tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post523397826833052525..comments2024-03-27T21:18:33.034+00:00Comments on Fabled Lands: Kickstarter - the results are inDave Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-88302212823426912622013-11-26T08:27:01.903+00:002013-11-26T08:27:01.903+00:00We're always happy to see fan-created work, Da...We're always happy to see fan-created work, Davide. There are two complete FL books that were created by fans, and as you say the original six books are ripe for expansion.<br /><br />I was planning to re-release the Fighting Fantasy book that Jamie and I wrote (Keep of the Lich Lord) as an additional adventure connecting to FL book 3. The only snag is that these re-released gamebooks struggle to sell more than a few dozen copies, so it would entail a month or two of full-time overhaul work just to please a handful of readers. That's hard to justify when one is having to make a living. Hence if any fans want to expand the series as a labour of love, I'm all for it.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-61124513863973350862013-11-26T06:46:23.979+00:002013-11-26T06:46:23.979+00:00Meanwhile, while you are still deciding the best w...Meanwhile, while you are still deciding the best way to make the next FL books, i was wondering if you would allow your fans to expand the current books.<br /><br />The electronic version allows for easy editing and some parts of the initial books could be expanded, for example the city of trees and others.<br /><br />Maybe this new version would help draw more people into the fabled lands world?��<br /><br />Cheers.Davidenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-4509392765360436972013-11-21T13:45:34.232+00:002013-11-21T13:45:34.232+00:00I take your point. I don't like to leave a pro...I take your point. I don't like to leave a project unfinished (even one from 17 years ago) but I must be realistic about what FL enthusiasts expect. What I wrote then were things like Down Among the Dead Men; what I write now are Frankenstein and Mirabilis - not at all the same kind of thing, and probably with readerships that barely overlap. So as not to disappoint FL readers, I need to find a way to deliver what they've waited nearly two decades for. Hence the idea to use a team of writers - much like the group who are revising and extending the Way of the Tiger series. (Indeed, probably the very same group.) Doctor Who returned with new writers, after all - though perhaps that's not a very convincing example. A better one might be Jon Ingold resurrecting the Sorcery series, or Rick Veitch taking over Swamp Thing when Alan Moore left. The difference is that Jamie and I would remain on hand as consultants to ensure that the series doesn't suddenly spin off at a tangent as happened in the case of (eg) Lois & Clark season 2.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-34930631924590217912013-11-21T12:21:15.578+00:002013-11-21T12:21:15.578+00:00If your view is that the Fabled Lands gamebooks be...If your view is that the Fabled Lands gamebooks belonged to a particular moment in time, c.17 years ago, and that the spark that gave them life has long come and gone, then I can’t argue with you; but what I would want to believe, along with at least a few other FL fans (I assume), is that, yes, if you and Mr Thomson were to write FL 7–12 now, they would indeed not be the same books you would have written 17 years ago, rather, with a combined 35 years of additional writing experience between you, they would be something *even better*.<br /><br />I’m not expressing a lack of interest in the VR books either. It’s just… well, this has come up before: I appreciate that the FL books are eminently readable on their own, since many of the "quests" are contained within single books and the references between books are relatively few in number, but, it was precisely the concept of the inter-book connections and the idea of the Fabled Lands series as a unified whole that grabbed my attention when I first picked the books up. So, from my perspective, FL 1–6 is always going to feel incomplete, and FL 7–12 would not be merely revisiting the series in some nostalgic sense: it would be finishing what was started; and if the authors now write with different styles and interests, so be it (that might even work quite well, in terms of “flavour”, given that FL 7–12 would be dealing with more exotic domains).Graham Harthttps://twitter.com/editoriusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-65120761848174942522013-11-21T11:04:21.556+00:002013-11-21T11:04:21.556+00:00Perhaps that word nostalgic came across as pejorat...Perhaps that word nostalgic came across as pejorative. Certainly I understand why readers are keen on old projects rather than new ones, for the eminently logical reason that they are already familiar with the old projects. I might wish that more gamebook fans would read Frankenstein or the VR/Critical IF books, and in my wildest dreams I imagine them taking a look at the current projects like Mirabilis that are dearest to my heart, but I'm hardly the first author to feel that way. Conan Doyle chucked Holmes off the Reichenback Falls but he bounced right back; Woody Allen mostly gets asked about the early, funny ones; and what goes through Madonna's mind when the audience calls out for an encore of "Like A Virgin"?