Thursday 22 December 2016

Wishing you a very Happy Fighting Fantasy Christmas!


Happy Christmas and all best wishes for 2017 - the year in which Fighting Fantasy celebrates its 35th anniversary, Fighting Fantasy Fest returns, the Freeway Fighter Comic is published, and Ian Livingstone pens a new FF adventure!

See you in the New Year!

Wednesday 14 December 2016

The Forest of Doom and Blood of the Zombies, and the 12 Days of Games Aid

On eBay now, and no doubt of interest to fans of Fighting Fantasy, is the third book in the classic Fighting Fantasy series, The Forest of Doom, not only in mint condition but also signed by Ian Livingstone himself!


If you bid for the above and win, you will also receive a signed Blood of the Zombies poster and Tomb Raider poster, both signed by Ian as well.

You have until 21st December to place your bid and all proceeds from the sale of these items will be going to support GamesAid, which acts as a broker of charitable activity on behalf of individuals and companies within the UK video games industry. Funds are distributed to a diverse range of charities as nominated and voted for by its members.


Thursday 8 December 2016

Ian Livingstone's Freeway Fighter: The Comic - coming soon from Titan Comics!

Ian Livingstone's Freeway Fighter is a new post-apocalyptic road-trip series based on the world famous Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, which will be roaring into comic stores in the spring of 2017.

Critically acclaimed writer Andi Ewington (Just Cause 3, The Six) teams up with original creator Ian Livingstone and artist Simon Coleby for FREEWAY FIGHTER – a furious, three-part road trip like no other - with colours by Len O'Grady and lettering by Jim Campbell.

Fans of the original Fighting Fantasy gamebook will also be pleased to learn that the comic features a dedication to Kevin Bulmer, the book's original, distinctive interior artist.

You can read more about the story here, but I'm very pleased to say that www.FightingFantasy.com has two exclusives for you today. This page of art from Issue #1...


And this trailer video...


Are you excited by this latest development? Let us know what you're hoping to see in FREEWAY FIGHTER - The Comic by commenting below!

Wednesday 7 December 2016

When Ian Met Danilo

A year ago, back in December 2015, Ian Livingstone appeared on Brazilian TV as a guest on Danilo Gentili's chat show. (For those not in the know, Danilo Gentili is Brazil's equivalent of the UK's Jonathan Ross, or the USA's Jimmy Fallon.)

Since Ian spent last weekend meeting hundreds and hundreds of fans in Brazil at São Paulo Comic Con, now seems like a good time to post a clip of Ian's interview on Danilo's show.



As you can see, Danilo is a big fan of Fighting Fantasy, especially The Forest of Doom!

Tuesday 6 December 2016

The Warlock of Tabletop Mountain

While Steve Jackson was signing Fighting Fantasy gamebooks at Dragonmeet last weekend, Ian Livingstone was Guest of Honour at São Paulo Comic Con in Brazil.

180,000 genre fans attended the four-day event and a significant percentage of them were Fighting Fantasy fans! Jambo Editora, the Brazilian publishers of Fighting Fantasy, certainly made sure that there was plenty of stock to sign!


And it was a good thing too! There were over 100 people in line at the start of Ian's signing sessions for all four days, and they all lasted over two hours before the queue began to die down!



What was particularly pleasing was how many children were there with their parents, who loved the books back in the '80s and '90s.

And here's the view from the main hall stage, with 800 fans crammed in to hear Ian's talk about FF and RPGs - for which he received a standing ovation!


Among the many fans Ian met over the four days was Daielyn Cris, who gave him her beautifully illustrated, hand-made edition of City of Thieves!


FF fan Daniel Werneck gave Ian The Warlock of Tabletop Mountain, an FF book in which you are Ian Livingstone!


Here's Ian with a fan of The Forest of Doom, who just happens to be TV chat show host Danilo Gentili, who just happens to have 14 million Twitter followers.


And here's Ian with a Freeway Fighter fan!


Ian also met Ed H Muller, who produced the cover illustration for the new Brazilian edition of Temple of Terror, which he then generously gifted to book's author!


The whole São Paulo Comic Con experience was very much like being on the set of Fighting Fantasy: The Movie!


In fact, Ian was so inspired by the event that he posted this tweet on Sunday!


So if you want a new FF gamebook for the 35th anniversary, you know what you have to do...

