DS and iPhone Latest news

Welcome Adventurers' the Warlock iApp was released on the App Store on the 3rd January and sales have been excellent (several thousand Downloads in the first week alone..Woweeeeee) and there have been lots of complimentary comments (see below):

Great Fun
by Chrono Gear on Jan 14, 2010 v1.1

I'm a sucker for choose your own adventure books. These seem to translate very well into video form. This game is no exception. Fun story and ever so tempting to want to use the back button to undue bad decisions but I can't do it! No! No! No! It's just wrong! Going to have to play through this one a few more times I think. A fantastic read! Don't be turned off
by GSwarthout on Jan 13, 2010 v1.1

I've got to admit, when I started the game I didn't know what I was getting into (got it free) and was initially off-put by the "Choose Your Own Adventure" gameplay. But I found that there were interesting choices to make and I grew to appreciate the game for what it is. That gol-dern Giant killed me off and I want a re-match! Classic next gen!
by Pitta_iTunes on Jan 13, 2010 v1.1

What a wonderful remake of a classic! What memories! Grat game, really suited to the iPhone with great production values. I'm really loving the page turning and the drawings brought to life if click on those. Game is an instant classic...all the fun from the past is back, with less pencil erasing and no way to cheat throu the game. Absloutely a must have for Fantasy lovers. To the dev: I would add an option to skip animations (especially the dice roll ones) and some kind of auto mapping...it's not feasible with a portable device to draw your Maps on a block notes. Other than that, it's just perfect....I hope more is coming (possibly via in app-purchases, to avoid having 10 icons on the iPhone). Fantastic
by Sockpuppet999 on Jan 12, 2010 v1.1

This is just what I have been looking for for a long time. A portable Fighting Fantasy. The system works great and makes playing the book fun. I hope they add many more in this series.
TazarTheYoot
by TazarTheYoot on Jan 11, 2010 v1.1

This is a great creation of a classic game, I'm so happy they made this and hope they do it for more books. It slows down in a couple of spot but I've never experienced any freezing as long as I wait it out. Please make more, the iPhone is a great medium for Gamebooks now to get fabled lands on the iPhone! Great game, great book, great series, great memories...
by MGordy on Jan 8, 2010 v1.1

Great, faithful conversion of the book series. It is great to see that crashing bug was resolved so quickly!. Altogether though - an excellent trip down memory lane for less than the cost of an actual book! Fingers crossed for Deatrap Dungeon. Can't wait!
Lose a star for it crashing in the sane spot I can't go any further because it crashes
by Vaylgars on Jan 7, 2010 v1.0

Please fix the crash so I can continue my journey, I am stuck in a loop crash and can't continue it loses my fight and I have to start over at the previous page before the fight and it crashes again and I am back to square one! Please fix the game is very fun reminds me of the old Zork series books I read as a kid! awsome if you can make it work ! Great idea, unforgivable execution.
by Masterhibb on Jan 7, 2010 v1.0

I played a couple of these books back in the day, and bringing them to the iPhone seems like a lock. However, while the execution of the storybook parts is fantastic and colorful, the dice rolls make this game unplayable. Every single roll requires sitting through a maddeningly slow roll animation, followed by an excruciating addition animation where every single number is animated individually. Considering some combats can take dozens of rolls, this game is simply way too frustrating to play until these animations are skippable. Wait for a patch or pass this one by.
Awesome Start... will be a great format once the kinks are worked out.
by KidZero7 on Jan 6, 2010 v1.0

The iPhone is the perfect medium for this type of game!! I've played the original paperbacks back in the day. The fact that the app keeps track of your stats & inventory along with making the dice rolls is great! The story is deep and I'm enjoying this app so far. However, it it sometimes buggy. I'm at a point where I've defeated a foe (a wight), but the continue button is not enabled. So I'm stuck and cannot progress in the story. Once the format has been perfected, I want more, more and more of these great stories!!! (Please?!) Pros: - Perfect medium for this type of game. - Easy to read and can change the font size. - Keeps track of stats and inventory. - Easy to use interface - Saves your progress - Fantastic story Cons: - Some story progression bugs. - Can't "skip" dice roll animations. (This needs to be added!) - Add auto-mapping? Great fun, great art, but a couple of problems.
by Scoots McGee on Jan 5, 2010 v1.0

