Penguin launches first 'Digi-Novel'

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Click the link in his siggy to view his art. There's a punk rock llama with dyed zebra stripe hair.

fiou, i thought i was going crazy for a minute there...

[DixieGal]

Originally Posted by Slite

Well, it was the "love your llama" part of the post that was so abuseable I had to restrain my self yet again

Don't restrain, it's practically the weekend!

EDIT: That's me doing the happy dance, and Tim hopping around like a snowman on crack

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Hey Kenny! Love your llama, you should use it for an avatar!

Thanks. Maybe I will. I had a deer with his tongue sticking out for a while.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Wow. A book. With links. Why didn't I think of that?

Why isn't a television show called a "video novel"? Why isn't a movie called a "celluloid novel"? because there are significant differences between reading text and watching video.

Actually, there is a pretty mature genre of 'games' called "visual novels" which is quite prominent in Japan. I quoted 'games' because most of them include very little gameplay and mostly consist of reams after reams of text over graphical backgrounds (some of them have more text than the Lord of the Rings trilogy).
While probably the majority of them are so-called "hentai games", there are quite a few "clean" works which can be as good as any book. Probably the most well-known example outside Japan is Ace Attorney series (although some think they include a bit too much of gameplay for a "true" visual novel). The entry level is low enough that there are plenty of freeware games from independent authors. (A few have been translated into English, for example True Remembrance or Narcissu.)

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Slite

So many MANY ways to abuse that post....

Must... restrain... self....

And if you think that one was hard, what about this:

Originally Posted by MichaelFStewart

Wow, why do they put up such barriers? You'd think for a new product they'd use penetration pricing, or offer a free sample to get you hooked. Not smart.

[basschick]

no, they're publishers. if they can find a way to annoy potential readers through inconvenience or high price, they never hold back. then when these annoyances keep us from buying, they blame piracy

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

they want 40$ for this thing ???? are they high ????

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by basschick

no, they're publishers. if they can find a way to annoy potential readers through inconvenience or high price, they never hold back. then when these annoyances keep us from buying, they blame piracy

[opitzs]

I have read it through just now. I thought it is a novel idea... something new... give it a chance...
The story is hollywood in a book, unbelievable, clicheed, over the top. And the videos are just an annoyance, I have to go to the computer watch it, get upset, because style and story don't fit the rest. The videos sometimes tell one story, while the book tells another story.
Well I gave it a chance, can't do more than that.

What irked me most, was how unrealistic it was. I wish they would have stopped at some point and turned on common sense.

Ciao
Sven

[MichaelFStewart]

Originally Posted by opitzs

I have read it through just now. I thought it is a novel idea... something new... give it a chance...
The story is hollywood in a book, unbelievable, clicheed, over the top. And the videos are just an annoyance, I have to go to the computer watch it, get upset, because style and story don't fit the rest. The videos sometimes tell one story, while the book tells another story.
Well I gave it a chance, can't do more than that.

What irked me most, was how unrealistic it was. I wish they would have stopped at some point and turned on common sense.

Ciao
Sven

Amazing, all that talent. All that production money and cost and they can't do something innovative and 'good.'

Thanks for the review.

[balletguy]

Setting the record straight: Though I am currently enjoying Level 26ark Origins immensely, I must point out that Dutton/Penguin Group falsely claims it as 'the first digi-novel'. Patrick Carman's Skeleton Creek (Jan, 2009) was out 9 months earlier.

[MikeOxlittle]

1st post, bumping a 3 year old thread and having the exact details of the book released.

Welcome to the board Patrick Carman ..

[balletguy]

Hope that was appreciation. There's no time limit on justice. Especially when an 'author' is known for a lousy t v show while the real author gets totally slighted by all powerful publishing publicity department . Also Patrick Carman has already completed 6 digi-novels (2 series). Of course I suppose some will denegrate his books as 'kids' books. Good read is a good read. And true innovator is true innovator.

[QuantumIguana]

I don't see anything innovative about combining text and video. It happens on the web all the time. Some people look at books and say "That's great, but where's the video?" That's like going to a park, being in the middle of nature, far away from the noise of cars and thinking "That's great, but what this needs is a water park and bumper cars and some roller coasters!" I have nothing against water parks, bumper cars or roller coasters, but they have their place. If I want video, there's TV. It's been three years, and people aren't exactly lining up to have books with embedded video.