Complete History of Fighting Fantasy | Linear Edition
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Sit back and relax with a linear history of the Fighting Fantasy game books series! This is a more typical video history of the books, their creators, publishers, artists, games and more!
In my Interactive Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy you get to choose the path you take through the chapters of this storied past, with dead ends, traps, dragons, and treasures! This linear version features all of the key content from that version, but without the need to make any choices. Some of the trivia, traps, and treasures didn't make it, but you'll still get a deep dive into the genre creating legend that is Fighting Fantasy!
If you’ve already taken the interactive quest then there’s no new information in this video, but if you’ve been waiting to see the salient history told in a linear format, or you just want to spend over an hour listening to me talk(!), then this video is for you.
PATREON: / jordansorcery
INSTAGRAM: / jordansorcery
TWITTER: / jordansorcery
WEBSITE: jordansorcery....
Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy: • YOU are the UA-camr |...
#FightingFantasy #AdventureGameBooks #RPG #Gaming #GamesWorkshop #SteveJackson #IanLivingstone #SoloRPG #SoloGaming #books
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Links & Sources:
[Dice Men by Ian Livingstone] Amazon Affiliate Link - amzn.to/42FbYCX
[Warlock of Firetop Mountain] Amazon Affiliate Link - amzn.to/3NR8I3g
[YOU Are the Hero by Jonathan Green] www.kickstarte...
[Altrincham Grammar School Photography] Copyright Richard Sutcliffe; used under creative commons licence: www.geograph.o...
[BBC Archive on 4 - Skill, Stamina, and Luck] www.bbc.co.uk/...
[James Ryan @xfoml on Twitter] / 1015330917043146752
[Oulipo] www.oulipo.net...
[John Garforth] johngarforth.w...
[James Ryan @xfoml on Twitter] xf...
[Dragon Magazine at ANNA ARCHIVE] annarchive.com...
[Dyson Logos Firetop Mountain Map] dysonlogos.blo...
[White Dwarf 40]
[White Dwarf 42]
[White Dwarf 43]
[White Dwarf 46]
[Russ Nicholson’s Blog] russnicholson....
[Iain McCaig ArtStation] www.artstation...
[John Blanche Prints] johnblanchepri...
[Introductory RPG Images] www.etsy.com/u...
[Warlock Miniature] www.miniatures-...
[Warlock of Firetop Mountain C64 Emulator] c64online.com/...
[Deathtrap Dungeon Trailer] • PS1 Deathtrap Dungeon ...
[Warlock of Firetop Mountain Nintendo DS] • DS Trailer Fighting ...
[Inkle Sorcery Trailer] • Sorcery! Parts 1 and 2...
[Warlock of Firetop Mountain] • The Warlock of Firetop...
[Realm of Chaos 80s Blog - Bryan Ansell Interview]
realmofchaos80s...
[Citadel Fighting Fantasy Miniatures] www.miniatures...
[Atlantis Miniatures Kickstarter] www.kickstarte...
[Warlock of Firetop Mountain Boardgame in Action] therewillbe.ga...
[Legend of Zagor Advert] - • Legend of Zagor TV Com...
[Steve Jackson’s Battlecards] mocagh.org/loa...
[MALthus Dire’s Fighting Fantasy Page] ffreviewermalth...
[Realm of Chaos 80s Blog- Gary Chalk Interview] realmofchaos80s...
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Art, Music, and Copyright:
Images used belong to their respective copyright owners
[Thumbnail and Sigils by Hany.Kayal] / hany.kayal
[Jordan Sorcery Theme by Joylin] / imjoylin
[Jordan Sorcery Heraldry by Becka Moor] / beckamoor
I think people really underestimate how important these books could be for reluctant readers.
No they don't
Loved them as a kid, still love them, and have gradually been searching for them second hand on FB.
They're the king of "Leave your finger on the previous page in case your choice leads to death".
Thank you for giving a shout out to each artist and writer that contributed to this beautiful series of books and genres.
I hope I managed to mention most contributors - there has been so much incredible talent involved in the series over the years
This video is truly a masterpiece!
