Warhammer Wednesday: Herald of Oblivion

With the news from Games Workshop being all about New Warhammer 40K lately, this Warhammer Wednesday I would like to draw your attention to Tin Man Games' adaptation of my Path to Victory gamebook Herald of Oblivion.

If you haven't played Herald of Oblivion yet, you will find the links to download it for the platform of your choice here. I also have it on good authority that the iOS and Steam iterations will be on sale at a knockdown price from tomorrow (Thursday 4 June 2020).

Gamebook Friday: Fighting Fantasy Classics

After a number of months in development, Tin Man Games have finally released the much anticipated Fighting Fantasy Classics, which is now available to download from the App Store.

Fighting Fantasy Classics is a brand new library app for iOS that will also be released on Android and PC/Mac very soon. The app will ultimately collect together many of your favourite Fighting Fantasy gamebooks from the 1980s until now!

The app is free to download and the Tin Man has very generously included the app of my pirate-themed adventure Bloodbones for FREE.

Other FF game apps, such as The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, City of Thieves, The Forest of Doom, Caverns of the Snow Witch, and Island of the Lizard King, are available to buy for just $1.99USD for a limited time!

There are plenty more releases to look forward to as well, including Deathtrap Dungeon, Freeway Fighter, Sword of the Samurai, Trial of Champions, Temple of Terror, and many more. Tin Man Games will also be re-releasing House of Hell, Starship Traveller, Appointment with F.E.A.R. and Blood of the Zombies in this new/old format!

To find out more, simply follow this link to the Tin Man Games blog.



Talking of pirate-themed gamebooks, I am currently writing a certain Captain James Hook's introductory scenes for my third ACE Gamebook, NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!

Gamebook Friday: The Wicked Wizard of Oz Gamebook Companion

The Wicked Wizard of Oz was only released on Monday but it has already garnered some glowing reviews.

If you are currently playing through the book, or contemplating doing so, you may find The Wicked Wizard of Oz Gamebook Companion of interest.

This new app allows you to keep track of your stats and items without needing to have a pencil and paper close to hand. It even lets you conduct battles without ever actually rolling a dice.

Created by Mark Stoneham, The Wicked Wizard of Oz Gamebook Companion is only available for iOS and is available from the App Store now.

Gamebook Friday: Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland Gamebook Companion

Thanks to Mark Stoneham, with the Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland Gamebook Companion you can now play the first ACE Gamebook on the go.

Store your stats and equipment in the easy to use and convenient layout. There are dice, a handy Combat screen, and buttons to test all your abilities as you play. Navigation is easy using left and right swipes on each screen.

To find out more, and download the app yourself for only £1.99, simply follow this link.

Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion

Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion is available from today, on all platforms, from Tin Man Games.

Warhammer Wednesday: Herald of Oblivion

Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion

Tomorrow (15 October 2015) Tin Man Games will be releasing their very first Warhammer 40,000 licensed digital gamebook, Herald of Oblivion. It will be hitting the iOS App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore all at the same time!

Tin Man have taken the tale of Brother Nabor of the Imperial Fists Chapter and given it the Tin Man treatment. When you play the app, it will turn your digital device into a cogitator, complete with a holographic combat simulator.

This new feature removes the dice-rolling elements of the original gamebook and turns them into a turn-based, first-person combat scenario, where your placement in the battle arena (4-axis movement), weapon choice (ranged or melee) and the decisions of the enemies can impact the outcome of the fight.

This is a completely new departure for Tin Man Games, but one which the team felt would really enhance the experience of battling the denizens of a space hulk. It looks awesome, and reminds me that I need to crack on with Legacy of Dorn Part 2 - Pits of Commorragh...

Bloodbones the App - available for iOS from today!

Having been available for Android users since Christmas Eve, Bloodbones, the app version of my fourth Fighting Fantasy gamebook put together by Tin Man Games, is available for iOS devices from today.

"The dreaded pirate-lord Cinnabar, scourge of the twelve seas, plagued the seafarers of the Old World in a bloody reign of terror until a brave adventurer put an end to his evil. But now he is back from the dead, seeking revenge, with the dark powers of voodoo at his command."

To be honest, the app is worth downloading for the soundtrack alone. So what are you waiting for? You can download all the different versions of the app here.

Gamebook Friday: Steve Jackson's Sorcery!