ATTN: Big Blue Bubble games: Please make more of these- especially the Sorcery! series. You are off to a good start with Warlock of Firetop Mountain. But FIRST- fix some issues- Primarily fix the crashing. Not only is it rampant it appears after crahing the app sticks around in memory and drains the battery. SECOND- dice rolls take FOREVER to resolve onscreen. The slow bouncy dice and ridiculously slow on-screen addition drive me crazy after a combat or two. I've turned off the phone in the middle of combat because it is so maddening. How about a button that lets me skip to the result? Or a setting for combat speed? Seriously, it would take less time for me to drag out dice and a paper and do it myself. That isn't why I bought the app. Those two issues are the only things holding this back from a 5 star review. Otherwise I would only recommend this to the hardcore fans whose love for the content will see them through the flaws in the code.
The Future of FIghting Fantasy!
by Youjinbo on Jan 5, 2010 v1.0

Deciding? BUY THIS APP NOW!! Incredible. Convenient. Easy. Portable. FUN!!! The attention to detail for the game book is astounding. I paid over $100 on ebay for a nearly complete set of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks and I got this for $3. Plus this does all the figuring work for you! I love watching the pictures come to life with color as I tap them. You will have a blast playing this and I can't wait for more of the Fighting Fantasy game books to arrive on the store. I want to have the whole set on my ipod too including the rare books that are hard to find.
A solid take on a classic
by Thalcos on Jan 4, 2010 v1.0

Warlock is one of the best (and toughest) of the Fighting Fantasy series, so this was a good place to start -- the game will bring you back to the days when you could spend hours flipping through these adventure books. The implementation here is solid, though the combat resolution should be WAY faster as it's currently slower than rolling real dice! Slowly adding the dice rolls and showing the math calculation is overkill and frustrating here. Also, the illustrations are a too small to appreciate, and the game does crash occasionally. Still, the heart of the game is its old-school writing, and the developers get bonus points for allowing you to adjust the text size and font, and go back and forth in the book. If you're a fan of the series, pick this one up (and hope an update comes soon!)
Great fun!
by Birdie Dave on Jan 4, 2010 v1.0

I have always wanted to play pen and paper dungeons n dragons, but until now have never had the patience. while this game may not be as deep as D&D, it is like having a personal dungeon master, who is elequent and keeps track of all your stats. would be a 5 star had it not crashed a few times. Luckily there was no data loss, but please fix. (for anyone wondering how severe the bug is. it crashed twice during a 1 1/2 - 2 hour session. but please buy now to ensure an update.) Great Adaptation of the Original Book.
by Da king b on 13-Jan-2010 v1.1

Overall I think they have done a great job adapting the book to the iPod/iPhone platform. If you grew up with this book series as I did you will appreciate all of the accurate art work from the book. Pros: True to original book Animated page flip is a nice touch Nice art work - again taken straight from the book Cons: Rolling the dice can become a little tiering - It seems as if you have to go through the animation - there is no short cut. Overall - Nice job - recommended - Hope they come out with all the FF books. Worthy of the original.
by Pat 09 on 13-Jan-2010 v1.1

I was so excited to see this, I've been wondering how long it would take until someone made an app for these books. This is nicely done, all the paperwork is handled electronically which makes it a lot more convenient. The dice turning is too slow though (actually, it's the "adding up of the score" that takes too long, especially in a long fight). Hopefully that will be tweaked in the future. Also, it would be nice to be able to listen to your own music as well while you read (seems like like a must for an app like this). Other than that though, it's nicely executed, really makes you crave for the whole series because ironically while this book has the honor of being the first in the series, it's really not the best one! Hopefully they will port the grail quest series (and/or the lone wolf one) as those were really awesome! Anyways, I love the concept, just want more books to read!! ;)

Big Blue Bubble Inc. are now working on Deathtrap Dungeon as their second release, which should be out February or March 2010. To download the iApp just search search for ‘Fighting Fantasy’).

OLDER NEWS Big Blue Bubble Inc. announced today that the first in the series of interactive Fighting Fantasy game books, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, will be available on iPhone this Christmas.

Following the successful Nintendo DS launch of the game of the same name, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for iPhone and iPod Touch takes a different approach bringing Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson’s legendary game book to your favorite handheld device. Fans should also look out for the next book in the series, Deathtrap Dungeon, to be released in January!

Fighting Fantasy fans will love the classic story and original illustrations with a technological twist. No more dice, pencils, or bookmarks. All the special features are built in!

Features…
• Tap the on screen buttons to flip pages (No papercuts!)
• Shake to roll the dice using the accelerometer
• Inventory items selectable via touch-screen
• Game-save feature allows you to retrace your steps
• Beautifully painted illustrations

The iApp Warlock of Firetop Mountain is very similar to an eBook, using the text and illustrations from the original books but with page-turning as hyperlinks and a brilliant dice roller using the iPhone itself. Take a look at these exclusive screen shots.

