in Rotbottom. But ya probably want to know who Red Pietor is, huh?</p><p>Read on, Rogue. </p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crumblingkeep/marching-order-quick-and-dirties-the-priory-of-red-pietor?ref=96cs53">Quick and Dirties #4: The Priory of Red Peitor by Crumbling Keep — Kickstarter</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Interactive Fiction and Gamebook Discussion group</b></u></p><p>February's book is Rulers of the NOW, by yours truly! Discuss it over at the group!</p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/600565761138925">Interactive Fiction & Gamebooks Discussion Group (Book Club) | Facebook</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Lindenbaum!</b></u></p><p>Entries to the Lindenbaum Compeitition close on Feb 14th!</p><p>You can see the requirements here - <a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2022/10/20222023-lindenbaum-prize-announcement.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize announcement</a></p><p>The Lindennbaum Prize is sponsored by Peter Agaopv, <a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/search/label/Peter%20Agapov">contributor to Lloyd of Gamebooks</a> and owner of <a href="http://augmentedrealityadventure.com/">Augmented Reality Adventure Games</a> who is very generously providing the first prize.</p><p>The Lindenbaum Prize is also sponsored by <a href="https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool/">Crumbly Head Games</a> who is providing <a href="https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool-pro/">free licenses to The Gamebook Authoring Tool</a> as prizes and also has a free version of the Gamebook Authoring Tool that goes up to 100 sections.</p><p>Many thanks to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/TM-Badowski/e/B07TDXSGKR/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1">Tammy Badowski</a> for donating her time to the Lindenbaum Prize.</p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Adventures in social media</b></u></p><p>I found this on the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/gamebooks/">Reddit gamebooks group</a>.</p><p>Someone called Jay is mapping out the optimal paths for the Fighting Fantasy books. Have a butchers.</p><p><a href="https://graphingfightingfantasy.blogspot.com/">Graphing Fighting Fantasy</a></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-61813276431609003172023-01-09T10:00:00.001+00:002023-01-09T10:00:01.726+00:00The Lindenbaum competition is way underway<p>Hello all! Here's a reminder that the Lindenbaum competition is underway. The deadline is 5pm GMT on the 14th February. Get writing!</p><p><u><b>Entry requirements for the 2022/2023 Lindenbaum competition</b></u></p><p>All entries must be in English.</p><p>All entries must be original works incorporating unique characters and world settings. This can include real world settings, people and events as long as they aren't the property of someone.</p><p>All entries must be previously unpublished works.</p><p>All entrants must state clearly on the first page of their entries that they are the authors of the work submitted.</p><p><strike>All entries must be provided in rich text format (rtf) and sent as an email attachment</strike> All entries must be in any format that I can edit and turn into a pdf and sent as an attachment and link to lindenbaumprize@gmail.com.</p><p>Formats I know I can do this with are: RTF, doc, docx, Google docs, pdf, - leave a comment if there is a format that you want to know about.</p><p>All character or status sheets provided with entries must be presented in a simple layout that does not include complex table formats.</p><p>All entries must be spell-checked and thoroughly tested prior to submission.</p><p>The total length of the entry does not exceed 100 sections and a word count of 25,000 words.</p><p>Illustrations will not be accepted as a part of an entry except in two specific circumstances. </p><p>Exception 1: Maps that are integral to navigation within the gamebook.</p><p>Exception 2: Graphics necessary as a part of puzzles or clues integral to the entry's narrative.</p><p>Graphics provided for these purposes must be in either BMP or JPG format and be included as a part of the RTF entry forwarded. </p><p>Graphics purely of an illustrative nature will not be accepted.</p><p>The entry may either be a complete stand-alone story or a self-contained excerpt from a larger gamebook adventure of your own creation.