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Post by paltogue on Jun 13, 2014 16:39:35 GMT
I see that the Destiny Quest series has come to a halt, with no certain future plans for book 4. Although I've only got the first volume and haven't followed the series closely, this is a shame. Doesn't look like there's a market for paper gamebooks anymore.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,466
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jun 17, 2014 13:08:53 GMT
I think Destiny Quest had the wrong approach from a marketing perspective. It seemed to be trying to appeal to those who are into games like Elder Scrolls but I think these guys would just far rather play Elder Scrolls than a more limited gamebook where you have to keep track of all the stats yourself. If gamebooks are to survive they need to do soemthing that video games can't rather than trying to beat them at their own game.
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Post by paltogue on Jun 17, 2014 18:51:17 GMT
I think Destiny Quest had the wrong approach from a marketing perspective. It seemed to be trying to appeal to those who are into games like Elder Scrolls but I think these guys would just far rather play Elder Scrolls than a more limited gamebook where you have to keep track of all the stats yourself. If gamebooks are to survive they need to do soemthing that video games can't rather than trying to beat them at their own game. I agree. Keeping track of stats is a pain. And to be honest, stats are a bit of a pain themselves...
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Post by nathanh on Jun 18, 2014 9:36:42 GMT
Oh, that's a shame. Destiny Quest is really good and unusual.
Keeping track of the stats in DQ is really easy as well if you spend 10 minutes setting up a decent spreadsheet. Admittedly I can't imagine playing it away from a computer, but then I can't imagine playing any dice-based gamebook away from one.
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Post by hynreck on Jun 18, 2014 15:59:07 GMT
Yes it's a shame. I haven't gotten around to play them yet (doing Curse of Frankenstein right now) but have been collected them since the first one came out. I was being genre savvy enough to know that gamebooks nowadays are the exception instead of the rule, so I made sure to pick em up before they're relegated to the second-hand market.
Another minor shame, the book format. Is it just me with some random bad luck or do book 1 and 3 come in gigantic size while number 2 comes in a smaller (still a brick though), more compact size? Fits unevenly on my shelf and is a bit of a sore eyes thingy...
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Post by paltogue on Jun 18, 2014 16:48:20 GMT
Keeping track of the stats in DQ is really easy as well if you spend 10 minutes setting up a decent spreadsheet. Admittedly I can't imagine playing it away from a computer, but then I can't imagine playing any dice-based gamebook away from one. I can't help thinking that if you need a spreadsheet for anything, it no longer qualifies as a game!
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Post by aeval on Aug 1, 2014 19:21:22 GMT
I'm actually part of a team working on a digital version of DestinyQuest called DestinyQuest Infinite. Just let the system keep track of everything for you! Here's the link if anyone's interested: www.destinyquestinfinite.com or @questforge on Twitter. Am I weird for enjoying the creation process of spreadsheets? I don't use them for gamebooks, but still.. there's something strangely satisfying about that level of organization.
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Post by aeval on Oct 7, 2014 0:37:45 GMT
If anyone still looks at this thread - hey guys, we made a trailer for DestinyQuest Infinite!
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Post by aeval on Dec 4, 2014 13:40:57 GMT
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Post by marcdangerousworlds on Dec 9, 2014 16:12:02 GMT
Nice video, good production for sure.
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Post by aeval on Mar 17, 2015 17:31:52 GMT
Nice video, good production for sure. Thanks! FYI everyone, Act 2 is out for purchase today. Get it HERE!
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Post by jeffreydean on Mar 20, 2015 5:45:36 GMT
Another minor shame, the book format. Is it just me with some random bad luck or do book 1 and 3 come in gigantic size while number 2 comes in a smaller (still a brick though), more compact size? Fits unevenly on my shelf and is a bit of a sore eyes thingy... The book format for DQ drives me nuts, even more so after reading your post. MY copies of books 1 and 2 are fairly small (although larger than a normal pocket-sized paperback) but book 3 is MASSIVE for no reason and looks crazy when placed next to the other two on the shelf. I suppose I'd rather have that than what you got though, at least my first two books match up properly.
