Choose Your Own Adventure Books. . .

[MstrTal]

What happened to them?

I know when I was a kid I loved them. I wonder because my own children are now 10 and 5 and while at radically different reading levels could benefit from more books that could help stimulate their imagination. That said I wonder are "Pick Your Path" or "Choose Your Own Adventure" books a dead end or is there a possible future in them?

What are your guys thoughts? I have been contemplating trying my hands at a story or two around my other WIP. I just don't know if it would be worth the bother.

 

[Chaoticheart]

I absolutely loved these.

When I was a young warthog I was obsessed with K.A. Applegate's Animorphs (I think i ended up having all fifty something books - ill check later). When the two alternamorphs gamebooks came out I couldn't have been happier; it was like being a part of the universe I loved.

So, whilst they're great, I don't think there's much of a future in them unless they're based in already established franchises.

 

[SleepyDormouse]

My son recently got some club penguin choose your own path type books. He is really enjoying them. First ones of this style I have seen for sale though.

I think from a writing side they would be very complicated books to plot out.

 

[Dozmonic]

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone churned out a load of these. Others soon followed. There are still some kid's books that have CYOA books running alongside them, such as Beast Quest and Daisy Meadows. I've seen some football based ones too.

As for plotting, they're simpler than a standard novel. The size limits them, especially when you have to take into account all the options at each step!

 

[Tezz]

As a small child these books where my first foray into fantasy literature. Citadel of Chaos was my first experience and i remember being in awe at it (I was like 8 or so) my favorite childhood T.V program was Knightmare and these books envoke similar feelings....

Get a warm fuzzy feeling remembering trying to scrub out a previous games character sheet without ripping it and having 5 fingers saving different pages in case i changed my mind about going down that dank corridor towards a giant spider

 

[thaddeus6th]

I loved the Lone Wolf books

Incidentally, a splendid but silly fellow I know has written a short one for a free online fanzine. Escape from the Sorcerer available here [biggish file, probably better to download]:

http://www.unboundbook.org/FightingFantazine/FF6.pdf

I found it pretty challenging, I'm going to go through it at some point without the fights to see how it ends.

Tezz, I used to do stuff like that too