This website gets a mention in Hacking the Curriculum by Ian Livingstone and Shahneila Saeed. It is part of a lesson plan for writing a gamebook! I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to bring games to education.

Tammy
Tue Jul 28 14:44:17 2020
General Chat

Just came back to read my post, it seemed a bit harsh. What I am trying to say is that they should categorize the FF franchise.

From 0-11, gamebooks written for children. Where monsters become cute and villains are creative not scary. The hero would not be facing dire consequences and death refs. The Paw Patrol, He-Man, Power Rangers, Winnie the Poo, Blues Clues? Has a gamebook author tried to attempt this?

12-18, gamebooks geared at teenagers like in the (80s & 90s), what we have now in our collections including future books. This is usually where Ian Livingstone (and a majority of others) stays in the boundaries. This is the level to which everyone usually writes their stories.

Adult gamebooks not ranging in content for only for grown ups but with higher difficulty levels of gameplay, deeper plots, and longer references with details and good dialogue. The only one I noticed who had done a great job at this was Jonathan Green.

I would read gamebooks ranging in violent gore, sexuality, and swearing but I will just go play a video game to reach that effect. They'd be fun to read once or twice but then it'd be put on the shelf and most likely I'd go back to open the 12-18 ones more often. I think CYOA are the only ones who do adult gamebooks with odd front covers, i read a few once, but that was it, just once. Not against it, i just prefer my sword, magic spells, armour and regular old villain story lines.

They should open more genres too like Old Westerns, romances, scientific/physics, paranormal, historical, modern day... LGBT? I believe someone wrote a gay zombie gamebook.

There were gamebooks geared just at a female only audience but they didn't do so well. I'm sure now if they tried again it might work if they did a Nancy Drew theme. Loved Nancy Drew or a romance like in Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. Then there is Lara Croft.

Tammy
Sat Jul 11 16:24:07 2020
General Chat

Its aimed at 12 or younger, which is fine. But i doubt im able to write for that audience, as i would get bored writing a dumbed down, G rated story. I would read them for fun but doubt i'd play with dice.
What they should do is have a category of 13 and up and then 12 to younger.
That way adults can still read their favorite themed ff gamebooks to themselves with difficult settings rather than read a bedtime gamebook to their children, where house of hell has become house of the very mean man and a few scary monsters in a big old creepy house.

SCC
Fri Jul 10 20:03:29 2020
General Chat

"I heard that Stephen Hand wants nothing more to do with Fighting Fantasy. What would be cool is if some of the books here got the print treatment. However I'm sceptical as they seem to be aiming their books at a childrens' market now."

* Stuart Lloyd (from Fri Jul 19 05:10:20 2019)

Good point, sir. I think a collection of some of the better Windjammer stories that were only 100 entries long would have been a good sell.

I was once given a nice compliment by someone after showing them a revised version of my story "Golem's Gauntlet".

This person was "in the know" as far as FF titles went and said it would have been perfect for the later half of the run and was in fact much more original and enjoyable than many of the published efforts.

I was very grateful, but at the same time agree with your comment that the new titles will be for a younger audience.

The advent of gaming has taken many young teens away from books. In fact, FF worked because it and other products such as D & D were the outlet for the imagination in those days. Not so now.

While I enjoy playing the latest Souls game as much as the next person, there's a special place in my heart for the first seven FF books and the Sorcery series (I have PDF versions of them all on file for when I have a taste for nostalgia).

It's hard to quantify and explain to someone who didn't live through that period, but I believe we've lost something. But, nothing is forever.

Jerry
Wed Jul 8 11:54:22 2020
Hunger Of The Wolf
Skull - non-optimum ending reached

I thought I won, but...

SPOILER

END SPOILER

asgardian
Sat Jul 4 18:38:02 2020
General Chat

Nice to see the site is still operating. A perfect time to be at home reading old FF books (City of Thieves is a great one when there is heavy rain outside).

I'm fortunate in that the current situation hasn't affected me financially, but it still leaves one numb when you try and comprehend the global situation. I suspect the "old normal" is gone forever.

Gavin
Fri Jul 3 06:28:33 2020
General Chat

My story Polaris is now available at Amazon.

sam
Wed Jul 1 10:55:27 2020
Bodies In The Docks
Skull - non-optimum ending reached

love this.

Gavin
Sat Jun 27 21:52:18 2020
A Day In The Life
Skull - non-optimum ending reached

I like this ending because it's precisely what Superman vs Batman Dawn of Justice wasn't, apart from the bit about the movie being a big pile of crap.

Benoît Smith Mon Jun 22 13:09:10 2020 A Saint Beckons	Congratulations for your interactive fiction! I'm trying my wits and luck with the PDF version you introduced as an entry in the 2015 Windhammer Prize, and wondering: besides changing the rule system, which updates did you give it?
	I can't remember making any changes apart from, as you say, the use of different game mechanics.

Yaztromo
Fri Jun 19 04:23:47 2020
Gamebooks

Over ten years ago I came across a Star Wars fan gamebook series that followed Lone Wolf game mechanics (after all, the Jedi are not that different from the Kai...) and it was really great!

WRT size, my strong suggestion is to start small. You will increase size once you will get your technique perfected.

I suggest you make a good use of the (free) tool called Libro Game Creator http://www.matteoporopat.com/librogame/libro-game-creator-3/#download-lgc
Don't get scared off by the language, there is also an English version....

Yaztromo
Fri Jun 19 04:16:05 2020
General Chat

Health is OK, but the rest not so good... anyway I still feel a privileged, as health is OK.

God
Thu Jun 18 08:21:28 2020
In The Footsteps Of A Hero

great

Stuart Lloyd
Thu Jun 18 01:55:25 2020
General Chat

Congratulations on your recovery, Tammy! I hope everyone else is OK. I'm a little wary of this "opening up" that's happening - I'm glad that people are getting an income now, but I'm staying away from the shops as the virus hasn't got bored with us yet.

Stay safe, everyone!

Laura
Wed Jun 17 22:05:29 2020
House Of Horror
Star - optimum ending reached

Yey I did it! With lots of help from the comments

God
Wed Jun 17 08:55:52 2020
A Midwinter Carol
Skull - non-optimum ending reached

good

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