Proposal: New board directory "GameBooks"

I propose the formation of a new directory in the IF forums.
In the primary board directory it would be listed as “Gamebooks”.
The Gamebook Directory would be clearly divided into 3 subdivisions.

A. Codeword & dice rolling systems.
B. Writing and authoring tips.
C. General.

Why you might ask?

Its because gamebooks harken back to the golden erra of role playing games. Pencil, paper and dice are a requirement. There is no computer involved and its just you and the book. To an amature writer who envisions an adventerous or game like world the concept of presenting it to another person can become frightning. When they realize they can work on it paragraph by paragraph in a gamebook style then it breaks the ice on their mind. It allows them to get working instead of holding ideas back. The method in which gamebooks are laid out is also easy enough for them to understand imediately. It’s not complicated to a beginner who has no concept of programming and it allows to them get started right away.

Then you have the flip side.

In today’s world the computer is an indespensible tool in gamebook authoring and in many cases even their presentation.
Fighting Fantasy and many other gamebooks have made a resurgence on tablet computers and touch phones with their digital implementations.

I intentionaly left out reviews and collection directories.
There are MANY forums, web pages, etc dedicated to those two categories in excessive detail.

The idea of createing a gamebook directory is to aid people who want to write a game book. I know I’ve had difficulty in finding information about it. I only wish for there to be an easier way for others to seek and find gamebook authoring tips, hints, and sage advise.

We can definitely create more boards if and when there are enough discussions to warrant it. As it is now, there are hardly any, sorry.

while we’re at it, how about a new entry in the board for theater too? It might help playwrights creating new plays for people to either read/watch or role play… plus, it’s been around way longer than either RPGs or the so-called interactive fiction… I heard ever since Zeus would play with humans on a board game with dice…

Can I suggest a board named “namekuseijin’s trolling”, which would be limited solely to namekuseijin, only accessible by him and inaccessible to everyone else. Furthermore, any post he made in any other thread would be automatically moved there so people don’t have to listen to him anymore.

To the OP: yes, I think it’d be a good idea to have a gamebooks directory. I’m not sure there’s enough discussion to need 3 separate sub-sections, though I guess once the initial directory goes live it might generate more discussion. You can’t beat nostalgia :slight_smile:

And, for those of us currently writing gamebooks of one kind or another, it would be a handy place to discuss / shamelessly plug our upcoming works.

I endorse this.

To the OP: I guess a good strategy is to start posting a lot about your work and the things you’d like to see in the directory! If you start enough discussion of gamebooks, that’ll provide the mods more incentive to create the new board.

I find a number of namekuseijin’s posts very useful. There’s nothing like holding a mirror up to beliefs you haven’t scrutinized in a while.

I’m a casual fan of gamebooks, and I know there’s a general feel that’s unique to them, but what differentiates a gamebook from any other menu-driven game? Doesn’t it all fit under “game design”? Is it just that they’re printed?

I don’t see enough discussion of gamebooks to warrant their own subsection. Worth keeping an eye on, obviously.

As for namekuseijin, he mostly holds a mirror up to his own prejudices.

Really the difference between a printed gamebook, a gamebook app, and some other menu-driven i-f is mostly academic. Most paper gamebooks published now are also available as apps. Most discussions on one form will apply equally to the other two. Perhaps it would be more interesting to see a subforum dedicated to all variants of choice-based i-f, explicitly including printed games?

too much discussion about the messenger rather than the message

point is interactive fiction used to mean one thing and now that it’s an umbrella term abridging pretty much anything, it means nothing

:laughing: Not really. Gamebooks reside within the scope of interactive fiction. They are used to create interactive, and usually fiction-based, game-play, based on a set of rules in the game book. Whether that game-play is on a table, with dice, or using a parser, it’s still a game. So, interactive fiction.

That’s actually not the point, no.

The point of the discussion was “Is it worth it to break out a special section for discussing this particular type of IF?” To which the response was “No, because it doesn’t get enough specific discussion in and of itself.” Pretty concise.

And then you decided to derail so we could talk about your favorite pet peeve of IF being ‘watered down’, an argument that’s as useless as you perceive the term ‘interactive fiction’ to have become. Which, by the way, it’s not: it means “fiction that responds to the actions of the reader.” Hence … interactive fiction.

well, theater is interactive fiction too

more so to the actors obviously. which means it’s got a pretty slim main audience

again, like interactive fiction

Back on topic: I don’t think you need a separate section to post topics on game-books. The forum has a pretty good split of headings to put topics under. I would think the “Other development systems” would fit, or the “Looking for Collaborators” section, if you want to work with people on a specific game-book. Personally, I’m not familiar with them enough to really understand the mechanics behind them, but I find them interesting, so I’ll check out any topics you post on the subject.

Okay, that makes no sense. Generally, theater is not interactive to its audience. One exception would be pantomime, but the agency there is very limited, heh. If we’re talking actors, then… well, Twine is pretty damn interactive to its authors. Seriously, what the hell are you talking about?

I think it’s a method of argument similar to the song “This is the song that never ends”. I’m sure there will be a rebuttal for any logic you give. I’d suggest staying out of that rabbit hole.

Its cool, I’m a big Alice in Wonderland fan. :wink:

Just be careful that, when debating with the mad hatter, you don’t become as mad as he is. (In either sense of the word.)

(Edit)
I’d rather avoid 6 pages of how theater is or isn’t IF, when the topic was game-books. So, I’m out. Had enough tea. :smiley:

I did notice that bit, name, as you can tell from my response. It was actually the bit that made the least sense.

My definition of interactive fiction is any text-based art which requires interaction by the reader/player/audience. So theater, which (except for some types of improv) doesn’t require audience interaction, is not interactive: the actors are not the audience. Same for vocal (thus technically fulfilling the text requirement) music: the singer is not the audience.