Always around the holidays I end up revisiting one of the game books posted here (I've played through them all at some point, haha)- usually "A Midwinter Carol" due to it being so relevant and fitting for Christmas, but this year I revisited "Outsider!". Such a great storyline that's so engaging, I'm replaying it again after a while and discovering new side stories. Gavin Mitchell is very talented! Anyway if I don't get a chance later, Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all!

Robert Douglas
Tue Dec 26 14:13:55 2017

Don't panic, I was just making a statement, using a line from one of my favourite TV series. I was so taken with it I'll use it upon point of death (whenever that might be) if possible. Anyway, hope everyone is having a nice Xmas/Yuletide/Locking holiday and here's to a prosperous New Year.

bcyy
Thu Dec 28 13:06:44 2017

@Robert:

You're starting to sound like me during my own darkest moments. At the time, the only thing that kept me going was the thought that I wouldn't be able to inflict pain on everyone who had wronged me if I were gone. I'd pretend everything's OK, but something always leaks, and everyone started to give me a wide berth after a while. I'd also lash out at anyone who would try to talk to me, but looking back, I appreciate their effort.

What helped me in the end was chucking my lifelong ambitions down the drain and looking for new ones.

Also, applying for a patent helped a lot. It hasn't paid for itself yet, but owning it was a constant reminder to myself that I'm a contributor to the society around me, something I desperately needed to validate at the time. I suggest you try something similar if you need to validate this too.

Finally, don't pay attention to those who despise you. A wise man once told me that part of any visionary's CV is the ability to ignore the naysayers and focus on your vision. If and when you succeed, everyone backtracks and says they knew you were a genius all along.

Robert Douglas
Fri Dec 29 13:31:28 2017

@bcyy,

Thanks for the kind words. After everything that's happened, I'd be lying if I said I was an optimist. But if I was a man of less integrity, I wouldn't be here now. However, I would confess to a desire in leaving my native country that no longer holds much meaning for me. The UK is becoming dangerously decadent with a bad attitude to boot.

Robert Douglas
Sun Jan 7 17:23:05 2018

As you know, FF has been revived under the Scholastic publishers. Ian Livingstone's 'The Port of Peril' was released late last year, with promise of more titles in the future. Just five minutes ago I came across a fantastic discovery that must be shared: 'The Gates of Death' has been listed under the bibliography of Charlie Higson, well known for his comedy contributions and The Enemy series of books for young adults. He was also know for (mostly) penning the excellent 'Jekyll and Hyde' TV series - sadly ITV decided not to do a second series. A moment's sadness replaced by excited anticipation! However, going by the lesson of 'Bloodbones' during the days of Puffin, actual publication remains to be seen. Let's hope it does.

bcyy
Tue Jan 9 03:03:46 2018

@Robert:

Sorry about the late reply - for some reason, our posts didn't appear until just now.

Going abroad is, in my personal experience, a good way of keeping things in perspective. If you really want to leave the UK and have the means to do so, then I think doing so would be helpful. In fact, I would recommend leaving the western world altogether for a while - just make sure you can make it back if and when you want to.

As for the UK being decadent, in my humble opinion, that's what happens when you take many of the world's richest 1% of people and cram them together. I've seen the same happen in many places with similar situations. So many, in fact, that it has led me to conclude that it's just human nature. Don't let this obscure your vision of your goals, though - someone has to make progress happen, even if the society in general is reluctant to.

As for the FF revival, I look forward to seeing copies in my local bookstore, even though that could take years to happen.

Robert Douglas
Tue Jan 9 23:50:09 2018

@bcyy,

You make a good point regarding the 1%. However, I would say there are other factors besides in-balanced capitalism contributing to the decline. It's a shame about Wizard Books ending the FF series, although let's hope Scholastic produce some new titles. Saying that, it would be great to see authors such as Jonathan Green and Stephen Hand make a comeback. I'm not sure if Steve Jackson (UK) would ever return to write a gamebook -whether physical or digital - but that would be great if he did! And you can tell that Ian Livingstone has a certain fondness for gamebooks by returning every once in a while! I'd also like to suppose (hint!) that 'Blood of the Mandrakes' by Stephen Hand could be a contender, but it all depends on the copyright, author's decision, publisher's decision to revive that idea. It is possible: many fans despaired over 'Bloodbones'...yet it eventually appeared through Wizard! And of course there are many other shelved projects you might find by consulting Titannica website.

GG
Thu Jan 18 20:29:59 2018

That's peculiar... it seems that as soon as you get into a gamebook all the website formatting is gone, only a basic, ugly (albeit functional) html is left without even any css... any clues?

Tammy
Fri Jan 19 01:48:15 2018

Me.

Phil Sadler
Tue Feb 20 18:36:41 2018

It's so quiet around here that I'm starting to miss that 'Done!' poster. I just can't wait for more of his amazing one-word ... reviews?

Gavin
Fri Feb 23 23:33:31 2018

I wouldn't want to sink to the depths of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber inasmuch as blaming the public for the failure of Love Never Dies. However, I do get the impression that Outsider has been over praised and New Day Rising over bashed, as Kevin Smith said of Clerks and Mallrats. All Fighting Fantasy characters had randomised stats and the ones in NDR were no different -- Jori complies with the Sorcery! standard SKILL stat for a wizard even. And if your STAMINA decreases while the enemy's stays the same, it means you're losing the Attack Rounds. In any case, the announcement of Alestorm at Bloodstock does rather incline me to write Day in the Life II instead.

John
Sun Mar 4 22:14:05 2018

I wasn't really sure where to post this or if I should be using the contact link instead of the guestbook, so if I'm wrong please feel free to correct me or just ignore.
I'm wondering if it would be possible to get an ssl cert running on the site? They're free now (with let's encrypt), but I'm not sure how the specialized software for the gamebooks would handle one.
It'd be really nice if possible; I've taken to typing https as the prefix to any address, and its always a little alarming when firefox says a site is insecure.

Gavin
Sat Mar 10 00:05:50 2018

Maybe another tale.

Your last name is FAUSTIUS. That is all.

Mother of all demons, LILLITH offers you a bargain. for the small price of your soul would you resurrect your mother, or buy yourself the friendship of local up and coming goth metal G-TYPE?

Live in fear.

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