Only when I was reading through the word version. I did, however, manage to find the (guy with the rat). I can never spell that word, and my spell checker doesn't work in these input boxes.

binki
Mon Apr 11 05:22:24 2011

I solved in the story.

And also found a way to obtain two Diamond Keys - so I don't think it was a mistake to create these sideways - on the contrary it creates atmosphere of a big world and a freedom of choices.
By the way, when do you plan to publish next story from the Diamond key series - I am looking for it with great anticipation

Ulysses
Mon Apr 11 07:24:02 2011

@Binki

Re: solving the puzzle - Look forward to an alternative storyline in Episode 8 (might not be a good thing...)

Re: The Diamond Key - If one person got to see those sections, I guess it was worth it.

Re: Other stories in the DK world - A long time. Late next year at the earliest.

gamebook freak
Fri May 27 09:17:27 2011

is the wwg gamebook seris in the furture?

Hero of Chaching
Mon Sep 26 21:29:47 2011

Hi Ulysses,

Just finished 'The Dead World'; hilarious ending. Well done as always. Not sure which of the WWGB series is my favourite...probably Golden Crate. Or Hypertrout. Hard to say.

I have two (related) questions. I'm wondering if you plan on releasing another story in the WWGB series (would love to finally meet Gary Fishbone!), and when that might happen?

Thanks,

HoC

Ulysses
Tue Sep 27 03:01:32 2011

@ HoC

Episode 7: Return to G15-275 has been in development for many months now. It is the longest book in the series at 600 references. I have almost completed the first draft. After that I need to rewrite some sequences, check everything for errors, have somebody review it, then submit it to this site. The webmaster will then decide if he likes it and if he wants to make an online version that will take some time.
Posting about the book previously I mentioned it would probably be released early next year. They may still happen although I have been busy with work and study and several of the 10,000 other things I do, and so haven't worked on the book for a few months now. I will hopefully be able to get back to it soon.
An encounter with Gary Fishbone has been floating around in my mind, so it probably will happen, but not sure when or how or what will happen yet.

Hero of Chaching
Tue Sep 27 16:41:19 2011

@Ulysses

Awesome. Can't wait!

Thanks for replying.

HoC

Glen
Tue Jul 3 10:13:10 2012

@Aiken: Ouch!

@Ulysses: Well, I just finished Dead World, obtaining the last entry. But I feel as though I missed a huge amount of content so I'm going to replay it again.

I'm also going to replay the whole series with just one character from the beginning. I wasn't "saving" in-between adventures and there are certainly lots of things I missed out on.

Thank you again for the fantastic gamebooks. They really are very enjoyable!

Ulysses
Wed Jul 4 01:19:51 2012

@Glen:

The Dead World is a little different in that there is a lot of content in every direction. You do have to make sure you escape the planet, but apart from that it's all about what bonuses you want to get. But whichever you chose, at all leads to the one successful ending.

Make sure you use the "Continue" link at the end of each episode rather than selecting from the menu.

Did you play Contractual Obligation?

Glen
Wed Jul 4 17:37:17 2012

@Ulysses: I just ran a character from WWGB to CO using your 'Continue' and 'bookmark' suggestions. I bookmarked the beginning of each new book and reloaded there if I died; although, knowing already some very reliable routes through each book, I don't remember if I died more than once or twice.

I did manage to get all three commendations in Hypertrout this time through. It was *A LOT* more tricky this way, but in the end more rewarding.

I did already play through CO. I found the navigation to be confusing enough for it to be the first book in the series that I mapped out completely. There was one thing which I was stuck on for a long time:

SPOILER

END SPOILER

Well, I'm going to have fun checking out the rest of Dead World and seeing what nifty things I can do in C.O. that I couldn't before. Thanks again for the fantastic gamebooks!

C-Star
Mon Jul 16 15:55:13 2012

Also, I just finished The Dead World. The whole thing seems like a kind of 'bonus level' with stat boosters everywhere (That's not an insult by the way, in case it sounded like one). I have a few questions.

SPOILER

END SPOILER

I'm regretting not getting laser sword training now! Only got whip training, then I'm handed swords in Hypertrout and The Dead World :-(

Ulysses
Wed Jul 18 02:06:54 2012

@Glen

After finishing The Diamond Key I too was intrigued by the Dragon under the mountain and commenced writing another 1000 reference gamebook about it. I wrote about two thirds of it, but I've done nothing with it for a couple of years because I am a little concerned about all the time and energy I have been investing in writing gamebooks for little return. For this reason I have decided to finish off the Wrong Way Go Back series, then consider whether or not produce anything further. Ideally some sort of publishing would allow me to go on forever, but in the meantime I need to be more mindful of how I am spending my time.

@C-star
Your description of The Dead World is accurate. Its reason for existing was to create a buffer between Episode 5: Contractual Obligation and what will now be Episode 7: Return to G15-275 since both of these adventures are based on a cyclical structure where you can loop through the same references for a long time. To alleviate potential frustration, I wanted to put a branching-structure adventure in between.

