J is for Joshua Wright

I first heard the name Josh Wright when Neil Rennison (the Tin Man of Tin Man Games) suggested him for illustration duties on my Gamebook Adventure Temple of the Spider God. Neil showed me some samples of Josh's work and I was sold. He then when on to produce all the colour 'internal' illos for Spider God and outdid himself in the process, helping to make the App one of the best-looking gamebooks out there.

So thanks to Josh for doing such a great job and for taking the time to answer these questions...

1. How did you start out as a professional artist?

It’s been a very round-about process. I studied fine art initially, put together a few exhibitions and then decided to make the switch to study graphic design. However, it turns out laying out annual reports and designing letterheads wasn’t really my style, and I decided to get back into drawing and illustration. However I was living in Perth, Australia, which really didn’t offer many opportunities in that regard. So I packed up everything and drove 3,500 kilometres to the other side of the country to make the ambition of drawing things for a living a reality.

2. What was it that gave you the big break that led to what you’re doing now?

I would say it was Temple of the Spider God (written by the very talented Jonathan Green), which was quite recent. I’d worked on a couple of independent games and my work found its way to Neil of Tin Man Games who thought it would be a good fit for Gamebook Adventures. The title was very well received and has led to new opportunities.

3. What is your preferred method of working? Which medium suits your style best?

I still find pencil and sketchbook handy for that initial creative stage of extracting ideas from the mind. Plus it’s easy to carry around and scribble when you have a spare moment. The majority of my work is digital as you can’t beat it for versatility and speed. The ability to make changes such as changing the colour or moving elements around alone is a huge benefit. I hope to get the real brushes out in the near future for a series of personal paintings.

4. What is the appeal of the Gamebook Adventures settings?

I’ve been a big fan of the original Fighting Fantasy game books, so anything that takes me back to those times in my youth spent rolling the dice, scribbling out my character’s ever decreasing health and making it to the very end is a big plus. I’m also a fan of the way that, even with many familiar fantasy trappings, the Gamebook world of Orlandes has a unique flavour. The Spanish influence, the creatures, the characters all made it feel fresh. Plus with both Temple of the Spider God and Infinite Universe, it gives a lot of free reign to the artist, and it’s a tremendous feeling to be able to build on and add to these settings.

5. How did you find the experience of illustrating Temple of the Spider God?

It was a smooth and satisfying process. It helps that I’d worked with Ben Britten Smith and knew Neil before the project began so it made communication much easier. After reading the draft and illustration list it sparked plenty of ideas, which is always a good sign. The first step was creating a series of greyscale roughs for each illustration for the art director and writer to look over and give their thoughts. After a few redesigns, it’s the process of fleshing them out, a few rounds of minor changes, then final art ready to go into the game engine.

6. Would you ever be tempted to illustrate something from the Pax Britannia universe?

After my first encounter with the genre reading William Gibson and Bruce Sterling’s ‘The Difference Engine’, steampunk is something I have quite an interest in. So I have a suspicion that temptation could be quite high... Particularly if it should happen to involve zeppelins, apes with jet packs, steam powered robots, evil goggle-wearing villains, plucky adventuresses and gentlemen with vigour sporting fetching moustaches.

7. Of which piece of work are you most proud?

I would say the Sea Serpent piece from Spider God, for several reasons. It went through 3 or 4 different versions, each time I felt it wasn’t working at all. Fortunately I persevered with it, redesigning it yet again to a point where I wasn’t over thinking the process and it seemed to fall into place. In turn, it helped set the process for the remainder of the illustrations as well. It’s a reminder that when it comes to creative obstacles, if you can keep going, you will be rewarded.

8. Is there anything you haven’t illustrated that you would still like to?

I think that’s part of the joy of being an artist, there’s always something else that would be great to work on. Off the top of my head the things that I’d like to illustrate would be an 50s/60s style ray gun sci-fi adventure, modern supernatural horror, magic-laden bronze age fantasy, plus I have a new idea bubbling away that is inspired traditional Japanese woodblock print design. Oh and dinosaurs. I could always draw more dinosaurs.

9. What are you working on at the moment?

I’m heading back to Orlandes, with another Gamebook Adventure title in the works. I’m also in the final stages of a Facebook game, Puzzle Treasure, which should be out in a few weeks. After that it looks like a new iOS game and a few personal projects that may finally get a chance to come to life.

