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Fighting Fantasy

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Fighting Fantasy
The 25th anniversary edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, originally published in 1982 and the first in the Fighting Fantasy series.
DesignersIan Livingstone, Steve Jackson
PublishersPuffin, Wizard Books
Publication1982
GenresFantasy
SystemsGamebook

Fighting Fantasy is a series of single-player fantasy roleplay gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volumes in the series were published by Puffin in 1982, with the rights to the franchise eventually being purchased by Wizard Books in 2002. The series distinguished itself by featuring a fantasy role-playing element, with the caption on each cover claiming each title was "a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which YOU are the hero!" The popularity of the series led to the creation of merchandise such as action figures, board games, role-playing game systems, magazines, novels and video games.

Overview

The Fighting Fantasy gamebooks were created by British writers Steve Jackson (not to be confused with the US-based game designer of the same name) and Ian Livingstone, co-founders of Games Workshop, and provide an original twist on traditional fiction in that the reader takes control of the story's protagonist, being required to make choices that will affect the outcome.

The text does not progress in a linear fashion but rather is divided into a series of numbered sections (usually between 300-400). Beginning at the first section, the reader chooses a non-sequential option (e.g. Section 1 to Section 180) which in turn provides an outcome for the decision and advances the story. The story continues in this fashion, the player continuing to choose other numbered sections, until their character is either stopped/killed or completes the quest.

Fighting Fantasy books typically feature a system whereby the protagonist is randomly assigned scores in three statistics (named Skill, Stamina, and Luck) which, in conjunction with the player rolling a six-sided dice, are used to resolve combats and test the protagonist's success in certain situations. Some titles use additional statistics or additional conflict resolution mechanics. A typical Fighting Fantasy gamebook tasks players with completing a quest, with players then making choices in an attempt to successfully finish the adventure. A successful play of a Fighting Fantasy gamebook usually ends with the player reaching the final numbered section of the book. Many of the titles only featuring one path to the solution, and in some cases this can only be achieved by obtaining various story items (e.g. gems in Deathtrap Dungeon).[1]

There were 59 books in the original series, beginning with The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone, 1982) and concluding with Curse of the Mummy (Jonathan Green, 1995). Jackson also wrote a self-contained four-part series titled Sorcery! (1983-1985). Andrew Chapman and Martin Allen also wrote a two book, two-player adventure titled the Clash of the Princes (1986). There were also several supplemental books produced that provided more information about the Fighting Fantasy universe, including a comprehensive bestiary of monsters and a sample adventure.

The majority of the Fighting Fantasy titles are set in the fictional and medieval world of Titan, which consists of three giant continents.[2] Other titles are set in fantasy, horror and modern day environments.

Wizard Books acquired the rights to the Fighting Fantasy series in 2002, and have since published reprints of older titles and several new titles in a revised order.

All Fighting Fantasy gamebooks are illustrated, including full-page pieces and smaller, generic images scattered at random throughout the book, often serving as breaks or space fillers between sections. Regular contributors included Les Edwards; Terry Oakes; Russ Nicholson; Leo Hartas; Ian Miller, John Blanche and Iain McCaig.

Publication history

In 1980, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone attended a Games Day, and after meeting with a Penguin editor decided to create a series of single-player gamebooks.[3] Their first submission, The Magic Quest, was a short adventure intended to demonstrate the style of game. The Magic Quest was eventually accepted by Penguin Books, although the authors devoted a further six months to expanding and improving upon the original concept. The end result was The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and after several rewrites, the book was accepted and published in 1982 under Penguin's children's imprint, Puffin Books.

Following the success of the first Fighting Fantasy title, Jackson and Livingstone began writing individually to create additional Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. In 1983, The Citadel of Chaos and The Forest of Doom were published, by Jackson and Livingstone respectively. Four more titles followed, including Starship Traveller (the first title with a science fiction setting), City of Thieves, Deathtrap Dungeon and Island of the Lizard King. In 1984, a decision was made to hire more writers to continue the series, being Steve Jackson (the United States-based founder and owner of Steve Jackson Games), Andrew Chapman, Carl Sargent (aka Keith Martin), Marc Gascoigne and Peter Darvill-Evans.

