======================================================================
= Gamebook =
======================================================================
Introduction
======================================================================
A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to
participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches
along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs
or pages. Each narrative typically does not follow paragraphs in a
linear or ordered fashion. Gamebooks are sometimes called choose your
own adventure books or CYOA after the influential 'Choose Your Own
Adventure' series originally published by US company Bantam Books.
Gamebooks influenced hypertext fiction.The Evolution of Fantasy
Role-Playing Games
By Michael J. Tresca page 100
Production of new gamebooks in the West decreased dramatically during
the 1990s as choice-based stories have moved away from print-based
media, although the format may be experiencing a resurgence on mobile
and ebook platforms. Such digital gamebooks are considered interactive
fiction or visual novels.
Description
======================================================================
Gamebooks range widely in terms of the complexity of the 'game'
aspect. At one end are the branching-plot novels, which require the
reader to make choices but are otherwise like regular novels (this
style is exemplified by the originator of the gamebook format, 'Choose
Your Own Adventure', and is sometimes referred to as "American
style").
At the other end of the spectrum are what amounts to "solitaire RPG
adventures" or "adventure gamebooks", which emulate a tabletop RPG in
novel form and feature sophisticated rules for battling monsters and
overcoming obstacles. The story can be decided by factors other than
the reader's choices, such as dice rolls (or other randomization
mechanics, such as leafing through the book to arrive at a random
paragraph number), the lack (or presence) of equipment or other items,
or by various statistics, such as running out of health points.
The latter style is most commonly associated with the British
'Fighting Fantasy' (FF) franchise (started in 1982), which originated,
codified, and popularised much of the more advanced format that many
later gamebooks would follow (the geographic dichotomy led to this
type of gamebook sometimes being analogously referred to as "British
style"). 'CYOA' and 'FF' are the two most popular, successful, and
enduring gamebook franchises of all time, rendering them the
archetypes of their respective, clashing styles and positions on the
complexity spectrum. Later series like 'Lone Wolf' and 'Fabled Lands',
typically from Britain, would take the FF formula and push the limits
of what could be achieved with printed text narratives (leading to,
for example, twenty-book arcs in which the same created character
could be taken sequentially from one to the next, or four or more
books that contain interlocking references to each other in order to
create one huge world map).
In all gamebooks, the story is presented as a series of sections of
printed text. These are often but not always numbered. Branching-plot
novel sections often run to several pages in length, whereas solitaire
and adventure gamebook sections are usually no longer than a paragraph
or two. These are not intended to be read in order. Instead, at the
end of a text section, the reader is typically given a choice of
narrative branches that they may follow. Each branch contains a
reference to the number of the paragraph or page that should be read
next if that branch is chosen (e.g. to go north turn to section 98).
The narrative thus does not progress linearly through the book or
follow the paragraphs in numerical order. The story continues this way
until a paragraph or page which ends that branch of the story. Many
solitaire or adventure gamebooks feature a single "successful" ending,
and the remainder are "failures". Thus, a gamebook becomes a "puzzle"
since only a few or even one branching paths lead to victory.
Branching plot novels, on the other hand, tend to be more concerned
with narrative resolution rather than winning or losing, thus often
have several endings which may be deemed equally "successful".
Gamebooks are typically written in the second person with the reader
assuming the role of a character to experience the world from that
character's point of view (e.g. "you walk into the cold and dark
forest").
Many gamebooks form series with a common theme, trade dress, and/or
ruleset. While each book is typically a stand-alone narrative, there
are gamebook series such as 'Steve Jackson's Sorcery!' that continue
the narrative from the previous books in the series.
Origins
=========
There are several examples of early works of art with branching
narratives. The romantic novel 'Consider the Consequences!' by Doris
Webster and Mary Alden Hopkins was published in the United States in
1930, and boasts "a dozen or more" different endings depending on the
"taste of the individual reader". The 1936 play 'Night of January
16th' by Ayn Rand, about a trial, is unusual in that members of the
audience are chosen to play the jury and deliver a verdict, which then
influences the play's ending: guilty or not guilty.