10. What advice would you give to any aspiring artists wanting to follow in your footsteps?

There is no substitute for practice and putting in the hours. As every artist will say “Draw, draw draw.” Understand the eternal foundations of light, colour, composition, perspective, tone and so on. If you feel you have any areas of weakness, take the time to work on those and make them a strength. Create a physical and digital reference library. Find a mentor. Expand your field of influences. Challenge yourself. Enjoy what you do. And drink lots of tea.

Great advice there!

You can find Josh's website here at heliocentric.com.au.

13 Halloween Horrors

Inspired by the warmest Halloween in recorded history? Fancy a little more horror-inspired reading? Then why not try one of these?

1. The Serpent's Egg
13 short horror stories, including the Cthulhu mythos novella The Serpent's Egg, available now!

2. Human Nature
The Whitby Mermaid has been stolen from Cruickshank's Cabinet of Curiosities and consulting detective Gabriel Wraith is on the case. But what does the theft of the mermaid have to do with the mysterious House of Monkeys? And what of the enigmatic criminal known as the Magpie? But there are worse things lurking under the moors outside Whitby than mermaids... David Cronenberg-style body horror in the world of Pax Britannia, including a highly warped version of the Hound of the Baskervilles.

3. Evolution Expects
More than ever before, the realm of Magna Britannia needs a saviour - a man like new Prime Minister, Devlin Valentine. But while London prepares for the launch of the Jupiter Station there are those who want this longed-for change to come about more quickly - people who are willing to give evolution a helping hand.

4. Blood Royal

St. Paul's Cathedral entertains a new congregation, one driven by its own unholy creed, while a coldly clinical killer is carving a name for himself across the city - a name that has been whispered upon the streets of Whitechapel for over a hundred years.

5. Anno Frankenstein
1943 ~ The Nazis are battling the empire of Magna Britannia, cooking up necrotic super-soldiers in the gothic towers of Castle Frankenstein. In the forests outside the castle, other forces are gathering, including Dr. Jekyll and the ladies of the Monstrous Regiment. But there may be other gothic monsters waiting in the hills around Darmstadt...

6. Spellbreaker
Rassin Abbey has guarded its arcane treasures for centuries. But when their Black Grimoire spellbook is stolen, the land of Ruddlestone is plunged into a crisis of epic proportions. Should the legendary Casket of Shadows be opened, the Infernal Beast will be unleashed to wreak its terrible carnage across the Old World. On the night of Shekka's Moon, scant days away, this will surely come to pass, unless YOU can retrieve the Black Grimoire in the nick of time... Witches, demons and devilry abound in my first ever published book.

7. Curse of the Mummy
Beware the Curse of Akharis! When an ancient tomb in the Desert of Skulls turns out to belong to Akharis, a legendary ruler from a previous age, YOU discover some of his followers are trying to return the evil pharaoh to life. Soon you will have to learn the true meaning of The Curse of the Mummy!

8. Bloodbones
Bloodbones lives! The dread pirate-lord Cinnabar, scourge of the twelve seas, terrorised the seafarers of the Old World in a bloody reign of terror until a brave adventurer put an end to his evil. But now Cinnabar is back from the dead, seeking revenge and with the dark powers of voodoo at his command. Only YOU can stop the pirate captain and his crew of bloodthirsty cut-throats.

9. Howl of the Werewolf
Lupravia is a cursed land. Only the foolhardy or insane would willingly pass beyond its borders and enter that benighted realm of predators, but enter you must after a vicious wolf attack sets you on the path to murder and madness. Steadily succumbing to the call of the wild and the beast within, YOU must seek out a cure to your condition before the next full moon. But how long can you survive in a land where the powers of darkness hold sway and all live in fear of the Howl of the Werewolf?

10. Night of the Necromancer
Death is not the end...Returning to your ancestral castle having been away fighting a crusade against the forces of darkness in the Mauristatian principality of Bathoria, you are struck down by a band of murderers within sight of home. Driven by the need to know why you have been killed, and on whose orders, YOU rise again as a ghost and set out to solve the mystery of your own murder.

11. Shadows Over Sylvania
YOU are the Vampire! A blood war has been declared between the life-leeching bloodlines of the cursed county of Sylvania. As a thrall of one of the bloodthirsty rulers of this benighted land, you will be forced to battle numerous enemies who would stand against you, both mortal and Undead.

