Jamie and I have mostly avoided patching the Vulcanverse books once they're published, as obviously it's not as easy to deliver a patch for a book as it is for a videogame. We wouldn't want people who had already bought the book to miss out. If we do tweak anything in the text, we're always careful to make sure that it's backwards-compatible with earlier editions and doesn't invalidate anything that's already established.
The only difference from the earliest edition of the book is in the first line of that section. Previously you only got the codeword Quire;now you also get another codeword, Quell. The reason for the patch is that Quire tracks the setting of that switch. If you turn it off you lose the codeword. Turn it back on and you get Quire again.
That was fine, but we realized it would also be useful to record whether you had found the switch, regardless of whether you happen to leave it on. So once you've got the codeword Quell you can't lose it.
The only place Quell is used is in section 1155 of Workshop of the Gods (book 5):
And that works fine even if you have the original editions (which are collector's items now; only a few dozen were sold before the update) and so you never saw the codeword Quell. The patch adds a little more fine-tuning but doesn't break anything -- which is our policy for any changes to these books.
I got a tip-off a couple of months back that the English edition of Blood Sword 5e would shortly see the light of day, and here's news on Kickstarter that the books are being printed.
I don't know whether it will be possible to buy a copy if you weren't one of the original backers, though I'm hoping so because I want to finally read it! If and when I find out more I'll post it here.
Worldbuilding matters if you're creating any sort of ongoing series, but especially if it's fantasy or SF. Think of the problems that have bedevilled writers of Doctor Who or Star Trek when they try to remember what's been established in the show's canon. Or even if you're just writing a novel and you introduced a minor character a dozen chapters back and now you have to go searching for what you said about them.
Thankfully it's not as hard as it used to be in the days of typewriters or even fountain pens -- I still have no idea how Anthony Trollope kept track of everything that was going on in the Barchester books while also holding down an important job in the UK postal service. But now we're on the cusp of AI making it much easier. Google's NotebookLM takes your books and can generate a timeline, story outline, FAQs, contents list, and can answer questions about the text with references so you can find the relevant section.
Here's what it had to say about my book Heart of Ice:
Power Corrupts in a Frozen World
Players choose a character with unique skills and navigate through a perilous post-apocalyptic world. The story centres on the search for the Heart of Volent, a powerful artefact believed to hold the key to ultimate power. Players must make choices and engage in combat with other characters and dangerous creatures, navigating through a frozen wasteland to reach a ruined city full of buried secrets. The game's mechanics are detailed, including skills, weapons, and items, allowing for a diverse range of play styles. The text provides a narrative experience with specific instructions and outcomes based on player decisions, culminating in a final confrontation for the Heart of Volent.
The narrative of Heart of Ice explores the themes of power, ambition, and the nature of humanity by placing characters with diverse motivations in a race for an artifact of immense power, the Heart of Volent. The story portrays a bleak future where humanity is on the brink of extinction due to a new ice age and the legacy of past conflicts.
The Heart of Volent, a meteorite resembling a violet gemstone, possesses the power to reshape the universe. This power attracts individuals driven by various desires, highlighting the multifaceted nature of ambition.
Some, like Kyle Boche, seek ultimate power for personal gain. Boche's treachery and self-preservation instincts are noted by other characters who have dealt with him previously.
Others, like Chaim Golgoth, a USI agent, are motivated by duty and the pursuit of national interest. Golgoth's pragmatism is evident in his willingness to secure the Heart for the United States, claim its power for himself, or destroy it to prevent it from falling into "hostile hands".
The story also presents characters like Janus Gaunt, who initially seeks the Heart to "set things right" but ultimately succumbs to the corrupting influence of power, plotting to eliminate those he perceives as weak. This descent into ruthlessness exemplifies the seductive and transformative nature of ambition.
The narrative suggests that the pursuit of power can warp even the most well-intentioned individuals, leading them down a path of destruction. This is evident in Baron Siriasis's transformation from a seemingly rational individual to a power-hungry schemer willing to sacrifice the universe for his own rejuvenation and immortality.
The story's focus on a dying Earth further emphasizes the dangers of unchecked ambition. As characters fight for control of the Heart, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, suggesting that the pursuit of individual power can blind individuals to the collective good.
Finally, the narrative uses the concept of a "heart of ice" to symbolize the ruthlessness and lack of empathy that often accompany the pursuit of power. This recurring motif underscores the story's cautionary message about the potential for power to corrupt even the most humane instincts.
I then asked it a specific question: "Who is the 'gene genie'?" NotebookLM said:
"There is a character named Malengin who is referred to as a 'Gene Genie'. Here's what the text says about him:
Malengin is specifically sought out by Thadra Bey, who is described as a 'veritable Amazon' enhanced to be 'more than human'. This suggests that Malengin possesses knowledge or abilities related to enhancing humans beyond their normal capabilities.
