r/gamebooks

Hi all, wanted to share my latest progress on Trinoxis, my ongoing project on trying to find the line between game book style gameplay and a CRPG dungeon crawler.

For those that have commented previously, I've iterated upon the physical book representation (i.e. left and right pages) and come up with this "DnD GM Screen" style look. From a game perspective, I think it frames the action a bit better but I'd love to get some feedback on it.

Greetings! I am D.S. Newman. I've just released the first of many Pick-A-Path Gamebooks featuring characters we know and love from the Public Domain, but have always wanted to see in a more raw and mature setting after their origin stories...rather than just another remake.

I did a smaller Q&A about this earlier in the year towards the end of the developmental phase of this first book. But I'm back now to share it with you all, now that the first shipment of 1000 units have arrived. Only a few people have a copy so far, as I've not fully promoted them yet. They can be purchased on my site or in person at live events on my book tour. Check the site for dates as they get added! https://dsnewmanpublishing.squarespace.com/shop/p/dorothy-alice-under-the-rainbow

These are premium hardback books. Full color, silver sprayed edges and with 3mm hardboard, like our old high school text books! The cover and sketch art throughout the book were done by a long time collaborator of mine, Magaly Abarca. And the graphic/page design was done by me.

So here's the deal...I'm doing a giveaway. Right here, in this very subreddit. But I want some discussion going on here first. If you're interested in a handcrafted, independently developed, premium gamebook, that is more on the casual side rather than strategy intensive, then let's talk!

The criteria for getting a free copy of this book is simple.

1. You gotta be an active member of this subreddit with a relatively long track record of participation.

2. You gotta be a fan of Alice in Wonderland and/or Wizard of Oz in some capacity! This should be a given. Why would you even want this book if you weren't?

3. This is the honor system. So you gotta commit to coming back here and writing a review/overview of what you receive. I don't expect glowing praise (unless you really feel that way!) but I also don't wanna get completely thrashed by someone who hasn't put the effort in. The lowest review I've ever received was the first review on my first book, 13 years ago and it was by someone who didn't even finish it.

4. Please make some kind of post off of reddit about what you received as well and link it to my site. I sincerely don't care which platform, as long as you show it to me after. Honor system.

5. You gotta pay the shipping. Sorry. It's a $45 premium grade 7x10 book. I just need a little meeting halfway. Don't worry...there's gonna be some extra goodies thrown in there as well!

So without further ado, why don't we fill this thread up with some discussion? Feel free to ask anything. Feel free to bypass the giveaway and just order a copy! But the more discussion we get going, the more I'll have to go off of in deciding which one of you I select. Who knows, I might pick more than one of you if it's tough competition!

Sidenote: This book is NOT for kids. I mean, it's not EXPLICIT. But it is mature, has language, sexual inuendo and violence...lots and lots of over the top violence. So if you can sit through Pulp Fiction, you can handle this.

If you're unsure, here's a link to a free short story set in this universe.... https://dsnewmanpublishing.squarespace.com/looking-glass-limbo

Looking-Glass Limbo is a short story, just 7500 words, that gives you an idea of how I wrote Dorothy & Alice, how they interact with one another and I how I see them as more mature versions of their original characters. But I assure you, there's nothing worse in the main book than in that story!

Any tips? I will be posting a review on my substack once I get a decent amount of hours in!

Update: played a few hours today. This game is incredible and well worth the price point!

Hi guys anybody here familiar with T&T I picked up these two books at a Car boot /yard sale which ones am I missing? Many thanks.

£3.99. Perfect condition, no writing. I don't think it's even been read. I've never snatched something off a shelf so quickly. Got FF54: Legend of Zagor in the same shop a few weeks ago.

Part of a bunch of sci-fi and fantasy paperbacks that I picked up from a free library at the Co-Op. Thought I’d share here as I originally posted in the wrong gaming sub and it was removed.

Salut tout le monde !

Ça fait un moment que je travaille sur Fableris, une petite application Android autour des histoires interactives.

L’idée est assez simple : créer des histoires dans lesquelles on peut faire des choix et influencer le déroulement de l’aventure, plutôt que simplement lire une histoire de manière linéaire.

J’ai essayé de construire quelque chose de simple à utiliser, avec une approche assez orientée création + découverte d’histoires.

Si certains veulent tester, l’application est disponible gratuitement sur Android :

👉 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pegasuscorp.fableris

Je suis preneur de tous les retours, même les critiques. C’est justement pour ça que je viens poster ici plutôt que simplement faire de la pub. 😄

I decided to start a substack to review game books and other analog games. I have several backlogged titles that I need to add my review for, but I just added my first one! If interested, please check it out :)

Review: The Ghosts of Craven Manor by Joseph Daniels

Wanted to share a short clip from the FF audio adaptation we're working on. Lewis Davies (Oldhammer Fiction Podcast) is narrating, GNOLL did the score, and there's 360 Surround audio built in, worth having headphones on if you can.

Pre-launch page is up on BackerKit if anyone wants to follow before the campaign goes live at Fighting Fantasy Fest VI: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/sound-realms/fighting-fantasy-the-audio-odyssey/pre-launch

I've made a video about it with a more detailed overview here - https://youtu.be/Hh8jWx22L0I

For quite awhile I've been intrigued by Joseph Daniels' books, ever since I came across Ghosts of Craven Manor, but for some reason, I never made the jump and bought one.

Eventually, Joseph sent me King's Judgement to feature on my channel, and now I do understand all the 4-5 star reviews on Amazon.

There is some complexity in the book, but it's never overwhelming, and the reward for keeping it until the end is that you get to experience a story tailored to the decisions you make along the way. Think about how Bioware games were back then with Mass Effect/Dragon Age, the Witcher games, or even the Quantic Dream games where your decisions have repercussions later in the story. Even if some decisions look small, they might have a much bigger impact later on.

The book is also divided into 4 phases:

• Phase 1 - Being a prince (Tutorial)
• Phase 2 - Being a king
• Phase 3 - (minor spoilers) >!Being a fugitive!<
• Phase 4 - (minor spoilers) >!Take back the Kingdom!<

Phase 1 felt a bit slow-paced, but as soon as Phase 2 kicked in, the story really picked up and didn't let go until the end. Yes, the story, the narrative. That was by far the best part of the book, and I've never read a Gamebook that had this type of narrative so well developed into its gameplay and systems.

This won't be my last book from Joseph Daniels, and I will for sure read something else in the future. The book was not perfect, but the experience was one of a kind.

On a side note, later this month I'll have an interview with Joseph up on my channel, where he'll talk about some of his previous and future works, if you're interested in knowing more about his books.

Have you read any of his books? What would you recommend next? I'll probably try Ghosts of Craven Manor Omnibus later this year. (got to clear some backlog, haha)

Actually found this through the author posting on this forum. This is probably one of the best game books I’ve played and the time travel mechanic is extremely cool. As per usual im generally ignoring dice rolls because the puzzle is difficult enough without RNG. But im still having a lot of fun! I’m playing it on kindle but I understand it’s also on DriveThruRPG if you don’t want to buy from amazon.