Thanks Nis!
Your the man! I loved the interactive version but I also love your essay type histories thank you for this
I'm only halfway through, but just had to comment on how brilliantly put together and researched this is! I had many of these titles and borrowed more from friends and even the library. Some were just bizarre and I only played like once or twice and never completed, others got many playthroughs. With Warlock my Dad, sister and I eventually mapped out the entire thing. The hardest one we got into and played many times without completing was House of Hell. Forest of Doom had the best cover, Deathtrap Dungeon and Trial of Champions were the pinnacle, and I think it was Citadel of Chaos that had one of the funniest moments with the Orc toilet 😂
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! There’s so much interesting history to FF that it was just a joy to research!
I enjoyed FF as a kid in the 80s .. still play them now with my son.
Just finished it, enjoyed it so much I'm going to go back and watch it again! I'm watching while painting my original Hero Quest minis 😊
Glad you made it through! If you’re looking for a few more snippets of trivia then the interactive version has some extra stuff in it!
I loved these books. I had the first ten or 12 in the 80s and early 90s. Seeing the covers alone was a big jolt of nostalgia. Your videos are ace. Nice one.
I remember these books with extreme fondness. My school’s “silent reading hour” wasn’t popular at first but when I brought Master of Chaos in and played it during that time, all my friends wanted in, too. Soon half the school was reading Fighting Fantasy (and the other half probably wished they were!). These things were an absolute phenomenon.
I loved that you made that you made this history interactive, but I love it even more that you also gave us a linear version with all the info in one vid.
I'm really happy that both versions seem to have found their place!
Thank you for making this video. I clearly remember my very first gamebook - I got it in 1997, when I was 11, and I was completely blown away - I even stopped playing computer games and was completely obsessed with it.I still like to revisit these books, also reading them for my daughters now.
my introduction to fantasy, nothing less
Great retrospective, thanks
Thanks! The FF books were such a great way to explore fantasy ideas back in the day!
Absolutely brilliant video. I had a wonderful teacher introduce me to them when I was 8 and I became hooked. Creature of Havoc is my all-time favourite.
Great.... Now I had to buy the complete Sorcery Saga on eBay. Thanks a lot! :D
An excellent piece of work. Well done that man! It still surprises me how much Fighting Fantasy remains with me. Although, I have to admit that it was Lone Wolf that truly stole my heart...
Thank you! To my shame, I have still never tried a Lone Wolf book. They’re on my long list to get round to though!
@@jordansorcery They're a bit more narrative focused and less insistent on murdering you than FF. The sense of continuity from your inventory list is also quite interesting. And the fantastic art from Gary Chalk doesn't hurt.
Oh heck yeah, do the live solving of the visual puzzle books!!!!
Cool history.
Also you’re the hero of my adventure Jordan: “The Hour Long Commute”
When the call goes out I must answer, "My commuters need me"
@17:00 SORCERY! Volume 4 was a gigantic piece of fantasy paper. Amazing books!
Thanks so much for this nostalgic adventure Jordan! In 1993, when I was 10, I spent 3 months driving around Australia with my dad. Apart from the wonderful sights and experiences, my main focus of this trip was seeking out book exchange stores across Australia and hunting for those alluring green spines. I would read and roll in the passenger seat as my dad drove. I even hassled my dad to stay an extra night in Katherine, Northern Territory, as I found Trolltooth Wars in the local library and powered through it in one night. I have now started reading FF to my 6 yr old at bed time and he is loving it! Thanks again.
thanks for this man, I download your videos as audio soundtracks when I'm running, and this is great.
Hopefully the sounds of warlocks, lizard kings, and geographical areas of doom helps quicken your pace!
Epic vid mate. Thanks so much! It's so wild there was so much crossover in fantasy production during the early days.
Thanks! In my research so far I'm constantly amazed at how many names and ideas turn up in wild places.
I loved your interactive video, it was two days worth of fun, but this is also brilliant; having all the information in one, easy to find location! And I still can't overstate how much the Fighting Fantasy series meant to me growing up. I'm so glad they're still going.