12. Warlock's Bounty: Revenge of the Sorcerer
You are a mighty wizard, once apprenticed to the sorcerer Corax Whiteraven, guardian of the lands of Lloegyr. When Whiteraven’s familiar appears out of the blue carrying an urgent message from its master, you embark upon a mission that will test your mettle and magical abilities to the full. For Lloegyr’s guardian – the greatest sorcerer of them all – is in danger, and needs your help!

13. Temple of the Spider God
Temple of the Spider God sees YOU uncovering the schemes of an horrifying spider-worshipping cult. Arachnophobes, beware!

Review of the Spider God

Temple of the Spider God has been out for two weeks now and the glowing reviews continue to roll in. In case you own an iPad, iPod or iPhone and you haven't bought it yet (it's only £1.99) then you might want to read these.

First up there's this from Pocket Gamer:

The latest in Tin Man Games' series of interactive text adventures is written by Fighting Fantasy author Jonathan Green – and it shows. Its well-written narrative is pacy, exciting, and weaves a compelling yarn, whichever path you take...

It’s a great modern equivalent to the books many of us loved as youngsters, with the same kind of attention to detail and thrilling fantastical touches that made these adventures so enjoyable.

So Temple of the Spider God might be more book than game, but you knew that. If a Gamebook Adventure is what you're after, you'd be hard-pressed to do better than this.

Then there's this from Dial-a-phone:

The success of written fantasy role-playing games comes down to the quality of writing, and as you’d expect from an experienced writer, it’s absolutely excellent. Green’s words paint a detailed picture, but never tip over the edge to where your imagination isn’t needed – absolutely imperative in a book like this – and the beautifully drawn pictures accompanying the text (the best yet in a Gamebook Adventure) work together to pull you into the story. The overall effect, if you’re willing to invest the time, is an engrossing gaming experience that’s both exciting and compelling.

If the chance to revisit childhood memories attracts you to the Gamebook Adventures, you won’t be disappointed, and neither will the newcomer to the genre. Temple of the Spider God is well-crafted, thrilling and intelligent, with more than enough content and alternative choices to keep you occupied for weeks, and the obvious amount of care and attention invested in its creation makes it an essential purchase for the lone adventurer.

You can find out more about Temple of the Spider God (as well as buy it) by following this link.

Gamebook Friday: HERALD OF OBLIVION

Almost a year to the day since I started work on the proposal for what then went under the working title of TERMINATOR, my very first Warhammer 40,000 gamebook is published today!

You are a veteran Space Marine of the Imperial Fists Chapter. Equipped with powerful Terminator armour and armed with the deadliest weapons that the Adeptus Astartes wield, you are a symbol of the Emperor's might. Trapped aboard the space hulk Herald of Oblivion and the only survivor of your squad, you must fight your way through the aliens and heretics that infest the star vessel and find a way to escape the horror and return to your Chapter.

One year from initial outline to publication. That's right, on Thursday 7 July 2011 I started typing up my proposal for TERMINATOR and on 10 July I emailed it to Black Library's range development editor Christian Dunn.

And now, on Friday 6 July 2012, I'm very proud to announce that HERALD OF OBLIVION is available to buy direct from the Black Library.

If you're a fan of the Imperial Fists Space Marines, buy it! If you loathe and detest the Golden Avengers -  buy it! (Why? Just read the book and you'll soon find out.) If you're a fan of Space Marines - buy it! If you're a fan of Orks, Tyranids, Necrons or Dark Eldar - buy it! If you're a fan of the classic GW board game SPACE HULK - buy it! If you're a fan of the Adeptus Mechanicus - buy it! Even if you are a vehement supporter of the Traitor Legions - buy it! There really is something for everyone in this book!


And if that's not enough to sell it to you, it also features the awesome artwork of Mr Karl Richardson, the artist on Dan Abnett's legendary LONE WOLVES.

I don't know if the idea had been mooted at Games Workshop before (after all, the original founders of the company did also create the Fighting Fantasy series of gamebooks) but what I do know is that Marc Gascoigne and I first pitched the idea of a series of Warhammer/Warhammer 40,000 gamebooks to Boxtree back in 1995-96. Obviously nothing came of the idea at the time, but in 2007 Black Library editor Nick Kyme got in touch about the possibility of doing something then. But as things turned out it wasn't until long time FF devotee Christian Dunn was on board (GW having sold the Solaris imprint to Rebellion) that what had been a dream for many (myself included) finally became reality.