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Post by hynreck on Apr 14, 2015 19:47:16 GMT
Another minor shame, the book format. Is it just me with some random bad luck or do book 1 and 3 come in gigantic size while number 2 comes in a smaller (still a brick though), more compact size? Fits unevenly on my shelf and is a bit of a sore eyes thingy... The book format for DQ drives me nuts, even more so after reading your post. MY copies of books 1 and 2 are fairly small (although larger than a normal pocket-sized paperback) but book 3 is MASSIVE for no reason and looks crazy when placed next to the other two on the shelf. I suppose I'd rather have that than what you got though, at least my first two books match up properly. Late into reading your post, but alright, now that just plain weird. There doesn't seem to be consistency and people got random sizes? Probably something to do with different edition, different publisher, but what a bummer, very weird indeed. If only I had the opposite of you, we could exchange.
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Post by jeffreydean on Apr 20, 2015 14:13:58 GMT
The book format for DQ drives me nuts, even more so after reading your post. MY copies of books 1 and 2 are fairly small (although larger than a normal pocket-sized paperback) but book 3 is MASSIVE for no reason and looks crazy when placed next to the other two on the shelf. I suppose I'd rather have that than what you got though, at least my first two books match up properly. Late into reading your post, but alright, now that just plain weird. There doesn't seem to be consistency and people got random sizes? Probably something to do with different edition, different publisher, but what a bummer, very weird indeed. If only I had the opposite of you, we could exchange. Here's a picture of them on the shelf:
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Post by hynreck on Apr 21, 2015 12:50:50 GMT
Thanks for the pic. I see your book 2 and 3 are the same as me, while my book 1 is the same size as your third one. Seems like they printed two editions but they sure don't inform you of that detail when buying online. I wouldn't mind if it was the same size, of course. And if you don't mind me saying, my condition is even worst then yours, my #2 is sandwiched between the two huge ones! At least, in your case, you could fool some people into thinking the big one isn't from the same series...
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Post by philsadler on Mar 9, 2016 22:36:38 GMT
I tried the first one of these because I was so interested in the 'choose your way on the map' system, until I found out how limited it was. A great idea really gone to waste. Apart from that I hated the idea that if you died in the game you just started off from more or less the same place again, rather like in one of those awful console video games. Now, the only thing I can remember about the book is a blatant rehash of the Red Riding Hood story. Such originality!
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Post by The Editor (Alex B) on Mar 10, 2016 19:50:35 GMT
There is an interview with Michael J. Ward in the next issue of the magazine.
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Post by hynreck on Mar 11, 2016 17:09:51 GMT
Looking forward to reading it!
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Post by dragonwarrior8 on Dec 18, 2018 20:16:39 GMT
I had to post because I think its pretty funny that I have yet another size combination of books from the posters above! My books #1 and #2 are massive while my #3 is bite size (comparatively). I wish I had known that before ordering, I would have loved to have the massive #3 as well.
Good news for fans of this series though is that book 4 is out.....I cant wait to see what size it is!
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Jan 6, 2019 13:32:55 GMT
I have the good fortune of having all 3 books be of the massive size.
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davidstaege
Squire
Posts: 16
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by davidstaege on Oct 27, 2019 15:10:50 GMT
"I think Destiny Quest had the wrong approach from a marketing perspective. It seemed to be trying to appeal to those who are into games like Elder Scrolls..." I would'nt compare DQ with the Elder Scrolls series. DQ has a strong Diablo-touch and is focused on your equipment. Fabled Lands is very similar to Elder Scrolls, but not DQ. Anyway, I'm here for another issue: I'm stucked a the dwarven riddle (Book one - paragraph 465). I have no idea how to solve it. I know this forum is no hotline, but can anyone give me a small hint?
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Oct 28, 2019 2:51:17 GMT
It's really tough puzzle. For the triangular parts, their rows or columns must add up to the number inside the triangle. In addition (heh), there are hidden modifiers or numbers further added to each number based on a certain rule, which is up to you to figure out.
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Post by alziel on Jan 15, 2024 10:45:03 GMT
I have the first four books of this series. Really love the ideas behind the books, and I enjoyed 'Legion of Shadow' and 'Heart of Fire', but found my interest waning with 'Eye of Winter's Fury' - and I can't seem to find the will to progress farther than about 3/4 of the way through Act 1 of 'Raiders of Dune Sea'. There's no doubting that Michael J Ward has put his heart and soul into this series, and I love the setting of the books, plus the system is quite addictive and innovative, with really epic stories in each book .... However, the stat-keeping and the sheer amount of effort that one has to put in as each book progresses and you have more and more stuff to keep track of ends up making it feel like a chore to play these. I have now started finding myself 'skipping' really convoluted and difficult fights, justifying this by reasoning that eventually the dice will fall in my favour and I'll win a fight anyway, as there is no real penalty for losing a combat in most instances (you lose backpack items used, but I can just pretend that I never used any!), as you can just start the fight again from scratch when you lose. I also find Mr Ward's writing to be a little pretentious and cliched at times, and although I know it's not a massive issue, the main character in each book is always male ... could have done with some gender neutrality IMO... I'm not sure how the flaws can be overcome with this series of books, though I do appreciate some of the attempts to fix them.... I just feel that the complexity of the rules and all the stat-keeping bogs things down too much and sucks a lot of the fun out of the experience, which is a real shame, as this series has SO much potential!
