Are "Choose-your-own-adventures" still relevant?

Back in the 80's when CYOA games were at the peak of their powers, video games were still in its infancy, a strange new digital frontier that looked a long way off replacing the text adventure for longevity and depth. But times change; games routinely cost millions of dollars to create, take upwards of 50 hours to complete and have some of the best writing around. So where does that leave the humbled interactive novel?

As films became a more accessible visual medium, the novel had to move over a little to allow its new neighbour some of the glory. Decades on, the film industry has become one, if not the, largest entertainment media on earth, but has it ousted the novel? No. And it certainly didn't die when the rise of

TV started to move in on the territory that films had taken from novels. The novel is simultaneously solid and fluid; solid in its presentation but fluid in its relationship with society.

There will always be people reading in bed at night or in the park or on public transport. Novels provide a depth that not even TV can give, a real insight into the inner workings of characters' minds.

Now back to the original question, where does this leave interactive novels, that strange niche that exists between novel and game?

Well, that's where we come in. Here at Dark Skies Entertainment, we are hoping to create some new text adventures with added elements a physical book couldn't do. Things like combat arenas, dice mechanics, and inventory management. Things you would normally have to keep a separate piece of paper and pencil handy for.

By making our upcoming adventure Inhumanity available as a mobile game app, we merge the old and new, much like the resurgence of LP's, the retro is infused with modern sensibilities.

While we do have a desire to bring Inhumanity out as a physical book, we are also aware of the challenges in doing so, which makes releasing it as an app the best way for us to reach as many people as possible without creating a carbon footprint.