tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14851981228309581982024-03-06T14:09:46.334+10:00The World of Gamebook WritingA personal blog of my writing journey, as a published author of children's adventure gamebooksJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-46590926581214616812013-09-23T10:11:00.000+10:002013-09-23T10:11:00.981+10:00Journey to Mount Darkness - Read the blurb<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOwnI4oQ0f_0RDFxyQU2giFeoZSFZ4M4owCUG2JIyRn_UKrppzQ1tWLJE7z4KNt08VvzCQ7T0fHlWUWVIsD1ZkLBMZpwKOMXLxZhs9GHwFV_gYBRC6rQrVj-7Yqf93fMAHyYxW_kjrVY6d/s1600/Journey+to+Mount+Darkness+Title+Small.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOwnI4oQ0f_0RDFxyQU2giFeoZSFZ4M4owCUG2JIyRn_UKrppzQ1tWLJE7z4KNt08VvzCQ7T0fHlWUWVIsD1ZkLBMZpwKOMXLxZhs9GHwFV_gYBRC6rQrVj-7Yqf93fMAHyYxW_kjrVY6d/s400/Journey+to+Mount+Darkness+Title+Small.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
A copy of the blurb for <b>Journey to Mount Darkness</b> is now available to read on the <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/jumpsterhopper/" target="_blank">official website</a>. With the book currently at the printers, I am looking at an October 2013 release.<br />
<br />
Click <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/jumpsterhopper/" target="_blank">here</a> to read the blurbJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-34332879506477621682013-08-13T11:26:00.001+10:002013-08-13T11:28:08.522+10:00Journey to Mount Darkness - Map of Woodland ForestThings are going nicely with the upcoming release of book 2 in the Woodland Forest Chronicles series - Journey to Mount Darkness. Leading up to that release, here is a tidbit of what you will find inside the book:<br />
<br />
<b>The first drawn map of Woodland Forest (The Eastern Realm)</b><br />
<br />
This is the setting for the first story - The adventure will begin at Hopper's Burrow, to the east and end at Mount Darkness, to the west<b>. </b>The journey that the main protagonist (Theodore Hopper) will take to get there will vary, depending on what decisions the reader makes during the story.<br />
<br />
More info. to come as the official release draws closer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.freewebs.com/jumpsterhopper/Woodland%20Forest%20Eastern%20Realm.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://www.freewebs.com/jumpsterhopper/Woodland%20Forest%20Eastern%20Realm.GIF" width="400" /></a></div>
J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-7322419004792426682012-02-20T20:53:00.000+10:002012-02-20T20:53:19.626+10:00Another Woodland Forest biography - Mrs SlitherThe second character biography is up on my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/J-P-Barnett#!/pages/J-P-Barnett/131451400230809" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. This one is a near neighbour of the Hopper family, and a dangerous one, too.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-32303788360571754652012-02-16T20:41:00.000+10:002012-02-16T20:41:30.548+10:00Woodland Forest Character biographiesI started up the idea of a series of biographies for each major character in Woodland Forest some time back, but never continued with it. Now I have decided to re-launch the project and see it through this time.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Jasan-Barnett/100001432361039#!/pages/J-P-Barnett/131451400230809" target="_blank">My facebook page</a> has details of the first biography: You can visit the page to find out who is the first subject.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-87301116195182827332012-02-13T19:48:00.000+10:002012-02-13T19:48:04.816+10:00A brief history of Woodland Forest<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOaUIaYMbyo3ojb0tlg0_E-j3MLCuU1BPbM6KczpUsFcVrZt0x0R4ONbajnfRjdPUJod-w1nrP6DV2VMhCfpgwgIXif6DhWtoqcQxGw1qZswI1EeQo-CFpdXkXB69BETvOh3eLAk9Sl5u/s1600/woodlandforestchroniclesborder.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOaUIaYMbyo3ojb0tlg0_E-j3MLCuU1BPbM6KczpUsFcVrZt0x0R4ONbajnfRjdPUJod-w1nrP6DV2VMhCfpgwgIXif6DhWtoqcQxGw1qZswI1EeQo-CFpdXkXB69BETvOh3eLAk9Sl5u/s1600/woodlandforestchroniclesborder.JPG" /></a>Leading up to the release of the second book in the Woodland Forest Chronicles series, "Journey to Mount Darkness", I have written a brief history of Woodland Forest itself, the setting for the first and all future stories in the series. I have posted this article on my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/J-P-Barnett/131451400230809?sk=notes#!/pages/J-P-Barnett/131451400230809" target="_blank">Facebook fan page.</a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-50801223545790085412012-02-04T18:57:00.003+10:002012-02-04T19:08:39.644+10:00Inspired by Peter Jackson<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxxOKVCBSJKkJn0xHGlyYk0gCG5WBItlpXCKj2LHTMpdxIWa0-8rjr7tUP8LyIfa-drKM0HOQvex5CHJNEp6PHOtttZzr58wzos9bVx84S4rqmX0nvXO0LoWZI-rQe-huKf8AjgC0t2_y/s1600/hobbitlogo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 127px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 296px;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxxOKVCBSJKkJn0xHGlyYk0gCG5WBItlpXCKj2LHTMpdxIWa0-8rjr7tUP8LyIfa-drKM0HOQvex5CHJNEp6PHOtttZzr58wzos9bVx84S4rqmX0nvXO0LoWZI-rQe-huKf8AjgC0t2_y/s1600/hobbitlogo.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">For those of you eagerly awaiting the release of the movie, "The Hobbit", you may or may not be aware of director Peter Jackson's Facebook pages he set up to promote this upcoming movie; he has one for himself (Peter Jackson) and one for the movie (The Hobbit).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What I have particularly enjoyed are the tidbits he has been slowly releasing to the fans (mostly in the form of 10 minute production videos and photo stills) in a manner that gets people interested but at the same time, doesn't spoil the movie by giving away important information.</div>All of this got me thinking about how I had been promoting my gamebooks, and after considering the matter further, I realised that I hadn't really followed Peter's style of promoting my first two gamebooks at all. I basically said very little in the lead-up and then promoted harder once the books were released.<br />
<br />
With approximately 9-12 months to go before the first gamebook in my "Mount Darkness" trilogy is released, Peter's approach has inspired me to adopt the same tactic for myself as I have plenty of time to build up a fan base of sorts. Granted, I am a virtually unknown author with a little known gamebook series, so I can hardly expect results comparable to Peter's. To illustrate, as I write, 456,536 people like Peter Jackson's Facebook page and 21 like mine. Nevertheless, if I can do something to increase this number and, at the same time, give some people some enjoyment in the form of tidbit announcements and information about my upcoming trilogy, I will be satisfied.<br />
<br />
So, my plan is to use Facebook as my main promotional vehicle for my upcoming gamebooks and give people plenty of interesting information and articles in the lead-up to release. My signature at the bottom of this article has the link to my facebook page (J P Barnett), so if you feel like you would like to come along for the ride, feel free to visit my page and click the like button. I will try to provide regular material leading up to the release of the first book in the trilogy, "Journey to Mount Darkness", in the form of pictures, character biographies, story background and anything else interesting I can think of.<br />
<br />
On my Facebook page, there are already articles about my existing books, including my first gamebook, "Invitation to a Feast" which is set in the same location, Woodland Forest, as my upcoming trilogy.<br />
<br />
To begin this new promotional vehicle, the first article I will post on my Facebook wall will be a brief history of Woodland Forest itself, so you can become familiar with the place. My plan is to post this in about a week from now.<br />
====================================<br />
FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK via this link <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001432361039&v=wall#!/pages/J-P-Barnett/131451400230809" target="_blank">J P BARNETT</a>J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-1037402222748344232011-10-17T19:52:00.002+10:002011-10-17T19:56:15.493+10:00Gamebook Difficulty Index tested - Creature of Havoc/Invitation to a Feast1 have tested my updated GDI (Gamebook difficulty index) system with a couple of gamebooks and have successfully calculated an (interim) GDI for each book.<br />
<br />
The two books tested were:<br />
<br />
- Creature of Havoc (A fighting fantasy gamebook); and<br />
- Invitation to a Feast (My first gamebook).<br />
<br />
I redid the score for Invitation to a Feast as the first score was calculated using the older (flawed) system.<br />
<br />
As Creature of Havoc is a well-known gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series (and is well-known as one of the toughest), I will give the final score calculated, including where the adventure ended each time I read the book, using the GDI system (spoilers ahead).<br />
<br />
CREATURE OF HAVOC<br />
1) Lost - Creature controlled<br />
2) Lost - Fell off steps into the Bilgewater<br />
3) Lost - Fell off bridge into the Bilgewater<br />
4) Lost - Fell off steps and crashed into boulder by the Bilgewater<br />
5) Lost - Pushed mine truck over a cliff and into the Bilgewater<br />
6) & 7) Lost - Defeated by Darramouss<br />
8) Lost - Captured in Yellowstone mines<br />
9) Lost - Defeated by Chaos Warriors<br />
10) Lost - Mud Slime<br />
11) & 12) & 13) Lost - Couldn't open metal door (Final exit from dungeon)<br />
14) Lost - Captured by Galleykeep (Tree noose trap)<br />