</p><p>The entry can be of any genre except erotica.</p><p>There is no entry fee.</p><p>All rights remain with the author and the author can withdraw their entry at any time during the course of the competition.</p><p>An entrant can submit one entry only.</p><p>All participants must have a valid PayPal account at the time of submission. For reasons given below you must have a valid PayPal account if you wish to receive a cash prize. Account information is not required by the organisers of this competition unless you are one of the winning entrants. Only at the time of winning a prize will you be asked for your PayPal details.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Hyperlinking</u></b></p><p>Last year, I hyperlinked most of the entries. Response was lukewarm with one entrant specifically asking not to hyperlink. It seems that for a short gamebook, hyperlinks aren't completely necessary, so I won't do it this year.</p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Competition deadlines for 2022/2023</b></u></p><p>16th October 2022: Competition guidelines released</p><p>6th December 2022: Entry submissions begin</p><p>14th February 2023: Entry submissions close.</p><p>21st February 2023: Voting begins.*</p><p>18th April 2023: Voting closes.*</p><p>30th April 2023: Winners announced.*</p><p>* If there are more than 14 entries, these dates will be extended.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Voting</u></b></p><p>The prize is awarded to the entrant who receives the greatest number of reader votes. This prize relies on votes provided by readers who have read enough of the entries to make a considered choice as to the relative merits of the gamebooks submitted. It is expected by the sponsor of this competition that votes will be provided on this basis. For 2022/2023 the voting system applies as follows:</p><p>A valid vote must be forwarded by email to lindenbaumprize@gmail.com. A valid vote must nominate the three gamebooks most favoured by the voter from the competition entrants. A vote with less than three nominations cannot be accepted. A vote forwarded with more than three nominations will only have the first three accounted for in the voting tabulation.</p><p>Only one voter email is allowed per reader. All votes will be checked for duplication of email addresses.</p><p></p><p>Feedback to the authors may be forwarded to the competition sponsors at lindenbaumprize@gmail.com. All feedback given will be provided to authors at the end of competition as a part of the email notification of results.</p><p><u><b>Prizes</b></u></p><p><u>Winning entrant</u></p><p>A cash prize of £100 GBP (Great British Pounds) to be paid within 48 hours into a PayPal account of the winner's choosing. If you do not have access to a valid PayPal account the cash prize cannot be paid.</p><p>A desktop licence to the Gamebook Authoring Tool which lasts for 1 year.</p><p>A First Prize certificate memorialising their success in the competition.</p><p><u>Merit awards</u></p><p>Two entries are chosen for Merit awards. These entrants receive:</p><p>A cash prize of £30 GBP (Great British Pounds) to be paid within 48 hours into a PayPal account of the Merit Award winner's choosing.</p><p></p><p>A Merit Award certificate memorialising their success in the competition,</p><p><u>Commendation awards</u></p><p>If there are 10 or more entries, there will be 3 commendation awards. The entrants receive:</p><p>A Commendation Certificate memorialising their success in the competition.</p><p><b><u>Gamebook writing help</u></b></p><p>If you haven't written a gamebook before, you might think that arranging and randomising the sections might be a problem. However, there are now good gaembook writing programs out there. One is The Gamebook Authoring Tool, which has a free version specifically designed to write a 100 section gamebook and export it to Rich Text Format. You can try it here: <a href="https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool/">About The GameBook Authoring Tool – Crumbly Head Games</a></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-60087789587606846342022-12-28T16:00:00.005+00:002022-12-28T21:08:40.733+00:00December news and upcoming January news<p> Hello all! </p><p>I only released the last news a few days ago, so this one will be short, but I thought I'd make a December one as well, just to keep up my one a month rate.