Interactive Fiction – Page 2

You guys remember Heaven’s Vault? Yep, it’s still a thing

May 8, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac, Console • While it’s sad to think that we won’t be getting any more Sorcery! titles from the mad geniuses at inkle Studios, it’s comforting to know that we’re getting something. Heaven’s Vault is their upcoming title and I say “something” because we really don’t know much about what the hell Heaven’s Vault actually is. A few screens of a woman and her robot looking over a desolate landscape is all we have to go on. That and the fact that Raymond Chandler and Gene Wolfe were mentioned as inspiration. That’s all they really had to say, but they keep throwing more info at us anyway.

Nomad Games bringing Fighting Fantasy to digital, but not what you’re thinking

April 3, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • When you think of Fighting Fantasy books, you probably remember solitary dungeon romps with your trusty d6s in tow and pining for the love of another human being. Good times. Gamebooks like The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, City of Thieves, and the Sorcery! books replaced my parents for a good chunk of my adolescence and it seems these books can’t stop being brought back to life on our phones and tablets. Heck, we just had a new version of Warlock of Firetop Mountain land a month or two ago, and the Sorcery! saga was brought to life in ways my pimply-faced self couldn’t have imagined thirty years ago. Nomad Games, creators of digital Talisman, have joined forces with Fighting Fantasy to bring some of these old titles back to life. They’re not doing it with stodgy pages and, you know, reading. Blech! Instead, they’ve added dice and cards and are turning the whole thing into a boardgame-esque romp.

inkle Studios announces next project, Heaven’s Vault

March 1, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac, Consoles • With their game-changing take at Fighting Fantasy, Sorcery!, and their globe-trotting mega-adventure, 80 Days, inkle Studios has yet to swing and miss. As such, we’ve been waiting patiently (mostly) to see what they might be working on next. The wait is over. Yesterday at GDC inkle announced their next project and, unsurprisingly, it looks completely unique. It’s called Heaven’s Vault and is coming to mobile, PC, and consoles.

Review: Warlock of Firetop Mountain

February 27, 2017 David Neumann 3

iOS Universal, PC/Mac • Being a socially awkward 12 year-old in 1983 meant that I spent an inordinate amount of time by myself at the local mall, most of it at Aladdin’s Castle spending paper route earnings one quarter at a time. When the quarters dried up only a few other stores could garner enough excitement to get a visit before biking home. There was Hobby Horse, where I could peruse Dungeon & Dragons modules and Ral Partha metal figures. There was Spencer Gifts, whose poster section offered the alluring chance to spy sideboob before being asked to leave the store. And then there was Waldenbooks, one of the early Amazon casualties, which offered up more books than I could imagine and was far closer to home than any public library. It was here that I purchased my first Fighting Fantasy book, Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

White Wolf’s World of Darkness comes alive via interactive fiction

February 20, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • It’s about time I came clean. I know this will come as a shock to many of you, so you might want to prepare yourself. Ready? Here we go: Back when I was in college, I was a huge nerd. There, I said it. Take as much time as you need to let that soak in. Now, when I say “nerd”, I’m not talking about the kind that spent their time in the library on Thursday nights rather than at house parties, I’m talking about the kind that stayed in and played role-playing games with friends on Thursday nights instead of going to house parties. A lot of Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition was played in many dorm common areas, let me tell you. We even, for a short time, dabbled in something called Vampire: The Masquerade which was White Wolf’s more freeform answer to D&D’s mathiness and was all the rage thanks to Anne Rice and the lingering effect of a young Kiefer Sutherland in leather. Well, Vampire: The Masquerade is back and it’s on your phone.

Sherlock Holmes gets Her Story-like mystery in Ink Spotters 1: The Art of Deduction

February 15, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal • One of the most unique games I’d ever played was Her Story released back in 2015. The “game” consisted of a myriad of video clips that you had to piece together in order to figure out the entire story. There was no winning or losing, just learning more and more about this rather interesting woman who was being questioned by the police for…something. Designer Sam Barlow has said that he’s working on a follow-up, but we haven’t heard of when Her Story 2 might actually find its way to our tablets. Yesterday, Three Story House released a game I wasn’t aware of that brings a lot of that Her Story vibe back to our iPads and adds a healthy dose of Sherlock Holmes along the way. It’s called Ink Spotters 1: The Art of Deduction and, as someone who loved Her Story and also devours anything Sherlockian, color me intrigued.

Not a Miss Fisher fan? Tin Man announces release date for mobile Warlock of Firetop Mountain

February 8, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS Universal, PC/Mac • With two stories in one day, it’s beginning to feel like Tin Man Games day around here. That’s okay, as they make some great interactive fiction ranging all the way from Shakespeare to the 41st millennium. Earlier today, they were busy conquering 1920’s Melbourne, but later this month they’ll tackle Firetop Mountain. That’s right, the long awaited dungeon crawl, Warlock of Firetop Mountain, is due to release for iOS later this month.

Tin Man Games delivers Miss Fisher on iOS

February 8, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal • As someone who neither has a Netflix account nor lives in Australia–two things I’d like to correct before I die–I am completely unaware of who Phryne Fisher is. Luckily, for rubes like me, there’s Wikipedia which tells me that she’s the star of a series of books and a television show set in the flapper-decked world of the 1920’s. Oh, and she solves mysteries. I probably should have led with that. Regardless, Tin Man Games is bringing Miss Fisher to our iDevices today with their latest piece of interactive fiction, Miss Fisher and the Deathly Maze.

Warlock of Firetop Mountain coming to iOS in early 2017

December 14, 2016 David Neumann 1

I know this is click-baity as hell, but look at this. Seriously, just look at this. You’re not clicking? Fine, let me tell you what’s behind the break. Remember Tin Man Games? Earlier this year they released a new version of the classic Fighting Fantasy book, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain except it wasn’t a book. You moved minis around, combat was on a grid and tactical, and there were about a billion [not an official number -ed.] of new characters to unlock and play with. Well, guess what. It’s coming to mobile in early 2017! That’s what’s after the break. I guess you don’t have to click now. I’m really bad at this click bait crap. Let me try one more time. We have a picture of Warlock of Firetop Mountain running on an iPhone and the results will shock you!

Kickstarter for The Arcana ends soon.

November 18, 2016 Tof Eklund 0

You probably haven’t heard of Nyx Hydra. Their biggest success to date has been Egg!, a FTP Tamagotchi game in roughly the same vein as Neko Atsume. Egg! isn’t Stately Play material, but it is cute and doesn’t push the IAP too hard. But I’m not here to talk about Egg!, a game I would never even have discovered it it weren’t for The Arcana, a passion project they’re currently seeking Kickstarter funding for.