Only three decades after Jamie and I more or less invented the open-world gamebook genre, suddenly you can't move for new ones.
I'm not complaining. Books like Steam Highwayman are more than worthy successors to Fabled Lands, in the same way that Citizen Kane didn't need to spend too long genuflecting to Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed.
What I like about the new generation of open-world books is the way they take the concept as a springboard, not a straitjacket. Steam Highwayman gives you a role to fill in the world, though you have considerable freedom in deciding how you go about it. Alba is a more directed story experience, like a literary The Long Dark. And Legendary Kingdoms has a party of characters with their own relationships and an epic story set in a detailed fantasy world.
Oh, and there's Vulcanverse of course, which has companions and a story arc that builds in from the first four books to culminate in a finale that the MCU wouldn't be ashamed of. And there's never been a better time to try it out, incidentally.
But I digress. Now comes Expeditionary Company by celebrated gamebook authors David Velasco and Riq Sol. This is more than just a gamebook, though. It's almost a mash-up of roleplaying game, boardgame and multiple-choice adventure, with notes of Expedition and To Carry A Sword. Download the free demo and see what I mean.
But it looks to be much more than just a blend of those elements, with a compelling lore and world all its own. What I especially like is the depth of the backstory: a mystery to be uncovered that not only sets up some dubious saviours (or more likely outright scheming bad guys) in the form of the Auric, it also provides the dramatic tension between travelling to make money and exploring the wilderness to find out more. It's a background that would do justice to a series of fantasy novels. This is how gamebooks grow up.
Tragically the Kickstarter was cancelled, so we can only hope the authors find another way to fund this innovative project. Perhaps a games publisher will get behind it, or maybe a new crowdfunding effort will raise the money needed. It's not easy (I can't even figure out how to Kickstart any of my own projects) but I'm really rooting for this one.
Vulcanverse went pretty well, wasn't that linked to a block-chain token in some form? Whilst it might mean your project is getting funded by crypto speculators, at least it gets funded...
ReplyDeleteThe Vulcanverse gamebooks are funded by the Vulcan Forged company, who make their money from online NFT-based games. They only funded the gamebooks because their CEO is Jamie's nephew, though. Any revenue from the gamebooks is not even a drop in the ocean compared to their online game profits, so I can't see why any other games company would bother to fund a gamebook series.
DeleteMaybe the solution is for Expeditionary Company to reposition as a text-heavy computer game, like King of Dragon Pass or the Fabled Lands CRPG. I get the feeling those make a lot more economic sense these days than a print gamebook-cum-boardgame.
ReplyDeleteYou can buy Expeditionary Company now on Amazon. It comes as 3 separate books, that handle the three different "modes" of play the gamebooks cover. All three books are required, and gameplay will see you switching between them as required - there is also a 4th optional book. I have purchased all 4 and was pleased with my purchase, but haven't had the chance to play it in earnest yet.
ReplyDeleteThe authors were kind enough to send me copies and I'm going to sit down and play them now that I've finished Vulcanverse book 5.
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