Finally my work project is done, and I am back to normal level of work and usual routine. Guess there should be ample time to least pick up my brushes to paint. Just as I was packing my files and stuff on my computer desktop, found a newspaper article cutting I scanned a couple of years back.
The article titled, Father of Lara Croft, is about the living legend Ian Livingstone. Guess when we talked about RPG, games, D&D, how can we forget Ian Livingstone. For all you know, Ian Livingstone is the founder of Games Workshop. His partner at that time was none other than Steve Jackson. Check out news clipping below. More about Ian Livingstone can be also found at Wikipedia.
Well, Ian and Steve sure does bring back memories of those days of gaming when I was a teenager. One of Ian and Steve great products was the Fighting Fantasy gamebook series. I do recall I was a fan of all of the gamebooks. For those who are not sure what is a game book, it’s a book that is read in a non linear way. To start, you use a dice or a chart to create your character stats, then read the storyline, fight some monsters with the gaming system, and if you win or need to make a decision, turn to a certain of page of the book, if you lose, turn to another page. Well, the decision you make in the story, will determine how the story goes and what you might encounter. It’s one of those best gaming books back in the 80s. Gosh I miss them…
Hey I do recall I still some of them… After much rumbling through my bookshelf, I found I still have 2 copies of Ian and Steve FF series gamebooks. From the picture above, the Robot Commando shows a page which is the adventure sheet where you enter your stats and details with a roll of the dice. In the course of the game or story, decision are made by turning to the respective page as indicated on the book.
The Clash of the Prince, is another great adventure book as I recalled. All the illustration all seems to ring my memories. But the 2 player system can’t seem to ring the bell, probably will have read up later. Sure gonna bring back my fond memories of gamebook days when in the 80s. And… I still recall having some more other author gamebooks chucked in another box somewhere…
I guess with the current generation of kids, they are exposed more to electronic games and tablets. Traditional classic games, table top gaming, does not seem to attract them as much as the electronic ones. The exposure to these fun games are not so common as well, unlike video games. Well, guess if there is a chance, we should expose kids all these fun and exciting classic, table top gaming, rather than video games, right? After all, table top games bring the immerse interaction between friends. Isn’t playing chess with a friend more fun than the computer? Cheers!