Also quite early on, the possibility of having stories branching out
into several different paths was suggested by Jorge Luis Borges in his
short story "An Examination of the Work of Herbert Quain" (1941). This
story features an author whose novel is a three-part story containing
two branch points, and with nine possible endings. Another story by
Borges, titled "The Garden of Forking Paths" (1941), also describes a
book with a maze-like narrative, which may have inspired the gamebook
form. The children's book 'Treasure Hunt', published in 1945 in
Britain under the name of "Alan George" (probably a pseudonym), is
another early example of a story with multiple paths for the reader to
follow.
Programmed learning materials have been recognized as an early
influence on the development of branching path books. This learning
method was first applied in the TutorText series of interactive
textbooks, published from the late 1950s up until the early 1970s.
These books present the reader with a series of problems related to a
particular area of study, allowing him or her to choose among several
possible answers. If the answer to a problem is correct, the reader
moves on to the next problem. If the answer is incorrect, the reader
is given feedback and is asked to pick a different answer. This
educational technique would form a basis for many later narrative
gamebook series.
During the 1960s, authors from several different countries started
experimenting with fiction that contained multiple paths and/or
endings. Some literary works in this vein include the French-language
novel 'L'ironie du sort' (1961) by Paul Guimard, the Spanish-language
novels 'Hopscotch' (1963) by Julio Cortázar and 'Juego de cartas'
(Card Game, 1964) by Max Aub, and the works of the French literary
group known as the Oulipo (1967). Other early experiments include the
short stories "Alien Territory" and "The Lost Nose: a Programmed
Adventure" (both 1969) by John Sladek, the novel' The French
Lieutenant's Woman' (1969) by John Fowles, and the collection of short
stories titled 'Tante storie per giocare' (Many Tales to Play With,
1971) by Italian author Gianni Rodari.
Although the latter experimented with the format of engaging the
reader through a second-person perspective or branching narratives,
the 1960s and '70s also saw the publication of several books from
across Europe that met the criteria for gamebooks as understood today,
and prior to the Choose Your Own Adventure series. The earliest of
these was 'Lucky Les' (1967) by British author E.W. Hildick, which has
been called "likely the first fully-fledged gamebook" as it comports
entirely with the standards later expected by readers, and
self-identified in its blurb as a game in book form. Other early
innovators included 'State of Emergency' by Dennis Guerrier and Joan
Richards (1969), the Swedish-language book 'Den mystiska påsen' (The
Mysterious Bag, 1970) by Betty Orr-Nilsson, and the French-language
book 'Histoires comme tu voudras' (Stories as You Want Them, 1978) by
Marie-Christine Helgerson, among others. Despite their relative lack
of involvement, compared to British and American authors, in gamebooks
as a cultural phenomenon, French authors and their experimental novels
(as above) were nonetheless prominent in the format's precursors and
embryonic stages.
Breakthroughs and popularization
==================================
In the US, 'The Adventures of You' series appeared in 1976-77, with
two titles that would later become part of the groundbreaking 'Choose
Your Own Adventure' series: 'Sugarcane Island' by Edward Packard and
'Journey Under the Sea' by R. A. Montgomery.
Tabletop role-playing games such as 'Dungeons & Dragons' were
another early influence that would contribute in major ways to the
development of the gamebook form. The first module which combined a
branching-path narrative with a set of role-playing game rules was
'Buffalo Castle' for the 'Tunnels & Trolls' system (1975). Buffalo
Castle was innovative for its time, as it allowed the reader to
experience a role-playing session without need for a referee. It has
been followed by many other solitaire adventures for the T&T
system, as well as solos for other tabletop role-playing games.
The first commercially successful series of gamebooks was the 'Choose
Your Own Adventure' series establishing the "American" gamebook
tradition. The "British" tradition, as exemplified by the 'Fighting
Fantasy' series, was, by contrast, slightly younger. British gamebooks
differ from the American tradition by having rules more strongly
influenced by the game mechanics of roleplaying games.
The US (late 1970s–)
======================
'The Adventures of You', a two-book series, authored by Edward Packard
and R.A. Montgomery and initially published by Vermont Crossroads
Press, laid much of the groundwork for the later surge in popularity
of the gamebook format. 'Sugarcane Island' by Edward Packard was
written in 1969 but did not see publication until 1976. This became a
series when 'Journey Under the Sea' by R. A. Montgomery was published
in 1977. Two standalone gamebooks authored by Packard would follow,
both published by Lippincott: 'Deadwood City' (1978) and 'The Third
Planet from Altair' (1979). While these early efforts apparently
achieved some popularity with readers, they (and the gamebook format
in general) still did not have a publisher with the marketing strength
required to make them available to mass audiences.