</p><p>I'll also take this chance to wish you all a happy new year and that I hope 2023 will be a happy and prosperous year for you all.</p><p>Here's the news:</p><p><u>Arion Games festive sale</u></p><p>Arion Games is the company that releases Advanced Fighting Fantasy material.</p><p>With December well underway and both Christmas and New Year fast approaching, it is time for the annual Arion Games festive sale.</p><p>As in previous years, we have put every Arion Games pdf at DTRPG at a 40% discount for the rest of the month. In addition, we will also have FOUR brand new adventures for four different games. These will be sent free to every customer who has bought something of ours during December. </p><p>(Don't buy anything from Arion games that costs $999/£830. They are the free festive games.</p><p>The plan is to send two out next week end to all December customers to that point, another the following weekend and another the weekend after, so if you want to get all four for free, make sure you have purchased something by then!</p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/667/Arion-Games">https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/667/Arion-Games</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Release - The Seeker of Valenreath</u></p><p>If you seek adventure, then enter the fantasy realm of Lorelos and embark on a quest to find an ancient relic. You are a Seeker and must choose one of multiple paths you can take to reach your goal. You will need one six-sided dice, a pencil and an eraser to keep track of your attributes, record your discoveries and determine the victor in battles. You will use a unique, 1d6 combat system to do battle with Orcs, Goblins and many other formidable foes. Your success will oftentimes be decided by your strategy and the roll of one six-sided dice, be it combat or the execution of a task or skill of your choosing. You may come across puzzles to solve and riddles to decipher. Use alchemy to overcome the many challenges you will face and discover items and potions to aid you in your quest. You will journey through the mysterious Faewood or the marshy Fens of Lorelos, before embarking on your perilous ascent of the Blackspire Mountains to find the entrance to the ancient ruins. The many challenges that you will face and the characters you will meet on your journey, are contained in this adventure gamebook of over 350 pages and 1000 paragraphs. There are multiple paths to achieve your goal and each playthrough will be different depending on your choices and selected abilities. Containing 50 hand-drawn illustrations, your friends and foes are revealed in 22 full page illustrations with many secrets to discover.</p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0645661503?geniuslink=true">The Seeker of Valenreath: Amazon.co.uk: Makin, Matthew D: 9780645661507: Books</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Release - Gamebook Collectors' Guide</u></p><p>Mark Lain has made a Collectors' Guide for 1000s of gamebook related items with cover art from Michael Sheppard. </p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BR71FN91/ref=sr_1_8?qid=1672242092&refinements=p_27%3AMark+Lain&s=books&sr=1-8&text=Mark+Lain">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BR71FN91/ref=sr_1_8?qid=1672242092&refinements=p_27%3AMark+Lain&s=books&sr=1-8&text=Mark+Lain</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>The Lindenbaum gamebook competition</u></p><p>Here is a chance to to win prizes with a gamebook writing competition! You need to write a short gamebook of up to 100 sections and 25000 words in length. The deadline for the competition is Febrary 14th 2023 at 5pm GMT.</p><p>Full details are at <a href="http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2022/10/20222023-lindenbaum-prize-announcement.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize announcement</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Adventures in social media</u></p><p>I was reminded of these blogs in the Fighting Fantazine forums.</p><p>Ludicrously Niche is a blog that covers lots of 80s and 90s memorabilia. It also has gamebook blog posts, including the broken gamebook series where the author points out the errors in different gamebooks.</p><p><a href="http://cwickham.blogspot.com/?m=1">http://cwickham.blogspot.com/?m=1</a></p><p>Deathtraps and Dungeons is an amusing blog where the writer goes through all of the Fighting Fantasy books. They have just released number 16, Seas of Blood.