<br /><br />The real difficulty is in going back at all. If I wrote FL book 7 myself, it wouldn't be at all the same book today as it would have been if Pan Macmillan had continued the series in the '90s. The Holmes stories post-casum are a pallid flicker of what they were when Conan Doyle pulled them from a full blaze of inspiration. I think that can be solved by hiring a writing team for future FL books, to ensure that the quests and encounters don't feel stale. But a writing team costs money, of course, whereas Jamie and I can write in our spare time for nothing. If we had any spare time, that is!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-91800041324804282722013-11-21T05:20:43.365+00:002013-11-21T05:20:43.365+00:00I would be delighted if the Fabled Lands series we...I would be delighted if the Fabled Lands series were rounded off with just the one final book rather than the six promised but unpublished titles, as long as that final book had about 5000 sections.<br /><br />Seriously, though, I like (print) gamebooks because I like the format. This is only a "nostalgia kick" in the sense that there are fewer gamebooks published now than there used to be. I can still recognise that some gamebooks are better than others, and I do not consider myself an uncritical obsessive who wants to see the FL series completed just for the sake of it, though it is easy to give that impression when a long-abandoned hope is suddenly rekindled.Graham Harthttps://twitter.com/editoriusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-71353756449201601302013-11-20T11:07:13.532+00:002013-11-20T11:07:13.532+00:00I'm with you there, but it seems like gamebook...I'm with you there, but it seems like gamebook fans are mostly in it for the nostalgia kick, and few read VR the first time round. My main interest personally is to do more interactive novel apps like Frankenstein. Doing just one FL book to round off the series is a lot more attractive to me than writing 6 of them.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-43829117381271499422013-11-17T18:17:31.365+00:002013-11-17T18:17:31.365+00:00Don't do FL 7-12. The system doesn't work ...Don't do FL 7-12. The system doesn't work at high ranks. Just let it remain a beautiful part of history.<br />I'd much prefer another VR book. There are so many amazing settings left to explore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-37742588957377681012013-11-17T17:07:06.261+00:002013-11-17T17:07:06.261+00:00Rather than trying to write FL7-12 it might be int...Rather than trying to write FL7-12 it might be interesting to write just 1 additional FL book that ties up all the open endings to FL1-6. Less fun indeed, but economically much more feasible. And it would make the whole series fully playable for the first time ever!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-70116782208968322132013-11-09T12:43:36.011+00:002013-11-09T12:43:36.011+00:00Um... Just realized you may not mean Wellington in...Um... Just realized you may not mean Wellington in Somerset :-) Well, my mum liked the Antipodean Wellington a lot - and I shall visit it one day.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-19051071867021501152013-11-09T12:41:37.389+00:002013-11-09T12:41:37.389+00:00I just got back from Wellington! One of my favouri...I just got back from Wellington! One of my favourite towns.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-89079178845398754162013-11-09T12:40:31.028+00:002013-11-09T12:40:31.028+00:00I vaguely imagine the FL underworld as being quite...I vaguely imagine the FL underworld as being quite Graeco-Roman, but maybe it should depend on where you enter it from.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-10608759455308752522013-11-09T12:38:34.692+00:002013-11-09T12:38:34.692+00:00Mark's attic contains Rembrandts, a Victorian ...Mark's attic contains Rembrandts, a Victorian bicycle and a complete Napoleonic army - or used to. Nothing like mine!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-87377388204304928882013-11-09T12:36:46.613+00:002013-11-09T12:36:46.613+00:00You're going to like what we have planned for ...You're going to like what we have planned for Blood Sword, in that case ;-)Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-16644723356628956402013-11-09T12:35:46.127+00:002013-11-09T12:35:46.127+00:00James, Todd, glad you like the books. I also have ...James, Todd, glad you like the books. I also have a soft spot for Roman Polanski's movie Pirates.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-26918518715259295632013-11-09T12:34:11.872+00:002013-11-09T12:34:11.872+00:00The Frankenstein app has now sold nearly 20,000 un...The Frankenstein app has now sold nearly 20,000 units on iOS alone, Zacky, and that's mostly just in the UK. We plan to release an epub3 version shortly. That is my main interest as far as interactive storytelling goes.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-1507857996965332352013-11-09T06:21:18.196+00:002013-11-09T06:21:18.196+00:00Oh, the hairstyle may very well have been an inven...Oh, the hairstyle may very well have been an invention of the 80's gamebooks. To know for sure, you'll have to ask whomever played the original Eris the Mage.<br /><br />And certainly there are a lot of successful comic book projects on Kickstarter: the area has its own category, even.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-32548683611210403052013-11-09T02:23:18.147+00:002013-11-09T02:23:18.147+00:00As I've said elsewhere, Richard, Leo Hartas &a...As I've said elsewhere, Richard, Leo Hartas & I mean to try out a Kickstarter for our Mirabilis comic. It has nothing like the devoted following of those old '80s gamebooks, but we decided: "nothing ventured..." etc.