For more information on Big Blue Bubble and its ongoing projects, please visit www.bigbluebubble.com

The following description of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain game for Nintendo DS is taken from the publisher’s official press release. Game scheduled for October 2009 (US only). Anticipated European launch in January 2010.

Take a look at these exclusive FightingFantasy.com screens and concept art for the DS version of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain which is scheduled to appear in time for Christmas!

Big Bubble have made the pages more interesting with scroll background, mini-animations etc. The new iApps may also introduce save points so you don't have to keep starting all over every time you die. It all looks pretty good so far...and more news and screenshots soon.

We are delighted to announce that Big Blue (DS Developers) are currently producing versions of the iconic literary titles that will sell as iApps through the iStore. The first title (Warlock of Firetop Mountain) should be ready for Christmas with the possibility of new titles every 2 months afterwards until April next year.

Nintendo DS™: ASPYR MEDIA AND BIG BLUE BUBBLE TO BRING THE ICONIC LITERARY FIGHTING FANTASY SERIES TO LIFE WITH THE UPCOMING RELEASE OF FIGHTING FANTASY: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain FOR THE NINTENDO DS™ THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Stunning Action RPG Available for Nintendo DS™ This Holiday Season

AUSTIN, TEXAS – July 7, 2009 – Aspyr Media and Big Blue Bubble have partnered to launch Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for Nintendo DS™. Based on the legendary book series by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a first-person fantasy role-playing game that takes players on an elaborate adventure through the Firetop Mountain Keep, the scene of the first entry in the renowned literary line. With a highly optimized 3D engine, dynamic lighting and highly detailed, full-frame animations, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain fully immerses players in the dank, eerie depths of each dungeon and passage.

“Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is our most ambitious Nintendo DS project to date,” said Damir Slogar CEO of Big Blue Bubble Inc. “Driven by the vision of bringing next gen console gaming to the handheld platform, as well as our passion for role playing games, we spent the past few years working on a game that will showcase how this FPSRPG on Nintendo DS can and should look.

Mr. Slogar added, “both Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson shared our vision and helped us recreate the world of Fighting Fantasy. The last step was finding a publisher with the same enthusiasm and Aspyr filled this role perfectly.”

“Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain might be the best looking game that we’ve ever seen on Nintendo DS and the opportunity to work with the likes of Ian Livingstone, Steve Jackson and the talented team at Big Blue Bubble was too good to pass up,” said Ted Staloch, Executive Vice President, Aspyr Media. “The series created by Ian and Steve turned fantasy books into unprecedented interactive experiences. The game that bears the franchise’s name will do the same for RPG gaming on a handheld.”

Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain follows a lone adventurer on his travels through the old Dwarven keep within Firetop Mountain. Now the residence of an evil warlock and hordes of foul creatures, the keep is a mysterious and dangerous place from which no one has returned in many years. As players guide the adventurer through the many passageways and dungeons, they develop the character’s abilities and attributes to suit their play style. Enemies will fall before the player’s brute strength with sword and axe, power of the arcane arts, nimble quickness or custom combinations of skills. A wealth of weaponry, armor, potions and enchantments are equipped through an intuitive drag-and-drop inventory system while helpful (or not-so-helpful) NPCs provide guidance, quests, trade goods and skill training.

The Fighting Fantasy book series launched in 1982 with the first title, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Authors Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson created a revolutionary new idea for the fantasy genre: the reader would become the hero of his or her own fantasy adventure in a story that would be part book, part game. After each paragraph a decision must be made: which way to turn, whether to fight or flee, which mysterious character to approach, and what risks to take. Each choice sent the reader to a different page to discover the consequences of their choice, with each read-through ending either in disaster, or with the discovery of the ultimate goal. To date, the series has seen more than 70 titles published and more than 14 million copies sold worldwide.

Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for Nintendo DS will be available this holiday season.

With over 40 games in its portfolio, Big Blue Bubble is one of Canada’s leading video game developers. By maintaining a strong focus on the development of cross-platform technology and showcasing it through award-winning games, Big Blue Bubble will continue to lead the way in bringing new and innovative concepts to the market.

For more information on Big Blue Bubble and its ongoing projects, please visit www.bigbluebubble.com

About Aspyr Media

Aspyr Media, Inc. is a leading videogame publisher that creates, packages and delivers fun to millions around the world. Hailing from Austin, Texas USA, Aspyr strives relentlessly to ensure a quality experience for consumers and industry partners. To fall more deeply in love with Aspyr and its amazing line of products, visit www.aspyr.com and see just how much fun you can legally have.

Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2006 Nintendo. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. Fighting Fantasy coming to iPhone later this year!