Friday, 3 February 2017

Gamebook Friday: The Wicked Wizard of Oz

If you backed the Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland Kickstarter back in 2015, you may remember how you pledged to receive a 400-reference gamebook but ended up with a 520-reference gamebook. This increase in length was in part a consequence of the rules system I developed for the book, and partly because of the epic maze I plonked in the middle of the adventure.
Having learnt from my mistakes with that previous project, when I pitched The Wicked Wizard of Oz you may remember that I announced that you would be backing the Kickstarter to receive a 500-reference gamebook. I also said that you would be able to play as one of four different characters, and a fifth bonus character if you pledged at the Wicked Witch reward level. And then this happened...
This afternoon I finally finished the manuscript for The Wicked Wizard of Oz, almost six months to the day after I first set fingers to keyboard. (I actually started writing the gamebook on Thursday 4th August 2016.)
Now all that there remains for me to do is re-number the entire adventure by hand - all 850 references of it! - and then re-structure it before sending it out to the proof-readers and play-testers.
But before I can do that I need to work out which sections have to relate to a specific number (as a result of being the answer to a puzzle, for example) and where all the illustrations are going to go.
Best get started then!

5 comments:

Jam said...

I knew you'd crack 800 ;)
Out of interest did you have to pad with an orphan reference or two? Remember that certain book that did in 1982? Hehe

Jonathan Green said...

There are a couple of very long sections that have been spread across more than one reference. So if the play-testing results in the need for a couple of extra sections being written, I can reclaim them from those.

Jam said...

Good way of tackling that Mr G. Divide and conquer ...so to speak

Hervé said...

Hello,

According to me, Dorothy is the diplomatic character; the Scarecrow has the wits; the Tin Woodman is strong & the Lion has dexterity, isn'it?

The Wizard looks like a cybernetic bad guy.

I'm so excited for this book ;-)

Jonathan Green said...

It's not quite as straightforward as that in The Wicked Wizard of Oz. You'll just have to wait and see... but it won't be long now! ;-)