As for your question: WARNING! SUPER SPOILER!

SPOILER

END SPOILER

Ulysses
Wed Jul 18 02:50:25 2012

@ C-star

Addendum

Generally, for weapons training I do want to accommodate whatever choice players prefer. Certainly for the major battles in Episode 8 (of which there will be several against rival suitors) you will be allowed to use your favourite of the 4 weapons (blast rod, energy whip, lasersword/maimblade, or flaming wi-fi morningstar).
The reason this was not allowed in The Dead World was because of the choice-based combat in the fight against the monster. Reading "you swing your weapon and cause an injury" is far less interesting that reading "you twist the top of the grinder and then flick pepper into his face. He stumbles back with a cry trying to wipe the burning pepper from his eyes. Giving him no respite you leap forward and swing the pepper grinder, striking him on the head with a satisfying crack..."

C-Star
Wed Jul 18 15:26:27 2012

I should probably stop asking so many questions and figure things out myself :-D . Ah, I really liked the choice based combat as well. They're really exciting compared to the simple dice roll combats. I can't wait for the next chapter in Wrong Way Go Back. Feel like pwning everyone with my Skill 16 character :-D

Ulysses
Thu Jul 19 01:56:02 2012

Many people have revealed they have high SKILL characters in the WWGB series. It may alarm you to know that if Episode 7 plays out as I intend, you will end up with lower SKILL than you started.

C-Star
Thu Jul 19 14:37:36 2012

You mean that you're going to find a way to nerf overpowered characters? That makes sense, I guess. Due to the lowered dice rolls for stats that you get, it becomes difficult to do some of the combats unless you carry over characters from the start. Mind you, though

SPOILER

END SPOILER

@The Hammer
I'm kind of a noob on these boards, so you probably shouldn't take my word for this, but I think anyone can write a gamebook for the site. Can someone else give a definite answer on that? It says in the FAQ's that
So long as it is complete, I will certainly put it on the Downloads page but whether he will make an online version depends on several factors.

Ulysses
Fri Jul 20 02:29:37 2012

@ C-star

Episode 7 doesn't contain much fighting, since...well you'll see. But Episode 8, the finale is intended to contain several well-crafted combats. After the disappointment of playing Diablo 3, I am certainly not going to create more difficulty by just increasing opponent stats. I'm also going to include non-lethal resolutions, so you can surrender with a penalty of some sort if an opponent is too strong, to avoid the situation where you do everything right but then die because of unfavourable dice rolls; and also for the sake of those who jump in at the start of Episode 8 and thus have a weak character. Readers who have developed a character through the whole series should be able to win and reap the rewards.

If anyone has any suggestions, things they have seen in combats that are frustrating, or things they would like to see; you can post them here and I will take all comments into consideration.

C-Star
Fri Jul 20 08:33:29 2012

Wow, thanks for this massive insight! Well, sinse I started from the beginning, none of the combats were overly difficult. The only overpowered opponents ie. Death Bot, Giant Bear; were all avoidable. But CO caused me some frustration.

SPOILER

END SPOILER

In the end, I downloaded the text version and used that to figure out what I was doing wrong. The only other thing was

SPOILER

END SPOILER

C-Star
Fri Jul 20 09:47:29 2012

Oh, and when I mentioned the idea of a powerful enemy, i meant as an optional combat, where you are given plenty of warning that he's good. When I saw the Giant Lizard, it's ridiculous SKILL score reminded me of Final Fantasy's superbosses, and that's where this idea came from. I realize it's probably a stupid idea though.

Glen
Fri Jul 20 18:22:33 2012

@Ulysses

There are two things that I really like about the WWGB series which I believe are somehow special and either not done at all or done very poorly by other gamebooks.

Path-dependent Dialogue

I very much enjoy the variety of situations where the order in which dialogue options are selected impacts the reactions of the person you are speaking with. Bonus points if it is logical to boot!

Creativity rewarded by extra content and/or combat bonuses

Although present in many of the episodes, this is in my opinion best in The Golden Crate. Solving optional puzzles along the way impacts later events in a positive manner. There are many examples of this along the entire series and I think it is a great hallmark.

As to requests for the latest (last? :( :( :( ) edition: creative puzzles. The sandwich puzzle in The Spider Planet was a little odd, I still don't understand why the correct choice is the way it is. Even so, it was creative, and I love to see creative puzzles which are either rare in other gamebooks or totally original to this one. Puzzles which are more "global" in nature, being tied in with several events throughout the book, are the most rewarding. Although naturally very hard to design, and even harder to design well, I do personally enjoy this the most.

Fighting fantasy is all about the story and making good choices with interesting outcomes; on the gaming side, it is about the excitement of combat and the challenge of puzzles. I am personally more of a puzzle/story man, so my ideal final episode (cry cry cry) would include some crazy awesome logical deep puzzling.

:D

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