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Serial adventure magazine

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 01:10
OutsideLime
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Joined: 12/31/1969

Had an idea kicking around for awhile.... maybe one of you has seen something like this before..

A monthly solo adventure game magazine. The in-game mechanic stays the same from month to month, but the format allows for new puzzle types to be introduced on top of the standard adventuring and combat...

Theme and era are up in the air... I'm leaning towards Intergalactic Bounty Hunter, but it could be anything in the campaign-adventure realm.

Each magazine is broken up into sections. Each section is a planet, or space-station, or asteroid belt where some bit of adventuring takes place. Each with a recommended difficulty level. You can attempt any section, or any part of any section, at any time and with any amount of previous experience. (at risk of eating laserbeams, or course) In fact crossover from section to section is necessary for some missions.

You bring your character from issue to issue, collecting equipment and skills and info, returning to old issues when you develop the skills to penetrate sections that left you stumped or barricaded earlier. Large skillsets for your character with tons of room for improvement...

Players use a character sheet and a pen (wow retro) to keep track of their exploits. Potential adventurers can start with any issue... there are beginner-level missions in every issue.

I thought of this when browsing the magazine rack looking for something to do on a long flight.... Anybody know of anything like this out there?

~Josh

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 01:24
#1
Anonymous
Serial adventure magazine

While I don't know of a game in this particular format (serialized) the concept reminds me a bit of the old Lone Wolf adventure books I read when I was growing up -- a more advanced "Choose Your Own Adventure" concept with a character that developed over the course of the book, and you would take your character into the next book when it was published.

Aaaah, I loved those darn things. Time to get them out of storage and flip through 'em. Tracking down some of those old gems (see also, Steve Jackson's Sorcery series) may give you a few ideas.

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 01:57
#2
JackDarwid
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

Hi !

As far as I know, the closest one with your description is the game-book Fabled Land (I 'study' some game-books before I made the Island Of D game).
The Fabled Land is a set of (I forget, 12 books I think) that each book explore some area of the grand map. And yes, you will go through one book to another, keeping your equipment and your stats I think. You can also start from any books.The books uses some sort of 'keyword' to track what actions you have done.
The bad side is that only 6 books were at last gone published (maybe the sales was not enough). There's a mailing list that devoted to this books, and some of the books can be downloaded for free here :

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/fabled_lands/

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 06:32
#3
Scurra
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Joined: 09/11/2008
Serial adventure magazine

ynnen wrote:
While I don't know of a game in this particular format (serialized) the concept reminds me a bit of the old Lone Wolf adventure books I read when I was growing up --[...]
Aaaah, I loved those darn things. Time to get them out of storage and flip through 'em.

Or you could try http://www.projectaon.org/ because Joe Dever has made the text available for download and the guys there have done a magnificent job of error-checking and fixing them. And one or two of the unpublished titles are there too... Recommended. (Steve Jackson's inimitable Sorcery series has recently been republished in p/b too, with several of the key errors fixed - especially the one that made the whole thing effectively unfinishable!)

As for the original idea: I suspect that although there certainly is a market for this sort of thing, it may be too difficult to locate or sustain through the mainstream print media, which is generally too "broad-brush" a medium for specialised publications - although they obviously do exist, you won't find them on newstands. [The UK supported a magazine of this type in the early 80s called "Warlock" (my back copies are in storage somewhere...) which lasted about a year before it folded.]
I'd buy it. But a circulation of 2 might be a little too small, even for a specialist publication. ;-)

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 07:48
#4
Anonymous
Serial adventure magazine

I have been working on a similar line. I was looking at a game type magazine/small book that had a "wargame" type board and counters with the story about the scenario (fantasy setting). Each issue would expand the game with another board section and new units and moving the story line.

The readers could play the game from a single issue and later put several boards together to make a larger game.

Might be nice to mix the types of games in such a magazine. One issue is follow the path story, another issue contains a board game, the next a card type game, all within the same theme.

-Fitz

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 11:56
#5
zobmie
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

this is a fantastic idea. I have been wanting something like this to come along for a long time. It would be great to publish as a periodical. That way you could put inserts (cards, counters, other game pieces) into the magazine to enhance the experience.

You shouldn't limit it to having just one character though. I think if you have a bounty hunter, he should have a ship and a crew. You can obtain better crew members and better ship parts as you go on through the game. Different crew members have different abilities (diplomacy, engineering, etc.) that make certain objectives easier. I dont think this game should be about chasing the next level. In fact, i don't think leveling up should even happen. The game should be structured more like a CCG, where good choices, and strategic combinations of resources will get you through the challenges, not just power level. There should also be a lot of different goals that are readily apparent throughout each issue. Most of the "quests" should be solvable within' the same issue they are presented, with a select few referencing future or past issues. I would also come up with a strategic battle system that players can pit thier ship, crews, and bounty hunters against each other.

It should DEFINITLY be non-linear if it is going to be a magazine, with maybe an extra issue every year with involved storyline things that change the universe. With a new year of subscriptions you could re-visit changed areas of the galaxy, or introduce new parts altogether. You could even start anew in a different kind of campaign world.

If you need help with this one, count me in.

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 12:24
#6
btaggart
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

I really like this idea too, but as others have mentioned, it's a bit specialized. So branch out.

One magazine issue could include a set of encounters for your bounty hunter, another set for your Indiana-Jones-style treasure hunter, another for your vampire hunter, etc.