Coming soon to iPad and iPod from Inkle Studios...

Gamebook Friday: Mark Stoneham's Gamebook Companion App

When I was running the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter at the end of last year, Mark Stoneham got in touch and very generously offered codes for his Gamebook Companion iOS App for the COMPANION reward level.

This was very well-received and all the COMPANION rewards got snapped up very quickly. But if you missed out on one of these, you can still download the app (for a frankly embarrassingly cheap 69p) from here.

Happy gaming!

Gamebook Friday: Temple of the Spider God... only 99 cents!

That's right - Temple of the Spider God is available for download now from the Apple App store for only 99 cents. That's 62p in English money. A can of Coke will cost you more than that down your local newsagent.

So if you've yet to pick up the Gamebook Adventure that came 2nd in the Best App Ever Awards 2011, and was also a Pocket Gamer 2012 Awards Best Adventure/RPG Game nominee, follow this link to the US App store, and this link to the UK one.

But just make sure you do so before the end of play on 25 November when this current promotion ends!

Le Temple du Dieu Araignée

Bonjour et zut alors!

I am delighted to be able to announce that my first Gamebook Adventure is now available en Francais!

 

Le Temple du Dieu Araignée

Une aventure interactive ! Un jeu, un livre, un jdr, un Gamebook Adventure !

La célèbre série de livres-jeux revient avec une légende vivante, Jonathan Green, à la barre ! Jonathan Green est mieux connu pour son travail sur les Défis Fantastiques, mais est aussi impliqué dans les livres-jeux et les romans basés sur des licences telles que Star Wars les guerres des clones, Docteur Who et Warhammer 40K!

"Cesaro Cortez, le célèbre explorateur et conquistador, s'est embarqué il y a trois ans pour sa dernière grande expédition. Ses vaisseaux ne sont jamais rentrés à Orlandes et on a craint qu'ils soient tous perdus quand un étrange cargo a récemment refait surface à Miramar. Son contenu va mettre Orlandes en péril et vous conduira dans un voyage épique pour retrouver Cortez, sauver le pays et faire face à vos peurs les plus obscures!"

"Pour ceux qui ont grandi avec les Défis Fantastiques, c'est presque un retour à la maison. C'est l'équivalent moderne des livres que la plupart de nous ont aimé dans leur jeunesse, avec la même attention aux détails et des touches fantastiques qui rendent les aventures si agréables. Une histoire fantastique interactive qui vous gardera accroché jusqu'à la fin." - POCKETGAMER (8/10)

• Une interface intuitive qui vous demandera de feuilleter votre livre comme s’il s’agissait d’un format papier.
• Des lancers de dés réalistes en 3D avec des effets physiques.
• Des styles et tailles de fontes modifiables sur un style de papier également modifiable.
• Une feuille de personnage pour suivre votre équipement et toutes les informations que vous trouverez.
• L’utilisation de signets pour sauvegarder votre avancement et vous permettre de reprendre votre aventure.
• Des douzaines d’objectifs à atteindre.
• Des illustrations de Joshua Wright. Trouvez les toutes !
• Une carte du monde interactive qui peut être zoomée et parcourue.
• Une musique d’ambiance et des bruitages qui vous immergent dans le monde médiéval fantastique d’Orlandes

Les Gamebook Adventures vous sont proposées par un groupe de passionnés enthousiastes. Si vous êtes un habitué des séries Défis fantastiques, Loup Solitaire, Sorcellerie ou Graal, alors les Gamebook Adventures sont faites pour vous ! Notre but est de proposer aux anciens lecteurs de livres-jeux de nouvelles aventures et d'apporter une nouvelle expérience aux lecteurs novices.

You can buy Le Temple du Dieu Araignée here, and check out Tin Man Games website here.

Gamebook Friday: Blood of the Zombies - From Book to Screen

The latest Fighting Fantasy adventure, Blood of the Zombies, written by Ian Livingstone himself to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of the first book in the series, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, is now available for iOS and Android devices courtesy of Tin Man Games.

But how does the app compare to the original processed tree carcass gamebook experience? Well you'll just have to try it out to find out. But to whet your appetite, here's the suitably creepy trailer that's been put out by the Tin Man.

Happy Apple Day

In case you didn't know already, 21 October is Apple Day, an annual celebration of apples and orchards.

