Hi All!

Re: Gamebook Difficulty Level

Creating a gamebook to suit diverse taste is easier said than done. FF titles -both published and amateur - vary in style, theme, and difficulty. I didn't start collecting FF until 1987, and the first title I purchased was 'Creature of Havoc'.

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Steve Jackson's adventure was ambitious, even more so than HOH and AWF. It was also his last one in the regular green spine series. Even so,

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It wasn't until turn of the millenium that I sat down and played it through - even then, it required a solution printed out from the old FF website! Many true paths are really a knife's edge. Beware: COH is one such gamebook!

It can prove a knife's edge to authors keenly aware of a balanced gameplay; presenting a challenge, yet introducing a few opportunities for the player to even the odds (even with low die rolls), at times depending on the player's own mental ability to earn bonuses, and their choice of route can affect the attribute scores.

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However, it isn't imperative for that meeting to take place - but it does help the player.

Much as I enjoyed reading FF titles over the years, some proved more difficult than others. Jonathan Green and Steve Jackson often adopt a knife-edge path that if you stray from it...DEAD! Lacking a particular item? DEAD! Citadel of Chaos and Knights of Doom are good examples of this. These are excellent stories with lots going on, plenty of exciting encounters - and great choices for those armchair adventurers wanting more of a challenge. In fact, very few gamebooks are boring.

However, there are always some players who prefer to succeed owing to victory in combat, discovering bonuses, and knowing there weren't too many pitfalls along the way because they simply took a wrong turn. In 'The Curse of Drumer', I wanted to give the player more of a fair chance over true path, and tie complex gameplay in with (what I hoped) a good story. There are death entries in COD - but only result to the player's poor judgement, at times an ill-fated die roll.

One last thing: in House of Hell

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asgardian
Fri Nov 11 04:14:55 2011
General Chat

I'll check that out. Thanks for the tip.

Haoie
Thu Nov 10 19:44:45 2011
General Chat

Has everyone joined the FF group on Facebook yet? It's a good group, small but growing, over 200 members now. Look it up!

Sylas
Wed Nov 9 18:36:30 2011
General Chat

has anyone read From the Shadows in the downloads section yet? i realise it's a bit long but please give it a go. could do with a few short reviews or even criticism.

Dark
Wed Nov 9 08:08:26 2011
General Chat

Ah, thanks for that. I didn't bother talking to the computer after I found it unhelpful sinse I wanted to save as much time as possible. I tried using garry's id at a couple of points, like when on the bridge but obviously i didn't use it at the right stage, nice to get the hint now.

Actually on the use item thing, this is something which has stumped me in a couple of other books on this site, sinse where as in the printed book you'd have a "if you have item x and wish to use it" choice, here you don't and sometimes just have to guess when.

Hopefully i can make it through this time though.

Ulysses
Wed Nov 9 02:59:40 2011
Wrong Way Go Back

@Dark:

Since you're tried it hundreds of times, I'll be generous with the following clues:

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Dark
Tue Nov 8 20:48:52 2011
Wrong Way Go Back

Hmmm, Ulysses, I've read the opening text quite carefully but can't determine the precise location of the night club, though I have found where the screw driver and the two ids are. The one itme which is giving me major trouble at the second is the programming manual you mentioned, sinse I've no idea where it is at all I'm afraid, so another hint would really be appreciated there.

I'd love to actually get this one finished, I must've tried it hundreds of times. I hope the rest of the series is a litle more forgiving.

Wayne Densley
Tue Nov 8 10:51:38 2011
Windhammer Competition

Hi all,

Arborell.com is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2011 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction is Andrew Wright for his excellent sea-faring adventure, Sea of Madness. Arborell.com can also announce that Ashton Saylor and Zachary Carango have placed second and third in the popular vote and are therefore worthy Merit Award winners with their entries, Peledgathol - The Last Fortress and Above the Waves respectively.

This year has seen an amazing selection of entries, covering a wide range of fantasy and sci-fi settings and all have done very well. Considering the limitations provided by the competition guidelines the authors who have offered entries this year have shown once again, that great gamebook ideas can be made to fit into very small spaces.

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.
All information regarding the Windhammer Prize can be found at http://www.arborell.com/ May Glory and Renown follow all who have participated.