HERALD OF OBLIVION may be my first gamebook for the Black Library, but as long-term readers of this blog will know, it's not my first adventure gamebook. It is in fact my fourteenth published adventure in twenty years*. My other gamebook titles include seven Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, two Sonic the Hedgehog adventures, one Doctor Who, one Star Wars The Clone Wars, one Gamebook Adventure app, and the first part in the Warlock's Bounty series.

If you're interested the full list of titles is as follows:

Spellbreaker (Fighting Fantasy)
Knights of Doom (Fighting Fantasy)
Curse of the Mummy (Fighting Fantasy)
Bloodbones (Fighting Fantasy)
Howl of the Werewolf (Fighting Fantasy)
Stormslayer (Fighting Fantasy)
Night of the Necromancer (Fighting Fantasy)
Theme Park Panic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Stormin' Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
The Horror of Howling Hill (Doctor Who)
Crisis on Coruscant (Star Wars The Clone Wars)
Temple of the Spider God (Gamebook Adventures)
Revenge of the Sorcerer (Warlock's Bounty)
HERALD OF OBLIVION (Path to Victory)


If you enjoy HERALD OF OBLIVION and you've not read any of my other gamebooks before, why not check them out? And of course if you enjoy HERALD OF OBLIVION, you'll enjoy my other Warhammer 40,000 book and short stories, including THE ARMAGEDDON OMNIBUS and the novel IRON HANDS.

And lastly, if you do enjoy HERALD OF OBLIVION please post a review on the Black Library website, and drop me a line too, if you like. It's always great to hear from gamebook fans.

* That's right, this summer marks 20 years since my first commission, which just so happens to have been my first gamebook Spellbreaker. And which book is it that's out in time for the 20 year anniversary? HERALD OF OBLIVION - another gamebook! Oh, and my current project is my first Warhammer Path to Victory book SHADOWS OVER SYLVANIA. (What are the chances?)

Gamebook Friday the Thirteenth

Any black cats crossed your path today? Risked walking under any ladders? Things not quite gone your way? Well, it is Friday the Thirteenth after all.

So if today's not really been your day, why not cheer yourself by playing one of my gamebooks in which Unlucky for some takes on an entirely different, more lethal meaning?



Temple of the Spider God - Tin Man Games
Cesaro Cortez, a famed explorer-conquistador, set out three years ago on his last great expedition. His ships never returned to an Orlandrian port and he was feared lost until a mysterious cargo appeared recently in Miramar. The nature of this cargo will put Orlandes in jeopardy, sending you on an epic journey to find Cortez, save the country and face your darkest fear!

Shadows Over Sylvania - Black Library
In Shadows over Sylvania you take on the role of a Vampire thrall of one of the bloodthirsty rulers of the accursed county of Sylvania. Your adventure takes place in the years following Count Vlad von Carstein’s failed attempt to become the first vampire Emperor. There are no Colleges of Magic, Konrad von Carstein is yet to seize control of the realm, and the legendary battles of Grim Moor and Hel Fenn are still in the future. Throughout the adventure to come, you will be forced to battle numerous enemies who would stand against you, both mortal and Undead. Pick up your copy, and begin your battle against the fell fiends of the domain of the dead.

Night of the Necromancer - Fighting Fantasy
Death is not the end...You are a knightly warrior, returning to your ancestral castle having been away for a number of years fighting a crusade against the forces of darkness in the Mauristatian principality of Bathoria. You are just within sight of home when you are struck down by a band of murderers. Driven by the need to know why you have been killed, and on whose orders, you rise again as a ghost. This is where your adventure begins, as you set out to solve the mystery of your own murder. All that follows occurs during the course of one night.

Curse of the Mummy - Fighting Fantasy
Helping an eccentric archaeologist unearth an ancient tomb in the Desert of Skulls seems like an easy task for a heroic adventurer like YOU. But when that tomb turns out to belong to Akharis, a legendary ruler from a previous age, and when you discover some of his followers are trying to return the evil pharaoh to life, YOU must act quickly. Soon you will have to learn the true meaning of The Curse of the Mummy! It will take a real hero to defeat Akharis and win the treasure. Dare YOU take on the challenge?

