Choose your own adventure ...

[ahi]

Are there any good "Choose your own adventure..." ebooks out there? Or even just "Choose your own adventure..." type fiction freely provided in a format that doesn't explicitly hinder sensible conversion into an eBook format?

I have fond childhood memories of the "Fighting Fantasy" books by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and I think it might be a strangely appropriate genre for an eBook reading device.

Of course... I would not be disappointed if the writing was of a caliber not explicitly aimed at 9-12 year old audiences.

- Ahi

[vsalvaggio]

Many of the Lone Wolf books are available online at:
http://www.projectaon.org/en/Main/Books

I loved this series as a kid and am still tracking down the dead tree versions of some that I don't have.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by vsalvaggio

Many of the Lone Wolf books are available online at:
http://www.projectaon.org/en/Main/Books

I loved this series as a kid and am still tracking down the dead tree versions of some that I don't have.

Thanks, I'll check these out!

Was this format (genre?) only ever used for juvenile/young adult fiction?

- Ahi

[Over]

Originally Posted by vsalvaggio

Many of the Lone Wolf books are available online at:
http://www.projectaon.org/en/Main/Books

I loved this series as a kid and am still tracking down the dead tree versions of some that I don't have.

Would it be possible to put those html files in an ebook, working links included? That would be great!

Although I guess all those html files would have to be compiled in a single ebook. hummm

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Over

Would it be possible to put those html files in an ebook, working links included? That would be great!

Although I guess allthose html files would have to be compiled in a single ebook. hummm

For you, for yourself: yes.

For me, for myself: yes.

For anybody, for their very own personal selves: yes.

Any other combination, I suspect would be viewed upon as distribution and EVIL.

Or so I gather.

- Ahi

[Over]

I'm sure something could be worked out with the PA team. They even allowed some guy to port it to NDS as a game:

http://www.projectaon.org/staff/frederic/

It seems that if someone would come forward, with some knowledge to produce something with quality for an ebook format, it could be a reality:

http://www.projectaon.org/staff/david/index.php

It would just be hosted through their website, though.

[Renaldo]

Originally Posted by ahi

Are there any good "Choose your own adventure..." ebooks out there?

I don't think this would be possible with most readers. Since the devices reflow and repaginate depending on the format and font size, the 'Turn to page 81' would be fairly meaningless. I wonder if someone could build one using generic TOC type links instead?

Thanks for the link to the Lone Wolf books. I remember those fondly.

[Witchbaby]

Originally Posted by ahi

Was this format (genre?) only ever used for juvenile/young adult fiction?

- Ahi

A friend used to have one that was written for adults. The premise was you were going for a night on the town with your friends. At the beginning you choose your gender. I can't remember what it was called, but if I find it, I'll let you know.

[weateallthepies]

The old abandonware site "Home of the Underdogs" used to host loads of choose your own adventure books. Unfortunately the site went down and they don't appear to be there any more.

You can however find torrents of the archive if you search, though I have no idea what format they were supplied in.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Over

I'm sure something could be worked out with the PA team. They even allowed some guy to port it to NDS as a game:

http://www.projectaon.org/staff/frederic/

It seems that if someone would come forward, with some knowledge to produce something with quality for an ebook format, it could be a reality:

http://www.projectaon.org/staff/david/index.php

It would just be hosted through their website, though.

In that case, sorry for having gotten carried away.

I might just approach them about this.

- Ahi

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Renaldo

I don't think this would be possible with most readers. Since the devices reflow and repaginate depending on the format and font size, the 'Turn to page 81' would be fairly meaningless. I wonder if someone could build one using generic TOC type links instead?

Thanks for the link to the Lone Wolf books. I remember those fondly.

Yes, the pages aren't really pages but anchors and links. Entirely doable as very handsome custom-sized PDFs... and one would hope also in one or more reflow formats.

- Ahi

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Renaldo

I don't think this would be possible with most readers. Since the devices reflow and repaginate depending on the format and font size, the 'Turn to page 81' would be fairly meaningless. I wonder if someone could build one using generic TOC type links instead?

But that's no different to "see page 81" type references, which are very common in non-fiction books. You simply replace them with hyperlinks.

[zelda_pinwheel]

acidzebra tried an experiment with such a book which you can see here. i think ebooks are actually quite well suited to such a structure, made with hyperlinks, as acidzebra's example shows. it could be quite fun to see more attempts.

[Moejoe]

Kim Newman wrote a very good adult 'choose-your-own-adventure' book called Life's Lottery.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/n/...es-lottery.htm

http://www.johnnyalucard.com/fiction.html#life

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Kim Newman wrote a very good adult 'choose-your-own-adventure' book called Life's Lottery.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/n/...es-lottery.htm

http://www.johnnyalucard.com/fiction.html#life

Thanks for that. Any good?

Would you ever pursue this sort of a project, Moejoe? I'd be greatly interested.

- Ahi