Thanks Jackal, glad that both versions have their worth. I'm really glad there's still FF books on book store shelves too, it's a bit of cultural continuity that reminds me of nice times.
Thanks for such an amazing retrospective. From Steve ‘Riddling Reaver’ Williams. All the best.
I honestly think this is one of your best videos. Thanks!
Thank you!
This history is pure Gold.
Own all 59 green spines and most others mentioned.
Random 'memberberries:
1. Forest of Doom (book 3) was my first book. Stumbled upon it on holiday. At the time it was the most recent book.
2. Never heard of D&D at the time. My first introduction to the idea of a TTRPG was Fighting Fantasy by (iirc) Steve Jackson. It was the TTRPG version of FF, but it was just a book with an adventure meant for one person to referee for another. It was a much better introduction to the concept of D&D than Dicing with Dragons.
3. Talisman of Death (book 10) was way better written than everything before it, and had much more interesting world building and characters. Some of the other FF books achieved the same quality, such as Creature of Havoc (book 24), which had the creative choice of you being a creature born in a lab trying to understand what you are.
4. I liked Steve Jackson's writing style much more than Ian Livingston. Ian perhaps did more intricate and dangerous adventures, but his prose was very brief and flat. The masterpiece of FF is Sorcery!, although I never realized it was meant to be more adult.
5. A lot of the books not written by Steve or Ian are a mixed bag. Clearly they wanted more books fast, so quality control was poor. Some are great, particularly later, but most of the early ones are rather terrible.
6. I never thought of the books as being for kids. Some of the writing got more advanced a few books in. House of Hell is way too scary for kids 9-12.
7. I always get Steve and Ian mixed up in old photos. For me, Ian looks like a Steve, and Steve looks like an Ian.
8. Obviously competition arose. Personally, I preferred Lone Wolf.
I loved this comment as much as I love this Video!
Was waiting for the standard version of this video and was not disappointed. These seem like a really cool idea. I def want to track some of them down now! Thanks
Glad it was worth the wait!
I saw Ian Livingstone give a talk once at the Brighton festival. He was as smart and funny as you would expect.
Thank you so much my dude, that was such a blast from the past. We used to read these at school, then once we'd finished one we would swap with a friend who had a different one.
Jordan, thanks for putting this together. Happy Easter, sir.
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter!
Really enjoyed this! You've jogged a memory in my head - we had a stand in art teacher (mid 90s ish) who showed us some art he'd done for a Fighting Fantasy gamebook. I wish I could remember his name! He was great, he set us a project drawing our own comic books.
Love it when lost memories just reappear and bring something magic back!
Brilliant overview, but I am a little sad to see you skipped out how Puffin introduced FF to its child readers through their own magazine. In one issue, at the bottom of each page was a paragraph with the same choices and other pages as references. Which was all kicked off from an article within the magazine.
To a child, the experience was thrilling, and I was hooked from that. I went on to obtain the next 36 books before getting distracted with D&D and computers.
Thanks for filling in all the blanks, and the replayability of the books decades later when you forget the subtleties and clues is really a joy to behold.
The Puffin book club seemed to be pretty influential in those early sales pushes so I probably should have made more of it, but time and research got away from me on this one. Glad you enjoyed it overall though!
Crikey, I've left three comments and one of them edited twice, and I never do that. This is a service to FF, cool documentary.
Glad you enjoyed it mate!
I must admit I never quite got around to the interactive version, so thank you so much for putting this linear edition together. Really enjoyed it! :-D
No worries, Dan. Glad you enjoyed it!
Hey man. Just dropping in to say I'm super glad I found your channel. Excellent and properly researched deep-dives into the stuff of my youth, and a great not-cringe narration style. Top lad! I should also say that I also went to Altrincham Grammar School (1997-2004), and Ian Livingstone came back one time and met us all, and he paid for a new IT suite to be built there!
Great to hear from another old Altrinchamian! Glad you’re enjoying the channel!
Really enjoying your channel. Keep up the good work, especially the Fighting Fantasy material 😊
Thank you
Wow, quality vid. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, and for filling in all the gaps!
