Think back to the days before video games were everywhere. Some of us, who are old enough to remember, had to make our own adventures, or as we called it “choose your own adventure”. These were books that gave YOU the reader the option of what happened next and also allowed for a few different paths to be taken throughout the story.
Of course, this type of fiction translated well into video games. Now Tin Man Games, an Australian Indie game company, are becoming pros at making these types of games, better known as Gamebooks , or in-essence, E-books with dice.
At PAX East, DFAT’s own video game guru, The Myrrick, was able to score a great interview with Neil Rennison, who is one of the founding members of the company. She also got a firsthand look at their upcoming game, Appointment with F.E.A.R., which is actually based on an old school Fighting Fantasy book! The new game will be the first to utilize their new engine which will give you a more immersive experience and even allow you to import a picture of yourself onto your character!
[box_light]Tough, courageous, incorruptible champion of law and order, YOU are the hero using your super powers to protect the innocent citizens of teeming Titan City from the terrorism, violence, kidnapping and corruption of a host of super-villains. Your mission is to discover the location of the top-secret F.E.A.R. meeting, capture the Titanium Cyborg and his cohorts and bring them to justice. Interactive fiction now comes in comic-form! Design your hero and choose their path through this extraordinary adventure game.[/box_light]
Tin Man Games has some great titles, 24 in all, available on iOS, Android, Mac, and PC. Rennison, who has worked in the gaming industry for 13 years now, told DFAT that he was a huge fan of these books when he was 10 years old. After the experience of working for the big gaming companies, he wanted to go indie. But how? What could he do that would be different, or special, to make his mark on the industry?
Whilst attending a convention in England, he met the Ian Livingstone, who is one of the co-creators of Games Workshop, but also the man who would change Rennison’s future. Livingstone was the creator and author of the Fighting Fantasy role-playing books a “choose your own adventure” type series. Then and there, Rennison was offered the license and the rest is history.
With iPhone being brand new on the market, it was exciting for them to be able to explore this new platform and create a whole new experience for it. Since then, Tin Man Games has created numerous Gamebooks based on space adventures, vampires, zombies, and even Judge Dredd! Mixing reading and video gaming with old-school dice RPG’ing and putting it all into one neat package, Tin Man Games has quite a unique product on the market. Head on over their site to check out the selection of games available! Look for Appointment with F.E.A.R. coming soon to a digital platform near you!
Tin Man Games
Official Site: http://tinmangames.com.au/blog/
Twitter: @TinManGames
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TinManGames
~CynicNerd
