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Post by misomiso on Aug 24, 2023 15:50:54 GMT
It would be very cool to see a Viking themed one, maybe based on some old Legends?
It would also be good if JGreen made the combat system just a bit more simple! It's very complex for us casuals at the moment! EDIT: The thing I don't really like about them is the Agility stat. It seems superfluous to me - I would rather have a version of the 'luck' saving throw which decreases with each use, or if we had to another 'Roll' skill maybe something mental like 'Mind'. Agility just seems very close to Skill or Combat.
Finally, if it's a long one (700+ entries), it would be cool to have it subdivided into subsections - so maybe 'Act I' is 300 entries, 'Act II' is 400 etc etc, as that makes the book easier to manage!
Just some thoughts!
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CharlesX
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Post by CharlesX on Aug 24, 2023 16:32:13 GMT
A sci-fi one might be interesting (i haven't seen the list of those published btw). Maybe a fantastic one with aliens or time travel. Is it just Green who does Ace gamebooks 'cause my suggestions above have a young adult CYOA ring about them, and I've no idea if Green does younger kids well.
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Post by slloyd14 on Aug 24, 2023 17:26:12 GMT
It would be very cool to see a Viking themed one, maybe based on some old Legends?
It would also be good if JGreen made the combat system just a bit more simple! It's very complex for us casuals at the moment!
Finally, if it's a long one (700+ entries), it would be cool to have it subdivided into subsections - so maybe 'Act I' is 300 entries, 'Act II' is 400 etc etc, as that makes the book easier to manage!
Just some thoughts!
I believe Jon Green has written Beowulf Beast slayer. |
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Post by slloyd14 on Aug 24, 2023 17:27:15 GMT
A sci-fi one might be interesting (i haven't seen the list of those published btw). Maybe a fantastic one with aliens or time travel. Is it just Green who does Ace gamebooks 'cause my suggestions above have a young adult CYOA ring about them, and I've no idea if Green does younger kids well.
Jon Green uses public domain books so I guess you would probably get one based on The Time Machine or War of the Worlds. |
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Post by slloyd14 on Aug 24, 2023 17:27:46 GMT
Jon Green has written books for children.
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Aug 24, 2023 17:48:34 GMT
A mystery set in London or Britain in general in the time of Sherlock Holmes, Jack-the-Ripper, foggy London streets etc. In such a book I would be less interested in fighting and more interested in the solving of the mystery.
A 'Call of Cthulhu' type of adventure. 1920's era. Could be set all over the world.
Fantasy adventure set in the world of Conan the Barbarian or Elric of Melnibone (written by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock respectively) though i dont know what the legal rights are here).
I think the first two in particular would play to Jon Green's strengths - he tends to do a deep dive into a given genre and populate his books with creatures, encounters and characters that we might expect to see in them.
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CharlesX
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Post by CharlesX on Aug 24, 2023 18:27:35 GMT
A mystery set in London or Britain in general in the time of Sherlock Holmes, Jack-the-Ripper, foggy London streets etc. In such a book I would be less interested in fighting and more interested in the solving of the mystery. A 'Call of Cthulhu' type of adventure. 1920's era. Could be set all over the world. Fantasy adventure set in the world of Conan the Barbarian or Elric of Melnibone (written by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock respectively) though i dont know what the legal rights are here). I think the first two in particular would play to Jon Green's strengths - he tends to do a deep dive into a given genre and populate his books with creatures, encounters and characters that we might expect to see in them. Murder mysteries seem to me to lend themselves particularly well to gamebooks. But while there have been quite a few solve-it-yourself casebooks, there have been comparatively few adventure gamebooks. Who killed Harlowe Thrombey? is a heavily memorable one, even though it isn't half as good as it might be - it has the usual flaws in the series, which I'm too tired to go into and you can read on any review site, but it shows sometimes a concept can make a product, more than execution. It's no wonder the Knives Out films had a main character called Harlan Thromney (something like that) as a tribute. Back on topic, Jack The Ripper could provide an endless source for a gamebook, I imagine from the same time. The many Ripper letters, the graffiti around the area, the possibility of multiple killers or a female Ripper, the possibility a witness or even policeman could be the Ripper, whether the Ripper killed as many as five or more than five; very long. |
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Post by misomiso on Aug 24, 2023 19:26:52 GMT
A mystery set in London or Britain in general in the time of Sherlock Holmes, Jack-the-Ripper, foggy London streets etc. In such a book I would be less interested in fighting and more interested in the solving of the mystery. A 'Call of Cthulhu' type of adventure. 1920's era. Could be set all over the world. Fantasy adventure set in the world of Conan the Barbarian or Elric of Melnibone (written by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock respectively) though i dont know what the legal rights are here). I think the first two in particular would play to Jon Green's strengths - he tends to do a deep dive into a given genre and populate his books with creatures, encounters and characters that we might expect to see in them. Yes a victoria London Sherlock one would be good. |
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Post by misomiso on Aug 24, 2023 19:27:38 GMT
It would be very cool to see a Viking themed one, maybe based on some old Legends?