Got sent here by the questing beast news letter. Great video. Will definitely check out more of the channel
Glad you found the channel, that’s amazing of Ben to include me in his newsletter!
I really love these books. I still pick one up every now and then.
Love all your videos, FF, Heroquest and Warhammer Fantasy defined my childhood.
Mine too! Glad you've been enjoying the videos!
Lovely stuff. Great video!!
Fantastic documentary Jordan. I really enjoyed this - thank you for your hard work and time in producing it. You have a great voice and presentation style for this type of work
Thank you, I appreciate the kind words
I did enjoy the video. Thank you for putting in the effort to compile it.
Interesting coincidence that the first (and only) fighting fantasy book I owned as a child was Island of the Lizard king. However, by then I had read the first three books in the Sorcery! series (sadly, we didn't own the fourth one, which was out of print in Spain by then, and it took me many years to find a reprint that changed the abbreviations of the spellbook from the ones in those three originals, which soured me a little on reading through the conclusion). The Sorcery! series were amazing, and they were very much one of my gateways into fantasy gaming (with the other being Heroquest).
This was, as always, a great video, and one that made me want to see a more detailed retrospective of the Sorcery! series.
I'd love to get more time on Sorcery! at some point, it's on the (very) long list of good ideas!
Great video! Impressive amounts of information and knowledge! Thanks! :)
This is an incredible documentary. Definitely earned a subscription.
Forest of Doom was my favourite. Starship Traveller was very interesting and I wish they'd done more SF stuff. I've still got most of these from the early 80's somewhere...
I'd have loved a few more science fiction entries too, though tbf when you've already got giant robots fighting space dinosaurs then there is a danger that you've peaked!
Cracking vid, good job dude👍
Oh my goodness the Tasks of Tantalon...I had completely forgotten that. It blew my tiny mind
I have it and it still completely eludes me! I've even thought about streaming my efforts to solve it so that I can draw on the wisdom of the crowds!
An exeptional piece of work, thank you
waves of nostalgia - thanks for making this
Still remember meeting Throm. Iain McCaig was such a good artist.
I still have all my books including the RPG books (Dungeoneer and Blacksand) and the two player set (Clash of the Princes)
This was insane. I liked and subscribed.
Thank you, it brought back some great memories.
I'm glad that you did a linear version for binging purposes. I do, however, prefer the "proper" version for artistic reasons.
Only a select few will know the thrill of finding hidden treasure and facing down dragons!
Another brilliant video! I remember taking the FF books wherever we went on holidays when I was a kid and always being on the look out for new ones. Sadly, my original books went a long time ago, but I did manage to replace some ad get some that I had never read/played (still need to play them!) in recent years. When the PC and Phone versions were released a few years back I really got back into them. I have lived in Thailand for 20+ years and the number of Thai references that crop up in the books is quite amusing, so I guess the authors spent a bit of time here back then (Baron Sukhumvhit, Chiang Mai, and of course the village of Fang, where I believe Russ Nicholson lived before his sad passing a few months back. I always wanted to go on a pilgrimage there to meet him and thank him for his wonderful contributions). I did manage to keep onto all my copies of Warlock magazine though and recently rescued them from my brother's attic! There is such a wealth of artwork and lore in these, the original books and the later Titan & Pit books. Russ N. & Chris Achillios are by far my favourite artists but tbh I love it all.
I didn't know Russ Nicholson lived in the village of Fang, incredible! The series has so much wonderful story telling and art so I really wanted to do them justice. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Very interesting, thanks.
Turn to page 72 if you leave a comment. Turn to page 154 if you leave a like and subscribe. EDIT: wow the interactive videos sound cool, great idea. I'll do it chronologically with this video though, just listening to it in the background. Brilliant stuff.
Once again Jordan, kudos on all the work and effort you put into this
Thank you! Appreciate you taking the time!
Brilliant. Had these as a child but your video prompted me to get Deathtrap Dungeon and City of Thieves for my sons. Thanks 😊
Fantastic, lots of fun to be had with those two!