Jackson and Livingstone, however, continued to be involved and approved all cover and internal illustrations within the UK.[4] Regular contributors included Les Edwards; Terry Oakes; Russ Nicholson; Leo Hartas; Ian Miller, John Blanche and Iain McCaig. Covers were rarely consistent and due to printing errors[5] and different markets[6] many different versions exist.[7][8] Once Wizard acquired the franchise different versions with a new logo were printed, the rationale being that the old covers did not suit the modern market.[9]

The Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks published in the U.S. by Dell/Laurel Leaf featured a new cover design and illustrations by Richard Corben.[10]

Jackson wrote a self-contained four-part series titled Sorcery! (1983-1985), that combined the use of combat and sorcery. The books also featured dice images at the bottom of each page, making it possible for the player to randomly "flick" through the pages for the equivalent of a dice roll. The Fighting Fantasy books published by Wizard use the same device.and Andrew Chapman and Martin Allen also wrote a two book, two-player adventure titled the Clash of the Princes (1986). There were also several supplemental books produced that provided more information about the Fighting Fantasy universe, including a comprehensive bestiary of monsters and a sample adventure.

Although the Fighting Fantasy titles had successful sales[11][12] the increasing dominance of video games in the 1990's caused a gradual decline. The series was scheduled to conclude with Return to Firetop Mountain (Book 50, Livingstone, 1992), but due to increased sales ten more books were written. Nine were published, the series ending with the Curse of the Mummy (1995). The tenth title Bloodbones (Book 60 in the overall series numbering), was eventually published by Wizard Books.

In 1989, Fighting Fantasy was reworked into a multiplayer system referred to as Advanced Fighting Fantasy, with a number of support titles explaining the concept.

In 2002, Wizard Books acquired the rights to the Fighting Fantasy series and reprinted many of the original titles in a revised order to fit the reduced number of books (initially only the gamebooks by Jackson and Livingstone were published) and to incorporate the Sorcery! miniseries into the core series.[13]

A new Fighting Fantasy title, Eye of the Dragon (by Ian Livingstone) was released by Wizard Books in 2005, with reprints of original titles commencing the following year. 2007 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fighting Fantasy, and to commemorate the event Wizard Books published a 25th-anniversary yearbook and a special hardcover edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain that used the original 1982 cover image and contained extra material such as the dungeon solution and a commentary on Fighting Fantasy by Livingstone. Wizard Books has since released several new titles.[14]

Other media

Warlock magazine (first published by Puffin Books and later Games Workshop) provided additional information on the Fighting Fantasy universe, and each issue featured a gamebook, new rules, monsters, reviews and comic strips. It was published from 1983-1986 and ran for 13 issues.

In 1985, Steve Jackson wrote a picture gamebook with the title Tasks of Tantalon, in which the player was required to solve a series of puzzles which were presented as large, full colour pictures containing hidden clues to be located and assembled.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (1986) and Legend of Zagor (1993) were released as board games by Games Workshop.

In 1992, a Fighting Fantasy 10th Anniversary Yearbook (a diary with articles, trivia and a gamebook) complete with a boxed set of dice and character sheets was published.

Several of the Fighting Fantasy titles have been released as video games, including seven Fighting Fantasy titles (The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, The Forest of Doom, Temple of Terror, Seas of Blood, Appointment with F.E.A.R. and Rebel Planet) for the Commodore 64, Amstrad, BBC, and Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1984) and Deathtrap Dungeon video game for the PC and PlayStation by Eidos Interactive (1998).

Several Fighting Fantasy novels have also been published.

On December 5, 2006, it was announced that Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone were planning to release a new series of video games based on Fighting Fantasy for Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP.[15] The first of these, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, was released for the DS in the United States on November 25, 2009, and for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch in early January 2010.

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ [3]
  4. ^ [4]
  5. ^ "Fighting Fantasy FAQ on the Internet Archive record of the old fightingfantasy.com site". Archived from the original on 2005-11-27.
  6. ^ [5]
  7. ^ "Fighting Fantasy FAQ on the Internet Archive record of the old fightingfantasy.com site". Archived from the original on 2005-11-27.
  8. ^ [6]
  9. ^ "Interview with Simon Flynn on the official Fighting Fantasy website".
  10. ^ "Fighting Fantasy on gamebooks.org".
  11. ^ created
  12. ^ [7]
  13. ^ [8]
  14. ^ http://www.fightingfantasy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9
  15. ^ "Fighting Fantasy gamebooks to come to handhelds // News". Gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
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