Now I like apples as much as the next middle-aged man minded to make sure he has his 5-a-day (I even wrote a bit about them in What is Myrrh Anyway?) but I'm also quite keen on the other Apples - the kind you don't eat.

So far I have one Apple app available - Temple of the Spider God - but there's another in the works, and hopefully Warlock's Bounty will be released for iOS in due course.

Gamebook Friday: Lego of the Spider God

Yes, I've been at it again, but this time it's a sort-of-scene from my Gamebook Adventures app Temple of the Spider God.

 

In case you didn't know Minifigures Series 8 is out, which includes the Conquistador above, not to mention a Deep Sea Diver, Man-Bat-thing and Pirate - so you can expect some more scenes from my gamebooks/novels to be realised in Lego very soon...

In the meantime, if you've not checked out my very first gamebook app before, you can do so here. (And I am assured that it is coming to Android users and French speakers very soon.)

Gamebook Friday: Countdown Sector 106

Coming soon from Tin Man Games...

Podcast of the Spider God

Well, kinda...

Mike and Drew of The More You Nerd attempted to play through Temple of the Spider God as part of their weekly challenge which they then talk about during their podcast. You can download their podcast free from iTunes or find it here, via their blog. The bit about Spider God (or rather all half an hour of it) is from roughly 22:00 to 52:00. It's quite funny in places and I'm pleased to report that Mike and Drew enjoyed the experience overall, describing my first digital gamebook as 'really neat'.

In other news...

Temple of the Spider God didn't win the Pocket Gamer award for Best Adventure/RPG Game, losing out to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - but I think I can live with that. To even be nominated alongside such a classic was praise enough in this instance.

However, it's not too late for you to vote for Temple of the Spider God in the Pocket Gamer Readers' Choice Awards. To find out more, follow this link.

Adoration of the Spider God

Some more lovely reviews for Temple of the Spider God for you today.

First up there's this one from the UK App Store:

"Brilliant. I'm loving the gamebook series. I've now got all 7 and every single one of them is great, you can tell that each book had been made with a love for the genre as the level of detail and polish is excellent. I remember loving Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was younger and the gamebook series does an amazing job of bringing them to modern day standards."

The second is not so much a review as a series of recommendations from iOSRPG.com who made Spider God their Featured Game for the week of 5 February 2012, and their Game of the Day for 6 February. Thanks, guys!

You can find out more about Temple of the Spider God here.

Update of the Spider God

Temple of the Spider God - my first digital gamebook - has received a update (Version 1.1), made up of some minor content updates and bug fixes. But most importantly, as requested by the fans, the number '7' has been added to the title and icon, just as with the earliest Gamebook Adventures.

And there's been another interesting development regarding Spider God that you can read about via the Tin Man Games blog here.

Ian Livingstone announces new Fighting Fantasy gamebook

I've known about this one for a while - since September 2009, to be honest - but it's a pleasure to be able to share the news with the rest of the world.

As you may have already heard, Ian Livingstone is writing a brand new gamebook for Fighting Fantasy's 30th anniversary. However, the surprising news is that it isn't set in Allansia, but in the present day, in a remote Romanian castle, and features hordes of Zombies.

When I spoke to Ian about this he had already written the first 200 paragraphs of Blood of the Zombies. But the life of a living gaming legend is not without its responsibilities, which bring their own time demands, and he didn't have a chance to finish the until now. And the finishing touch the book requires is a title.

Yes, I know I said it was called Blood of the Zombies, but Ian is giving you the chance to decide on the title, the alternative suggestion being Escape from Zombie Castle.

If you follow this link, you can vote from your own preference. The name of the book will be announced by 28 February 2012.

Wizard Books will be publishing a special edition of the book in August, and Ian's hoping to have iOS, Android and perhaps even PSN and Kindle versions out too.

So watch this space for future updates...

Close, but no cigar (a.k.a. Runner-up of the Spider God)

The Best Ever App Awards 2011 were announced at 4.00pm today (or 8.00am PST, if you prefer) and Temple of the Spider God was in the running for Best Dice Game...

And it came second!

Not a bad showing by any means and great for an indie games developer like Tin Man Games, but wouldn't it have been great if Spider God could have taken the top spot? Ah well, there's always next year.

Anyway, thanks to all who voted and if you want to know why my first digital gamebook came close to being named the Best Dice Game iOS app ever (well for 2011 at least), follow this link.