This was thoroughly enjoyable. I hope your channel takes off!
Thank you! Me too!
Thanks for the video!
My pleasure!
Oh my god thank you for doing this. I loved your interactive version, but it was not compatible with my lifestyle at the moment having a 1 yo kid.
My pleasure! Get that kid a copy of the Adventures of Goldhawk as soon as possible!
Incredible video! Very well done
At school these saved my life from getting involved in gang warfare, as I was a good fighter others wanted me to join their murderous gang in South London, but I found these ff books gave me my kicks 😅😅😅😅😅
I have a few of those around still, tried to get my boys into them but they enjoyed miniature games a little more
Jordan, discovering you on YT has been a true joy
Why thank you, very glad I could put a little joy out there!
Very impressive history, well done
Thank you!
Looking at the covers of the FF books I bought as a kid I hauntedly felt echos of the feeling I did when holding them as a kid, and could almost smell the new book odour! Those covers were brilliant and still look great.
Very enjoyable while painting😊😊😊
This is brilliant. Really well researched and presented. The second edition of the RPG is great. We played all the adventures, and retconned some of the D20 adventures.
I had warlock of firetop mountain, citadel of chaos and deathtrap dungeon as a lad. I dont think i ever finished one properly despite playing with a quickload finger feature
Brilliant thank you
I bought the first two books when they first came out at £1.25. Well worth it. I've never regretted it.
An amazing overview, thank you. Squeak-Squeak 🐀🌠
Superb video. You showed so many new things I didn't knew before. The world of Fighting Fantasy is a really big world. My first FF Book was Warlock of Firetop Mountain in the mid 80ies an I still have the copy today.
Cheers! There's just so much rich history to these books
Ok, I feel old, I remember those Choose your Own Path and Osbourn Puzzle Books!
But they were no Fighting Fantasy that's for sure....
I used to have the Scratch off cards at boarding school in 1992, but just before the school closed down (thanks to the Tories) somebody in school stole my entire collection of them, and most of them had been unscratched as well, by school staff didn't make the effort to find who did steal them by searching the pupil's bags on the way home 😞
Love your videos 👍. So we'll researched. I grew up with FF still have some of the original books I had as a kid. Some bit worse for wear or sun bleached lol. Deathtrap Dungeon, Island of the Lizard King, The Forest of Doom and the underwater one with the big skeleton thing on the cover. Lol damn my memory is bad lol. And the Haunted House one.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for your support, greatly appreciated
This was brilliant. I could watch you talk about Fighting Fantasy all day.
Have you thought of individual book reviews or partial let's plays?
Thank you! I have been thinking about the potential to stream an FF read through, or perhaps a humiliating stream of me struggling on the first page of the puzzlequests, but it's probably still a little ways in the future if I do it.
@@jordansorcery just showing off the art for the nostalgia hit is the thing I reckon. What about checking out other work by the same artists in Warhams, etc. and bringing it together? Rhystic Studios does the same for Magic art. I chest at Fighting Fantasy anyway I don't need to see you getting lost :). Much rather see the art and hear what you think.
Amazing video. Brought back so many memories! I don’t think I actually played them properly either. Also my favourite cover would probably be Deathtrap Dungeon.
Thanks, I’m glad it brought back some fun stuff!
1:23:29 Grailquest! Have a few FF as well.
Excellent breakdown, great work! I downloaded WoFM on Steam to see what it's about! :D
Thanks! Hope you have fun with it!
A very interesting video. I haven’t read Jonathan Green’s History of FF but assume a lot of the detail comes from that book?
I’m surprised the Tunnels and Trolls solo adventure “Buffalo Castle” (1976) wasn’t mentioned in this video.
Dang I thought I’d seen everything when I played the first time around but there’s a lot I missed. I live in Japan and used to teach in middle schools. I remember being flabbergasted when I found fighting fantasy in the school library
Also, wasn’t it the fighting fantasy games that inspired the Dark Souls video games?
That certainly sounds possible, though I'm not too familiar with the games! Have the designers talked on record about FF, do you know?
