I'm trying to come up with a book idea. I sorta know the rules now, but the thing is, I'm trying to come up with a great idea. I think it'll be a modern-day type of book in which you're a world hero going around the earth to save towns, villages, and big cities. What does everyone think?

matt
Fri Mar 4 06:55:11 2005

Give it a try.

Eliot
Thu Mar 10 15:14:23 2005

GFI

Holden
Sun Jun 12 16:01:35 2005

OK guys, I'm finally getting around to writing an FF book. One of the rules is going to be different. Luck and skill scores are still obtained by rolling the dice however you do it, I know what it is, but can't remember it at present. Anyway, you have to get double stamina, because you use guns. KIt's called the milkitary series, and i it's based n the different American wars, because they're the only ones I know about. The first one I'm writing is called Separated, and you play the part of an Englishman, whose unit left him because they thought him for dead in the trenches some time in 1916 in World War I. Anyone have any ideas on what they'd like to see in my books? Think you could get this book on the web site if it's good enough?

Well, however good it is, I'll be happy to put it on the downloads page at least when it's finished. As usual, whether there'll be an online version also depends on how closely it sticks to the standard rules, how much time I have etc.

Legion Tue Dec 13 01:32:04 2005	How about if my gamebook is almost identifcal to Fighting Fantasy? I'm wondering about the combat rules though. I don't like FF rules one bit. They make boring combat. Could your engine still be used if three "6" dices were to be used? Any other ideas to make combats more exciting? They call us many for we are Legion.
	The software isn't particularly adaptable, it was written specifically for Fighting Fantasy rules. Of course anything is possible, but if a gamebook has a different combat system it does make an adaptation significantly harder (and therefore less likely to happen). If you do write this gamebook by all means send it to me and I'll put it on the downloads page at the very least.

Dark
Thu Dec 15 20:50:11 2005

Well I don't know about the engine, that's business for the site Admin.
Personally, I agree with you on combats, sinse in the Ff I've seen you don't generally have many other things to do in combat than hit or run away. I must admit, I rather liked some of the Lw combats, while the actual fighting itself boiled down to a similar thing to Ff, there seemed to be many more ways a combat could be influenced outside the actual fight ---- using a boe on an enimy before hand, or attacking an enimy from the blind side etc.
I certainly think Combats are always more fun when they involve more items to do different things (another bonus in Lone wolf).

Legions Thu Dec 22 21:00:00 2005	I understand. I've got about 200# done, maybe a bit more. I want my project to be adapted in your engine, however. I'll see what I can do about combat. I have a tendency to write rather long paragraphs... I'm kind of wondering if it's a bad thing. I suppose it changes from one person to another. I'm already at my third version... I wonder if I'll ever be satisfied! L.
	Perhaps you could write it using your own rules to begin with, then when you've finished make another version in which all the combats are replaced with the Fighting Fantasy equivalent. I don't think there's anything wrong with long paragraphs, in my view the quality of the writing is what matters.

shadowdragon Thu Dec 22 23:13:10 2005	I've been thinking of writing my own gamebook, but I dunno if I have the patients to do so. Perhaps I should just give it a try sometime. The thing I won't like about it is making completely randomized paragraphs, or sections rather. Maybe I'll give it a shot but its not likely to happen in the near future.
	ADVELH may help you with randomising paragraphs. See the links page.

Legion
Tue Jan 3 17:14:27 2006

I'm looking for other Gamebooks fan to finish mine.

It's about halfway done, but I would like to experience writing it with other people.

Here's my e-mail: EtienneZizka@hotmail.com

Drop me a line if you're interested.

Legion

martin
Sun Jan 15 18:51:35 2006

i'm writting a FF book myself its called Biggun Garnishes Dungeon (he's an orc)

me
Sun Jan 15 18:53:02 2006

boo

Nameless
Mon Jan 16 15:31:51 2006

Erm... I'm confused.

Question
Thu Jun 14 08:40:24 2007

I'm working on my own Gamebook.

Any advice for the pro, or from experienced players?

What should I avoid?

I've got about 50 paragraphs finished I would think.

Andy, I understand what you're saying. I don't think my gamebook is combat centered by a good, dynamic fight sometimes is really something I enjoy.

Would the following be applicable:

Where the difference between the attack power of two opponent determines the amount of damage caused? Something similar to "The Diamond Key" but a bit more simple.

I've worked on some new mechanics to fix the boring combat.

I'm thinking about fixing other flaws of the old system, namely how a huge difference in SKILL score either makes the game too difficult or too easy. Any suggestions?

I was thinking of having characters start with a set set of stats.

For example:

SKILL: 9 ENDURANCE: 16 LUCK: 9

I don't really see the point of randomly generated characters anyway.

I could also offer a choice of different characters with different stats.

Any suggestions would be read and taken into consideration.

One last thing: should I begin with a small adventure and go from there?

