kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,435
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 3, 2022 13:45:33 GMT
Why must you kill all the zombies in Blood of the Zombies? I think that one is fair enough actually - even one zombie if it got out could spread the disease.
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Post by CharlesX on Jan 3, 2022 15:44:45 GMT
From Ian Livingstone I would like the following: A ridiculous plot. I want to gain stamina in the first reference without having lost any. I want my character to be described as 'starving' even though he has 10 provisions. I want the first enemy to be skill 10. I want the next enemy to be skill 5. I want decisions such as 'open the door', 'east or west' and the classic 'open the chest'. I want enemies such as Orc, Goblin, Troll and of course the infamous Man. I want ridiculous luck tests that, even if you fail them, only deduct 2 stamina points. I would like silly messages in laughable locations with essential information. I would like vital items just lying about. I would love him to ignore his own rules. I would love him to not understand his own rules. Never play-test his own books. I want to constantly die because I have rolled a certain number. I want his fanboys to defend all of the above. But most of all I want a real slap-in-the-face final boss that you could never defeat even with perfect stats. Other things you might want:
The option to attack friendly people who will either instantly kill you or it will turn out to be vital for you to murder them. If it is vital you murder them, you should of course lose several luck as a penalty * subtext *.
A real anticlimax boss who a minimum stats avatar could defeat - even though most of the gamebook requires a strong avatar. It would be irritating if his gamebook(s) didn't have a 50 50 do-or-die roll.
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Post by philsadler on Jan 3, 2022 15:49:58 GMT
Chuckling away here. In which book did you fight 'Man' though, I canny mind
He was in the same book with 'Tall man', 'Old man' and of course the dreaded 'Woman'.
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Post by CharlesX on Mar 3, 2022 23:36:46 GMT
IL: Get some GD playtesters so the difficulty level isn't stupidly hard or easy, there is development, excitement and variation in the game, and we can get back to when you ever wrote good FF. And maybe, just maybe, sometimes understood your own rules.
SJ: I don't know whether your new FF book will be your new Sorcery! book, but either way you've a very high standard to live up to, so don't disappoint.
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Post by misomiso on Mar 7, 2022 18:02:30 GMT
IL: Get some GD playtesters so the difficulty level isn't stupidly hard or easy, there is development, excitement and variation in the game, and we can get back to when you ever wrote good FF. And maybe, just maybe, sometimes understood your own rules. SJ: I don't know whether your new FF book will be your new Sorcery! book, but either way you've a very high standard to live up to, so don't disappoint. What is the new 'Sorcery!' Book?!
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Post by CharlesX on Mar 7, 2022 18:37:11 GMT
IL: Get some GD playtesters so the difficulty level isn't stupidly hard or easy, there is development, excitement and variation in the game, and we can get back to when you ever wrote good FF. And maybe, just maybe, sometimes understood your own rules. SJ: I don't know whether your new FF book will be your new Sorcery! book, but either way you've a very high standard to live up to, so don't disappoint. What is the new 'Sorcery!' Book?! SJ has said when interviewed he would like to write a new Sorcery! book (whether this will happen i've no idea) here's one source link, coincidentally or not he's said via interview & social media such as Twitter he's writing a new book (i think it's FF? idk), which has led many to speculate\conclude they are one and the same. They might not be and he might or might not be writing a new Sorcery! book. That is what I know and if anyone here can make me look like an ignoramous by posting release date and content information that is more in the know then go ahead!
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Post by The Count on Mar 8, 2022 1:22:22 GMT
So basically Steve is as bereft of ideas as Ian
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Post by misomiso on Mar 12, 2022 15:39:02 GMT
@charles X I actually would NOT like him to write another Sorcery! book; I would much rather he did something different and leave Sorcery! as it is.
I would like him to write something a bit longer though, maybe 600-700 entries, but still something self contained like House of Hell or Creature of Havoc.
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Post by misomiso on Mar 15, 2022 15:17:35 GMT
Following on from my previous comment, in both Creature of Havoc and Cityport of Traps Steve has quite a long '1st half' of the book compared to the 2nd half. In Khare especially the 'pre bridge' part is quite a bit longer than the 'post bridge' part (It's harder to espress in Creature but the Maze / dungeon at the beginning is VERY long).
For his next book, I would VERY much like to have as a minnimum a Part one that is as big as pre-bridge Khare, a part two that is as big as pre-bridge Khare, and then maybe an extended ending sequence.
I think we're probabaly looking at between 750 and 1000 entries, however maybe with a lot more plot and movement as the spells in Sorcery! take up a lot of space.