Bloodbones - Fighting Fantasy
Bloodbones lives! Cinnabar, evil Pirate-Lord and scourge of the twelve seas, is back from the dead and seeking revenge with the dark powers of voodoo at his command. Only YOU can stop the pirate captain and his crew of bloodthirsty cut-throats. Prepare to set sail on the adventure of a lifetime.

Gamebook Friday: Vampires - The Dead and the Damned

Unusually,* this week I put out the call on social media for people to tell me what they would like to read in this week's Gamebook Friday blog post. There were a significant number of responses** - everything from where do I get my ideas from to how my approach to Kickstarters has changed over the last 8 years - but the suggestion that piqued my interest came from Ian Reynolds on Facebook who wanted this post to be about "Anything to do with Horror and particular Vampires!"

Since I am currently writing a gamebook about a vampire, I thought it might be fun to go back and look at how vampires have been portrayed in my previous gamebooks. However, before we proceed, I should warn you that this post will include SPOILERS!

Still here? Then let's get started...


Bloodbones (2006)

A vampire bat made an appearance in my second published gamebook, Knights of Doom, but the first full-fledged vampire didn't turn up until my fourth Fighting Fantasy adventure was finally published by Wizard Books in 2006.

Bloodbones was originally commissioned by Puffin Books in 1996. At the time, the publisher was intending to reprint the gamebooks but having edited them all to be only 300 sections long, so that's how long Bloodbones was. However, when Wizard Books agreed to publish it ten years later, they wanted it to be the traditional 400 sections long, so I had to add some new material.***

I did make up some entirely new encounters, including the Rainforest Sprite and the vampiric pirate Jolly Roger. Here is his flag-draped coffin, as illustrated by Tony Hough.


Howl of the Werewolf (2007)

Only a year later, another vampire turned up - or rather, a vampiress - in my gothic horror gamebook, Howl of the Werewolf. This was the Machiavellian Countess Isolde, a.k.a. the Lady of Maun and the illustration of her and her Werebat flunky by Martin McKenna is still one of my favourite images from any of my books.

Temple of the Spider God (2011)

Jump forward four years to 2011 and I was busy writing my contribution to Tin Man Games Gamebook Adventures series of digital interactive fiction apps. This is probably one of the most classically 'fantasy' adventures I have written and one of the encounters contained within it involved an island that was ruled over by a vampire.


Shadows Over Sylvania (2012)

Shadows Over Sylvania, the only Warhammer gamebook I have ever written, is also the most blood-soaked gamebook I have ever written, and is chock full of vampires. The reason for this is that you actually get to play as a vampire and can even choose which vampire bloodline you are from. This ultimately brings you into conflict with the blood-sucking thralls of other vampire factions, most notably at the climax to the adventure.

Good luck getting your hands on a copy of this, if you don't already own one - they are as rare as vegan vampires.

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland (2015)

2015 saw the publication of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, which kicked off the ACE Gamebooks series.

In it, I re-imagined the well-known characters from not only Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventure in Wonderland but also Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. And when you have an antagonist called the Red Queen, it is not hard to imagine where I went with that...

Here she is, as illustrated by Kev Crossley.


Dracula - Curse of the Vampire (2021)

Which brings me to the book I am currently writing, Dracula - Curse of the Vampire. Dracula is the ultimate vampire story, and I'm hoping that Dracula - Curse of the Vampire. will go down in history as the ultimate gamebook re-telling of the ultimate vampire story.

In the adventure you can either play as one of the Vampire-Hunters who are trying to stop the blood-sucking Transylvanian warlord, or you can play as Count Dracula himself, and try to stop Professor Van Helsing et al. before they stop you.

Dracula - Curse of the Vampire is scheduled to be published next March. If you missed out on the original Kickstarter, you can still place a Late Pledge here.

And remember - the blood is the life!

* In fact I think it was the first time I've ever done this.

** Which may well form the topic of other Gamebook Friday blog posts in the future.

*** Or more accurately, in some cases, re-instated material.

When the Dragon met the Spider

So, Dragonmeet was on Saturday, and I was there, as were various colleagues and acquaintances of mine, which meant that as well as promoting Temple of the Spider God, taking part in panels and having interesting (and potentially exciting) meetings, I also got to catch up with friends. Which was nice.

