You didn't think I'd forget the traditional Christmas freebie, did you? This year it's a fully interactive version of Heart of Ice, coded as a labour of love by Benjamin Fox. You can plunge into a world on the brink of icy apocalypse right here. Ho ho ho.
Oh, and the artwork at the top there is by Tazio Bettin. Looks like a character to be reckoned with. Hands up who'd like to see a Heart of Ice graphic novel.
Thanks, Dave. This will keep boredom at bay tomorrow, especially with there being no horse racing on!
ReplyDeleteIn truth, I'd prefer a novel, a sequel, Bloodsword 5/reboot, or Crypt of The Lich-Lord's Dragon. However given they would all seem unlikely, a graphic novel will do just fine.
Re the artwork. If I wasn't a happily married man...
Thanks Dave - an electronic gift has the particular advantage of no unwrapping ! Wrapping paper levels are set to rise dangerously in our house over the next 3 hours ...
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I never read/played it in paper form, this has been a treat.
ReplyDeleteI have discovered a small bug - would you happen to know a way to pass those on to the person who put this together?
Thanks a lot Dave! This has been a lot of fun... it kept me thinking how it would look as a campaign for a post-apocalyptic RPG... So much is just only hinted at - due to the size limitations of the gamebook - but, as with the Fabled Lands books, this is not a problem, as it only makes room for my imagination to work. I don't know if you have written any other gamebooks in this setting, but other adventures taking place there would be very tempting...
ReplyDeleteI have also stumbled upon a small bug towards the end of the story - perhaps the same one as Erik. I would gladly pass the info to mr. Fox so he could iron it out - along with thanks for the work it took him to convert the book to Twine format...
I actually have a passing familiarity with Twine, and was able to fix my bug myself. I'd be happy to pass the fix on to the programmer in this scenario, and take some weight off, or pass the fixed version of the game on to others, if the creators find that acceptable
DeleteErik, Miko -- thanks for your diligence in spotting that error. I'll happily put you in touch with Benjamin so you can send on your fix, Erik. Do you want to email Jamie at info {at} fabledlands (dot) net, and he'll forward it to me.
DeleteDave - I've written an emabarassingly lengthy description of the two small problems I encountered, my fixes, and a copy of my fixed version of the game. Thanks again for this treat!
DeleteThat's brilliant, Erik. Thanks so much for doing that. I've sent your email and corrected version on to Benjamin and CCed you, so he may get in touch.
DeleteThanks Dave, all I wanted for chrismas was the Fabled Lands book I backed on Kickstarter that was supposed to be delivered 2,5 years ago. Please never work with Megara again, by now it is clear they are a con-company and have seriously damaged the public perception of your Fabled Lands brand.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear those books still haven't shipped, Infyra. I was recently reminded of the piece Mikael at Megara wrote after that Kickstarter finished (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/57119387/fabled-lands-the-serpent-kings-domain/posts/2060374 ) and from the things he says there, and the fact that I'm told his company is selling unauthorized translations of Dragon Warriors without a licence, I can safely say we're unlikely to work with him ever again.
DeleteIt would be interesting to get an update so we know how many books are left to be shipped out. I am still waiting for mine.
ReplyDeleteIs there no news about that on the Kickstarter page? I'll ask Paul Gresty, who has a friend who backed the book so he can get screenshots of the updates.
DeleteThe last update was July when there was a problem with being unable to ship the orders due to it being too hot to work in the office. Someone commented that they have just recieved their copy so shipping must have started again. I just wonder how many more books he has to send.
DeletePaul Gresty has asked him, but it's hard to get reliable information. I'm assuming that the heatwave excuse no longer applies, anyway.
DeleteReally enjoying this!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting way to describe an adventure in which the best you can do is let the world end :-)
DeleteHe went after Paul personally in a recent update and keeps begging for money to save his villanous company. He sells the books on his site but won't ship them to people who have already paid for the book + shipping. He is a fraud, a lier and a conman.
ReplyDeleteI saw the attack on Paul -- and just because he pointed out to the crowdfunding site that Mikael doesn't have the rights to some of the books he was offering as PDFs. I see he's also offering my and Jamie's books on his Patreon site, and he's publishing an unauthorized French edition of Dragon Warriors despite me and Oliver asking him not to. Nothing much we can do -- although I gather the publishers of Dark Lord are quite likely to sue him for putting an early unauthorized draft of the first DL book on Patreon.
DeleteI've got the great kindle version, albeit without the art. Heart of Ice graphic novel would be fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI just picked up the paper version on Amazon, and I love it, and yes, definitely graphic novel.
ReplyDeleteYour book and its descriptions lend themselves to a wide variety of illustration with great opportunities to paint the world. So Dave, if you can, get it done. I would buy it in a heartbeat. And thankyou.
Thanks, Luke. I enjoy writing comics more than anything else, and I now have multiple projects lined up waiting for artists: Mirabilis Year of Wonders, the Jewelspider graphic novel, Heart of Ice... Maybe one day!
Delete