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Post by CharlesX on Jul 9, 2022 13:57:46 GMT
I was wondering this in relation to their upcoming gamebooks, and also in comparison to this thread and others online where Jon Green and other such as Dave Morris have posted in response to comments, criticism and praise. If anything, Ian Livingstone has merely stagnated in terms of gamebook quality, ironically, the notable time when he listened to criticism naming his gamebook Blood Of The Zombies it was probably the worse choice over Escape From Zombie Castle (I bet Zombie McZombie face would have topped either). Steve Jackson meanwhile is a mystery box having done no Fighting Fantasy gamebooks for quite some time. Neither of the two seem to focus too much on difficulty, although I have higher hopes for SJ about difficulty one concern with him is he might make it too easy instead of too hard (Starship Traveller, Appointment with F.E.A.R.). Who knows either whether these two gamebooks will be the last two Fighting Fantasy's or conversely the first of many new Fighting Fantasy's by SJ & IL.
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Post by tyrion on Jul 9, 2022 14:23:12 GMT
Unless I am mistaken I believe our very own sylas has playtested the new books, so that is certainly a step in the right direction.
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,677
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on Jul 9, 2022 21:39:30 GMT
Unless I am mistaken I believe our very own sylas has playtested the new books, so that is certainly a step in the right direction. That is correct Ian asked me for 'brutal honesty' when I did the playtesting and proofreading; so that's exactly what I gave him. Although I can't talk about either of the books, I did enjoy them both in different ways and hopefully I did the adventures justice.
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Post by daredevil123 on Jul 9, 2022 22:11:58 GMT
Unless I am mistaken I believe our very own sylas has playtested the new books, so that is certainly a step in the right direction. That is correct Ian asked me for 'brutal honesty' when I did the playtesting and proofreading; so that's exactly what I gave him. Although I can't talk about either of the books, I did enjoy them both in different ways and hopefully I did the adventures justice. Wow, how did you get that gig?
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,677
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
Member is Online
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Post by sylas on Jul 9, 2022 22:17:08 GMT
That is correct Ian asked me for 'brutal honesty' when I did the playtesting and proofreading; so that's exactly what I gave him. Although I can't talk about either of the books, I did enjoy them both in different ways and hopefully I did the adventures justice. Wow, how did you get that gig? Jonathan Green kindly recommended me after I did the playtesting for a couple of his ACE gamebooks.
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Post by sleepyscholar on Jul 10, 2022 2:50:55 GMT
Wow, how did you get that gig? Jonathan Green kindly recommended me after I did the playtesting for a couple of his ACE gamebooks. I'm impressed. Not just with you and Jon Green, but with Ian being prepared to listen. When you have a K, you don't generally need to!
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Post by philsadler on Jul 10, 2022 6:40:09 GMT
Wow, how did you get that gig? Jonathan Green kindly recommended me after I did the playtesting for a couple of his ACE gamebooks. But how did you get that gig?
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Post by slloyd14 on Jul 10, 2022 6:49:11 GMT
Jonathan Green kindly recommended me after I did the playtesting for a couple of his ACE gamebooks. But how did you get that gig? It's recommendations all the way down.
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Post by misomiso on Jul 10, 2022 8:26:36 GMT
Wow, how did you get that gig? Jonathan Green kindly recommended me after I did the playtesting for a couple of his ACE gamebooks. Very nice! Will you be at FF4 to see the launch of the books? I'm very looking forward ot these two as there seems to have been a BIG jump in quality, production, and thought.
Do you work in game design at all? Or gamebook writing? Just interested! Ty
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,677
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
Member is Online
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Post by sylas on Jul 10, 2022 9:50:02 GMT
Jonathan Green kindly recommended me after I did the playtesting for a couple of his ACE gamebooks. Very nice! Will you be at FF4 to see the launch of the books? I'm very looking forward ot these two as there seems to have been a BIG jump in quality, production, and thought.
Do you work in game design at all? Or gamebook writing? Just interested! Ty
If all things run as planned, yes I'll be there. I enjoy making boardgames and writing gamebooks but nothing published yet.
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Post by misomiso on Jul 10, 2022 10:50:28 GMT
Very nice! Will you be at FF4 to see the launch of the books? I'm very looking forward ot these two as there seems to have been a BIG jump in quality, production, and thought.
Do you work in game design at all? Or gamebook writing? Just interested! Ty
If all things run as planned, yes I'll be there. I enjoy making boardgames and writing gamebooks but nothing published yet. Cool will try and meet and say hello if you're there! Veyr much looking forward to the event. Think it will be awesome
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,677
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
Member is Online
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Post by sylas on Jul 10, 2022 14:37:56 GMT
Jonathan Green kindly recommended me after I did the playtesting for a couple of his ACE gamebooks. But how did you get that gig? Jon recommended. Ian asked if I could do it. Then Steve asked if I could do it. I said Yes.
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Post by The Editor (Alex B) on Jul 11, 2022 3:18:17 GMT
Jonathan Green kindly recommended me after I did the playtesting for a couple of his ACE gamebooks. But how did you get that gig? Likely from being a Kickstarter backer of Jon's books. IIRC there is a certain backer level at which you get access to the story before publication for play testing purposes.
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