15) Lost - Defeated by moving trees (Forest of Spiders)<br />
16) Lost - Furnace Trap<br />
17) Lost - Dree: Ambushed in alley<br />
18) Lost - Sunk in muddy swamp<br />
19) & 20) Lost - Captured by old woman in Dree<br />
21) Lost - Pushed into muddy swamp by Toadman<br />
22) Lost - Defeated by Hobgoblins (Galleykeep)<br />
23) Lost - Enslaved by Red Cloak<br />
24) Lost - Defeated by Quimmel Bone (Surgery)<br />
25) & 26) Lost - Defeated by Zombie<br />
27) Lost - Defeated by Hobgoblins (Galleykeep)<br />
28) Lost - Joined Zharradan Marr<br />
29) Victory<br />
<br />
<strong>EXPLORATION SCORE = 29</strong><br />
<br />
1) Lost - Defeated by Dark Elf bowman<br />
2) Lost - Defeated by Warrior & Thief<br />
3) Lost - Defeated by Dark Elf bowmen<br />
4) Victory<br />
<br />
<strong>GAMEPLAY SCORE = 4</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>(INTERIM) GDI = 29 + 4 = 33</strong><br />
<br />
Recapping my explanation of the interim GDI and final GDI (from a previous post):<br />
<br />
<em>Finally, to wrap things up, I made a comment earlier that this score is what I classify as an interim score. The reason being is that I could just as easily test the book again and come up with a different score. What I plan to do is to indeed, test the book again, calculate the GDI and then calculate the average GDI based on the two tests. I will continue to do this until the average GDI varies by less than 1 point between tests. I will then conclude the test and consider the GDI as the final GDI. </em><br />
<br />
Looking at the breakup of this score, what it does show is that Creature of Havoc's famed high degree of difficulty lies almost solely with how well hidden the successful path is. Once the correct path is found, Creature of Havoc is actually a very simple book to complete.<br />
<br />
Comparing this to Invitation to a Feast, I came up with the following score: (warning - spoilers ahead)<br />
<br />
INVITATION TO A FEAST<br />
1) Lost - Deceived by otter<br />
2) Lost - Invite snatched by Walter Weasel at Noble Items stall<br />
3) Lost - Couldn't open Noble Ranger's gate<br />
4) Lost - Invite snatched by Walter Weasel at Noble Items stall<br />
5) Victory<br />
<br />
<strong>EXPLORATION SCORE = 5</strong><br />
<br />
1) Lost - Invite snatched by Walter Weasel at Noble Items stall<br />
2) Victory<br />
<br />
<strong>GAMEPLAY SCORE = 2</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>(INTERIM) GDI = 5 + 2 = 7</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
I am currently calculating the GDI for my second gamebook, The Wounded Falcon. At this stage, I am content with how the GDI system works and probably won't make any major changes to it now.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-48281507391493113832011-10-12T21:54:00.003+10:002011-10-13T17:10:09.868+10:00GDI Rules RevisitedIn my <a href="http://jumpsterhopper.blogspot.com/2011/10/gdi-gamebook-difficulty-index.html">previous post</a>, I mentioned (in an update at the bottom of the post) that frequent readings of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook, Creature of Havoc exposed a weakness in the GDI system. I have since made some alterations to the GDI rules (including the addition of some rules I forgot to include in the previous post).<br />
<br />
The new list of the GDI rules follow below:<br />
<br />
<strong>THE EXPLORATION SCORE</strong><br />
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<em><u>RULE 1a): As a particular path to success is revealed and expanded upon while reading and re-reading the book, this partially revealed path to success MUST be followed in all subsequent reads.</u></em><br />
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This is the main change to the previous GDI rule system. The previous rule 1 (now rule 1b) has been superceded by this one.<br />
<br />
This rule is best explained by an example. Let us say the correct path to success in a particular gamebook involved reading the following pages:<br />
<br />
1 - 24 - 36 - 5 - 17 - 50<br />
<br />
If, on the first read, you ended up reading pages 1, 24 and 36 and then went off the path to read pages 11 and 19, <strong>for all future reads</strong> you <em>must </em>always begin by reading pages 1, 24 and 36. Continuing with the above example, on the second read, once you read page 36, the decision to turn to the correct page (5) or the incorrect page (11) will be decided by the remaining rules that follow below.<br />
<br />
As a variation of the above condition, if it is possible to temporarily depart from the true path to explore other pages, without jepordising the following of the revealed path, this <em>may</em> be done, if the remaining rules (listed below) cause this to happen. Using the above scenario again, if, on the second read, you read pages 1 and 24 and temporarily diverted from the true path (page 36) by turning to, say page 33, this is permitted if you eventually end up back at page 36 to continue along the correct path to victory without triggering an event that makes the book impossible to win.<br />
<br />
Finally, if there are multiple paths to success (especially paths that are quite separate from each other), you can roll a die to decide which one to follow.<br />
<br />
This rule overrides all other rules listed below.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 1b): Each time the gamebook is read, it must be possible to complete the book EVERY time it is read.</u></em><br />
<br />
This rule overrides all other rules listed below (but can be overruled by rule 1a above). The way it overrides the below rules is that it changes any potential compulsory selection of an incorrect choice to a random die roll between the correct and incorrect choice(s), where it is known that if the selection of a wrong choice is made, it will be impossible to successfully complete the book. (spoiler follows)<br />
<br />
Example - In the Fighting Fantasy gamebook, "The Warlock of Firetop Mountain", one of the keys needed to open the chest at the end of the game is found early on, in a room, inside a box that contains a small snake. If any of the below rules force you to bypass the room that contains this key, you are to ignore the rule, but instead, roll a die to decide whether you enter the room or not.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 2: When you are asked to make a choice between two or more pages to turn to, you must always turn to a page that you have not previously read.</u></em><br />
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Example. You walk along a road and arrive at a junction where you can travel to the east or west. If you travel to the west on your first read, you MUST travel to the east on your second read.<br />
<br />
The above rule has two critical exceptions: Rule 1 (both parts - see above), and the below exception.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 2 (exception): If, on a previous read, you have discovered that possessing an item of equipment or event (codeword) is needed to turn to a previously unread page, and you know both:</u></em><br />
<em><br />
<u></u></em><br />
<em><u>a) How to get to the page where you gather the item of equipment or codeword; AND</u></em><br />
<em><u>b) You have previously read the page where you cannot proceed to the unread page without having the item or codeword,</u></em><br />
<em><br />
<u></u></em><br />
<em><u>You MUST select the page number that will get you first to the item of equipment or codeword.</u></em><br />
<br />
This is a complex exception and is best illustrated by using an example (spoiler follows):<br />
<br />
In the Fighting Fantasy gamebook, Citadel of Chaos, the villain, Balthus Dire, has a combination lock to get into his war room for the confrontation at the end of the game. Let us say, for example, when reading the book, you discover the combination lock for the first time, but do not have the number for the combination.<br />
<br />
Continuing on, in a later read, let us assume you discover the location where the combination is found but do not get to the combination lock at the end.<br />
Because you have discovered both parts of the "solution" to this particular puzzle, for ALL subsequent reads of the book, you must ALWAYS seek out the combination first so that it can be used to unlock the room at the end, because there is an unread page that needs to be read. As long as there are still unread pages to be read after unlocking the door to the war room, this general path (seek the combination first) must be followed on every subsequent read.<br />
<br />
If you have multiple examples of the above event, (i.e. You have discovered more than one item/codeword and where it can be used later on in the story), you must roll a die to decide which item/codeword you focus on (unless, of course it is possible for you to follow both).<br />
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<em><u>RULE 3: When you are asked to make a choice between two or more pages to turn to and there are more than one unread pages to choose from, you must roll a die to choose between them.</u></em><br />
<br />
This rule was alluded to earlier. Again, it encourages exploration of the entire book. Rule 1 (both parts) and Rule 2 (exception) can override this rule, however.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 4: When you are asked to make a choice between two or more pages AND all of these pages have been previously read:</u></em><br />
<br />
a) Select a page that will eventually lead you to an unexplored area<br />
b) If all pages (or none) eventually lead you to an unexplored area, then roll a die to choose the next page<br />
<br />
Where possible, all of the above rules can override this rule.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 5: Making choices that do not involve turning to a page.</u></em><br />
<br />