It would also be good if JGreen made the combat system just a bit more simple! It's very complex for us casuals at the moment!
Finally, if it's a long one (700+ entries), it would be cool to have it subdivided into subsections - so maybe 'Act I' is 300 entries, 'Act II' is 400 etc etc, as that makes the book easier to manage!
Just some thoughts!
I believe Jon Green has written Beowulf Beast slayer. I mean more 'Classic' viking - maybe fantastical and will some faring nonsense, or even having you play as Thor, or Loki etc. |
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Aug 27, 2023 19:56:46 GMT
Elaborating on my previous post, plus a few ideas that have come to me regarding the Holmesian/Jack the Ripper idea and the Cthulhu one...
There should be multiple endings and degrees of success - maybe to the point that you THINK you have succeeded but the truer DEEPER mystery is yet to be uncovered. You might have caught someone who fits the bill for the Ripper and he gets convicted and executed... but you have some nagging doubts on account of what you've discovered - so was he just a patsy, framed by the REAL killer(s) ?
Likewise with any Cthulhu adventure - the Old Ones have had a LONG time to draw up their plans - so would you killing the Head Cultist with a revolver really and truly put an end to the mystery? There should be plans within plans. The adventure could start with no mention or clue that supernatural forces are at play and the fact that there exist god-like beings seeking to break into our plane of existence could be written as a surprise for the reader. [Admittedly if this were the case, the book could not be marketed as a 'Cthulhu' book!]
A book based on King Arthur might be a good one with choice of playing as Gawain, Galahad, Percival, Bedivere or others (each with certain strengths). Maybe retain Arthur, Merlin and Lancelot as NPCs. The land is in danger, the king is losing control - there are external enemies like the Saxons and the Picts, and internal ones like Mordred and his mother who are sowing dissent. Take the best from the original tales and Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur and run with it.
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Post by slloyd14 on Aug 27, 2023 21:15:26 GMT
Elaborating on my previous post, plus a few ideas that have come to me regarding the Holmesian/Jack the Ripper idea and the Cthulhu one... There should be multiple endings and degrees of success - maybe to the point that you THINK you have succeeded but the truer DEEPER mystery is yet to be uncovered. You might have caught someone who fits the bill for the Ripper and he gets convicted and executed... but you have some nagging doubts on account of what you've discovered - so was he just a patsy, framed by the REAL killer(s) ? Likewise with any Cthulhu adventure - the Old Ones have had a LONG time to draw up their plans - so would you killing the Head Cultist with a revolver really and truly put an end to the mystery? There should be plans within plans. The adventure could start with no mention or clue that supernatural forces are at play and the fact that there exist god-like beings seeking to break into our plane of existence could be written as a surprise for the reader. [Admittedly if this were the case, the book could not be marketed as a 'Cthulhu' book!] A book based on King Arthur might be a good one with choice of playing as Gawain, Galahad, Percival, Bedivere or others (each with certain strengths). Maybe retain Arthur, Merlin and Lancelot as NPCs. The land is in danger, the king is losing control - there are external enemies like the Saxons and the Picts, and internal ones like Mordred and his mother who are sowing dissent. Take the best from the original tales and Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur and run with it. JG has written an anthology called Shakespeare Vs Cthulu so maybe he will do a gamebook one? I think that ACE gamebooks was born because everyone assumed that Shakespeare Vs Cthulu was a gamebook so he leant into it - confirmation needed, though. |
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Post by schlendrian on Aug 28, 2023 0:19:37 GMT
Let's see... Holmes, an absolute yes! I do have two German Cthulhu gamebooks sitting one my shelf which I remember to be great fun, especially one well researched on the Berlin expressionist film industry (Cabinet of Dr. Calgari and the likes) of the 1920s, but yes, I'm game for more. As a teenager, I would have been all over the concept you describe, bloodbeasthandler, where you could reach a seemingly winning ending without having uncovered the real mystery, I'm not so sure I'd have the patience and stamina now... Arthurian sounds good as well, perhaps with something similar with the honour stat from SotS, affecting you more or less depending on which of the knights you choose (you can't be Galahad and blatantly ignore mali to the honour score, you can if you are Gawain - you'll still have to deal with the consequences).
I seem to recall somebody suggesting an Age of Sail gamebook, and that would be probably my favourite - starting as a midshipman, working your way up to captain (or admiral or whatever) akin to the Hornblower or Aubrey & Maturin books, I'd love that...
