Fighting Fantasy (Gamebooks) Interview

Skywalker · August 18, 2013, 05:22:13 AM

Quote from: TristramEvans;682613What was the gamebook series which aspired to almost-sandbox play with each book covering one part of a map and you could jump between books?

Fabled Lands, by Dave Morris (of Blood Sword and Dragon Warriors) and Jamie Thomson. It was recently republished via Lightning Source to test if there was a market for the final 6 unfinished books, but it didn't go well. There has also been an RPG release but it got mired in a Greywood Publishing loss of the main author and Chronicle City's split from Cubicle 7.

The Traveller · August 18, 2013, 07:46:48 AM

Quote from: Skywalker;682633It was recently republished via Lightning Source to test if there was a market for the final 6 unfinished books, but it didn't go well.

That's a pity, I'd have loved to see them. I've experimented with responsive sandbox systems in the past, wherein the rules would actively help track and support the various factors involved in the sandbox (like a computer AI on paper), but it's always been a crashing failure. Guess some things just aren't rules friendly.

Bobloblah · August 18, 2013, 09:05:52 AM

Sad to hear that the Fabled Lands reprint didn't do very well; I would've loved to have seen the other six books. I got the impression that it wasn't very well publicized - the geeks I know who would've been interested all knew nothing about it until I told them.

As to the original post, thanks for the link. There were a few tidbits that I hadn't seen elsewhere. I still have all my old FF books, and hope to introduce them my kids to them when the time comes.

Skywalker · August 18, 2013, 03:52:02 PM

I imagine that they may look at other ways of releasing the material via e-Books or similar methods. There was talk about including a 100-200 paragraph version in the RPG supplements, but given the state of the RPG, I wouldn't hold my breath.

RPGPundit · August 20, 2013, 02:41:00 AM

FF was definitely huge in Canada. Every kid I knew was into them.

RPGPundit

Planet Algol · August 20, 2013, 03:07:51 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit;683403FF was definitely huge in Canada. Every kid I knew was into them.

RPGPundit

I remember being on vacation in the US, going into a game store thinking I'd be able to score some FFs for downtime and only finding some half-assed hard boiled detective FF-wannabee. "Where's all the Fighting Fantasy? I can buy them in small town gas stations back home!"

soviet · August 20, 2013, 02:45:24 PM

They were big in England. I remember being at junior school probably in 87 or so and when the class stopped for an 'individual reading' break, just about every boy pulled out a FF book.

RPGPundit · August 21, 2013, 03:01:48 AM

Those German covers were quite the mixed bag...

Dirk Remmecke · August 21, 2013, 05:10:38 PM

Quote from: RPGPundit;683943Those German covers were quite the mixed bag...

"Mixed bag?"
You are too kind...

RPGPundit · August 23, 2013, 03:37:08 AM

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;684208"Mixed bag?"
You are too kind...

Well, some of them seemed trippy, at least.