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Post by edushie on Jan 16, 2024 14:46:54 GMT
I've only played the first book and to be honest, the over long references and lack of illustrations didn't exactly hook me.
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Post by alziel on Jan 16, 2024 15:38:23 GMT
I've only played the first book and to be honest, the over long references and lack of illustrations didn't exactly hook me. Illustrations would certainly be most welcome, even if they were only incidental ones between references, but then I guess that this would have bloated up these behemoth books to volumes so heavy that they couldn't be lifted! The digital adaptation of the first book does have some decent illustrations though, but only for the optional boss fights, I believe (the digital adaptation of 'Legion of Shadow' is actually well-worth checking out, as it removes all the book-keeping and the memory-taxing headaches involved with playing the books, and is relatively bug-free these days! It's just a shame that the other titles have never been adapted - and - as far as I'm aware, will not be... ) The long references I don't personally have an issue with, as there is a decent and epic story being told in each of the books (one which appears to have an over-arching theme throughout the series), but I can certainly understand why this would be off-putting for some. The other bugbear I have with this series (which I didn't mention earlier), is the tonal inconsistency. The story is extremely dark and quite brutal and serious at times, obviously aimed at an older audience - yet it often veers into very childish territory (such as the red riding hood quest, and the pumpkin patch quest in the early stages of the first book). Reminds me a little of the same issue with Charlie Higson's 'Gates of Death' (no bum-faced monsters have yet been spotted in the Destiny Quest series however - fingers crossed! ).
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Post by dragonwarrior8 on Jan 16, 2024 16:30:06 GMT
I have the first four books of this series. Really love the ideas behind the books, and I enjoyed 'Legion of Shadow' and 'Heart of Fire', but found my interest waning with 'Eye of Winter's Fury' - and I can't seem to find the will to progress farther than about 3/4 of the way through Act 1 of 'Raiders of Dune Sea'. There's no doubting that Michael J Ward has put his heart and soul into this series, and I love the setting of the books, plus the system is quite addictive and innovative, with really epic stories in each book .... However, the stat-keeping and the sheer amount of effort that one has to put in as each book progresses and you have more and more stuff to keep track of ends up making it feel like a chore to play these. I have now started finding myself 'skipping' really convoluted and difficult fights, justifying this by reasoning that eventually the dice will fall in my favour and I'll win a fight anyway, as there is no real penalty for losing a combat in most instances (you lose backpack items used, but I can just pretend that I never used any!), as you can just start the fight again from scratch when you lose. I also find Mr Ward's writing to be a little pretentious and cliched at times, and although I know it's not a massive issue, the main character in each book is always male ... could have done with some gender neutrality IMO... I'm not sure how the flaws can be overcome with this series of books, though I do appreciate some of the attempts to fix them.... I just feel that the complexity of the rules and all the stat-keeping bogs things down too much and sucks a lot of the fun out of the experience, which is a real shame, as this series has SO much potential! Does this mean you won't be getting book 5, "Wrath of Ragnarok" that was released last year?
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Post by edushie on Jan 16, 2024 16:38:16 GMT
It did strike me as quite weighty to begin with so yes, perhaps having art work would have jacked the price up even more.
But I really do believe that art is an essential component of any gamebook - just try to imagine the SORCERY ! series
without it ! And I didn't care for the non-linear narrative wherein you keep returning to the same areas a la SECRETS OF SALAMONIS.
The overall series appears to be very generous to backers / buyers with gamecards etc as rewards but it doesn't make the books any more
enjoyable to read or to play.
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Post by alziel on Jan 16, 2024 18:43:01 GMT
Does this mean you won't be getting book 5, "Wrath of Ragnarok" that was released last year? I'll get it if I ever manage to get through Raiders of Dune Sea, yes, but not until then!
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