Regards
Wayne Densley
Chronicles of Arborell
2011 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction
http://www.arborell.com/

Ulysses
Tue Nov 8 04:44:19 2011
Wrong Way Go Back

@Dark:

There is a way to find out which deck the nightclub is on so you don't have to guess. Remember that you start in the nightclub, so you just have to get back to the same deck you were on at the beginning. Once in the nightclub, the items you need (three of them) are always in the same locations.

dark
Mon Nov 7 19:49:36 2011
Wrong Way Go Back

Oooh sorry, I'm a fool! I should've just checked responses when i asked a month ago, sinse Ulyses did give me some hints which I've not tried yet, mostly because I've been guide dog training and thus unable to check online stuff as much as I'd like. I'll give wwgb another go.

dark
Mon Nov 7 19:38:23 2011
Tomb Of The Ancients

Well I've just finished tomb of the ancients.

it was sort of a nice idea and had the epic feeling, but I actually feel a trifle disappointed. The hole thing felt too easy, with barely any combat and not much to choose. This would've been fine, sinse there are some great short books. Bad moon rising is similarly short and rather easy, but it does have a rather ironic style and distinct world to explore.

I just found the writing style here far too abrupt to actually give me a sense of the world, it's characters or bring home the plot. For instance you here a lot about "ghosts" or "spirits" but there's not a word on how they look, what they do or anything else.

A lotof the sentences were very short and abrupt "you do this, you do that" which made the hole thing feel almost as if it were written in note form, almost more of a general idea than a serious book.

Stil, there are lots of good books here I haven't! finished, heck I stil haven't completed wrong way go back so haven't gone on to any of the others in that series. I've made it to the escape pod, and even got the panel off the parent bot, but just can't get past that, and even getting there is dependent upon some pretty random luck with searching the night club and getting to the club deck in as few tries as possible.

Actually a hint with wwgb might be appreciated.

Phil Sadler
Mon Nov 7 11:18:06 2011
General Chat

Hey all, I just went to http://uk.akinator.com (a page that guesses famous people or characters) and found that it did not seem to know too much about Fighting Fantasy! It even had the audacity to not know what a Bloodbeast is. I soon corrected that fault of course, and now advise all FF fans to go there and spread the word.

Bert Sun Nov 6 16:20:34 2011 Bodies In The Docks	I just played the Strange Case of the Bodies in the Docks. It's a fun adventure which reads almost like a novel. The elaborate game system and the rather odd ending suggest that more projects are to be expected, though none seem to be on this site. I anybody aware of any followup stories?
	It was intended to be the first in a series of three Lovecraft-inspired gamebooks. Simon has at least made a start on the second, but given that about eight years have elapsed since then, I wouldn't hold out too much hope.

Jezza
Sun Nov 6 15:47:12 2011
General Chat

Just found this website. Never really got in to roleplaying games other than through the books that Livingstne and Jackson produced in the 80s.

Loving these games. Thanks to everyone involved.

Ibrahim
Fri Nov 4 02:10:12 2011
General Chat

@Phil. Oh yes, you've got hard playing down to an art. I never did complete Riders of the storm or hellfire, they were too hard to keep me interested, also I wasn't taken with the settings of the stories but whatever floats your boat.

Ibrahim
Fri Nov 4 02:07:54 2011
Tomb Of The Ancients

@Gaetano. Nice one, I look forward to playing that, I'll happily play offline although online is always preferable. Loved soul tracker, thought it was brilliant. I could imagine the protagonist driving around on his motorcycle taking out those goolish SN's and the chase when fleeing from the park could rival a bond flick for its inventiveness and thrilling intensity. I guess that for me, playing gamebooks like these is so very much about the story, not the challenge of the dice throwing and stat keeping.

duffmeister
Thu Nov 3 12:21:40 2011
Tomb Of The Ancients

I agree with Phil. I'll read a gamebook of just about any difficulty level if it is entertaining and atmospheric, which I thought Tomb of the Ancients was.

Phil Sadler
Wed Nov 2 18:15:13 2011
Tomb Of The Ancients

Trust us Ibrahim: getting difficulty right is not an easy thing to do. It always seems that it's either too easy or too hard (and we get complaints either way).

EmpireOfTheSun
Wed Nov 2 05:33:32 2011
General Chat

Hi, I am a fan and have read the majority of gamebooks here, as well as being a huge fan of the Fighting Fantasy Series. Havent been on in a while, and just wanted to chirp in with my continued thanks and support. Gonna check out the new gamebooks posted now!

Gaetano
Tue Nov 1 20:47:24 2011
Tomb Of The Ancients

@ Ibrahim

I'd been working on a space-horror adventure titled Devil's Flight but had to put it aside at about 250 sections because I was picked up to pen another title for the online Gamebook Adventures series. I'll finish that up in the next couple of months, and hopefully get back into my original book, finish it up, and get it sent here sometime next year. It may end at around 300 sections or so.

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