</p><p><a href="https://deathtrapsanddungeons.blogspot.com/">Deathtraps and Dungeons</a></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-73739548809211289862022-12-24T10:21:00.003+00:002022-12-24T10:41:22.410+00:00Things for the holiday season<p> Hello all! </p><p>Dave Morris released a post earlier which included his free stuff to help see you through the holiday season:</p><p><a href="https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2022/12/comforts-and-joys.html">Fabled Lands: Comforts and joys</a></p><p>I pride myself on being able to spot a good idea, so I am going to lovingly rip off his idea and add some more freebies that you could find. Some are mine and some are not. Some are gamebook related and some are not.</p><p>Whatever you are doing this holiday season, I wish you happiness for it.</p><p>If you have any other suggestions or want to drop me an email, I am on sl1605@gmail.com.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>Gamebook podcasts</u></p><p>Free gamebook radio in your ears. Here are some gamebook podcasts:</p><p><a href="https://firetopmountain.podbean.com/">The Podcast from Firetop Mountain (podbean.com)</a></p><p><a href="https://www.hauntedphonograph.com/fantastic-fights-and-where-to-find-them">Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph</a></p><p><a href="https://www.magnamund.com/podcast">Podcast (magnamund.com)</a> (The Lone Wolf podcast)</p><p><a href="https://anchor.fm/instadeath/episodes/Welcome-to-Instadeath-Survivors-Support-Group-etd3nd">Welcome to Instadeath Survivors Support Group by Instadeath Survivors Support Group (anchor.fm)</a></p><p><a href="https://shows.acast.com/a-mugs-gamebook">A Mug's Gamebook - Hosted by Tom Bartlett (acast.com)</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>My gamebook stuff</u></p><p><a href="http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/p/my-bibliography.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: Stuart Lloyd's bibliography</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Windhammer Competition</u></p><p>7 years of gamebook entries!</p><p><a href="https://www.arborell.com/gamebook_archive.html">https://www.arborell.com/gamebook_archive.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Lindenbaum Competition</u></p><p>1 year of gamebook entries!</p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1WFEJrmdmQLchpWnZ14saIzAYidUmMkUS">Lindenbaum 2021/2022 - Google Drive</a></p><p>Also, you can spend the dark nights writing an entry for the 2022/2023 competition!</p><p><a href="https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2022/10/20222023-lindenbaum-prize-announcement.html">Lloyd of Gamebooks: 2022/2023 Lindenbaum Prize announcement</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Fighting Fantazine</u></p><p>In case you missed it, issue 17 came out this year after a 5 year hiatus. If you have never heard of Fighting Fantazine, there are 17 whole issues to explore! Each one has an adventure in it!</p><p><a href="https://www.fightingfantazine.co.uk/">Home (fightingfantazine.co.uk)</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Non-gamebook stuff</u></p><p>Even the most hardened gamebook fan likes the occasional non-interactive piece of entertainment, so here are a few things I've been enjoying this year.</p><p><a href="https://www.mydadwroteaporno.com/">My Dad Wrote A Porno</a> (not safe for work). A man and his two friends read through, and comment on, his dad's terrible erotica. Absolutely hilarious. Adult themes only. Best not to drive or operate heavy machinery whilst listening to this podcast.</p><p><a href="https://beta.openai.com/playground">Playground - OpenAI API</a> - this is a chat GPT thing where you can ask it to write various things and enjoy.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@kurzgesagt">Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell - YouTube</a> - educational Youtube channel exploring the big ideas with cute duck animations.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-417337570309175061.post-62372929569939594822022-12-24T09:58:00.001+00:002022-12-24T09:58:36.876+00:00November news and upcoming December news<p> Hi all! I'm really sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have had an intense few months in real life land and I'm sorry. Here is what was big news in November. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Kickstarters</u></b></p><p><u>Defenders 3: Heiress of the Tundra</u></p><p>This Kickstarter has finished now, but you can follow along here.</p><p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1813083602/defenders-3-heiress-of-the-tundra?ref=android_project_share">Defenders 3: Heiress of the Tundra by Derick William Dalton — Kickstarter</a></p><p>is the third installment in a series of fantasy choose-your-path gamenovels penned by Whitney Award-nominated Derick William Dalton.</p><p>The Defenders series is a melding of tabletop role-playing and fantasy novels. Inspired by Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, and Lone Wilderlands, reader choices and hero abilities allow a range of storylines and adventure paths.</p><p>Defenders game novels have an introduction explaining the mechanics of character traits, skills, combat, use of gear, and character improvement. The story continues from the first two books, Throne of the Bandit Lord and Elusive Elixir. The tales boast diverse paths in both plot and cartography, and continue in book four.</p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>New releases</b></u></p><p><u>Gregor's Sidequests</u></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN95XC9J?fbclid=IwAR3XUSybLi8Vhsz2GH8byZ-tLFSEraOv3JZnN6VU3qtKHix-8Y2cOEKWAV0">Gregor's SideQuests: A Mini Gamebook Series (Gregor's Adventures) - Kindle edition by Malak, R.. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.</a></p><p>Hired on as a caravan guard, Gregor must travel the inhospitable deserts of the Red Lands, survive the blistering heat of the four suns, and ensure the survival of Halthane, a gnomish merchant.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>Smorgasboard by Barry Green</u></p><p><a href="https://www.wyrdofmouth.com/product-page">Smorgasboard | Wyrd of Mouth Comedy</a></p><p>Bing bong!</p><p>Welcome to the blurb! If you're looking for a synopsis, you've come to the right place. My name is Bongo, and I'm the official bard of Smorgasboard. That is, the black-and-white, interactive, adventure comedy contained within this text. It's my job to keep you entertained as you choose your route through the maze of this dark, alternate reality.</p><p>Don't just browse the cover, see you on the inside!</p><p>Yours, Bongo</p><p>"Probably the strangest book I've ever read!"</p><p>Smorgasboard is a semi-graphic adventure novella in which YOU, the reader, attempt to navigate your way through to its conclusion at Castle Smorg. Not all is as it seems, with a dangerous enemy plotting against you, native insurgents, and an array of cryptic hints hidden amongst humour. An information war wages across the board. Can you traverse the pages without coming to an untimely demise? Decipher the clues to escape or be subsumed into the narrative forever...</p><p><br /></p><p><u>Nemo's fury</u></p><p><a href="https://nemosfury.com/?fbclid=IwAR3LwG6s9X-4LTUcvF0_smXlQ8ZBnYAY_easOYxsJc_0VuJaKieIouoAnvg">Nemo's Fury – The all-new interactive fiction game based on the classic adventure by Jules Verne (nemosfury.com)</a></p><p>Choose your own adventure with the legendary Captain Nemo on board his incredible submarine, the Nautilus.</p><p>Explore the sensational ocean depths, battle extraordinary monsters, and try to unravel the mystery of Nemo’s masterplan.</p><p>But will you survive to tell the tale? Nemo’s Fury is a survival combat adventure, the interactive fiction game where YOU are the hero.</p><p>Our game is inspired by our love of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone’s Fighting Fantasy books, RPG’s such as Dungeons and Dragons,</p><p>the galaxy’s greatest comic 2000AD, and of course, the adventure stories of Jules Verne.</p><p>And it was written in Ink using Inky, the same programme used to create the excellent interactive fiction adventure, 80 Days.</p><p>(Which we have nothing to do with, except have a great time playing!)</p><p><br /></p><p><u>The Ticking World Adventure Calendar</u></p><p><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1094968766/the-ticking-world-an-adventure-calendar">The Ticking World an Adventure Calendar - Etsy UK</a></p><p>One part advent calendar, one part branching adventure story, The Ticking World invites you on a journey to the cold, snowy North to unravel a fantastical mystery.</p><p>Every day brings new scenes, choices and illustrations.