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Post by misomiso on Aug 28, 2023 6:45:44 GMT
Elaborating on my previous post, plus a few ideas that have come to me regarding the Holmesian/Jack the Ripper idea and the Cthulhu one... There should be multiple endings and degrees of success - maybe to the point that you THINK you have succeeded but the truer DEEPER mystery is yet to be uncovered. You might have caught someone who fits the bill for the Ripper and he gets convicted and executed... but you have some nagging doubts on account of what you've discovered - so was he just a patsy, framed by the REAL killer(s) ? Likewise with any Cthulhu adventure - the Old Ones have had a LONG time to draw up their plans - so would you killing the Head Cultist with a revolver really and truly put an end to the mystery? There should be plans within plans. The adventure could start with no mention or clue that supernatural forces are at play and the fact that there exist god-like beings seeking to break into our plane of existence could be written as a surprise for the reader. [Admittedly if this were the case, the book could not be marketed as a 'Cthulhu' book!] A book based on King Arthur might be a good one with choice of playing as Gawain, Galahad, Percival, Bedivere or others (each with certain strengths). Maybe retain Arthur, Merlin and Lancelot as NPCs. The land is in danger, the king is losing control - there are external enemies like the Saxons and the Picts, and internal ones like Mordred and his mother who are sowing dissent. Take the best from the original tales and Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur and run with it. Some really cool ideas!
For the Cthulhu one I don't think you need multiple endings but isntead just two main ones - one 'easy' ending where you have the nagging doubts, and one 'True Path' ending where you collect everything and find out the REAL mystery etc. Kind of like getting to the end of Deathtrap Dungeon versus getting to the end with all the Gems, except finishing it without the gems you escape but with no money. Something like that.
The King arthur one sounds Brilliant! I would definately have you start as a generic Knight and encounter other characters in the Arthur Mythos, but you could start with a selection of skills or powers, maybe 3 from 7, and maybe one special item (heavy armout to take less damage, lucky start with a luck potion, etc etc).
That would allow for a lot of customisation.
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Post by a moderator on Aug 28, 2023 13:48:12 GMT
There was a series of Sherlock Holmes gamebooks published by Berkley in the late 1980s. You didn't get to play as Holmes himself - he was an NPC (or, in the case of the book set between Holmes' presumed death at the Reichenbach Falls and his return to the public eye, not present at all). Nowhere near the worst gamebooks I've ever encountered, but they could get frustrating when finding essential clues hinged on being able to roll the right sort of number on 2d6.
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Aug 29, 2023 18:36:46 GMT
I seem to recall somebody suggesting an Age of Sail gamebook, and that would be probably my favourite - starting as a midshipman, working your way up to captain (or admiral or whatever) akin to the Hornblower or Aubrey & Maturin books, I'd love that...
Have you got the gamebook MAROONED by James Schannep? If not, I'd say it is exactly what you are looking for. |
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Post by misomiso on Aug 30, 2023 6:48:53 GMT
I seem to recall somebody suggesting an Age of Sail gamebook, and that would be probably my favourite - starting as a midshipman, working your way up to captain (or admiral or whatever) akin to the Hornblower or Aubrey & Maturin books, I'd love that...
Have you got the gamebook MAROONED by James Schannep? If not, I'd say it is exactly what you are looking for. There's a good 'Choice of' online adventure that has that theme. Quite good if I remember. |
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Jonathan Green
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Post by Jonathan Green on Mar 27, 2024 9:36:09 GMT
JG has written an anthology called Shakespeare Vs Cthulu so maybe he will do a gamebook one? I think that ACE gamebooks was born because everyone assumed that Shakespeare Vs Cthulu was a gamebook so he leant into it - confirmation needed, though. I created and edited the short story anthology Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu in 2016 and fully intended to write a gamebook on the same theme not long after. However, life got in the way but now, eight years later, I'm prepping the kickstarter for my 8th ACE Gamebook - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come. I'm hoping to be able to launch it on 23 April. mailchi.mp/5d8ad4b0736c/shakespeare-vs-cthulhu |
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CharlesX
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Post by CharlesX on Mar 27, 2024 12:32:42 GMT
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Post by Jonathan Green on Mar 27, 2024 12:40:04 GMT
I've not read To Be Or Not To Be, but as I understand it, it's more a bizarro comedy. SvC:WDMC has some humour in it, but it is primarily a Shakespeare-takes-on-the-forces-of-the-Ancient-Ones adventure. Like other ACE Gamebooks, it has a simple set of rules for combat etc, but no luck. At least, not beyond the occasional Random Roll, but importantly, these never result in instadeaths! |
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