Monday 5 December 2016

The Warlock Welcomes You...

... to the new-look official Fighting Fantasy website!

Step into my lair and through the power of esoteric auguries and scrying spells you will be able to divine all that is happening within the worlds of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.


Just as Port Blacksand is the first port of call for weary pirates returning from raiding merchantmen off the coast of Allansia, this is your first port of call for news of Fighting Fantasy events, projects and initiatives.

The exciting news I have to share with you right now is that Fighting Fantasy Fest - the convention dedicated to all things FF - is returning in 2017 to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain - a book that is particularly close to my heart.


Fans of a certain near-future FF adventure should also keep their eyes peeled for some more very exciting news that will have them revving their engines.


This new website is still in the early stages of development, but the intention is to add new content each month, whilst also keeping you informed of developments regarding the world's favourite gamebook series on a regular basis.

All of this development is now in the hands of my new emissary on the Earthly Plane, one Jonathan Green, whom you might have heard of before.

Jonathan Green - who appears to be standing with an imposter of mine - is the one on the right.

If you happen to be new to Fighting Fantasy, and you're wondering what all the fuss is about, then follow this link to find out more. But whether you're new to the worlds of FF or a veteran adventurer, remember to visit this website weekly to keep up to date with developments.

And may your STAMINA never fail!
The Warlock


Friday 2 December 2016

Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 - Saturday 2nd September 2017!

Nine months from today...


Dragonmeet 2016 and São Paulo Comic Con

Just a quick reminder that Steve Jackson - creator of the Sorcery! series, author of the Fighting Fantasy novel The Trolltooth Wars, co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy series of gamebooks, co-founder of Game Workshop, and godfather of the UK gaming industry - will be attending Dragonmeet 2016 this Saturday, 3rd December 2016, at the Hammersmith Novotel.

 Please visit the Fighting Fantasy stand at Q10 where Steve will be signing copies of his books at lunchtime. And please note that online ticket sales close on Thursday night, so if you don't want to miss out on getting in a much shorter queue on Saturday, get your tickets in advance here!


Brazilian fans of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks who happen to be in São Paulo at the weekend, should stop by São Paulo Comic Con, where Ian Livingstone will be appearing.


Sunday 13 November 2016

Fighting Fantasy author Jonathan Green attending WordPlay London 2016

Next Saturday, 19th November 2016, Jonathan Green, author of YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, will be taking part in WordPlay London at the British Library.

WordPlay is the Hand Eye Society's international festival of writerly games. London has been chosen as the location for this year's festival because of the wealth of interactive fiction talent in the UK, including friends of Fighting Fantasy, inkle Studios. The date, Saturday 19th November, has been chosen to coincide with International Games in Libraries Day.

The panel Jonathan will be on is currently scheduled to take place from 4.15pm-5.00pm, and is called:

Worldbuilding with Words 
Creators of interactive fiction, prose-forward games, Twitter microfictions and gamebooks discuss the challenges and joys of using words to evoke historical eras and weird universes.
Hannah Powell-Smith, Twine creator Nate Crowley, dystopic Twitter writer Helen Carmichael, historical game writer, Jon Green gamebook author.



Saturday 12 November 2016

When the Warlock met the Tin Man

Tin Man Games' brand new take on Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's classic The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, has been getting rave Reviews from all over the world! With the game having been nominated for an award at this year's Game Connect Asia Pacific (Australia's premiere game development conference) it seemed like as good a time as any to summon the Tin Man himself, Neil Rennison, to Zagor's lair to interrogate... sorry, ask him about his experiences of re-inventing a classic.


The Warlock: How long have Tin Man Games been working on the Fighting Fantasy apps? 
Neil Rennison: Blood of the Zombies came out in October 2012 and we will have started work on that a few months before, so around four and a half years!

TW: When it comes to your latest adaptation of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, of what are you most proud?
NR: I’m most proud of the fact that we got it made in the way that we did. It was a massive undertaking for us to move from our interactive e-book format to a fully realised 3D world and all the content that needed to fill it. Not only that but we designed a brand new combat system that is great to play and we were able to flesh out Zagor’s world to include lots more stories within the mountain – the word count is currently six times larger than the original book and constantly growing as we create updates for the game!