Packard and Montgomery took the idea of publishing interactive books
to Bantam, and thus the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' (CYOA) series was
born in 1979, beginning with 'The Cave of Time'. The series became
immensely popular worldwide and several titles were translated into
more than 25 languages. The series reached the peak of its popularity
with children in the 1980s. It was during this period that Bantam
released several other interactive series to capitalize on the
popularity of the medium (a few examples are: 'Choose your Own
Adventure for Younger Readers', 'Time Machine' and 'Be An
Interplanetary Spy'). Many other American publishers released their
own series to compete with CYOA.
One of the most popular competitors seems to have been TSR, who
released several branching-path novels based on their own role-playing
games. The most famous TSR series was 'Endless Quest' (1982-). Another
strong competitor was Ballantine with their 'Find Your Fate' series,
which featured adventures in the Indiana Jones, James Bond and Doctor
Who universes. Famous author R. L. Stine wrote several books for this
line, including 'The Badlands of Hark', as well as for other series
such as Wizards, Warriors and You. Several 'Choose your Own Adventure'
spin-offs and many competing series were translated into other
languages.
The UK (early 1980s–)
=======================
One of the most influential and popular gamebook series was the
'Fighting Fantasy' series, which started in 1980 when a Puffin Books
representative saw a hall full of 5,000 people playing 'Dungeons &
Dragons' and asked Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson to make a book
about role-playing games. They instead offered the idea of a book
which simulated the experience of roleplaying games. Within a year
they presented a book under the name of 'The Magic Quest' to Puffin
which Puffin agreed to publish. Having spent six more months
developing the concept it was published under the name of 'The Warlock
of Firetop Mountain' in 1982.
Another notable UK gamebook series is 'Lone Wolf', developed by Joe
Dever in 1984. Like 'Fighting Fantasy', the writer was an experienced
'Dungeons & Dragons' player who developed the setting of Lone Wolf
for his campaigns. However the books were also inspired by medieval
texts such as 'Gawain and the Green Knight' and 'Le Morte d'Arthur'.
'Grailquest' is a series of gamebooks written by J.H. Brennan (also
beginning in 1984) that were also inspired by the Arthurian legends.
Set mainly on Avalon they make use of a dice based system.
'The Way of the Tiger', a Japan-themed gamebook series by Mark Smith
and Jamie Thomson (starting in 1985), is also a notable UK
publication.
Outside the English-speaking world (mid 1980s–)
=================================================
Branching-path books also started to appear during the 1980s in
several other countries, including Spain, France, Italy, Mexico,
Chile, Denmark and Japan.
Despite the domination of works that have been translated from English
in most non-English-speaking countries, a sizable number of original
gamebooks--both individual books and series--have been published in
various countries; this is especially the case in France (e.g. the 'La
Saga du Prêtre Jean' series) and in Japan (e.g. Tokyo Sogensha's
'Super Adventure Game' series and Futabasha's 'Bouken Gamebook'
series).
In some other countries, publication both of translated series and of
original books began in later years. For example, the first original
books in Brazil and Italy seem to have appeared in the 1990s.
Eastern Europe (late 1980s–)
==============================
Translated editions of 'Choose your Own Adventure', 'Fighting Fantasy'
and other English-language series only appeared in Eastern European
countries after the fall of Communism.
Since the mid-1980s, about 90 gamebooks have been published in Poland,
not only as printed books, but also as comics, e-books or mobile
applications. The author of the largest number of titles (20) is
Beniamin Muszyński. Polish gamebooks are regularly written by their
fans and published online by
"[
https://masz-wybor.com.pl/gry-ksiazkowe/ Masz Wybór]" (publishing
house which has been operating since 2010).
In the 1990s, the gamebook genre became highly popular in Bulgaria for
approximately ten years. Whilst internationally well-known series such
as 'Choose Your Own Adventure' and 'Fighting Fantasy' were translated
for the Bulgarian market, the works of numerous Bulgarian gamebook
authors were most popular with readers.