Dragonmeet 2011 for me actually started a few hundred yards from High Street Kensington tube station, in a coffee shop, in the company of James Wallis and Tim Dedopulos, where we briefly discussed [CONTENT REMOVED] before heading up to Kensington Town Hall in time for James to interview Ian Livingstone about everything from the foundation of Games Workshop and the early days of Fighting Fantasy, to the future of RPGs and the what OBE actually stands for*.

Ian is a great speaker and James a highly knowledgeable interviewer, and, as a consequence, the allocated hour flew by. What was particularly nice was that I got a mention, as did Tin Man Games Gamebook Adventures. The Tin Man's flesh interface Neil Rennison was there this year as well, and apparently Mr Livingstone himself dropped by the Gamebook Adventures stand early in the day.

Neil Rennison (the Tin Man's organic minion) on the Gamebook Adventures stand

During the course of the seminar, Andrew Kenrick (the current editor of White Dwarf, Games Workshop's hobby magazine) asked Ian Livingstone (former editor of White Dwarf) a question, which was slightly surreal. Ian also revealed that he has written a new Fighting Fantasy gamebook which will be published as close to the actual 30th anniversary of the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain as possible, next year. However, he wouldn't say what it was called, so watch this space...

Fighting Fantasy at Dragonmeet

From left to right - Graham Bottley (Mr Advanced Fighting Fantasy), Jamie Fry (the new Warlock), Ian Livingstone OBE (the most important man in the British games industry), and me

It turns out that Dragonmeet is one of those cons where everywhere I turn there are people I know/have worked with/am working with, and so to begin with it took a while to get anyway, as I stopped to shake hands, chat, be introduced to other people, who will now join the list of those people who, when I arrive at a con, will be everywhere I turn...

After listening to Ian and James's seminar, I made the most of the chance to catch up with various people, took a turn on the Gamebook Adventures stand, and then, before I knew it, it was my turn to be on a panel.

Apparently I am a giant of the gamebook genre.

(Certainly looks like it judging by this photograph!)

Sarah Newton, Iain Lowson and myself were the 'Fiction and the Games Industry' panel. I'd seen(?) Sarah and Iain speak on a panel at the UK Games Expo back in June, and it was a pleasure to join them on this occasion. Not having an MC we were left to our own devices, but fortunately Sarah had done her homework and come up with a few questions to get the ball rolling before we opened it up to the floor. It felt like the panel went very well, from my point of view at least, and the audience were very appreciative. It was a particular pleasure that at the end one member of the audience took the time to thank me for my Pax Britannia books!

Sarah Newton with her novel Mindjammer

and Yours Truly with The Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus

Then it was back upstairs into the main hall for more chats, stints on the stand, and perusing the games that were for sale. I did quite well, coming away with just the two large, hardback tomes this time.

During the day I caught up (briefly) with Angus Abranson - Dragonmeet's organiser and who, it was announced last week, is leaving Cubicle 7 (creators of the Doctor Who RPG, amongst other things) - Fighting Fantasy's new Warlock (a.k.a. Jamie Fry), Graham Bottley of Arion Games, Paul Baldowski (demo-game runner extraordinaire), and Sarah Newton, who was selling her first novel Mindjammer at the Cubicle 7 stand (along with my more recent Pax Britannia titles). I obviously also got to meet Iain Lowson - having only Skyped and Twittered with him before -which was a pleasure, and not just because he presented me with a copy of his stunning self-penned RPG Dark Harvest: The Legacy of Frankenstein.

Iain Lowson (author of Dark Harvest) meets Neil Rennison (of Tin Man Games) and Jamie Fry (Fighting Fantasy's new Warlock)

Having left Dragonmeet, I spent the evening in the company of Neil Rennison talking about future plans for the Gamebook Adventures series, which was all rather exciting. But more about that another time...

So it just remains for me to thank Angus for organising such a great con, and having me as a special guest, and Neil for inviting me in the first place. (I also just want to thank Wilf for his kind comments with regard to me helping to keep Fighting Fantasy alive.)

Until next time...

* Turns out, according to Ian, to mean 'Oldest Bloke at Eidos'. (And in case you're wondering, he's 62 next birthday.)

