It’s hard to put a precise timeline to it, but say the first real gamebooks appeared in the early 1970s. That means they’ve been around for as long as the gap between a one-minute amuse-œil like The Miller and the Sweep (1897) and Citizen Kane (1941).
Given that, it’s reasonable to ask when we’re going to see the grown-up classics of interactive literature. Early gamebooks were aimed at kids, after all, and there’s a limit to how many times you can save the world from the orc army in a sub-sub-Dungeons and Dragons setting. No, I don’t mean we need more sympathetic orcs. Just as Alan Moore utterly shook up the world of superhero comics with Watchmen, I want to see gamebooks that move beyond solve-the-plot. Gamebooks with three-dimensional characters, tangled relationships, complex motivations, difficult moral choices, and a story that really takes you on a journey.The Frankenstein Wars is that gamebook. Written by Paul Gresty, who’s already proved his Wellesian creative chops with richly imagined gamebooks The ORPHEUS Ruse and MetaHuman Inc, this is the story of two brothers caught up in a wave of Napoleonic conquest as Victor Frankenstein’s resurrection technology ushers in an era of total war.
If that sounds familiar – yes, it’s my Frankensteinian alternate history of the early 19th century. Originally I created this as a computer game, then later tried getting it off the ground as a movie or a novel, then as a comic book, and even as a tabletop RPG which was to comprise two rulebooks, French and English, each with its own slant on events. I never expected it to be a gamebook app, but now that I’ve seen the fabulous job Paul and Cubus Games have done, I’m fired up to return to the Frankenstein Wars universe and see what else I can do with it.As well as a sophisticated storyline that would do justice to any blockbuster novel, the app boasts tactical maps, weather effects, astounding artwork, all wrapped up in a cutting-edge design ethic that shows Cubus Games are now one of the leading developers of interactive literature.
It’s impossible here to give a summary that would do justice to Paul’s writing. As I said earlier, this is a story that will really take you on a journey. For my money it’s destined to be a genre-defining classic, and next week Paul will be here with a guest post to give you just a taste of all the marvellous work that has gone into creating this truly unique interactive adventure.
The Frankenstein Wars is out now for iOS and Android.
I really wish there was a way these could be released for Windows/non-Apple formats.
ReplyDeleteThe Android version is no good for you, John? I'll drop the guys at Cubus a line and ask if there are plans for a PC version.
DeleteI bought it yesterday and played through the first chapter while on the train. Impressive app! I enjoyed it so far.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Fincas! If you continue to enjoy it and have the time to review it on the App Store, you'll have our eternal gratitude.
DeleteI devoured it in the first couple of days of pre-release. Paul's writing is superb - evocative without being florid. Great setup fir a sequel too, in whatever format (gamebook, comic etc.). The Cubus guys did a nice job on the design too, with the maps and other small interactions bringing it even more to life.
DeleteI did wonder at the end why it took so damn long to deliver it, but ultimately history only remembers the outcome right, not the delays in the journey.
"Great setup for a sequel too, in whatever format..." That's certainly what I'm hoping for, Michael, though in reality I think most people just want zombies. In fact, more than half the reviewers are describing The Frankenstein Wars as a zombie gamebook, so we can see why many creators just give up on trying anything different.
DeleteWhy did it take so long to deliver? You raise a good point, and one worth addressing in detail. The Kickstarter raised around $9000 (using the 2015 exchange rate). That's enough to keep one top-level developer at an office desk for a month. But let's just look at the writing. I handed Paul almost a hundred thousand words of world background, storylines, characters, design doctrine. Just reading through all that and shaping it into a gamebook story would be over a man-month's work. But he then had to write the equivalent of two large novels. And then the Cubus guys had to code it. Artists produced maps and paintings and interface icons. Everyone had to test the thing. It's not less than a man-year of work, all for the fully loaded cost of one lead coder for a month.
So... everybody involved has had to be doing other projects alongside to keep the bills paid. For the amount each individual person got paid, it's been a labour of love throughout. We're not even including the cost of running a Kickstarter campaign in the first place, which is considerable -- and all risk.
