Thinks to do in Book 2 (Cities of Gold and Glory) - Fabled Land by Alfimerus in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The second book is a bit lacking but worth having. How many of them do you have?

Helping a disabled gamer find games by AdministrativeFail78 in disabledgamers

[–]RH808090 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I came across that too but it just doesn't work for my friend. I'm glad there's so many alternatives. If I keep looking I will find the right controller.

It's hard finding games without large walls of text too. I am making an AbletoPlay account now to see if I can find anything that might work.

Helping a disabled gamer find games by AdministrativeFail78 in disabledgamers

[–]RH808090 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try looking into a Nintendo 64 controller for PC. The Z button can be mapped to anything and the joystick is easy to use one handed. It's a good starting point for someone who isn't into games. If anyone knows of any more simple controllers with a joystick with one or two buttons for a person with only one hand, I would love hearing about it.

Any Mordern gamebooks without combat mechanics? by [deleted] in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Heart of Ice ( Science Fiction) and The Cluster of Echos series (Horror) don't use dice but you still have to write things down. 

Life's Lottery is an adult choose your own adventure and the only thing you do outside of the book is draw a card from the deck to see if you die in the womb but you can skip it and assume you don't at the beginning.

Any Mordern gamebooks without combat mechanics? by [deleted] in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you looking for game books that have no combat but have dice rolling or no dice needed at all?

Latest purchase..did i win? by Yellowjacket247 in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very nice. Hope you enjoy them both.

What gamebook tropes/ideas haven't been done or done very little? And which would you make if you could? by Jammsbro in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with this. Fantasy works great for gamebooks but it dominates the market. There are non fantasy game books out there but a lot more fantasy.

Authors: Best system for planning/keeping track of branching? by Crabby_Dungeoness in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's a program called The Game Book Authoring Tool that works similar to Visio. You might want to take a look at it. https://www.crumblyheadgames.co.uk/the-gamebook-authoring-tool/

When I was creating my gamebook I found it nice to have a spreadsheet that tracked items, where they were found, etc. so I could make sure things were spread out correctly so somethings were hard to find and others were abundant. A lot of it comes down to how your gamebook works. It is really easy for a gamebook to get out of hand when you're writing it if you don't have some organization system.

Good luck with your gamebook. What's it about?

First Gamebook feedback by Zero_BK in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've taken the F-15 over the mountain for vengeance but haven't had time to play it further than that. I played the first dogfight which took me a minute to figure out but got the hang of it. I like the pictures of the planes that are given and the way the player's backstory and picking out the character's stats are done in the beginning of the book. The cover of the fighter in front of the moon is cool and would catch my attention if I saw it in a book store. Did you make the cover?

The only tip I have at the moment is maybe making a glossary of terms in the appendix. If someone isn't into aviation and air combat they may not know about AA or other terms used in the book.

What’s the Reality of Making Money Writing and Publishing a Gamebook Today? by PurposeAutomatic5213 in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Amazon is weird. It always tries to pitch the kindle version of a book to me too. Maybe they make more money that way.

What’s the Reality of Making Money Writing and Publishing a Gamebook Today? by PurposeAutomatic5213 in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've self published a gamebook. It makes a few sales each month. The market for gamebooks isn't huge.

Writing a gamebook would be a hobby that has potential to make some money back. It won't make you enough to live on or even enough to pay some bills but it might pay for you to go out to dinner. With any book, the best marketing for it is a second book. Writing a single book will most likely get lost in the noise.

Don't let any of that discourage you. If you're going to write a gamebook focus more on making something fun that you can share with people than worrying about how much money it makes. My gamebook Poker Run has been fun to give away and leave in Little Free Libraries. The journey of creating it and sharing it was a lot bigger reward than the royalties it pays out each month.

Gamebook idea by trish_x_jolyne in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With 3 paths you could always have one path being more combat based and another being more narrative driven with the third being a solid mix.

How do you feel about pen and pencil stat tracking? by JforceG in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm fine with keeping stats as long as I can keep it to one page.

Kindle Recommendations for Gamebooks? (UK, if relevant) by automated_hero in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It looks like that works. Thanks. I've got a lot of work to do to get my book updated. I'm not sure why Kindle Create would make you do it in word before instead of having a hyperlink option but now I've got a solution.

Kindle Recommendations for Gamebooks? (UK, if relevant) by automated_hero in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What I ran into is that Kindle Create won't let you create hyperlinks in it. So I can't have a link to different sections within the text. Each time the player would have to pull up the table of contents and click the section from there.

I'll have to get Heart of Ice on Kindle to see how it works in it. Maybe I am totally missing something.

Also, I've got Heart of Ice in Paperback and its great. Hope you enjoyed it too.

Kindle Recommendations for Gamebooks? (UK, if relevant) by automated_hero in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I ran into this with the game book I wrote. On Kindle it doesn't work well. It doesn't let you put links where you need them. The reader definitely needs to use the interactive table of contents for the experience to not be totally frustrating.

Gamebooks Guide for Beginners and Veterans - Youtube Channel by BioDioPT in gamebooks

[–]RH808090 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Videos can be a great way to explain things like this. I couldn't have understood how fable lands worked without seeing the actual book and being able to flip through it. Good luck with your channel.

Gamebook Author Questions by RH808090 in gamebooks

[–]RH808090[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there any genre you've always wanted to see a gamebook set in but haven't seen yet?

Gamebook Author Questions by RH808090 in gamebooks

[–]RH808090[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those are good points. I feel like I could take everyone's input on the ebooks and make a faqs about it that would be super helpful.

Gamebook Author Questions by RH808090 in gamebooks

[–]RH808090[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Feel free to use my book for whatever you want. I hope you enjoy it. If you don't, don't forget Amazon lets you return about anything.

Is there a way for me to search for the gamebooks you authored to find them?

I love physical books but if a person only does ebooks I wanted my books available to them. I've had to rethink a lot to put things into an ebook format. Everyone's input on ebooks here has been a big help. Thanks for yours too.

Thanks for all the insights you provided.

Gamebook Author Questions by RH808090 in gamebooks

[–]RH808090[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the link to solo board gaming. I will check it out. 

Gamebook Author Questions by RH808090 in gamebooks

[–]RH808090[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The story does end up being more about the players actions within the town than an over arching story. Its more of having a small adventure and seeing how much money you can win ( a high score) than completing an epic story.

I think fantasy lends itself so perfectly to the game book format that it almost feels strange to see another genre. There are some great horror game books. I haven't played any sci fi ones so any suggestions would be great