JG at the UK Games Expo 2012

So this weekend I went to the UK Games Expo (again), this time as a guest of Tin Man Games. Neil Rennison (the Tin Man himself) and I were there to promote Gamebook Adventures but also to bask in the reflected glory of Tin Man having gained the licence to produce Fighting Fantasy gamebook apps.

Having battled the traffic (an hour and a half to get to Birmingham, half an hour to get into Birmingham!) I arrived just in time to miss the RPG designers' panel (featuring Sarah Newton and Ben Counter) but that was the only negative of the whole weekend.

Saturday saw a lot of traffic coming by the Gamebook Adventures stand, where the two games being demoed were Temple of the Spider God and Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106. Some people were curious about what we were (or rather weren't selling), some were Twitter followers making themselves known and there was a ton of Fighting Fantasy fans, excited that the premier 80s gamebook system was coming to digital platforms later this year. We were also opposite the Cubicle 7 table where Nick Robinson, author of the soon-to-be-released Judge Dredd Gamebook Adventure was helping out while Dom McDowell* showed off his latest Doctor Who games.

 The Gamebook Adventures stand in all its glory.

Other visitors to the stand included Eve Weaver and her husband Steve Cotterill (steampunk friends of mine and gamebook fans to boot), Andrew Kenrick of White Dwarf fame (who chatted to me about Path to Victory gamebooks), and Dean of the Ready Up gaming website.

However, the most pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming moment of the whole weekend was when Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone stopped by the stand to say hello, at the same time as Tony Hough, my collaborator on such FF classics as Knights of Doom and Bloodbones**.

Fighting Fantasy and Gamebook Adventures unite!

Tony Hough (artist) and Jonathan Green (writer), the creative team behind Knights of Doom and Bloodbones.

Tony and I then went along to Steve and Ian's talk about their Top Ten Games, which was as packed out and as entertaining as you would expect. I know the pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming moment of the whole weekend as far as Neil was concerned was when Ian announced to the crowd that Tin Man were going to be producing gamebook apps and bigged up Gamebook Adventures in general.

The talk was followed by a signing at the Arion Games stand where Graham Bottley was promoting the Crown of Kings expansion for AFF Second Edition. I seized my chance and made sure that Steve, Ian, Tony and myself all signed a copy of Bloodbones (another first!) leaving space of Martin McKenna to leave his mark some time in the future.

Gaming legends Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson sign Fighting Fantasy gamebooks for the fans at the Arion Games stand.

One of a kind!

The rest of the day passed in an excited blur and come the evening Neil and I retired to the Garden House for real ales and boar burgers, where we were joined by Nick and Dom. During the evening Dom and I talked about... Actually, I'm going to have to leave it at that for now, but you won't believe which well-loved property he would love to make a game of. ;-) (And I won't tell you what we all heard Angus Abranson announce to the world as we moved to the Strathallan bar after chucking out time at the Garden House.)

Nick Robinson and Dom McDowell test out the potential hit of the UK Games Expo 2013 as Neil Rennison looks on in wonder.

Sunday morning, bright and early, Neil and I were back on the GA stand where we met Vicki Paull, digital games artist, as well as Olivier Gavrois of Blue Flame Publishing, while I (apparently) slipped back into teacher mode when presenting Gamebook Adventures to games fans of more tender years. Oh, and I think I sold another gamebook idea. ;-)

Can you tell which one's the boss?

The very pleasant surprise of Sunday was bumping into Jake Thornton, writer and games designer, who stopped by the Mantic Games stand (just across from the GA booth). In case you don't know, Jake commissioned my first work for White Dwarf magazine back in the day***. It was great to catch up with him again, and I think Neil and I succeeded in persuading him to have a crack at writing a gamebook.

The rest of the day was a mixture of bacon baps, Diet Coke, signing FF books for slightly anxious-looking mothers and their more excited children, and being interviewed by G*M*S Magazine (who interviewed Neil and I at Dragonmeet last year).

Before you knew it we were deconstructing the set and deconstructing the weekend, and discussing plans for what would be launched by Tin Man Games at UK Games Expo 2013. So hopefully I might see some of you there.

And lastly, farewell to the Clarendon Suites. It's been fun, but the expo has steadily grown over the last few years so next year's it's going to be hello the Hilton Metropole!

* Congrats to Dom and Cubicle 7 for winning the award for best RPG for Airship Pirates!

** Soon to be released in French!

*** i.e. the mid-late 90s.