@@jordansorcery I tried to post a link to an article, but I guess UA-cam took it away? If you google “Miyazaki Fighting Fantasy” you should find plenty. Apparently, Miyazaki tried to read the FF books in English and couldn’t understand everything but still enjoyed them. And that’s why his games have such ambiguous storylines
That's fascinating! I guess inspiration comes from everywhere in those kinds of creative fields
Great video dude.
I just realised I was not subscribed... FFS... I remember my first book was Citadel of Chaos. I could'nt complete the horror house one (House of Hell). Starship Traveller is still my favourite one. in fact I loved all the sci-fi ones. Ring of Kether, Freeway Fighter and the Robot Commando were all awesome. I dont think they all had 400 entires... I am sure I remember one that had less (which I found surprising). Was the perfect gateway to Warhammer. I also had the Sorcery and the RPG books.
Crown of Kings was my first ever one.. age 8!
They made a sequel to the city of thieves; dunno if it's any good. Also a book focused on fighting a horde of zombies; the harddrive broke and the author had to redo everything; m not sure if it was Livingstone; it was not so immersive but interesting for being new. Strange how the "Jacksons" seem to be an expression of the "Matrix"; each with a same name and with a path leading to each other to create one of the greatest influence in litterature with Ian and others. We read these books like we played later SuperMario; restarting each time even after an hour; they were portals to new worlds and sometimes you felt like Bastian reading the NeverendingStory; it developed also a sense of creativity, expressions and writting. You even learned how to hold a book to not damage its cover and lose pages... At school, at the library during diner, I liked to reproduce the art but larger on four sheets taped togheter. Then you hear later that there are japanese adaptations; and the art that you thought the only possible signature for these books is replaced with anime characters; like using MickeyMouse's univers for Willow; even one author was confused by the curves on Twitter. For the reprints, I never liked the new covers, it communicates nothing and they added a page to tell readers to not do what's happening in the books; realy immersive calling people idiots. And you get older and start to understand why some opinions were negative; at least back then it was just entertainment for us; but darn it was frustrating to not have the code/number/item/page to continue the story; later, I was keeping a finger on each page I turned and was reading the story like three times in one go. I sold my whole collection on the street to another kid for twenty dollars. Anyway, nice vid👍
Great work!
Thank you!
Great video but regards to book #1 - was Zagor that evil? I remember breaking into his house and stealing his stuff, I don't think we were actually given any noble motive for this...
It’s a fair point, ‘we’ are definitely not good guys either, but the larger narrative around Zagor (at least later on) is that he is an evil warlock who killed his mentor and built an army of bad guys. I can’t remember how explicitly that’s explored in the original though. I guess it was an era where the moral motivation wasn’t quite as considered!
To anyone reading:
There is a great clone of the original FF RPG (not AFF,mind) called Spellzard and it’s super cool! Enjoy!
Cheers, folks!
This is nothing sexual, but if I were a cat I would want Jordan to be my cat dad. This was a great video. When I was around ten years old my friend Tim and I played the American versions of the book, which was 99% the same. When I was at the ripe old age of 25 I saw some of the later UK books in the 30s and 40s of the series in a used book store. I so want to be in the place mentally to read these books again.
I had a dutch translation of Starship traveller (Sterrenschip Viator)
That translation sounds epic
I just offered two books to each of my two nephews for Christmas. They didn't care about the rules, but they wouldn't stop reading and flipping pages and show each other the monsters they were encountering. Never seen them so absorbed in anything. Those books were super easy to find in French, which is good for them. But I can barely find a few in English. Where do I buy them?
I do wonder why we've not seen a revival of the 'choose your own adventure'/''Fighting Fantasy' books as ebooks on Kindle. They seem such an obvious and easy conversion, yet they are so difficult to come by and most have never been released as ebooks.
Some of the app based re-works are really fun, but I agree, it is surprising that there's not just a load of kindle/reader editions with some hyperlinks more readily available
19:53 - Wait, I thought that book's author was Gorgs Prc...?
Oh man, at first you totally got m