Tin Man Games has been one of the most prominent names in the games industry when it comes to interactive story books with huge success in multiple adventure book franchises, including the Fighting Fantasy and Gamebook Adventures series. While Tin Man Games has used their trademarked interactive book mechanic to great effect, I’ve always wondered what else could be done with these unique story-telling abilities, but it looks like my question has now been answered. Tin Man Games has today announced Appointment with F.E.A.R., an interactive comic book adaptation of Steve Jackson’s gamebook of the same name.
This will be Tin Man Games’ first attempt at an interactive comic book format, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t already extremely excited by the screenshots they’ve shown in the announcement. Appointment with F.E.A.R. takes the original 1985 gamebook and gives it its own, virtual spin, allowing readers to customize their superhero avatar including “superpower, gender, looks, costume design, and most importantly, their supername.” Using this character, you will assume the role of defender of Titan City
As a neat social feature, the game will allow you to collect randomly dropped trading cards which will be tradeable with Facebook friends. Appointment with F.E.A.R. will be officially released at the end of August on Google Play, Amazon Appstore and iOS App Store.
I’m properly excited about this new format from Tin Man Games; what are your thoughts on this new interactive game format? Let us know your thoughts.
Press Release
Choose Your Superhero Adventure! KAPOWWW!
A new interactive comic book engine that allows the player to become the superhero and choose their own path via a stylised comic-like interface has been developed by Tin Man Games. The company, best known for its Gamebook Adventures and Fighting Fantasy adaptations, will soon be releasing Steve Jackson’s classic gamebook, Appointment with F.E.A.R., in a new and exciting digital comic book format.
Neil Rennison, Creative Director for Tin Man Games, said: “This is our first foray into a new area for interactive fiction and gamebooks. Appointment with F.E.A.R. cried out to be presented in a new and stylised way and as the new engine started coming together visually, we knew we were on to something pretty special. We’re looking forward to getting our teeth into some other comic book licenses in the future too!â€
Designing their own super-powered defender of justice in Titan City, the reader makes choices that guide them towards new villains, super dilemmas and, ultimately, the Titanium Cyborg and the F.E.A.R. meeting. Unlike the nearly thirty year old gamebook, players can now customise their character choosing superpower, gender, looks, costume design and, most importantly, their supername!
The interactive graphic novel also allows the player to randomly collect trading cards, which will be swappable with other players via Facebook. By making clever decisions during the adventure, the reader also increases the possibility of getting rare cards. “We’re very excited by this feature because as well as the large number of paths driven by the character in this game, collecting the trading cards will add an extra dynamic as players try and collect them all.†Neil continued.
Appointment with F.E.A.R. follows the life of the superhero across a handful of days as they deal with their everyday normal life, whilst saving the citizens of Titan City from over thirty supervillains using narrative based combat, which unfolds as the combatants trade quips. The aim is to collect vital clues and information that lead to the arrest of these villains, helping them gain hero points and discovering the location of the F.E.A.R. meeting.
Appointment with F.E.A.R. will be released at the end of August on the iOS App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Appstore. A desktop edition for PC, Mac and Linux will also be released via the Humble Store, which also comes with an Android version.
The Gamebook Adventures website can be accessed at www.GamebookAdventures.com and Tin Man Games also runs a developer blog at www.TinManGames.com.au.