</p><p>As each explorer makes their own choices, they will encounter different fantasy characters, locations and mysteries. No two paths are the same, but every journey will last the same number of days and, like a traditional advent calendar, end on Christmas Day.</p><p>Perennial calendar format for re-play year after year.</p><p>Spiral-bound flip calendar with metal hanger for easy display.</p><p>Recommended for readers aged 9 to 99+.</p><p>Written by Brendon Connelly and illustrated by Maya Evans.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>Dark City Games</u></p><p>This company has released 4 gamebooks. You can see them here.</p><p><a href="http://darkcitygames.com/?fbclid=IwAR1khYJ_s1_vwx0XwmpQ-q1g4k3dtSckCkmuzKgMFNqgcTuOmLL-JVgcsOc">darkcitygames.com/?fbclid=IwAR1khYJ_s1_vwx0XwmpQ-q1g4k3dtSckCkmuzKgMFNqgcTuOmLL-JVgcsOc</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Winds on the North</u></p><p><a href="https://thomaspking.com/winds-of-the-north/?fbclid=IwAR0JCFj4F6r9qyLK_g_vgOc2aAXMjoSTOpgnvwmK6iSGk1lCs4_ekp_Ria0">Winds of the North – Thomas P. King, author and game designer (thomaspking.com)</a></p><p>Winds of the North is a sandbox game, a cross between a Harvest Moon farming game and a survival adventure game like the classic Barbarian Prince. You begin with a small farm, some silver, and a few starting animals. Your only real goals are to survive and somehow become a Viking King or Queen. Along the way, you are free to do just about anything you want.</p><p><br /></p><p><u>Rise of the Ancients Book2: Ashpherron</u></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rise-Ancients-Book2-Graham-Wilson/dp/B0B9QM986M/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MMCEG2PEBLSH&keywords=rise%20ancients%20ashpherron&qid=1667376592&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjA2IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=rise%20ancients%20ashpherron%2Cstripbooks%2C87&sr=1-1&fbclid=IwAR1XeDLwUruGf8xxEyl-7ZRa4OvDgR9D-UMLgZk-isLO4hWsTYUtZZYBy60">Rise of the Ancients Book2: Ashpherron: Amazon.co.uk: Wilson, DR Graham A.: 9798846779167: Books</a></p><p>The ancient gods are awakening. Having slain the vile monster known as Bruidd, you are now drawn to the Southern Land of Ramun, by rumours that another ancient god, the fire serpent Queen - Ashpherron, might be released from her aeons long imprisonment. You must first journey to Neshara, to hire a mercenary, and rescue the desert princess, Fazara, so that she can guide you across the desert. You must travel to the Tower of Kadash, there to investigate a mysterious death, then retrieve the lost crystal shards from the ruined temples of the desert, command an army of desert warriors against the Shadow Guard, and finally, journey to Mazarkand, to confront those who would free Ashpherron from her underground prison chamber... and maybe, face off against the living goddess, Ashpherron herself, before she can lay waste to all Umatta. Can you make it in time, and will you have to kill another living god? You have already killed one, so why not another?</p><p>In this interactive gamebook, you make the decisions, and you suffer the consequences.</p><p>Choose wisely or die trying!</p><p><br /></p><p><u><b>Podcasts</b></u></p><p><u>Lone Wolf podcast</u></p><p>I have just discovered this podcast. There are 2 episodes so far and the next one is out on January 5th.</p><p><a href="https://www.magnamund.com/podcast">Podcast (magnamund.com)</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Fantastic Flights</u></p><p>Since my last blog post, HJ Doom has covered Caverns of Malice, Escape from Castle Ravenloft and Battleblade Warrior.</p><p><a href="https://www.hauntedphonograph.com/fantastic-fights-and-where-to-find-them">Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Conventions and gatherings</u></p><p>Fighting Fantasy Fest 5 will be on September 2024</p><p><a href="https://www.fightingfantasy.com/fighting-fantasy-fest-5">Fighting Fantasy Fest 5 | fightingfantasy</a></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Adventures in social media</u></p><p>I collated people on Twitter that I would like to follow just in case it goes down (at time of writing, Elon had locked everyone out of the offices and apparently 75% of the employees had resigned, so who knows?) and I got an email from Adam Dawes.</p><p><a href="https://adamdawes.com/windows/win_ffconstructionkit.html">adamdawes.com - FF Construction Kit</a></p>Stuart Lloydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.com0