I've seen the work that goes on behind the scenes on a crowdfunded project. James Wallis's Alas Vegas is another example. A true work of genius, and a beautiful book. It may have taken James 4 years to finish it, but we've got to remember all the art and editing and typesetting as well as the playtesting and the writing itself. All for less than Philip Pullman gets for writing a graphic novel idea on the back on an envelope.
Without crowdfunding these projects might never see the light of day. In two decades I couldn't persuade a book publisher, comic publisher, studio or games publisher to take on The Frankenstein Wars. It was the Kickstarter backers who opened that door. But the sums involved are such a pittance compared to the salary that even a low-paid worker gets that we can't expect the people involved to drop everything else in order to get those KS projects done.
I don't mean all that to sound like I'm blaming you personally, btw :-) It's just that the question comes up a lot and this seemed like a good place to answer it.
Thanks for the detailed response Dave. While the crux of that would likely not have appeased the backers clamouring for delivery on the KS comments board, the financial side is obviously important, since we all need to put bread on the table, and no-one was getting rich of TFW (yet).
DeleteWhich naturally leads on to what the lessons learned from the campaign were? Could more have been done to generate interest initially such that the backing amount was higher? Was the amount charged for the game too low? If the writing time was the primary bottleneck, was it simply a case of overwhelming demands from two successful campaigns?
As I say though, I'm happy with the result, minor quibbles aside.
As to the 'Z' word - was that actually used in the game at all? I can't recall it if it was, and I assume that's deliberate.
I hope it wasn't, Michael. I doubt if the Z word was in common use in the early 1800s and Paul and the team were aware that Frankenstein's monster was never meant to be undead.
DeleteWrt lessons learned... Well, I think we're partway there. We now know the problems, at least. Maybe the answer is to set higher funding targets. When I went out to try raising money for projects the old-fashioned way (via angels & VCs for equity) I always figured that it costs more than you think. And you never want to be going back to ask for more. The trouble is that a realistic dev cost for something like TFW is far more than we could raise on KS -- it only just scraped €8000 thanks to a very generous last-minute donation. So I'm still racking my brains for answers as to how we can make a project like this work in future.
The the best of my recollection, I never - and intentionally never - used the word 'zombie' in the text. But then again, neither does a lot of zombie fiction ("Look, Rick! A walker!"), so that probably won't be what sets TFW apart from the rest.
DeletePrecise choice of wording was a tricky matter, in fact. You can't use authentic 19th-century language - it would be a pain to read, and a nightmare to write. But still, you want to create the illusion of authenticity - dialogue that's credible, if not wholly accurate. It complicates matters even more that most of the characters in the book are French, by birth if not strictly by upbringing. So, this requires an extra level of precision - at the very least, an awareness of which sorts of words in English have their roots in French, or in Latin.
Writing about dragons and necromancers is a doddle in comparison.
I suppose the nearest equivalent might be Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, where Clarke had to find a prose style that reflected the early 1800s and yet would be acceptable to modern readers. Mind you, that novel took her ten years to write, so you're way out in the lead, Paul.
DeleteUnless the dragons & necromancers are French, of course ; ) Paul can I just say I am enjoying the book very much thanks. In terms of "priming the linguistic pump" (to use a phrase Donald Trump definitely didn't invent) did you saturate yourself in novels such as Master & Commander whilst writing it ? I understand you don't want to create a pastiche, but reading the right books can put the right rhythms in your head I think, particularly for a character's speech.
DeleteGlad you're enjoying it. Didn't read Master & Commander; I did read a book of letters written by soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars, to get an idea of contemporary language / settings / technologies, etc. They were written slightly before the events of TFW, but close enough that I figured it made little difference.
DeleteRead a fair amount on the history of France as well, to try to avoid blatant mistakes. Also read a few of the Sharpe books. Kind of formulaic ("Oh no! Sharpe is caught behind enemy lines again! And he doesn't get on with his snobby superior officer! Again!") but fun enough.
Really great concept his Dave, effectively & atmospherically delivered ! I managed to get myself killed at the end of chapter 2 but this has just whet my appetite for more. I think Byron & the Shelleys would certainly approve; how close were they to inventing the first roleplaying game at Villa Diodati in June 1816 ? Probably very !
ReplyDeleteAs usual, John, in one comment you've managed to come up with the concept for a whole new project ;-)
DeleteAppreciated, thanks Dave : ) Inspiration is a virtuous circle !
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