Included are cardstock pages with pre-perforated cutouts for building a set of encounters that require fantasy miniatures.

It could be similar to Dungeon magazine, but with a wider selection of genres, and therefore a wider audience.

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 12:28
#7
btaggart
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

Oh, and I totally offer my participation in such an effort.

If we're really serious about this, we could post a Special Collectors' Edition Preview on RPGNow for free, just to see how popular it could be.

Ben

@gmail.com

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 13:28
#8
TrollBasher
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

Sounds good.

I've only recently stopped working on my own Solo Adventure books in the old Fighting Fantasy genre (using my own home grown world and rules). However, time constraints have meant putting it on the back burner for now - so much to do, so little time.

Anyway, if you were worried about circulation to begin with you could always try one of those self publishing websites where you upload your book or magazine for free and people can order them as they want them.

Take a look at www.lulu.com and www.cafepress.com. Just a thougt. I wish you well with this project.

All the best.

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Wed, 07/13/2005 - 21:32
#9
Infernal
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

There was a magazine put out here in Australia (i'm not sure if it was available anywhere else). It was the games workshop's Lord of the Rings minature game.

The magazine had minatures that came with each issue along with the game rules.

At first the game rules were simple so as to teach the game, but as the magazine went on they covered more complex rules.

Also they included scenarios which the readers could play as a table top minature war game.

I am not sure how successful this magazine was but it seems to have dissappeared off the shelves.

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Fri, 07/15/2005 - 13:16
#10
OutsideLime
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

Thanks for all the responses to the idea, it's a very ambitious project should it be actually undertaken... I have investigated a few leads here in Toronto and it DOES seem possible...

To make it a full-fledged newsstand-quality magazine of course I would have to devote nearly 100% of my time to it, discover the startup $ somewhere, find a dedicated staff to handle all the aspects of it BEYOND the actual design and execution including advertising, distribution, printing, and managing the business in general... and basically make it my life....

so I don't know about THAT.

For now, anyway.

However, as an experimental small-run b/w 'zine with grassroots distribution and online PDF support it becomes a lot more manageable. Baby steps, y'dig?

The mechanics can be worked out, the content can be handled (not on my own of course, but with contributing artists, authors, and designers generating puzzles, scenarios and visuals)

I've been cobbling together ideas for a few days, and it's coming together... a little bit. Much more to do here....

My main concerns:

-The mag MUST be solo-centred. Maybe options for team or p2p play, but the primary focus is as a solo adventure serial.

-The mag and a pen/pencil are the ONLY items necessary for play. Commuter-friendly. No dice. What this does to the complexity of the tables involved hurts my brain, and is the main focus of my simplicity-searching brainstorming right now. yeeaaargggh

-Your character moves from issue to issue gathering skills, equipment, and information. Some puzzles are retro-solvable, meaning that you have to come back to issues after exploring the next one. This means planning story arcs with multi-issue breadth.

-A new gamer can pick up any issue of the mag and begin to play. The way I plan to set up each issue - with Sections of varying and indicated difficulty - allows a player to proceed (with a struggle) through one issue on its own (barring puzzles that require solutions from other issues), or go about it by completing, say, the Easy missions in this issue, moving to another issue and attempting the Easy missions there, then doing the Medium missions in both issues, and so on....

- The striation of difficulty levels will be much more deep than Easy Medium Hard, of course. Infinitely (?) expandable in terms of difficulty level.

- Difficulty balancing for advanced players.... Why play the Easy missions with a very experienced character? You'll just plow through 'em, right? Not so. Firstly, many of the actual puzzles will count on the ingenuity of the PLAYER, not necessarily the skillsets of the characer... so Easy missions will still retain a sense of challenge and fun. In addition, a built-in mechanic I'm calling Notoriety means that the more experienced (notorious) your Bounty Hunter gets, the more likely it gets that criminals, rival hunters, etc. will jump out of the woodwork to attack you, even in easy missions.

Lots more to do...

Thank you for the continued inspiration,

~Josh

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Fri, 07/15/2005 - 13:31
#11
OutsideLime
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

Quote:
I really like this idea too, but as others have mentioned, it's a bit specialized. So branch out.

One magazine issue could include a set of encounters for your bounty hunter, another set for your Indiana-Jones-style treasure hunter, another for your vampire hunter, etc.

Oh, and as far as the theme is concerned, I think that by sticking to the overarching "Intergalactic Bounty Hunter" theme, all of the other themes can be incorporated into that....

i.e. my Hunter needs to track down a mark that has insinuated himself, using his advanced technology, as the shaman of a society on a planet that's at the Aztec/Inca level... The Sections in that issue can thusly be mostly Indiana-Jonesey, perhaps there's a non-interference maxim that your character must follow in terms of exposing "primitive" cultures to "modern" technology....

Many many variations on theme can be approached in this manner... I suppose time-travel would be another overarching theme that could be used to the same effect.... maybe even better....

~Josh

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Fri, 07/15/2005 - 22:44
#12
Infernal
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Serial adventure magazine

To cut down the initial costs you could start it as an online-print-your-self mag. That way you can start to get a feel for the marketability of it and build up a fan base (fan contributions could be a way to cut down the workload).

If the desire for this type of mag is high then it could be moved over into a hardcopy production (possably leaving the print your own on the net).

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