There are several different ways to write a gamebook, and readers have their preferences. One vitally important element that often remains untalked about in the gamebook community is the nature of the book's protagonist. Will 'You' remain voiceless and opinion-less in such a way that the reader can project themselves into the character? Or will 'You' have stated opinions, dialogue, and thoughts that may potentially run counter to the thoughts of the reader?
The old school method trends toward the former style, where 'You' remain more or less silent. This works for dungeon crawlers and the simple plot lines of Fighting Fantasy and Choose Your Own Adventure books very well and many gamebook readers prefer it. This method does, however, leave the author more or less trapped in a very basic narrative space with little to no room for growth, personal discovery, or dialogue.
When I began outlining Westward Dystopia, I originally plotted it out in the style of the classic Fighting Fantasy books. 'You' were a blank slate, on the run for unspecified reasons in search of wealth and adventure in the wasteland. Needlessly to say, I ultimately found that this left the story feeling rather lifeless, and so I began adding some minor details to 'Your' back story. Mindful of how some players don't like to be told how they feel or what they would say, I kept the story to a minimum at first and stuck with the lone wanderer trope for the majority of the book. A part of me wanted to throw the concept of 'You' away entirely--to give the character a name and exact thoughts, to have the reader roleplay my character rather than project themselves into the setting, but somehow it just didn't feel right at the time.
Midway through writing the rough draft of initial adventure, I was feeling stuck in a rut and opened up a blank document to brainstorm ideas. Eventually, I came up with this essential bit of dialogue as presented to the player at the climax of the story, which has since formed the crux of the entire series:
"Typically you are presented with a small number of viable options, giving the illusion of free will and choice. It’s how we train the brains of our operatives to accept commands on their early missions. Have you ever felt as though your choices through life have been limited? Almost arbitrarily? Well there is a reason for that. Every eventuality that you survived would lead you to this outcome."
This resulted in a major breakthrough in both theme and narrative for Westward Dystopia: Control and exploration of the nature of gamebooks as a storytelling medium. Suddenly the entire nature of 'You' was thrown into question. If the story was about the reader experiencing and influencing the life of another person, seeing through their eyes as they read, then perhaps the character could have a voice of their own, could have their own thoughts and feelings while still remaining 'You'. Thus the meta-plot of the series was created, where the player is told from the opening pages that they are experiencing the memories of a mysterious 'Traveler' and reconstructing experiences from a fractured psyche. This particular framing device is only visited at the beginning and end of the book, leaving readers to become immersed in the world of the wasteland before the climax and ending pulls them out with a jerk as the readers realize and remember who the real viewpoint character is: themselves.
In order to give this framework more clarity, the opening sequences of Westward Dystopia and Spire Ablaze are written in third person, only shifting to the second person 'You' when the reader is immersed into the mind of our main perspective character and plays through the adventure.
The response from the gamebook community has been overwhelmingly positive thus far, and I hope to keep readers guessing as I further deconstruct gamebook perspective and explore the metaplot of Westward Dystopia through the next several books I have planend in the series!
Westward Dystopia is available now on Amazon and greekwinter.com.
Book 2: Spire Ablaze will be available by mid-October!
Hot damn that is a genius idea!
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