If they continue publishing the FF books (the last time they published one was more than a year ago), I think Knights of Doom will be the next one published.

Ibrahim
Wed Dec 31 20:22:39 2008

Hi Everyone. Just wishing you all a happy new year and the best for 2009.

Kee
Thu Jan 1 08:01:13 2009

@duffmeister: First of all, beautiful 'couplet there' =D and I too think that perhaps Wizard has decided to stop publishing the gamebooks since they might not be too eager on going around asking all the authors/illustrators. Also, the books are still in stores, though aren't selling particularly well.
@Kekataag: Well, considering that Knights of Doom is the only Jonathan Green book not published, I believe you might be right.
@Ibrahim: Happy 2009 to you too! =)

duffmeister
Thu Jan 1 10:34:24 2009

Happy 2009 all!

Stuart
Thu Jan 1 21:25:03 2009

Happy new year!

Gaetano
Fri Jan 2 05:29:26 2009

Here's to more great gamebooks in '09

Kee
Fri Jan 2 11:40:07 2009

I've just been reading quite a truckload of gamebook rules lately and am quite surprised that FF actually has one of the simplest combat systems.

Other gamebooks such as Lone Wolf feature a confusing combat system (which I still don't get how to use), long-winded rules regarding the skills etc. complicated further by the Kai Disciplines. The Random Number Table confuses me even more =(

Other systems completely eliminate combat (e.g. Soul Tracker) though I kinda like combat in gamebooks despite its tediousness.

What do you guys/gals think?

duffmeister
Fri Jan 2 15:16:01 2009

I think ff style combat can, if put in by a skilled author, add an interesting level of suspense, and is particularly interesting when special rules are added. The problems come from either over-strong enemies who cannot be beaten and tiresome, boring hordes of foes.

My favourite combat is the style from the wrestling scene in 'Seas of Blood' where you battle a Cyclops. The idea of multi-choice combat is my favourite type, which I've also seen in 'Hunger of the Wolf'. I've included several instances of it in my forthcoming Ancient Greece themed gamebook.

Gaetano
Fri Jan 2 23:15:25 2009

Hello Kee- I like the Lone Wolf combat system; I think that it provides a more enjoyable and realistic experience than endless dice rolling. I'm assuming you have a printed book from the series? All you do for each combat is figure out the ratio by subtracting your opponent's skill from your own. So, for example, if Lone Wolf's skill is 15, and he's fighting an opponent with a skill of 17, then the ratio is -2 (negative two). Then you simply find the appropriate column in the back cover of the book (in this case, -1/-2).

Use the random number table for each round. Simply take a pencil, close your eyes, and stick at some point on the table. Open your eyes and you will have landed on a number between 0 and 9. Whatever number you have, line it up with the appropriate column from above. The result will tell you how many endurence points Lone Wolf (and his opponent) have lost for that round. Repeat this until someone is dead.

Kee
Sat Jan 3 02:54:57 2009

@duffmeister: Do you mean a combat system in which you get to choose which moves to make?

@Gaetono: Actually, I'm reading the online ones by Project Aon. And thanks too for shedding some light regarding the combat, I actually find your explanation much simpler compared to the one offered in the book.

Another thing about combat systems is that it can get quite tiresome having to keep track of enemy health, placing your finger on the page while fighting, and in the case of Lone Wolf, continuing to reference the Combat Results Table or taking note of any special effects that the items you have grant.

frederico
Sat Jan 3 11:57:39 2009

Kee, 1248 is a numerical sequence, since each number's the double of the previous one, that's why I chose it.

Kee
Sat Jan 3 12:49:17 2009

I just re-read my post and realized that it sounds like I'm trying to put an anti-gamebook combat argument. Note that I'm NOT against combat in gamebooks as I said in my first post.

@frederico: Ok, got it.

duffmeister
Sat Jan 3 16:23:27 2009

Have reached a point in my adventure where I'm uncertain of a choice. My opening tale in ancient greece has 3 parts: A section in Crete, a set of other adventures in the Aegean, and the conclusion. I have almost finished the cretan part, and I'm unsure whether to have the stroy as a trilogy of mini gamebooks or a longer gamebook. One reason I want to send it in is that I've now been inspired to write a new adventure set elsewhere, and so very highly confused is what I am.

Gaetano
Sat Jan 3 19:58:16 2009

If your interest in your current project is flagging, I would complete the Crete section and leave it as a possible first part of a trilogy. As I've said before, writing gamebooks should be fun. If something else is inspiring you, go ahead and knock it out. If you have a habit of shifting your focues over a short period of time, perhaps it may be better to plan shorter books than long epics.

Kee
Sun Jan 4 10:10:57 2009

I'd agree with Gaetono on this one....my interest regarding gamebooks kept shifting and I nearly did not complete Welcome to Blackheart Asylum.

What I tend to do is ignore the 'inspiring idea' by forcing myself to write and continue working on the current gamebook even if I don't feel like it.

After that, I go back to edit the horribly-written sections.

Stuart
Sun Jan 4 12:12:02 2009

I find my interest flags when I've written all the sections and have to go through the task of putting them in random order. I'm getting round this by writing the skeleton of each paragraph first, then putting them in random order, then writing them in full. For my first War of Dieties book, I completed all the writing in 2 days and then lost interest and didn't bother putting the paragraphs in order for about 3 months.

Have you considered using ADVELH? I could be wrong, but I think that randomising paragraphs is among its features.

duffmeister Sun Jan 4 15:19:30 2009	ADVELH? You mean there's a program for writing gamebooks?
	Yes, see the links page.

Ulysses Ai
Mon Jan 5 04:22:21 2009

Hi Stuart.

If the task of putting all of the references in random order is odious, you could try the way I do it. I estimate how many references I think the book will take, and write down all the numbers in a table in Excel. Then as I write the references, I chose from the table at random, deleting that number from the table and inserting it into my text. For example, at the end of reference 1, with a choice to be made I might write:
To help the old lady across the street, turn to 34. If you think she is really a witch and plans to eat your skin, turn to 174.
I then delete 34 and 174 from the table.
The problem with this method is that if your inital estimate of how many references the story will use is too small, you have to add references in; but this rearranging is a much smaller task than randomising the whole story.

And
Happy New Year everyone

Furthermore, to avoid running out of references you could simply make your initial estimate far larger than you would need - there's no law that says you have to use every reference from 1 to 400 or whatever. The obvious example is Outsider! which is numbered from 1 to 1000, but only uses about 450 of these.

frederico
Mon Jan 5 23:26:28 2009

I think someone should write a gamebook about a disabled person in order to repair the destructive image the media has portrayed of disability.

duffmeister
Fri Jan 9 16:53:10 2009

Come on, someone say something! The silence is killing me!

381 to 400 of 1604 | [next] [previous] | [first] [last]