Al Sander
Thu Jun 14 22:51:45 2007

A set of standard scores would be the way to go, especially if you want to make sure the player has a certain chance of getting through the adventure.
For example, you could design an adventure where a character with certain scores has about a 50% chance of making it through, assuming they made all the "right" choices. Or you could adjust this figure if you wanted a harder or easier adventure.

Question
Fri Jun 15 02:17:21 2007

Thank you, Al.

I am seriously considering using preset scores.

Perhaps there could be a difficulty setting of some sort:
EASY: SK: 10 ST: 22 LK: 12
MEDIUM: Sk: 9 ST: 18 LK: 10
HARD: SK: 8 ST: 14 LK: 9

That could also be a solution.

Drusilla
Tue Jul 17 18:58:53 2007

Great site, love the books!

I'm currently attempting to do one myself.
I'm trying to make it classic style but with enough innovation in plot to make it something different.
Can anyone suggest what the optimum length should be?
I've done 100 references so far and I'm planning on 400.
I see some make them longer and shorter though.
Any opinion on how long it should be?
I'm using a basic Village-Forest-Town-Hills-Fortress structure.

Thanks in advance.

I don't think there is an optimum length. There are examples of gamebooks ranging from 50 to 1000 references on this site alone.

Drusilla
Fri Jul 20 01:38:34 2007

Thankyou for replying.

I'm at almost 200 references now but am anticipating finding it hard to stick to 400 while maintaining my projected plot (I am only a third of the way through) and avoiding it being too linear.
It's difficult to find solid advice on writing books such as these but I am interested in the challenge. I do wish it to be reasonably authentic though.
What I would like, if anyone can help, is advice on how much non-essential parts of the book should be. In other words, if I have one true path through the book with several different options within, what percentage of its total references should this roughly be?
Also, I'm curious what number of 'instant deaths' in a 400 reference book is deemed as 'conventional'.
In addition, how many 'forced combats' in such a size book are generally accepted to be 'about right'.
I know there is scope for variation in such things but any input would be appreciated as I am not of the original FF generation and am only familiar with 5 of the original series.

Thanks in advance.

Gaetano
Fri Jul 20 03:58:57 2007

Hello

First off, don't try to limit your book to a set number of paragraphs; just let it take its course, and if it's 474 or 515 or 870 paragraphs, it's perfectly fine.

There is no set formula for how much of your book should contain the 'true' path vs other encounters; most people don't like for a book to be too linear. The later FF books, while having good storylines, were guilty of this, IMO. I guess you have to ask yourself if you plan to make the 'true' path the only path through book, or the optimal path? I myself would make an optimal path through the book where any character, no matter how bad his initial stats, would be able to get through, while stronger characters would be able to stray and get through by fighting tougher battles. I think that most players did not enjoy figting that many battles in the original series, but of course it is much easier playing through battles on this site.

The number of instant deaths to include is tricky. I think most players are ok with a fair number as long as they aren't gratuitous.

But the best advice to be given, which has been said before, is simply to write a book that you would enjoy playing. You can certainly ask people to play test it as you get nearer to finishing to get feedback; however I think that in this format an interesting story idea is more important than mechanics. Have fun, and don't worry too much about structure (other than making sure that all of the links are correct and that you have internal consistency).

Phil Sadler
Fri Jul 20 07:36:27 2007

I have some stats here regarding some of the official books as well as my own...

Instant deaths:

Deathtrap Dungeon (400 refs): 32
Temple of Terror (400 refs): 24
Riders of the Storm (400 refs): 37
Creature of Havoc (470 refs): 47
Hellfire (500 refs): 38

Perhaps some of these deaths should be inflicted on the reader if he fails at a very important test or does the wrong thing in an equally important situation and especially if he lacked an item at that point which could have helped him though.

Unavoidable fights:

Hellfire: 15
Deathtrap Dungeon: 15
Riders of the Storm: 16
Temple of Terror: 20
Island of the Lizard King: 20

I think it's best to try and make the fights interesting by messing around with your enemy's abilities (such as making them able to inflict Luck/Skill/Initial damage or being able to kill you in a certain number of rounds or gaining stamina/skill themselves during the fight, and so on.)

I should also try not to have too many very easy fights because they are just plain dull to participate in if the enemy has no chance of ever doing any damage. To illustrate this I would suggest that if you have any enemies with a skill of 7 or less then might I suggest giving them some sort of advantage such as very high stamina or the chance to 'steal' stamina off of you or the chance to call for reinforcements and so on.

Drusilla
Fri Jul 20 18:14:12 2007

Thankyou very much for your advice Gaetano and Phil.
I've played through the books you both have on here and very much enjoyed and admired them.
Thanks again, you've been a great help and I will make suitable tweaks to reflect what you've said. You gave me exactly the answers I was seeking.
To Question, you have my sympathies. I can appreciate how much work you may have lost and wish you well in completing your book.

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