TW: What was the hardest thing to get right/get to work in the game?
NR: There were a whole bunch of technical hurdles we needed to jump over and we certainly didn’t make any of it easy for ourselves! Ultimately when developing a game of this size there are a lot of moving parts that not only need to work on their own, but need to work with each other. With all this going on, we also needed to maintain the soul of the original gamebook whilst attending to the needs of a more modern gaming audience.

TW: If the app was a book how many narrative sections would your version of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain run to?
NR: There are currently 1400 sections in our version of Warlock, but this isn’t really a good measure for the scale of our version of the gamebook. This is because for every section, we have a filter system that changes the text and choices depending on which hero you take into the mountain. This means that for all 15 of our current heroes (with more to come!), many of the sections have multiple paths within them.

TW: Which is your favourite monster encountered in the adventure?
NR: I really love the big monster figurines that take up more than one combat square. I think my favourite has to be the Iron Cyclops, not only because it’s cool to fight, but we had the figurine custom made to match Russ Nicholson’s iconic image. I would love to get that digital model 3D printed one day.

TW: How easy was it to incorporate the Kickstarter backers' ideas into the adventure?
NR: It was actually pretty easy, mainly down to the fact that the backers who pledged at those higher tiers were great to work with. These backers are hardcore FF fans and already know the book inside out as well as understanding the world lore.

TW: What was it like getting Rush Nicholson to return to the project that made him a household name among FF fans?
NR: That was very special indeed. I couldn’t contain my excitement every time a brand new illustration dropped in my inbox! He’s such an iconic illustrator and a very important part of TWOFM’s appeal. Show any adult, who read these books in the 80s, one of Russ’ illustrations and they are instantly transported back to their youth. His work is somehow magical!

TW: Are you planning any DLC material for the game, and if so, what?
NR: Yes! We are looking to support TWOFM with a number of major updates – some free and some paid. A few weeks ago we introduced three new heroes, which were part-created by our Kickstarter backers. We also included some new features such as an art gallery. We have another major update coming in a couple of weeks called ‘Paperback Heroes’ that includes DLC of three more heroes: Vignor Firestorm, Haldar Eriksson and Ophelia Lapwing. Beyond that we have a big update either later this year or early next year called “Dwarven Resistance”, which will take players into previously unexplored parts of Firetop Mountain and include some new heroes too. We are also planning a Bestiary too in the future so you can take a closer look at those lovely monster miniatures!


TW: Which are your favourite Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks?
NR: Deathtrap DungeonHouse of Hell and just because of the subject matter, Robot Commando.

TW: What can FF fans look forward to next from Tin Man Games?
NR: More TWOFM updates! We’re committed to the game for some time to come, with a port to iOS early next year and the creation of a classic app version of the gamebook using our old engine.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is available now from Tin Man Games.


Sunday 6 November 2016

Save the Date!

300 days from today, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, something special will be happening in West London to mark 35 years since the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, so make sure you save the date!

Saturday 5 November 2016

Dragonmeet 2016

Steve Jackson, creator of the Sorcery! series, author of the Fighting Fantasy novel The Trolltooth Wars, co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy series of gamebooks and co-founder of Game Workshop, will be attending Dragonmeet 2016 on Saturday 3rd December, at the Hammersmith Novotel. (Ian Livingstone will not be in attendance, as he will be attending Comic Con in São Paulo that weekend.)

You can find out more about the event, and the venue, here.

Dragonmeet 2016

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, co-creators of the Fighting Fantasy series of gamebooks, will be attending Dragonmeet 2016 on Saturday 3rd December, at the Hammersmith Novotel.

You can find out more about the event, and the venue, here.

Saturday 29 October 2016

Horrifying Reads for Hallowe'en

Many Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks have an overt horror theme, so this Hallowe'en, why not check out one of the following?

House of Hell

Talisman of Death

Temple of Terror

Beneath Nightmare Castle

Vampire of the Vampire

The Keep of the Lich Lord

Island of the Undead

Spellbreaker

Revenge of the Vampire

Curse of the Mummy

Bloodbones

Howl of the Werewolf

Night of the Necromancer

Blood of the Zombies

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Sorcery! LEGO - After all, why should kids have all the fun?

If you're a fan of LEGO you might be wondering what could possibly make it any cooler than it already is? Well how about if you realised part of Kharé - Cityport of Traps in LEGO?



And here's John Blanche's original artwork for comparison.


 Remember, Steve Jackson's four-part Sorcery! epic is available now from inkle Studios.