<br /><br />You're not telling me that quiff is from the 1970s, though. That's pure Kajagoogoo.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-25307955270882382862013-11-08T08:10:56.482+00:002013-11-08T08:10:56.482+00:00I would pledge up to 500$ for Fabled Lands. Its a ...I would pledge up to 500$ for Fabled Lands. Its a childhood dream.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-32611623506129169172013-11-05T08:19:15.196+00:002013-11-05T08:19:15.196+00:00They could always be ambitious stretch goals... Ge...They could always be ambitious stretch goals... Get Book 7 written, Get book 7 illustrated, Get book 8 written, get book 8 illustrated and so on. Just a thought...James O'Gradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06293956084685099045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-59326523053937482152013-11-04T15:19:37.952+00:002013-11-04T15:19:37.952+00:00I see an opportunity for a highly selective quotat...I see an opportunity for a highly selective quotation…<br /><br />Dave Morris: “FL book 7 needs to be written”<br /><br />Why yes, yes it does.<br /><br />Seriously though, completion of the Fabled Lands series in book form is the only literary undertaking I can think of (at least, the only one that’s even vaguely likely to happen) that I would be motivated to start saving up for in order to support a year or more in advance.<br /><br />That timescale also offers the chance to figure out how to tune the pitch to potential backers. The Way of the Tiger campaign was clearly very successful in identifying its market, or in identifying *a* market, specifically of backers willing to pledge an average of over $200. Most gamebook campaigns have succeeded on Kickstarter with an average of $50 per pledge. The problem is, I think, that many Kickstarter backers, me included, tend instinctively to regard Kickstarter as being just another shop window rather than an investment engine, with the return on investment, or “rewards” for enabling a project to happen that otherwise would not, becoming effectively just purchases. If a campaign is to publish eight books, then it attracts mainly backers who are willing to pledge large, i.e. to be rewarded with those eight books. If the campaign is for one book, then many of the backers end up pledging modestly, i.e. for that one book. So, I suppose the aim and challenge for a Fabled Lands Kickstarter ought to be to attract *both* categories of backer.Graham Harthttps://twitter.com/editoriusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-10577421515389442982013-11-04T00:01:01.079+00:002013-11-04T00:01:01.079+00:00The public library here in Wellington has most of ...The public library here in Wellington has most of the FF reissues, and they've been well-mauled and mostly by kids: Adults looking for nostalgia often don't even know they're there. So paperbacks still have appeal. I'll certainly buy them if I can: The second hand copies available here are more expensive than your proposed prices for the new copies!NiceMazeSharkhttp://sevenfourteenseven.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-9665519284940438712013-11-03T20:34:44.129+00:002013-11-03T20:34:44.129+00:00Hello again Dave, and thank you many, many times f...Hello again Dave, and thank you many, many times for your reasoned (and amusing!) posts about our Kickstarter. It just so happens that we sold the 1970's character sheets for those "glum" folks in the picture.<br /><br />I like also your linked post about Kickstarter as a means of publicity. More people should read it: even up to now we receive messages asking "will these books be available after the Kickstarter?" as though somehow we weren't "kickstarting" anything.<br /><br />I'm also eager to see what works best for your future plans. These two very different campaigns (The Way of the Tiger and Arcana Agency: The Thief of Memories) have taught us . . . a few things about audience expectations. With, as you say, a reasoned understanding of what Kickstarter means for a project, a lot is possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-47734788152684243712013-11-03T12:10:18.949+00:002013-11-03T12:10:18.949+00:00Well, there is small hint that there might be a Ki...Well, there is small hint that there might be a Kickstarter for Fabled Lands Book 7 in 2014 after the RPG of WOTT but I see that as an opportunity to save up even more money.<br /><br />Either way, I was playing Necklace of Skulls and concluded that the Underworld may be something like the Underworld in Necklace of Skulls, quite gruesome. Of course, we need to see Book 7 first. :)JoeCrystalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09704987336977651777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2141372262111342844.post-19783555288463709982013-11-03T09:08:58.148+00:002013-11-03T09:08:58.148+00:00I'm hoping Dave and Jamie are taking heart fro...I'm hoping Dave and Jamie are taking heart from the success of the WOTT Kickstarter and thinking of Fabled Lands. While the same level of funding may be unlikely, because WOTT was much better known back in the day, this shouldn't preclude Fabled Lands being successful on some level. Having the basic funding goal excluding interior art, and then having the art as stretch goals, as the WOTT Kickstarter did, is a great idea. The art's nice sure, but I'd gladly sacrifice it for the text. <br /><br />The way add-ons worked in both this and the You Are The Hero Kickstarters should give a lot of ideas - particularly if Dave has an attic like Mark Smith's. <br /><br />Ultimately, we'll never know until you try!Mike Hnoreply@blogger.com