Thadra Bey seeks Malengin out because the science of genetic engineering cannot be practised where she is from, on al-Lat, due to the risk of infecting the colony with a deadly plague. This further suggests that Malengin is skilled in genetic engineering, and that his practices might be considered dangerous by some.
Malengin is described as someone who is said to trade in genetic enhancements through the use of retroviruses. This confirms that Malengin is involved in the world of genetic engineering and uses retroviruses to alter the DNA of his clients, resulting in permanent changes."
What I liked most of all was that NotebookLM can (in mere minutes) generate a podcast-style discussion about the book(s). It's not exactly In Our Time but it's a sign of great things to come. As long as you have a Google account you can listen to the Heart of Ice discussion here.
I've just heard from Fox that their online version of Heart of Ice is now updated, so you can play the adventure for free right now.
It's a great thing to see, but only when it's earned. If the world can be saved just by stumbling through an adventure picking options at random, where's the sense of reward? At the same time, gamebook writers are aware that a lot of readers don't have the patience to go digging after clues. If they don't get a pat on the head every few minutes they'll lose interest. We can't please everyone, so what's the answer?
Every gamebook series has to find its own balance. For example, Vulcanverse:
"No one is holding your hand. There is no main quest at the beginning, and at times you will find yourself wandering around looking for clues, treasures, and quests to accomplish. This can be frustrating, but the rewards are for those who persevere and who keep an eye out for the signs and clues you find. One of the coolest moments in these books is when you discover that a clue you found makes sense and reveals a new adventure or a way to solve a problem."
In those books your decisions can completely change the world, deciding the fate of empires, permanently altering the landscape and the people in it. As another review (also translated by Google) put it: "You have a lot of adventures ahead of you -- not because Vulcanverse has no end, as in other open-world series, but because the stories follow one another and intertwine seemingly without end."
In a traditional gamebook, challenges must be addressed linearly and each one must be dealt with before you progress to the next. That means the individual challenges can't be too hard, because if the player is stumped it's not as if they can go and tackle another quest while they're thinking about it. In other words, challenges can't involve the player thinking, "OK I don't have what I need for this right now, but if I come back with item X and clue Y maybe I can do it." There's the strength of open-world gamebooks right there.
When the rewards have to do with saving an entire civilization, the effort on the part of the player has to be such that it feels earned. That's why Vulcanverse isn't the kind of loosely open-world game in which you can drift around with one eye on something else and still expect to pile up heaps of treasure and accomplishments. To save a universe you have to be prepared to work at it. One reviewer remarked on how he'd been playing for hours, getting a whole bunch of things set up in The Hammer of the Sun, and finally he was able to carry out a ritual that completely changed the whole realm of Notus, unlocking lots of new quests. That cascade of new opportunities, he said, was an achievement worth waiting for.
I was reminded of all this when talking to an old friend about Gunslinger, a tactical RPG-ish boardgame by Richard Hamblen that we used to play a lot back in the 1980s. The best way I can describe it is to say the game would reliably throw up moments as vivid and dramatic as this:
"Remember what incredible stories we'd have to tell after a Gunslinger game," I said. "Why don't we still play that?" My friend shrugged. "Because each game lasted a couple of hours, and nobody has the patience these days for anything that takes longer than Exploding Kittens."
(I can't argue with that, as these days I'd be much more likely to spend a couple of hours playing Fights in Tight Spaces, which has a lot in common with the tactical gameplay of Gunslinger but with much less set-up time and snazzy animations too.)
Quick and simple play for spoon-fed rewards? Or mighty triumphs that you have to work at achieving? There's no right answer to this question. Vulcanverse's hard-won victories are certainly not to everyone's taste, but if there's any gamebook approach that caters to everyone's taste then believe me I'll write it.
French-speaking readers may want to pick up a copy of Le Marteau et l’Enclume issue #12, which is devoted to the launch in France of Forge Divine, the French name for Vulcanverse. Candidly I sometimes wish we'd called it something like that in English too, as the implied connection with the online crypto-based game has probably done little but confuse potential players of the gamebooks. So just for the record, you don't need to know anything about the online game to play the gamebooks -- and vice versa.
Scared yet? If you'd rather retreat from the real world into adventures with entirely imaginary bugbears, here's your reminder that Can You Escape The Vampire's Lair? is still on sale at the special Halloween price of £7.99.
Tomorrow we'll shoot forward to the end of the 23rd century. Come to think of it, I might stay there for the next four years.