During the popularity peak of gamebooks in Bulgaria, Bulgarian
publishing houses believed that only Western authors would sell and,
as a consequence, virtually all Bulgarian gamebook authors adopted
English pseudonyms. This tradition persisted after their nationality
was publicly disclosed. A smaller number of Hungarian authors also
adopted Western pseudonyms, in addition to "official titles" that were
also in English.
Several adventure gamebooks have been released in the Czech Republic
and Russia. In Azerbaijan, Narmin Kamal's novel, 'Open It's Me',
offers the reader a choice to either read the book as a random
collection of thirty-nine short stories about the same character, or
as a single novel. A photo of the book's hero is published on the
final page and the author asks the reader questions about the
character.
Decline and resurgence (1990s onward)
=======================================
The branching-path book commercial boom dwindled in the early 1990s,
and the number of new series diminished. However, new branching-path
books continue to be published to this day in several countries and
languages. 'Choose Your Own Adventure' went on to become the longest
running gamebook series with 184 titles. The first run of the series
ended in 1998.
R. A. Montgomery started rereleasing some 'Choose Your Own Adventure'
titles in 2005. His company has also released some new titles. New
books and series continue to be published in other countries to this
day. Examples are the '1000 Gefahren' series in Germany and the 'Tú
decides la aventura' series in Spain. The sixtieth and "lost" entry in
the 'Fighting Fantasy' series, 'Bloodbones', was finally published by
Wizard in 2006.
In recent years, the format may be getting a new lease on life on
mobile and ebook platforms.
Types
======================================================================
This type of book was seen predominantly as a form of entertainment
for children. Nonetheless, there were books with more didactic
purposes (ranging from historical series such as the aforementioned
'Time Machine' to books with religious themes such as the Making
Choices series). Also, a few branching-path books were aimed at
adults, ranging from business simulations to works of erotica.
Mainstream fiction
====================
Barring the aforementioned works of Dennis Guerrier in the 1960s, one
of the earliest examples of the form is the five-volume 'Barcelona,
Maxima Discrecion' series, which adapted the noir fiction genre to an
interactive form. Published in the 1980s, this series was only
available in Catalan and Spanish.
Heather McElhatton published a bestselling gamebook for adults in
2007, called 'Pretty Little Mistakes: A Do-Over Novel'. It was
followed by a sequel titled 'Million Little Mistakes' published in
2010.
Some contemporary literary novels have used the gamebook format,
including Kim Newman's 'Life's Lottery' (1999) and Nicholas Bourbaki's
'If' (2014).
Education
===========
In 2011, McGraw-Hill Education began releasing adaptations of the
original 'Choose Your Own Adventure' titles as graded readers. The
stories were retold in simplified language and re-organized plotlines,
in order to make them easier for English as a second or foreign
language readers to play. The choice format of gamebooks has proved to
be popular with ESL teachers as a way to motivate reluctant students,
target critical thinking skills, and organize classroom activities.
Erotica
=========
Various erotic gamebooks have been published by major publishers. In
1994 'Derrière la porte' by Alina Reyes was published by Pocket Books
France and Éditions Robert Laffont, and later translated into English
for Grove Press and Weidenfeld & Nicolson (as 'Behind Closed
Doors') and into Italian for Ugo Guanda Editore (as 'Dietro le
porte'). Melcher Media in 2003 packaged two
"Choose-Your-Own-Erotic-Adventure" books for Penguin Books' Gotham
Books imprint, including 'Kathryn in the City' by Mary Anne Mohanraj,
a well-known writer of erotica.
Role-playing solitaire adventures
===================================
Solitaire adventures were a parallel development. This type of book is
intended to allow a single person to use the rules of a role-playing
game to experience an adventure without need of a referee. The first
role-playing game solitaire adventures to be published were those
using the 'Tunnels & Trolls' system, beginning with the book
Buffalo Castle in 1976, making 'Tunnels & Trolls' the first
role-playing game to support solitaire play. Flying Buffalo released
24 solo adventure books (plus several pocket size adventures) in the
period 1976-1993. A number of the adventures are still in print today.
They were very successful among players of role-playing games and
inspired many imitators.
