It's gone live! The Frankenstein trailer, beautifully put together by awesome design/code maestros Inkle Studios, is now on YouTube. And in less than a month you can buy the book itself - for iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. If you think you know "gamebooks", think again, 'cause this is a whole new species.
There has been a Frankenstein gamebook before, The Curse of Frankenstein by J H Brennan.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the book you're referring to, but judging by that review the two are quite different. Victor in my book is not a baron, nor is he diabolically evil. The monster is not made from the spare parts of dead bodies. (I have a whole upcoming post on that.) Only a small part of my version of the story takes place in the Arctic. And there are no rules for combat - no game rules at all, in fact.
ReplyDeleteI would guess (again, I have only the review to go on) that Mr Brennan based his book on the Hammer movies of the 1950s and '60s. In those, Frankenstein is titled, fanatically ruthless, anti-heroic and brilliantly played by Peter Cushing. My new version goes back to the original Mary Shelley novel, which has even less to do with the Universal or Hammer movies than The Tempest has to do with Forbidden Planet!
The reviews of Brennan's gamebook seem to be generally critical. As the action takes place in the Arctic where all icebergs look like each others, it is very little entertaining. His twin-gamebook based on Dracula (and set in his Castle) is better considered.
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I've done my own share of horror-fantasy gamebooks (Crypt of the Vampire and "In the Night Season" in the first of my Heroquest books) but, as I say, my new Frankenstein book is not really horror or science fiction per se. And, as it has no game system or death paragraphs, I'm not sure I'd even call it a *game*book. It just happens to use the same choose-your-own model of interactivity.
ReplyDeleteDave, I'm thrilled. This trailer truly does show the most promising interactive book I've yet seen in digital format. Alas, I think that the emphasis on the 'game' part of gamebooks was so heavy in the Eighties, that non-gaming interactive fiction will always be seen as the inferior species by some people. I know from having written a couple short pieces myself for an online contest, and seeing them *very* heavily penalized for not having enough 'game' in them - if any.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Herbie Brennan's take on Frankenstein was a very good gamebook in my opinion. I like it much better than his Dracula book.
Mr Brennan gets a lot of respect from me, Efrem. I'm confident that his interactive Frankenstein is completely different from mine - but the world has plenty of room for both!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to hear what you think of "my" Frankenstein. I think gamebook fans will enjoy it, but they will need to approach it with the kind of open mind you're talking about. If they expect it to be a kind of Fighting Fantasy take on the material, they will be disappointed.
Dear Dave, I Really love the Idea!
ReplyDeleteI don't have ipod/ipad but I'm thinking it as a fine present for a friend.
I really, really love the idea to go back to the original book. More than a horror story I see it as a tragedy: a story of curiosity, hubris and resposability for your actions.
Long time I didn't post here. but I'm still reading and waiting for updates
Ikaros,
Interesting that you say that, Ikaros, as I definitely see it more as a tragedy than a horror story - or, at any rate, a tragedy first, albeit one with horrific elements. I do hope you'll get a chance to play it (that's quite a present to buy your friend btw!) and I am eager to hear what you think.
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