A typical example of this is choosing a list of items to buy from a store, merchant etc. where all the items are listed on the one page. In this scenario, once again, you roll a die to choose whether to buy an item or not. If you have limited money, then once again, you roll a die to reduce your selection of items to buy. Again, this rule can be overriden, primarily by rule 1 (both parts) or the rule 2 exception.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 6: Avoid the instant failure page</u></em><br />
<br />
If you reveal a path that leads to certain failure, you are not to follow that path again, <em>if at all possible.</em><br />
<br />
<strong>THE GAMEPLAY SCORE</strong><br />
<br />
Thankfully, the calculation of this score is very simple. All you have to do is the following:<br />
<br />
1) Read the gamebook again as you would normally read the gamebook (i.e. All gamebook mechanics are reinstated).<br />
<br />
2) Using the path to victory you discovered when calculating the exploration score, <em>as much as is possible</em>, read the story through to its conclusion.<br />
<br />
Expanding upon the phrase in point 2), "as much as is possible", here is a scenario where you may deviate from the pre-determined path to victory.<br />
<br />
Example - Let us say, when calculating the exploration score, you followed a path that involved a section when you had to battle a difficult enemy that could have been avoided. If, when reading the book with all gamebook mechanics reinstated, you were defeated by this enemy, you need to consider factors such as (using a Fighting Fantasy themed example):<br />
<br />
What was your skill at the beginning of the story?<br />
What was your stamina at the beginning of the story?<br />
<br />
This can be up to the reader to determine, but if you had a starting skill of 9, but lost to the difficult enemy, the next time you read the book, and roll a starting skill of, say, 8, this may be a scenario where you choose to deviate from the pre-determined path and find a better one. The process of finding an easier path would be up to the reader to decide. There is no need to follow complex exploration rules like before because we have already calculated the exploration score at this point. Continuing on, if you roll a starting skill of 10, because your chances for success are slightly better than before, you would remain on the same path and battle the difficult enemy. If you lost again, perhaps you would not try that path again unless your starting skill was greater than 10, and so on and so forth.<br />
<br />
This is just a small example of how to apply the intent of the principle that lies in the phrase "as much as is possible", in point 2.<br />
<br />
So, there are the updated rules. I hope the adjustments make the GDI a strong measuring device for the difficulty level of any gamebook.<br />
<br />
Jasan<br />
<br />
P.S. Now that the system has changed, I'm going to go back and re-calculate the score for "Invitation to a Feast", amongst other things....<br />
<br />
UPDATE<br />
<br />
I made a small adjustment, reinstating what is now rule 1b. Previously, I removed it altogether, and then realised that it still served an important (though reduced) purpose.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-60599008064917697662011-10-07T21:01:00.001+10:002011-10-12T18:07:53.456+10:00The GDI (Gamebook Difficulty Index)One of the most intriging parts of a gamebook is that you are attempting to achieve a goal by successfully completing the story. Some stories have multiple successful endings, some have just the one. In each of these stories, though, depending on the author, the difficulty level involved in attempting to complete the adventure varies from book-to-book.<br />
<br />
For the past many weeks I have been attempting to construct a system that can be used to measure the difficulty of any gamebook written by giving it a difficulty rating. Hopefully it can be something that people can use to rate different gamebooks when wanting to choose one to read. I expect it will also be something people enjoy using to settle debates on which gamebooks are tougher (or easier) to complete.<br />
<br />
I don't expect this system to be perfect, though I have tried to make it as unbiased and fair as I could think of. I welcome any feedback on the system and any potential improvements people might think of.<br />
<br />
I have called the system the GDI (Gamebook Difficulty Index). The main principle I followed when constructing the GDI was that the skill of the reader was taken away when determining the final score (or index). In the years of reading gamebooks, I have noticed that some readers have had a knack of finding the successful ending(s) more quickly than others, and I wanted that element to be totally removed.<br />
<br />
The rules in determining the final index are basic in general terms but are also quite detailed in others. I will explain how the index works in its most basic terms and then elaborate on some of the complexities (but not all at this stage - I will probably do this in later blog entries or this particular blog post will be too large).<br />
<br />
I have applied the index, at this stage, to only one gamebook - My first gamebook, "Invitation to a Feast", a book that I have always considered to be a reasonably easy gamebook to complete. At this end of this post, I will state what GDI I gave my gamebook, and then explain why the rating is not a final rating but is an interim rating.<br />
<br />
Anyway, enough intro....let's begin!!!<br />
<br />
The GDI consists of two components:<br />
<br />
a) An exploration score; and<br />
b) A gameplay score.<br />
<br />
The GDI equals the exploration score plus the gameplay score.<br />
<br />
<strong>THE EXPLORATION SCORE</strong><br />
In plain English, the exploration score represents the amount of times one has to read the book to find the successful ending in the gamebook. If there is more than one successful ending to find, the score represents the amount of times one has to read the book to find <strong><u>any</u></strong> of the successful endings in the book.<br />
<br />
At first glance, this score appears to cover all bases, but this is not the case. When determining the exploration score, <strong><u>all</u></strong> gameplay mechanics are excluded from the book, which generally means all the die rolling mechanics are removed from play when reading it.<br />
<br />
Using Fighting Fantasy gamebooks as an example, this means that:<br />
- All combat is removed (you assume that you always win)<br />
- All other die rolling is removed (E.g. Test Your Luck, Skill, Stamina etc.)<br />
<br />
For the purposes of working out the exploration score, the story is (almost) reduced to a straightforward Choose Your Own Adventure story. What is retained, however, is:<br />
- Collecting and using equipment<br />
- The use of Codewords or Events<br />
- Other such similar devices (i.e. Non die-rolling mechanics)<br />
<br />
So, just repeating, the score itself is the <strong><em>number of times one reads the book until a successful ending is found.</em></strong> If you remember my earlier comment, however, my intention is that the skill of the reader is taken out of consideration. The way this is dealt with is by:<br />
<br />
RANDOM NUMBER SELECTION.<br />
<br />
In other words, if you read a page of a gamebook and are presented with three choices to select from at the end of the page, rather than make the choice yourself, you allow the roll of a die to determine what choice is selected. This general principle is followed all the way through the book until a successful (or unsuccessful) ending is found. If your adventure ends, you go back to the beginning of the story and start over.<br />
<br />
BUT WAIT! BY USING THIS METHOD, IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, IT COULD TAKE HUNDREDS OF READS TO FIND A SUCCESSFUL ENDING (ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS ONLY ONE OF THEM TO FIND.)<br />
<br />
The above statement is quite valid. To prevent this from happening, however, there are a number of specific rules to follow when reading, so the exploration score that is calculated is a reasonable and realistic one. These rules are where the complexity of determining the GDI is at its highest.<br />
<br />
The rules/principles are as follows:<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 1: Each time the gamebook is read, it must be possible to complete the book EVERY time it is read.</u></em><br />
<br />
This overriding principle is to prevent the reader from wasting many reads wandering along incorrect paths, where there is no chance of final success. This principle also makes it obvious that when determining the GDI of a gamebook, one must first already know the true path or paths that must be taken to succeed. <br />
<br />
Originally, when designing the GDI, I wanted to give the reader the opportunity to calculate the GDI for a book that he/she had never read before. This, for me, resulted in many problems (mainly revolving around wandering along incorrect paths for many reads on end and inflating the GDI to what amounted to ridiculous levels).<br />
<br />
This rule overrides all other rules listed below. The way it overrides the below rules is that it changes any potential compulsory selection of an <strong>incorrect </strong>choice to a random die roll between the correct and incorrect choice(s), <em>where it is known that if the selection of a wrong choice is made, it will be <strong>impossible </strong>to successfully complete the book. </em>(<strong>spoiler follows</strong>)<br />
<br />
