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Post by CharlesX on Dec 3, 2021 19:24:04 GMT
The short version is in the 80s and 90s gamebooks were hugely popular, and in the 2010s and the current decade gamebook apps have become popular again. While gamebooks came under a lot of criticism, both for their alleged low artistic quality and alleged limited entertainment value, I always had high regard for the sphere. I wonder how popular gamebooks are among young people?
If I can partly answer my own question, there have been several recent revivals, both in terms of the aforementioned apps and series such as the Vulcanverse, and earlier, CYOA. As for FF, the quality has been so bad (all right, variable if I'm being generous) I'm not surprised people are migrating to other series. It's as though Livingstone's work could get FF cancelled, and Green's work could let FF continue.
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Post by terrysalt on Dec 3, 2021 19:55:22 GMT
I have no young people in my life so I can't speak for them but from what I've seen on the Steam forums, Tin Man Games says that gamebooks are extremely niche products. They may just be explaining away poor sales but I figure they're in a good position to know the popularity of the medium.  |
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Post by a moderator on Dec 3, 2021 20:26:36 GMT
It's as though Livingstone's work could get FF cancelled, and Green's work could let FF continue. Has Jonathan Green given any indication that he would like to write more for FF but something has kept him from doing so? If not, I think the fact that for over a decade he's preferred to do his own thing suggests that he's not so interested in doing FF any more, and 'not producing any new output' tends not to be a sustainable business model. Ian Livingstone may be past his prime, but he's still contributing, and feedback on his last couple of books suggests that he is improving from the low point that was Zombies. Unless there's evidence that potential customers have been driven away by his more sub-par efforts (and that this has cost Scholastic more sales than have been brought in from fans who got his new books because they were new books), I'd argue that he is doing more to keep the brand alive. |
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Dec 4, 2021 9:31:45 GMT
It's as though Livingstone's work could get FF cancelled, and Green's work could let FF continue. Has Jonathan Green given any indication that he would like to write more for FF but something has kept him from doing so? If not, I think the fact that for over a decade he's preferred to do his own thing suggests that he's not so interested in doing FF any more, and 'not producing any new output' tends not to be a sustainable business model. That;s something I'd like to know the answer to. The only ways to find this out would be to have a chat with him at somewhere like Dragonmeet or UK Games Expo if he's there. Or contact him via social media. Probably the former would be the best. |
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Post by CharlesX on Dec 4, 2021 13:24:15 GMT
It's as though Livingstone's work could get FF cancelled, and Green's work could let FF continue. Has Jonathan Green given any indication that he would like to write more for FF but something has kept him from doing so? If not, I think the fact that for over a decade he's preferred to do his own thing suggests that he's not so interested in doing FF any more, and 'not producing any new output' tends not to be a sustainable business model. J. Green did write You Are The Hero in 2014, and after another kickstarter project, You Are The Hero Part 2 in 2017. I personally agree with bloodbeasthandler - I wouldn't rule out Green writing more FF, although he may (paradoxically) have 'mined out' the non-gamebook sphere. If not, bless him for writing some of the best FF. |
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Dec 4, 2021 15:16:54 GMT
Has Jonathan Green given any indication that he would like to write more for FF but something has kept him from doing so? If not, I think the fact that for over a decade he's preferred to do his own thing suggests that he's not so interested in doing FF any more, and 'not producing any new output' tends not to be a sustainable business model. J. Green did write You Are The Hero in 2014, and after another kickstarter project, You Are The Hero Part 2 in 2017. I personally agree with bloodbeasthandler - I wouldn't rule out Green writing more FF, although he may (paradoxically) have 'mined out' the non-gamebook sphere. If not, bless him for writing some of the best FF. I've probably said all this before somewhere, but it might be a case of money and rights to your own work - ie you get little money writing for FF and no rights over your work. That cannot be attractive to a writer looking to make a living (compared to one, say, doing it as a side project or purely out of love). Jon G knows how to write a gamebook, he knows the lore of Titan and Allansia, and is enthusiastic about FF. He learns from his mistakes in the earlier books. He can be trusted with the FF 'franchise'. An author who publishes his own work, he has knowledge of the publishing industry. He could write books that would simultaneously appeal to longtime fans as well as newcomers, and I think he's got plenty of FF left in him. I would have liked to have seen him put in charge of the whole thing some years ago, but that's not to say I don't value all the things Ian Livingstone has done for FF over the years as well... |
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,547
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Dec 4, 2021 17:31:10 GMT
I have a very hazy recollection (so don't put too much stock in it) of Jonathan Green saying on Facebook not that long ago that he would be up for writing more FF if given the chance.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Dec 4, 2021 22:20:33 GMT
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