If you travelled back to 1982 to tell Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone that The Warlock of Firetop Mountain would be re-imagined as a digital tabletop experience in 2015, they’d likely think you completely mad, and rightfully so! Yet that’s exactly what’s happening to the Fighting Fantasy classic, courtesy of gamebook veterans, Tin Man Games.
In the original version of this tale, you played the part of the hero, embarking on a quest for a chest containing untold wealth. Unfortunately, this does involve braving the dangers deep beneath Firetop Mountain, kicking ass, taking names and solving puzzles, in search of two keys required to open said chest. A perilous journey to say the least, as many paths lead to your untimely demise (just in case the dungeon’s denizens ain’t enough to abruptly end your adventure). Oh, and you’ll also have to somehow get past an evil and very powerful warlock.
But that was then, this is now, thirty-three years later, and courtesy of fancy technology, this digital adaptation will be so much more than digitized Fighting Fantasy books before it. Where most of those had automatic dice rolls, inventory tracking and such, with little to no other changes, this one’s going to be as fresh as they come. Tabletop-style gameplay, complete with miniatures, has replaced the ‘if you want to do this, go to page that’ system, and that’s just the beginning. How about an interactive 3D map, a brand new (optional) combat system or even a handful of different characters (each with their own agenda) to play as? Yeah. This is going to be huge.
While we have funded and developed the technology for The Warlock of Firetop Mountain ourselves, we need more art to flesh out the new environments and characters. Moving from purely text based adventures to this new visual style has significantly increased the artwork required and associated costs.
Likely less so should their Kickstarter campaign fail, however. Probably won’t, seeing how it’s sitting comfortably at $7,581 of $10,684 with a full 30 days on the clock. One helluva first day, eh? I suspect stretch goals will be added sooner rather than later, at this rate. Whatever the case, a copy of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Steam + DRM-free) requires a pledge of $30+ while cranking it up to $500+ lets you “write a death ending”, and gets you a physical copy, signed by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. Pricey, although for fans with deep enough pockets… worth it.
Feel free to poke around its Kickstarter page for more (a lot more, actually) details, and remember, the deadline for donations is November 30, 2015. Let’s get it kickstarted!