Example - In the Fighting Fantasy gamebook, "The Warlock of Firetop Mountain", one of the keys needed to open the chest at the end of the game is found early on, in a room, inside a box that contains a small snake. If any of the below rules <strong>force</strong> you to bypass the room that contains this key, you are to ignore the rule, but instead, roll a die to decide whether you enter the room or not.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 2: When you are asked to make a choice between two or more pages to turn to, you must always turn to a page that you have not previously read.</u></em><br />
<br />
Example. You walk along a road and arrive at a junction where you can travel to the east or west. If you travel to the west on your first read, you MUST travel to the east on your second read.<br />
<br />
This rule is to encourage exploration of all possible page numbers in the book, thus logically ending in the eventual discovery of the page number where you successfully complete the book.<br />
<br />
I use an excel spreadsheet to create a gamebook flowchart to track which pages I read on each occasion and highlight the page numbers that have already been read.<br />
<br />
The above rule has one critical exception, however (not including rule 1 above, of course).<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 2 (exception): If, on a previous read, you have discovered that possessing an item of equipment or event (codeword) is needed to turn to a previously unread page, and you know both:</u></em><br />
<br />
<em><u>a) How to get to the page where you gather the item of equipment or codeword; AND</u></em><br />
<em><u>b) You have previously read the page where you cannot proceed to the unread page without having the item or codeword,</u></em><br />
<br />
<em><u>You MUST select the page number that will get you first to the item of equipment or codeword.</u></em><br />
<br />
This is a complex exception and is best illustrated by using an example (<strong>spoiler follows</strong>):<br />
<br />
In the Fighting Fantasy gamebook, Citadel of Chaos, the villain, Balthus Dire, has a combination lock to get into his war room for the confrontation at the end of the game. Let us say, for example, when reading the book, you discover the location where the combination is found but do not get to the combination lock at the end.<br />
<br />
Continuing on, in a later read, let us assume you discover the combination lock for the first time, but this time, do not have the combination.<br />
<br />
Because you have discovered both parts of the "solution" to this particular puzzle, for ALL subsequent reads of the book, you must ALWAYS seek out the combination first so that it can be used to unlock the room at the end, because there is an unread page that needs to be read. As long as there are still unread pages to be read after unlocking the door to the war room, this general path (seek the combination first) must be followed on every subsequent read.<br />
<br />
If you have multiple examples of the above event, (i.e. You have discovered more than one item/codeword and where it can be used later on in the story), you must roll a die to decide which item/codeword you focus on (unless, of course it is possible for you to follow both).<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 3: When you are asked to make a choice between two or more pages to turn to and there are more than one unread pages to choose from, you must roll a die to choose between them.</u></em><br />
<br />
This rule was alluded to earlier. Again, it encourages exploration of the entire book. Rule 1 and Rule 2 (exception) can override this rule, however.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 4: When you are asked to make a choice between two or more pages AND all of these pages have been previously read:</u></em><br />
<br />
<em><u>a) Select a page that will eventually lead you to an unexplored area</u></em><br />
<em><u>b) If all pages (or none) eventually lead you to an unexplored area, then roll a die to choose the next page</u></em><br />
<br />
Where possible, all of the above rules can override this rule.<br />
<br />
<em><u>RULE 5: Making choices that do not involve turning to a page.</u></em><br />
<br />
A typical example of this is choosing a list of items to buy from a store, merchant etc. where all the items are listed on the one page. In this scenario, once again, you roll a die to choose whether to buy an item or not. If you have limited money, then once again, you roll a die to reduce your selection of items to buy. Again, this rule can be overriden, primarily by rule 1 or the rule 2 exception.<br />
<br />
I realise this is a complex system, and I would not be surprised if some of you that read this end up totally confused by it. For those of you who can follow it, I welcome any feedback on it. This system certainly does not have to be the final system and if somebody can find a way to genuinely improve it, I welcome any suggestions.<br />
<br />
So, in summary, after following the above rules, you will eventually find a successful ending to the gamebook. Once this is done, apart from recording how many times the story had to be read in order to win, you must move along to the next element of the GDI....<br />
<br />
<strong>THE GAMEPLAY SCORE</strong><br />
Thankfully, the calculation of this score is very simple. All you have to do is the following:<br />
<br />
1) Read the gamebook again as you would normally read the gamebook (i.e. All gamebook mechanics are reinstated).<br />
2) Using the path to victory you discovered when calculating the exploration score, <em>as much as is possible</em>, read the story through to its conclusion.<br />
<br />
Similarly, the gameplay score is the <strong><em>number of times one reads the book until the same successful ending, discovered while determining the exploration score, is found.</em></strong><br />
<br />
That's it! The total GDI, I think, is a reasonable score that should represent the average number of times you would expect an average gamebook player to read the book through to a successful completion.<br />
<br />
<strong>INVITATION TO A FEAST</strong><br />
As I mentioned earlier, I have used this system to rate my first gamebook, "Invitation to a Feast", and this is the score I came up with:<br />
<br />
EXPLORATION SCORE = 3<br />
GAMEPLAY SCORE = 1<br />
<br />
GDI = 4<br />
<br />
Finally, to wrap things up, I made a comment earlier that this score is what I classify as an <em>interim</em> score. The reason being is that I could just as easily test the book again and come up with a different score. What I plan to do is to indeed, test the book again, calculate the GDI and then calculate the average GDI based on the two tests. I will continue to do this until the <strong><em>average GDI varies by less than 1 point between tests. </em></strong>I will then conclude the test and consider the GDI as the final GDI.<br />
<br />
A fair bit involved, yes, but I think, a worthwhile exercise, particularly for those who enjoy statistics (like I do!). What I am most pleased with is that this system is unbaised and impartial and will really come into its own, once some final GDIs for different gamebooks are calculated. We should then be able to compare gamebooks and truly classify them from easiest to complete to hardest to complete.<br />
<br />
The next book I plan on rating is one of the most famous and difficult Fighting Fantasy gamebooks written, Creature of Havoc. I am certain the GDI will not be a low as 4 for this one!<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading,<br />
<br />
Jasan<br />
<br />
========================<br />
<br />
UPDATE!!!<br />
<br />
Thanks to all those who made comments about this system on this site (and other sites that I frequent). I plan on responding when I get a chance but the feedback, so far, has been appreciated.<br />
<br />
In the ensuing analysis by myself and others since I released this article, some weaknesses in the system have come to light. In particular, I gave the system a real workout by testing it with the fighting fantasy gamebook, "Creature of Havoc". I figured that if any gamebook would find any faults with my system, Creature of Havoc would deliver the goods, and it did.<br />
<br />
For those of you who are familiar with the story, my system broke down when it became apparent that it was very, very difficult to find the vapour of tongues (language) when using my original system, and did not represent a realistic scenario at all.<br />
<br />
I have since made an appropriate adjustment to rule 1 (which was the main cause of the problem).<br />
<br />
I also realised that I forgot to include a couple of rules in my original post.<br />
<br />
Rather than edit the original entry (above), I will make a new blog entry with the updated system, so those of you who are interested can follow the natural evolution of the GDI from its beginnings, to where it is now.<br />
<br />
With the adjustments made, I have found that I can now progress through Creature of Havoc in a gradual, realistic way each time it is read. I haven't yet completed the story but I don't envisage any great problems with the GDI now. Any further changes from now on, should be minor (if any, I hope!)<br />
<br />
Jasan<br />
<br />
