How to Write a FF Adventure: Part IV

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MULTIPLE PATHS

When constructing a Gamebook the choice to make an adventure what we call linear or non-linear is a difficult one. If you choose to only offer a single path to victory the Gamebook will offer little re-playability and provide the same encounters in the same order every time you read it. Offering a more non-linear adventure with multiple paths is something that many Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks provide, as these provide a reader with the ability to replay the book and choose different paths through the adventure again and again in order to visit sections they missed previously. For this reason multiple paths are more popular with fans as they bestow an illusion of more choice and reduce the linearity of the Gamebook adventure. Even better they help to create a feeling of control within the limited confines of an adventure Gamebook.

There are many benefits in offering alternative paths at the start or during an adventure, however care must always be taken not to penalise a reader for stepping off ‘the one true path’. Making a player pay for innocently choosing a wrong path can be maddening and most amateur adventure writers should attempt to always offer a player a hint or clue earlier in the adventure that will make them aware of the consequences of choosing a wrong path.

These alternative paths provide an excellent method of presenting sub quests and adventures that deviate from the main plot, but this can also affect the number of references that would otherwise be used for plot and narrative. Multiple paths have generated lots of discussion upon the fightingfantasy.com Forum, as some readers prefer a one true path system, in which any false decision can lead to an abrupt or unsuccessful end. Other readers prefer an adventure to have numerous possible paths to success, as this type of adventure provides a reader with more replay ability. Should you choose to create an adventure with multiple paths a good idea is to include one or two at the start of the book.

MULTIPLE ENDINGS

The optimal ending of a Fighting Fantasy Gamebook is generally paragraph 400 although some Gamebooks also hide the ending within the book elsewhere that makes it harder for a reader to cheat. Using multiple endings can help you create a Gamebook that is even more interesting and augment re-playability while making the adventure more memorable. Offering a reader one of several alternative endings can be immensely appealing and ultimately provide a reader with a greater challenge of accomplishing the same objective time and time again. Alternatively, some readers do find them immensely irritating, as the book can then be considered to have no true end.

A general consensus from emails and official Fighting Fantasy Forum discussions is that if multiple endings are offered within a Gamebook, as a rule no more than three alternative endings should be used in total. Each of these enable you to offer more than the usual take on the victory over the malevolent adversary, and instead allow you an excellent opportunity to shock or surprise your reader. How about a dramatic climatic cliff-hanger that leaves the reader on the edge of a seat until the next exciting Gamebook instalment?

A good method to create alternative endings is to always offer a reader one true final decisive ending, whether that is on paragraph 400 or hidden within the book (used in the Gamebook Moonrunner for example). The ending should offer the most important ending of the plot and provide the reader with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that they have completed the adventure to the most complete conclusion. It should also be discovered by successfully navigating multiple paths, completing a sub quest (see below), overcoming encounters and collecting important object etc. The other alternative endings should also offer satisfying ends with a measure of victory; however they should differ according to the incorrect path that was taken, an encounter that was missed, or an object that was undiscovered. Night Dragon, Sword of the Samurai and Dead of Night provide excellent examples of this. When used successfully they provide another opportunity to spice up the plot and offer the reader a conclusion that is less of a life or death, win or lose situation. For example one multiple ending could end with you defeating the main antagonist and saving the land, while in another you accomplish the goal by defeating the main antagonist but lose several companions in the process.

SUB QUESTS

Adding sub quests to your adventure is an excellent idea if you want to add more depth and provide more replayability for the reader. A simple mini quest off the main plot can broaden the entire scope of your adventure and yet again provide the illusion of more choices making the adventure appear open-ended. I have received several emails in praise of Knights of Doom, Keep of the Lich Lord and Legend of the Shadow Warriors along with many other books that offer the reader excellent sub quests.

To use sub quests effectively start by deciding what small interconnecting sub-quests you would like to add that will break up the main plot of the adventure. Will the sub quest be directly related to the main plot i.e. a quest to recover an ancient magical sword from Cutsilver that will kill the evil protagonist, or alternatively a visit into a small isolated village that introduces some non-player characters and an opportunity to purchase some goods that may aid the hero in his quest? A sub quest directly related to the main quest enables you to provide a reader with a real sense of accomplishment and that they are well on the way to progressing to the goal of the adventure. The later can transport the reader further into your adventure by making the world appear even more realistic. For example, if you are setting an adventure in Allansia close to the Moonstone Hills or Flatlands, you could have a side quest in which a small village is beset by bandits or a tribe of migrating Goblins. In a Sci-fi adventure, you could provide a reader with an opportunity to explore a space station orbiting a nearby-uninhabited planet, which upon your arrival has been sacked, by a violent group of space raiders.