Fabled Lands LLP
The guys over at Fabled Lands did some great gamebooks back in the day, and many of those are being re-released. Here's some descriptions, often using the author's own words as portrayed in this blog post.
Heart of Ice is an apocalyptic road tale with "operatic sweep and pragmatically amoral heroes."
Down among the Dead Men "is an adventure with pirates, magic and the undead."
Necklace of Skulls takes readers through a Pre-Columbian underworld of dream-logic, set against a historical backdrop of the fall of Teotihuacan.
Once Upon a Time in Arabia is "a whirlwind of encounters with a 1001 Nights flavor."
Fabled Lands along with Megara Entertainment
The Way of the Tiger Kickstarter is a current project! The guys at Fabled Lands are collaborating with the elegant Megara Entertainment team and renowned ninjophile author David Walters to re-release all six of the original Way of the Tiger gamebooks, set in the oriental-flavored world of Orb, along with a brand new prequel and an original book 7 written by David Walters. The kickstarter is taking off, so make sure to get over there to grab yourself some stretch goals before the time's up!
Megara Entertainment
Arcana Agency: The Thief of Memories was in progress last I checked in. According to their website, it is now available for 35 Euros, including shipping worldwide. This is supposed to be a beautiful gamebook... I may go grab a copy myself.
Tin Man Games
Tin Man Games has been remarkably prolific, with new releases coming out regularly in a variety of series' and genres. Here's just a few:
Fighting Fantasy: These three titles re-invigorate the old Fighting Fantasy series, bringing some old favorites and one brand new adventure (Blood of the Zombies) to a digital platform at last.
Blood of the Zombies
House of Hell
The Forest of Doom
Gamebook Adventures
GA 8: Curse of the Assassin: Gamebook Adventures 8 takes us back to Orlandes to continue Tin Man Games' acclaimed fantasy series.
Other
Hex Boyfriends: A sequel in the same style as "Vampire Boyfriends," with humor and strange loves.
Trial of the Clone: The wildly successful first gamebook by SMBC author Zach Wienersmith, this comes with OPTIONAL VOICE NARRATION BY WIL WHEATON.
Forgotten Spell: An interactive fantasy set in the original world of Suidemor, with puzzles and magic. Looks very cool.
Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106Les fils d'Uruzime: Apparently a lovecraftian horror in french. Who knew? Damn, I wish I spoke French.
La Bataille de la Drang: A gamebook about the Vietnam War, I think? It's in French. If you read French, please elaborate to me what this is about.
And those are only the ones available for Android! Like I said, Tin Man Games is making it happen.
Choice of Games
Choice of Games is another PROLIFIC producer of gamebook fiction. I won't list them all here because A) there's a lot, and B) I've had mixed satisfaction with the quality level of their works. But they're definitely worth checking out, and if you find some gems, please point me toward which ones I should read!
Among their roster you'll find works about superheros, vampires, ninjas, Renaissance Italy, Kung Fu, spaceships, aliens, ghosts, and lost mythology. Damn.
Other Goodies
There's so much else, I'll just name a few things here. If you want more, check out the very comprehensive news section of Fighting Fantazine (referenced below.)
To Be or Not To Be is apparently an interactive take on Shakespeare's Hamlet, by Ryan North. After a smashing success in the Kickstarter, it's now available on Amazon.
There's apparently a new movement of erotic gamebooks, which startles the innocent 12 year old inside of me who's still reading Fighting Fantasy books under the covers with a flashlight. But if you're interested, check out the author Amanda Clover on Amazon for a good start.
Fighting Fantazine has released its twelfth issue, including interviews with gamebook authors, news and updates, a couple articles on history and trivia of gamebooks, and one wholly original 206 page adventure, "Starhunt: Void Slavers" by Ian Brocklehurst, illustrated by Angela Salamaliki, all available absolutely free for just the trouble of clicking the link to download it.
Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction: As I've mentioned previously, the Windhammer competition is currently up and running, with 14 original gamebooks available for free. All you need to do to get involved is send an email to vote@arborell.com with your THREE favorites. Winners receive a cash prize, and publication with Tin Man Games!
Hello! This is Richard S. Hetley, the person who set up the projects for The Way of the Tiger and Arcana Agency: The Thief of Memories. Thank you very much for the mention.
ReplyDeleteI can address questions about Arcana Agency. Our Kickstarter project succeeded last year (http://kck.st/TQX6gr) and we got our stock of printed books in February (see update #31). Both the hardback and the .pdf file are available for sale to the general public, and you can still download our demo for free from the Kickstarter page (and confirm that it is "a beautiful gamebook").
Also, there's one correction for The Way of the Tiger. David Walters is creating the prequel with the "supervision" of the original authors Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson, but all three are in fact creating the new book 7. This means that even us on the team don't know what will happen in book 7, and we're VERY eager to see it!
Thank you yet again. This is a very good time for gamebooks, indeed.
Thanks, Richard! That helps clarify things. Good work on all of this, and thanks for stopping by my blog ;)
DeleteOf the recent Choice of Games, I'd recommend "SLAMMED!", "Heroes Rise: The Hero Project", and "Choice of Kung Fu."
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, I'll check those ones out!
DeleteHi, I would just like to add that Lone Wolf is available on the android market for FREE! It's the whole collection, but it is being slowly released, book by book.
ReplyDeleteNice.Thank you so much for sharing this.
ReplyDelete