P.S. The updated GDI system will follow in a new post once I have written it. If I get a chance, I may explain in more depth how the original system failed, for those of you who are interested.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-84706227939168498242011-05-19T17:23:00.002+10:002011-05-19T17:31:06.526+10:00The Wounded Falcon - 2 recent reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQ9V2YVosoY6IZyPU6ayE25km-fGZeaj5gNXBGBI8bvk3T5U7iC-XujqNk_BQw60_4asr5yz7I3IFVEPAnOM_IPzTzAC1QCYIPILScdS1a4JfoFHs_RHlWgJZ82FjX9G7z5xVDeHEHJ-/s1600/twfcolourcover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQ9V2YVosoY6IZyPU6ayE25km-fGZeaj5gNXBGBI8bvk3T5U7iC-XujqNk_BQw60_4asr5yz7I3IFVEPAnOM_IPzTzAC1QCYIPILScdS1a4JfoFHs_RHlWgJZ82FjX9G7z5xVDeHEHJ-/s1600/twfcolourcover.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The below two blogs have recently reviewed "The Wounded Falcon". I have provided links to the two articles in question. (Click on the site logos below for the links to the full review.)</div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://content.boomerangbooks.com.au/blog/the-wounded-falcon-by-j-p-barnett/2011/04" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="70" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mT9vUaYLhbZXtzsJ80iU_RjEBCOSJV09DtGlwSssE1iHPOAZl2TYIllEx1ST5yFn-FBdO8sMyZMoPkQMhuDoCk8x7t7gcoLZyg26S8xmQTc41sqsdetMazJ4v9x24pUhxK_q9pcf1M3t/s320/Boomerang+Blog.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><strong><em>"Children will ... have a lot of fun playing this book"</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://buzzwordsmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/05/wounded-falcon.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="85" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MzCr2x3CW9a2IEnuxaw7EjxCr0YQo7_ptI2fAqLUbAaarpK3An3lOt9m924m_JavV4ljrjeJ789IfgzyjAYX-US6vXKunV7IYShRpFCVy0cLT-mGbPmlN-eVUZqoEzlQWoI6v3KJgOxi/s200/BuzzWordsbooks.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>"A unique idea, this book is both a puzzle and interesting story"</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div align="left"></div>J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-38655504624380498702011-04-05T10:07:00.000+10:002011-04-05T10:07:17.651+10:00Competition WinnersThe winners of my recent competition are:<br />
<br />
1st Prize (Signed copy of The Wounded Falcon) - Matthew Ender (U.S.A)<br />
2nd Prize (Signed copy of Invitation to a Feast) - Shane Russell (Australia)<br />
<br />
Thanks for all who entered and made the competition a great success!J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-11724352738984656282011-03-21T09:05:00.001+10:002011-03-21T21:34:20.361+10:00Choices series - Add-on AdventuresToday I am pleased to announce a major development with regards to my gamebook series, "Choices". <br />
<br />
My first book in the series, "The Wounded Falcon" was released on March 17. I have visited various markets over the past two weeks, attempting to garner interest in the series. So far, I am quite pleased with the number of sales.<br />
<br />
If you have not read earlier entries on my blog (or on the official Choices website) you may not be aware of the primary gamebook mechanic that the Choices series uses: My new "Hidden Choices" system. I will not explain how it works once again in this entry, but you can read more about how it works in my blog, <a href="http://jumpsterhopper.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-new-gamebook-mechanic-hidden-choices.html">here</a> or on the Choices website <a href="http://www.choicesgamebooks.webs.com/">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Moving right along, I realised (only recently) that the operation of the "Hidden Choices" mechanic had potential to be used in a manner that I had not originally intended. Once I discovered this, and worked out the mechanics of how it would operate (which turned out to be quite straightforward) I was quite excited.<br />
<br />
The instructions for the system are now complete (and work very well), so I can now announce the introduction of:<br />
<br />
<em>CHOICES - ADD-ON ADVENTURES</em><br />
<br />
For those of you who are familiar with computer games, you will be aware that many games include things like "bonus missions" or "expansion packs" to continue the game once you have completed the original game. These are normally provided via an internet download. I have created the same system for the Choices series, and ironically, it is the workings of the "Hidden Choices" system that makes these Add-on Adventures work extremely well.<br />
<br />
Looking at the first book in the series, "The Wounded Falcon", I am currently writing the first Add-on Adventure for this gamebook. Once complete, I will be placing the story extension on to my Choices website, for free download (as a Doc/PDF file). Without going into the mechanics in detail, the reader will use both the original book and the Add-on adventure together, discovering new areas of the story to explore and (here's the great part) using the add-on Adventure module to alter the outcome of scenes in the ORIGINAL story, without me having to re-write the original story!<br />
<br />
The Add-on Adventures will be regularly updated in a manner similar to a downloadable patch to a piece of computer software. The first module: The Wounded Falcon - Add on Adventures - Version 1.0 will be released as soon as it is complete. Over time, I will add extra scenes to the Add-on Adventure and then re-release it as version 1.1 and so forth. Therefore, the adventure will become like a Never-Ending Story (while getting bigger and bigger each time).<br />
<br />
I envisage that the first release will be (approximately) 25 sections long. Having the story released in shorter segments will enable me to release them more quickly. Having an expansion adventure taking me a year to write sort of defeats the purpose, time-wise. I may as well write another gamebook, instead.<br />
<br />
In a sense, this setup has similarities to the Fabled Lands series, for those of you who are familiar with it, however, I am approaching it from a slightly different perspective.<br />
<br />
I plan to utilise this system for each book I write in the Choices series, so the second book in the series, The Lost Diary (which I am also currently writing) will have the same idea - Release the major gamebook first, followed by the Add-On Adventures afterwards.<br />
<br />
For those of you who have already bought, or eventually buy "The Wounded Falcon", I encourage you to take advantage of these "Add-On Adventures". They will be free and be downloadable from my Choices website.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading,<br />
<br />
JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-5319636943612997512011-03-15T15:02:00.000+10:002011-03-15T15:02:45.266+10:00Win a copy of "The Wounded Falcon"<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQ9V2YVosoY6IZyPU6ayE25km-fGZeaj5gNXBGBI8bvk3T5U7iC-XujqNk_BQw60_4asr5yz7I3IFVEPAnOM_IPzTzAC1QCYIPILScdS1a4JfoFHs_RHlWgJZ82FjX9G7z5xVDeHEHJ-/s1600/twfcolourcover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQ9V2YVosoY6IZyPU6ayE25km-fGZeaj5gNXBGBI8bvk3T5U7iC-XujqNk_BQw60_4asr5yz7I3IFVEPAnOM_IPzTzAC1QCYIPILScdS1a4JfoFHs_RHlWgJZ82FjX9G7z5xVDeHEHJ-/s1600/twfcolourcover.JPG" /></a>To celebrate the release of my second gamebook, "The Wounded Falcon", I am holding a competition.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">To enter, send an e-mail to me at <a href="mailto:jumpsterhopper@bigpond.com">jumpsterhopper@bigpond.com</a> with the answer to the following question?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Who is the archenemy of The Noble Ranger in my Woodland Forest Chronicles series?</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Entries close on March 31, 2011.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">There will be two prizes:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">- The winner will receive a signed copy of my new gamebook, "The Wounded Falcon".</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>- The runner-up will receive a signed copy of my first gamebook, "Invitation to a Feast".J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-16465094927011719352011-02-28T11:52:00.001+10:002011-02-28T11:54:07.176+10:00My new gamebook mechanic - Hidden Choices - Complete and about to be releasedOn March 17, this year, my second gamebook, "The Wounded Falcon" will be released into the marketplace - The first in the "Choices" series. This is a rewrite, expansion and update of a short mini-gamebook I wrote a few years ago.<br />
<br />
With this book, I have created a new gamebook mechanic, not used before, called "Hidden Choices". I explain the motivation for this new mechanic, on my "Choices" website.<br />
<br />
<em>"One thing that a lot of computer games, particularly adventure games, have had over the written adventure gamebook was the ability to attempt any action (within the accepted range of actions for the game) at any time, not knowing whether the attempted action would be permitted by the game or not. This added significantly to the challenge of puzzle solving.</em><br />
<em>With gamebooks, all available choices given to the reader are almost always displayed on the page. The reader does not have to think 'outside the square'. At no point is the reader able to think, 'Now I wonder if I could use item X that I collected back at location Y to get by this problem.' and be permitted to act on that thought.</em><br />
<em>I wanted to increase the level of the gamebook experience by encouraging the reader the option of trying something else and not just be limited to the choices on the page. By engaging the reader this way, I think it significantly increases the value of the gamebook experience."</em><br />
<br />
To read more about the mechanic, and, in particular, the full instructions concerning how the "Hidden Choices" feature works, click <a href="http://www.choicesgamebooks.webs.com/">here</a> to go to my Choices website, which includes a full extract of the relevant pages in the gamebook instructions.<br />
<br />
In keeping with the theme of different gamebook mechanics, to any visitors to this blog, I encourage you to contribute (in the comments section) with what unique gamebook mechanics you have found to be particularly interesting/enjoyable.<br />
<br />
JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-60225167382956143382011-02-25T12:42:00.000+10:002011-02-25T12:42:59.049+10:00Membership sections - A change has been madeFor those of you that have not noticed, I have made a change to the membership section area of my gamebook websites:<br />
<br />
1) There are membership sections for both the "<a href="http://www.choicesgamebooks.webs.com/">Choices</a>" and "<a href="http://www.jumpsterhopper.webs.com/">Woodland Forest Chronicles</a>" series.<br />
<br />
2) The "secret areas" of the site have been abolished. I observed much critical feedback on this issue and made a change. All people, both members and non-members can now see all areas of the site.<br />
<br />
Therefore, the option to become a member is purely for the purpose of receiving e-mail updates about what is going on with both the "Choices" and "Woodland Forest Chronicles" series.<br />
<br />
Thanks to those who took the time to give their feedback. It helped to rectify a situation that was causing irritation to many of you. My apologies for that.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-51188479978103529342011-01-26T15:18:00.000+10:002011-01-26T15:18:26.660+10:00Invitation to a Feast - Reviewed on "Fantasy Book Review"Another day, another review.<br />
<br />
Invitation to a Feast has received another review this week on the UK based website <a href="http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/">Fantasy Book Review</a>. It was given the quite high score of 8 out of 10.<br />
<br />
For more information, visit my <a href="http://www.jumpsterhopper.webs.com/">Woodland Forest Chronicles</a> website.<br />
<br />
Jasan<br />
<br />
P.S. My apologies to those who have been following my page numbering article. I have not added to it for some time. At the moment, I am working hard to complete the next story in the Woodland Forest Chronicles series, "Journey to Mount Darkness" and have had little time to contribute further to my series of gamebook articles.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-54378385134361906652010-09-24T14:11:00.001+10:002010-09-24T14:12:59.627+10:00Woodland Forest Chronicles Web Page - Membership Section availableThis is something I have planned to do for quite some time, but I never had enough material to warrant doing it. That has changed, now.<br />
<br />
I have created a new "Membership" section on my Woodland Forest Chronicles official site. It is free for anybody to join. Members will be given special access to secret areas of the site (which are under construction at the moment). Members will also receive e-mail updates and other offers from time-to-time (e.g. Competitions etc.)<br />
<br />
The first "secret area" will be an Encyclopedia of Woodland Forest itself. The first part of the encyclopedia will a series of character biographies of 8 of the main characters that appear in my first gamebook, "Invitation to a Feast".<br />
<br />
As time goes by, I will add landmarks, maps and other historical documents to the encyclopedia for members to read.<br />
<br />
If you wish to join, please visit the official site at <a href="http://www.jumpsterhopper.webs.com/">http://www.jumpsterhopper.webs.com/</a> Membership is FREE!<br />
<br />
JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-80790181838082922282010-09-14T17:05:00.001+10:002010-09-14T17:07:43.892+10:00Invitation to a Feast - Reviewed on www.gamebooks.orgHello again,<br />
<br />
I am quite pleased today. A new review of "Invitation to a Feast" is available. The well-known gamebook reference guide website, <a href="http://www.gamebooks.org/">http://www.gamebooks.org/</a> run by Demian Katz, have reviewed the first book in the Woodland Forest Chronicles series.<br />
<br />
For more information, visit my WFC site at <a href="http://www.jumpsterhopper.webs.com/">http://www.jumpsterhopper.webs.com/</a><br />
<br />
Jasan<br />
<br />
P.S. I hope to return to Part 4 of my Page numbering article at some stage next week, for those of you who have been following the article over the past few weeks.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-81921926950804538302010-08-31T13:28:00.000+10:002010-08-31T13:28:56.835+10:00Gamebook Writing 101 - Page numbers (Part 3)Have any of you ever thought about writing an adventure gamebook but don't know where to begin? Writing a gamebook certainly requires some skills not needed when writing an ordinary book.<br />
<br />
Today I am continuing my series called "Gamebook Writing 101". My plan is to share some of my experiences and ideas concerning gamebook writing with the hope that these articles are of benefit to you. I also invite discussion (via the commenting section) about each article I write, so we can hear thoughts from other writers as well.<br />
<br />
Today, I will continue with the topic I started a few weeks ago - Page numbers (Part 3). For those of you who have not read Part 1 or 2, I advise you to read those articles first before starting this one. The link for those articles are here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jumpsterhopper.blogspot.com/2010/08/gamebook-writing-101-page-numbers-part.html">http://jumpsterhopper.blogspot.com/2010/08/gamebook-writing-101-page-numbers-part.html</a> (Part 1)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jumpsterhopper.blogspot.com/2010/08/gamebook-writing-101-page-numbers-part_17.html">http://jumpsterhopper.blogspot.com/2010/08/gamebook-writing-101-page-numbers-part_17.html</a> (Part 2)<br />
<br />
ALLOCATING RANDOM PAGE NUMBERS - Tools to use:<br />
<br />
When using any random page number allocation method, there are a number of ways to allocate (and record) your random page numbers. I will list (and explain) some of these below. Some are methods that I have used over the years, some are methods that have been suggested by others.<br />
<br />
1) RECORDING - EXCEL SPREADSHEET<br />
<br />
This is more to do with the recording of the random numbers used than the allocation of them. This helps prevent you from re-using an already used page number. It can also give you a quick visual representation of which pages you have used and not used, at a glance.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiro8HPfA7kkJ5NKjJil87VvyJ-t7D7nxUbHK9oYQoEcsyYZju5g2DvdoVU-g4EnI-7Y2q-xRCYWKEprT2XY1FOWC_2je2JBVUvSDfskWUI_kYXVDtW9IlaG-0O0cUtEngHljCpZfXsPlA0/s1600/page+numbers+used.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiro8HPfA7kkJ5NKjJil87VvyJ-t7D7nxUbHK9oYQoEcsyYZju5g2DvdoVU-g4EnI-7Y2q-xRCYWKEprT2XY1FOWC_2je2JBVUvSDfskWUI_kYXVDtW9IlaG-0O0cUtEngHljCpZfXsPlA0/s640/page+numbers+used.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Each time a page number is used, you can use the Excel "Fill" tool, to fill a cell. In this example, you can see that pages 1, 4-7, 9-10, 12, 15, 18, 21, 23 and 26-28 have been used, and filled as a result.<br />
<br />
Each spreadsheet row represents a page number in the book. As an excel spreadsheet can contain an extreme number of rows, you only need the one excel sheet to track an entire book.<br />
<br />
Some other benefits of this visual tracking system are as follows:<br />
<br />
1) Gamebooks can often contain pages where, in order for the reader to continue, they are required to add or deduct a particular number from the page number they are reading at the time and then turn to the page number resulting from the calculation. For example - <br />
<br />
<em>Page 7</em><br />
<br />
<em>You place the gold key in your backpack. </em><br />
<br />
<em>If at any stage during your adventure, you come across a situation where you wish to try the gold key in a lock, add 10 to the page number you are reading at the time and turn to the new page number. You will be immediately told if the key fits in the lock.</em><br />
<br />
As you continue to write your story, once you know you are about to write the page in the story where the reader will be able to try the gold key in the lock that it was intended for (i.e. It will work.) you can quickly look at your excel chart and determine what pages are available for you to chose from.<br />
<br />
Again, using the above example (and the screenshot of the excel spreadsheet) - <br />
<br />
<em>Page ??</em><br />
<br />
<em>You try the solid oak door. The handle turns, but the door does not open. It is locked. Dejected, you decide to turn around and head back the way you came.</em><br />
<br />
<em>Turn to page 28.</em><br />
<br />
There is a hidden option here for the reader to try the gold key in the lock. To do so, 10 must be added to the current page. At the moment, a page number has not been allocated. If you look at the excel spreadsheet, you can quickly determine, from the number of white cells available (unused pages) that you will be unable to allocate the following page numbers to the page just written:<br />
<br />
2, 8, 11, 13, 16, 17, 22, 24, 25, 29 and 30. (Note this adventure is a 30 page adventure).<br />
<br />
Pages 22-30 cannot be used for obvious reasons, because the story only has 30 pages, adding 10 to any of these numbers will exceed the page limit of 30.<br />
<br />
Pages 2, 8, 11, 13, 16 and 17 cannot be used as adding 10 to those numbers lead you to cells in the spreadsheet that are already filled in (used). This is where this visual method of recording really helps.<br />
<br />
As it turns out, the only page numbers available to use for the above page are:<br />
<br />
3, 14, 19 or 20.<br />
<br />
2) If you wish, you can colour code your filled boxes to represent other parts of the story you are writing:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSUBMRS_v-8VnnvaJMZfENT0KFTDC2LAs9FEFMGSSLaziGyCLIFvxB0tiBHjt0wsqXetRftNHmts0nIz21foh9jEdXLywTaonRH6s-hHIEVa5ppw444w3Jp6YRH3gNspq_Lj25lRfjMxb/s1600/page+numbers+used.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSUBMRS_v-8VnnvaJMZfENT0KFTDC2LAs9FEFMGSSLaziGyCLIFvxB0tiBHjt0wsqXetRftNHmts0nIz21foh9jEdXLywTaonRH6s-hHIEVa5ppw444w3Jp6YRH3gNspq_Lj25lRfjMxb/s400/page+numbers+used.JPG" width="245" /></a></div>In this updated example of the previous image, I have decided to record two other types of events which are standard fare in gamebooks:<br />
<br />
a) Endings; and<br />
b) Combat situations<br />
<br />
Again, by a quick look at the chart, you can see it contains two scenes (pages) where the main character has to engage in combat with an enemy of some sort (page 5 and page 18). If you wanted to include even more detail, you could type the name of the enemy in the cell itself, so you can keep track of the variety of enemies you have included in your story.<br />
<br />
So far, you can also count that the story has three endings (pages 12, 23 and 27).<br />
<br />
You can see that there is scope to include even more information in a chart like this, whatever you think will be of benefit to you.<br />
<br />
I will continue with the explanation of other tools in part 4 of this article. It is turning out to be a much longer series than I originally thought, which, I guess, is a good thing as it gives you all more information to read and digest.<br />
<br />
Until next time,<br />
<br />
JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-32476083997482686612010-08-17T10:28:00.001+10:002010-08-17T10:30:08.830+10:00Gamebook Writing 101 - Page numbers (Part 2)Hello,<br />
<br />
Have any of you ever thought about writing an adventure gamebook but don't know where to begin? Writing a gamebook certainly requires some skills not needed when writing an ordinary book.<br />
<br />
Today I am continuing my series called "Gamebook Writing 101". My plan is to share some of my experiences and ideas concerning gamebook writing with the hope that these articles are of benefit to you. I also invite discussion (via the commenting section) about each article I write, so we can hear thoughts from other writers as well.<br />
<br />
Today, I will continue with the topic I started last week - Page numbers (Part 2) for those of you who have not read Part 1, I advise you to read that article first before starting this one. The link for that article is here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jumpsterhopper.blogspot.com/2010/08/gamebook-writing-101-page-numbers-part.html">http://jumpsterhopper.blogspot.com/2010/08/gamebook-writing-101-page-numbers-part.html</a><br />
<br />
OPTION 2 - Random numbers<br />
<br />
Repeating my example of last week:<br />
<br />
<em>Page 1</em><br />
<em>You continue walking north along the path until you arrive at a crossroads. The north path continues across the open plain. The path to the east appears to head towards a small forest nearby. The path to the west heads towards a large lake, some distance away.</em><br />
<em></em><em> </em><em>If you wish to continue north across the plain, turn to page 25.</em><br />
<em>If you wish to turn to the east, towards the forest, turn to page 17.</em><br />
<em>If you wish to go west, in the direction of the lake, turn to page 115.</em><br />
<br />
Here, the story begins at page 1. The first choice to turn to is at page 25, the second is page 17 and the third is page 115. The two weaknesses I mentioned with option 1 in my previous article:<br />
<br />
- 1) Reader seeing alternative decisions on the same two page spread<br />
- 2) Endings piled at the end of the book<br />
<br />
are eliminated. All the page numbers to turn to are far enough away from each other (and from the page the reader is currently on) for weakness 1) to be dealt with. Also, the random allocation of page numbers means that the endings to the story will, naturally, be randomly scattered throughout the book.<br />
<br />
<strong>Random numbers - How many pages is my book?</strong> <br />
<strong></strong> <br />
Obviously, if you are going to allocate numbers randomly, you need tools to help with the "randomness" aspect. Before you start, however, because you not using the "allocate the next available page number" system, you are going to lose one of its advantages - easy tracking of how many pages long your book is. This forces you to make an early decision: You must decide how many pages (or sections) your gamebook is going to have. This is because when you go through the process of allocating random numbers, you must have an upper and lower range from which to select your next random page number. <br />
<br />
<em>As will be illustrated below, you are also going to have to be very accurate with your estimate.</em> <br />
<br />
If you decide that your book is going to be 200 pages long, and it turns out that you use your compliment, but the story is still going, you are going to have to readjust your estimate and start allocating a new set of numbers for the remaining pages. Let us say you reach 200 and estimate that it will probably take you another 50 pages to finish. You will now have to randomly allocate the final pages between 201 and 250. This is a reasonable compromise, however, one of the weaknesses of last week's system rears its head again. Quoting from my part 1 article: <br />
<br />
<em>As a natural course of events, this option results in the vast majority of the endings being piled together at the end of the book. As a result, the reader will get a reasonable idea when the story is more likely to end, the higher the page numbers become. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you don't want the reader to feel like the story is necessarily about to conclude as they read, this method of page numbering doesn't help the situation.</em> <br />
<em></em> <br />
Even worse, in my opinion, is the other possibility: That you finish your story before you have used up your quota of pages. Let us say, you decide that you are going to have a 200 page story, but you finish it with only 150 pages used. Because you have been allocating random numbers between 1 and 200, but have only used 150 of them, there are going to be "missing page numbers" all over the place, which, on the face of it, appears to be a disaster. Imaging flipping through the pages of the book to find there is a page 1, 2, 3, 4 then a skip to page 6, then 7, then another skip to page 10 etc. It doesn't look good. <br />
<br />
So, the above scenarios seem to suggest is it better to underestimate than overestimate the number of pages for your book. Neither, however, are ideal. Something else that could be done to "fix" the problem, however, is available to you. Whether or not you will be able to achieve this, however, depends greatly on your writing ability. <br />
<br />
DELIBERATELY OVERESTIMATE YOUR BOOK LENGTH AND THEN INCLUDE "FILLER" SCENES <br />
<br />
At some stage, when you are getting close to finishing your story, you should be able to get an idea when you are going to run out of pages or are not going to use them all. Another possibility is to deliberately overestimate how long your book will be and then make a conscious decision to include some "filler scenes" at various stages of the story so that you get closer to your originally overestimated number of pages. <br />
<br />
Now, there is a danger that these filler scenes will detract from the quality of the story, if it is obvious that they are filler scenes. Padding out a book for the sake of page numbers is a dangerous business, and if you are wanting to publish it, a would-be publisher may not like what appear to be uneccessary story scenes. For gamebooks, however, you do have an option available to you that normal authors do not have: <br />
<br />
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS <br />
<br />
For those familiar with gamebooks, the "game" element is an important part of a good gamebook so that the reader gets an opportunity to test out the characters game attributes. This should be done on a regular basis, to break up the story into purely "literary" moments to "gameplay" moments. Without going into to much detail about the random encounters themselves (as it is worthy of an article of its own), some examples that you could use are: <br />
<br />
1) Random confrontation - Be it a wild animal that crosses the reader's path or an enemy of another sort, you can extend a story by a few pages by including a couple of random confrontations. <br />
2) Random traps - Traps that test the character's attributes or simply cause an outright penalty without testing them are another option. Be imaginative! Recall your days of watching the Indiana Jones movies and think of how many times Indy was confronted with an unexpected trap that he had to overcome. <br />
3) Random treasures/tests - Have the character potentially discover a special item that will help in the story later on. Better still, have the character need to overcome a series of tests to be able to acquire that special item. <br />
4) Be really bold and use a combination of some or all the above to come up with a nice little extended scene that can benefit or harm the character in preparation for the final confrontation at the end of the story. <br />
<br />
Just a final point on this, as far as myself is concerned, one of the series that I am writing (Woodland Forest Chronicles) is one that runs along a specific timeline. Each book that I write (indirectly) follows the previous book. I like to include extra scenes in one book that give a small clue as to future events in the land of Woodland Forest in future books, without being necessarily integral to the story being currently read. That is another way I like to extend my stories, if they need extending (although I tend to struggle to keep stories within my limit, rather than fall short, from expereience.) <br />
<br />
Anyway, that will probably do for today. In Part 3, I will discuss the tools to use to help with the allocation of random page numbers as well as the third (and final) method on how to allocate page numbers. <br />
<br />
JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-28002261867708399762010-08-10T12:22:00.004+10:002010-08-10T12:37:40.415+10:00Gamebook Writing 101 - Page numbers (Part 1)Hello,<br />
<br />
Have any of you ever thought about writing an adventure gamebook but don't know where to begin? Writing a gamebook certainly requires some skills not needed when writing an ordinary book. <br />
<br />
Today I am beginning a series called "Gamebook Writing 101". My plan is to share some of my experiences and ideas concerning gamebook writing with the hope that these articles are of benefit to you. I also invite discussion (via the commenting section) about each article I write, so we can hear thoughts from other writers as well.<br />
<br />
Today, I will begin with the most obvious difference between regular books and gamebooks - The page numbers.<br />
<br />
<strong>Tip 1 - Don't try to write an epic on your first try</strong><br />
The first serious gamebook I wrote was when I was about twelve or thirteen years old. It was a 100 section story, called "City of Bakhad", that I wrote in a standard exercise book. Even though the story had about 100 sections they only took about 10 pages of the exercise book, as each section was usually only 3 or 4 lines long, on average. (I did write small, though, and still do!)<br />
<br />
My suggestion for new writers would be to write a small adventure of about 50 sections for a first attempt. The "Choose Your Own Adventure" series, popular in the 1980s were usually stories of about 110 pages (sections) most of the time. So starting out with an adventure about half the size is a good starting point, I feel.<br />
<br />
<strong>Tip 2 - How to make use of page numbers</strong><br />
Now, the basic mechanic of a gamebook comes into play when the reader is required to make a decision about what to do next. The reader will be presented with 2 or more options and will turn to a particular page based on the decision the reader decides to make. For example:<br />
<br />
<em>Page 1</em><br />
<em>You continue walking north along the path until you arrive at a crossroads. The north path continues across the open plain. The path to the east appears to head towards a small forest nearby. The path to the west heads towards a large lake, some distance away.</em><br />
<br />
<em>If you wish to continue north across the plain, turn to page 25.</em><br />
<em>If you wish to turn to the east, towards the forest, turn to page 17.</em><br />
<em>If you wish to go west, in the direction of the lake, turn to page 115.</em><br />
<br />
OPTION 1 - Use the next available page number.<br />
The simplest option, when writing, is to use the next page number available to you. Using the above example again:<br />
<br />
<em>Page 1</em><br />
<em>You continue walking north along the path until you arrive at a crossroads. The north path continues across the open plain. The path to the east appears to head towards a small forest nearby. The path to the west heads towards a large lake, some distance away.</em><br />
<em></em><em> </em><em>If you wish to continue north across the plain, turn to page 2.</em><br />
<em>If you wish to turn to the east, towards the forest, turn to page 3.</em><br />
<em>If you wish to go west, in the direction of the lake, turn to page 4.</em><br />
<br />
As you can see, the story begins at page 1. At the first request of the reader to make a decision, I have allocated the next available number, page 2, to the first choice, page 3 for the second choice and page 4 for the third choice. <br />
<br />
I would then write page 2. If I gave the reader two choices at the end of page 2, I would allocate the first choice to the next available number; page 5 and the second choice to page 6.<br />
<br />
ADVANTAGES OF OPTION 1<br />
* You know how many pages long your story currently is, without having to count the pages.<br />
* As the page distribution occurs in an orderly fashion, it is very easy to track the multiple story paths as they begin to branch out, without much effort and complex record keeping.<br />
<br />
DISADVANTAGES OF OPTION 1<br />
* When the reader makes a decision and turns to a page, they will often see one of their alternative decisions on the same two page spread. This can be distracting for the reader if they are trying not to see the choice they didn't make. Having it on the same page as the other choice causes this distraction. If one of those pages happens to be a conclusion to the story (or a bad event), they can easily see it and know for next time to choose (or not to choose) it. This can spoil the excitement for the next read. Admittedly, a lot of readers will "cheat" anyway, by looking at alternative choices, if they come across an unpleasant ending or event, but to those who don't, they don't want the story "spoiled" by seeing options they did not choose.<br />
* As a natural course of events, this option results in the vast majority of the endings being piled together at the end of the book. As a result, the reader will get a reasonable idea when the story is more likely to end, the higher the page numbers become. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you don't want the reader to feel like the story is necessarily about to conclude as they read, this method of page numbering doesn't help the situation.<br />
<br />
That's all for now,<br />
<br />
I will continue with Part 2 of Page Numbering in a following article.<br />
<br />
JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-2359055907280066402010-07-29T13:20:00.000+10:002010-07-29T13:20:59.892+10:00In conversation with a new publisher!Hello,<br />
<br />
Things have changed since my last post - A great many things.<br />
<br />
My original plan to self-publish the first book in my "Choices" series, "The Wounded Falcon", is no more. I am currently in conversation with a new publisher, who wants me to write some more titles (2) to go along with "The Wounded Falcon", with the view of potentially publishing them all.<br />
<br />
The two other titles that I am writing are books 2 and 3 (a duology) in the Woodland Forest Chronicles series:<br />
<br />
- Journey to Mount Darkness<br />
- The Re-lighting of Mount Darkness<br />
<br />
As a result, my planned release month of August for "The Wounded Falcon" is suspended, pending further developments. My apologies to those who were keenly awaiting it next month. It will still be released, but now, at a later date.<br />
<br />
The publisher is Wombat Books, based in Queensland. Their site is <a href="http://www.wombatbooks.com.au/">http://www.wombatbooks.com.au/</a> You can have a look at their site to see what other books they offer. My thanks to the Director of Wombat Books, Rochelle Manners, for this opportunity.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyADH4L0RpOGYDC6HZqE3kaukxhNU4yL1MH5mZ41bZUhdb_Ogtn2u-4UfrW6Bs07WwRqGEBoXbYfDFu12ntNQv_YvTMAvMr7Ms0ROEUyorb_72dxqwuqX4ML0CGL2QD7R8j7VXD4kqgNY0/s1600/wombat+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyADH4L0RpOGYDC6HZqE3kaukxhNU4yL1MH5mZ41bZUhdb_Ogtn2u-4UfrW6Bs07WwRqGEBoXbYfDFu12ntNQv_YvTMAvMr7Ms0ROEUyorb_72dxqwuqX4ML0CGL2QD7R8j7VXD4kqgNY0/s320/wombat+books.JPG" /></a><br />
<br />
As things develop, I will provide you all with more information.<br />
<br />
Regards<br />
<br />
JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-30248491599162405952010-07-06T09:22:00.002+10:002010-07-06T09:36:19.118+10:00That was a long break!Hello again,<br /><br />Over two years later and I am back again. I hadn't done much writing in the time away until the last couple of months. Now, things are moving again.<br /><br />The final draft of "Journey to Mount Darkness", book 2 of the Woodland Forest Chronicles series is about 10-15% complete, but more significantly, I decided to re-write my first book in the Choices series, "The Wounded Falcon". It is complete and has changed from a 28 page short story to a 91 page full-length gamebook. I will be re-writing all the books in the Choices series in a similar manner.<br /><br />Furthermore, I have re-vamped my main Woodland Forest Chronicles site, separating the Choices series from it to place in its own website. So now, I have two sites: One for the WFC series and one for the Choices series.<br /><br />My re-release of "The Wounded Falcon" is planned for August. My wife will be providing the illustrations and my father, the cover. At this stage the text of the book is completed, the front cover is in its first draft and there are four illustrations left to complete.<br /><br />The re-release of The Wounded Falcon will not be as a free book this time, but it can be pre-ordered from my Choices site.<br /><br />My website addresses are:<br /><br />Woodland Forest Chronicles - <a href="http://www.choicesgamebooks.webs.com/">www.choicesgamebooks.webs.com</a><br />Choices - <a href="http://www.jumpsterhopper.webs.com/">www.jumpsterhopper.webs.com</a>J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-824028131591172452008-05-26T15:11:00.001+10:002008-05-26T15:12:16.443+10:00Internet time offHi everybody,<br /><br />I've decided to take some time off the various internet forums that I have joined (including my blog) and focus solely on finishing the second gamebook in my Woodland Forest Chronicles series. Once it is complete, I'll be back to chat.<br />See you later.<br /><br />JasanJ P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1485198122830958198.post-39763885770580698062008-05-20T10:49:00.002+10:002008-05-20T10:53:09.849+10:006 1/2 months into the adventure...After 6 months and 15 days of being a published author, sales of "Invitation to a Feast," are continuing to increase. There are now 120 sales that I know of. I still haven't had the opportunity to speak at any functions yet but that may change soon. I'll keep you up-to-date with how that goes.J P Barnetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15755609955277542855noreply@blogger.com0