Another early role-playing game with solitaire modules made for it was
'The Fantasy Trip'. The first such module was 'Death Test', published
in 1978. Eight adventures were released in total. One thing that set
them apart was the need for miniatures and a hexmap, in order to take
advantage of the combat and movement systems. These adventures were
also very popular and influential.
Meanwhile, several third-party publishers started to publish solitaire
adventures meant for use with popular roleplaying systems. Some of the
earliest adventures in this vein were 'The Solo Dungeon' (1978) by
British author Richard Bartle, and 'Survival of the Fittest' (1979),
published by Judges' Guild in the United States. Both of these
adventures were meant to be used with 'Dungeons & Dragons' rules.
Solitaire role-playing adventures also experienced a boom in the
1980s. Many role-playing rulesets included solo adventures which were
intended to teach the rules systems to the players. Some companies
released lines of solitaire adventures for their own games. Examples
of games with prolific solitaire lines were 'Dungeons & Dragons',
'GURPS', 'Das Schwarze Auge', 'DC Heroes', and 'Call of Cthulhu'. Some
third-party publishers continued to release solo adventures for
established RPG systems (including Judges' Guild, who released solos
for 'Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'). Solitaire adventures were also
featured quite frequently in professional RPG magazines and fanzines.
Several solo adventures (such as those for 'Tunnels & Trolls',
'Dungeons & Dragons', and 'Das Schwarze Auge') were translated
into other languages.
As was the case with other types of gamebooks, the production of
solitaire RPG adventures decreased dramatically during the 1990s.
However, new solos continue to be published to this day. Some
companies continue to produce solo adventures for 'Tunnels &
Trolls'. There are also new solo adventures for a variety of systems,
and even some influenced by the 'Fantasy Trip' solos (such as the ones
by Dark City Games). The Internet has provided a channel to distribute
solitaire adventures, with both free and commercial adventures made
available as electronic documents.
Adventures
============
Adventure gamebooks incorporate elements from 'Choose Your Own
Adventure' books and role-playing solitaire adventures. The books
involve a branching path format in order to move between sections of
text, but the reader creates a character as in a role-playing game,
and resolves actions using a game-system. Unlike role-playing
solitaire adventures, adventure gamebooks include all the rules needed
for play in each book. Adventure gamebooks are usually not divided
into numbered pages, but rather into numbered sections of text, so
that several sections may fit in a single page, or a single section
can span several pages.
'The Warlock of Firetop Mountain' was published in 1982, the first of
what became the 'Fighting Fantasy' series of gamebooks, one of the
first adventure gamebook series. With over 60 titles, including a
variety of spin-offs, the series popularised the gamebook format in
the UK and many other countries, such as Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, the United States, Portugal,
Tanzania, Brazil, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Israel,
Japan, and after the fall of communism, Eastern Europe.
Several authors in different countries continue to publish adventure
gamebooks in the late 2010s. Notable examples are German fantasy
authors Wolfgang Hohlbein, Markus Heitz, and Lemonbits. Adventure
gamebooks experienced a publishing boom in the 1980s, most notably in
the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy and France. British
series such as 'Fighting Fantasy', 'Lone Wolf', and 'The Way of the
Tiger' were translated into several languages and became very popular
worldwide. The boom decreased considerably in the 1990s, with Fabled
Lands being the last major British gamebook series. In the 2000s,
reissues of the 'Fighting Fantasy' and 'Lone Wolf' series emerged, and
garnered some commercial success.
Online adaptations
======================================================================
Given the similar structure to html links between the pages of a
website, numerous efforts have been made to create a digital
equivalent to the gamebook format, with varying degrees of success.
These include visual novels, story websites, and various experiments
with audio CDs (such as TSR, Inc's short-lived "Terror TRAX" line).
See also
======================================================================
* Adventure game
* Interactive film
* Interactive fiction
* List of gamebooks
* Nonlinear narrative
* Visual novel
External links
======================================================================
* [
http://gamebooks.org/ Demian Katz' catalogue of gamebooks]
* [
https://archive.org/details/gamebooks?tab=collection Game Books
Collection] on the Internet Archive
* [
https://www.gamebook.io/ Gamebook Platform] - Platform for gamebook
creators, publishing and distribution
* [
http://samizdat.cc/cyoa/ samizdat.cc/cyoa/] - Visualised
path-analysis of ten "Choose your own adventure" game books
License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebook
