What Ever Happened to Choose Your Own Adventure?

Choose Your own Adventure has maybe been one of the most influential series of all time. Let's explore the history of interactive fiction and the rise and fall (and maybe rise again?) of this incredible body of work!
Thanks for the support!
/ endingsexplained
Music:
Bossa Antigua, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Hard Boiled, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Vibing over Venus, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Celtic Impulse, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sources:
www.cyoa.com/pages/history-of...
www.smithsonianmag.com/innova..."

[@JarsCristobal]

Amazing retrospective. Reading these books as an elementary kid is probably what led to me being a Dungeon Master and game designer now. I guess i owe CYOA a lot.

[@exitsexamined]

I bet a ton of people out there are the same! Are your games RPG or narrative focused? One thing I was wondering alot about while doing this vid was how these type of choices in games are designed - must be intense!

[@jasonblalock4429]

Heh, I remember as a kid, trying to convert a CYOA book into a BASIC program. The programming was dead simple, but I gave up halfway through because transcribing the book was boring and taking too long. But I think even back then (circa 1985) kid me recognized that computers were going to be the future of interactive stories.

[@exitsexamined]

Whoa, would have loved to see that! I wonder if something like that does exist. It was hard pin pointing an exact start in the history of video games of something like a CYOA but one of these days I think I will do a deeper dive into it. The two 100% go hand in hand. Do you remember the first game you played that had narrative choice at it's core?

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@exitsexamined Yeah, the line between Interactive Fiction and CYOA is pretty blurry. They're really two implementations of the same basic idea, with the differences coming from what 'hardware' they're on. That said, did you know that Infocom kinda-sorta invented the interactive movie in 1988? They released a few "interactive comics" which did animated choose-your-path storytelling on low-power 4- and 16-color systems, like a really early ancestor of Telltale. Unfortunately, they flopped and are mostly forgotten today.

[@Iron-Bridge]

Ah, I remember this CYOA series from hanging out at the local library back in the day. Later moved on over to the superior Fighting Fantasy book series by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. Also, the just as brilliant Lone Wolf and Way Of The Tiger series. All Choose Your Own Adventure structure books with dice based combat and puzzle solving. 😊

[@nicholasbarton3184]

I had totally forgotten about this series! You did a great job making the history of this decades long franchise into a cohesive story. Cool to learn about Choosco, will make great gifts. Can't wait to see more videos.

[@vincentcastor5978]

I read these books as a kid and loved all the crazy adventures I would go on whilst sitting in my room. Today I have a very nice collection of the vintage releases, the newer rewritten remakes I feel don't have the same nostalgia. One called Super Computer was about what we know today as AI written in 1982- Wild stuff.

[@exitsexamined]

Some of the writing in them was really inventive! How many books do you think you have in total? Sounds like a lot!

[@LinoWalker]

Thank you so much for making this video! I loved the in-depth research and the historical perspective you've given me (I'd actually love to know more about historical interactive books). I absolutely love Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books! Here, in Bulgaria, they came in the 90's. My best friend and I loved these books. They captivated us in a way that video games never could. While we loved video games and the worlds they let us explore, the magic of CYOA books was always a lot more tangible. See, with a video game there's a wall between the virtual world and the code that makes it all work. It's all "uder the hood", so to speak. But with a CYOA book, you can see how the world is constructed - it's all in the book you're holding in your hands. And yet, there's this intricate web of possibilities and chains of events that's completely hidden. It's an absolutely magical feeling of holding something that has so many hidden possibilities within it. Unfortunately, both of us were born in '93, so by the time I could read, the fad was already on the decline. We had a really hard time finding new CYOA books. Still, we used make our own adventures, where one of us was the player and the other one was the storyteller (essentially the DM, although at the time none of us knew any of these terms). In addition to giving me some of the fondest memories I have of my childhood, these experiences gave me a unique appreciation for storytelling, which is a skill I've applied to my everyday life, and even to my job. And it all started with these simple Choose Your Own Adventure Books. I really love the fact that here in Bulgaria, CYOA books are making a bit of a comeback. Granted, they're very niche, but this video reminded me of how much fun I had with them as a kid, and I'm actually going to buy one for my 7-year-old sister who just learned how to read. They're going to really help her with her reading skills, and serve as great gateway to actual novels and short stories :)

[@LinoWalker]

Sorry for the wall of text. I just got really nostalgic and I wanted to thank you for reminding me of CYOA and inspiring me to introduce them to my sister :)

[@exitsexamined]

Wow, that's so cool you enjoyed the video! I'm happy it brought back fond memories. It sounds like CYOA books had a huge impact on you, too. It's fascinating that CYOA books reached Bulgaria in the 90s. I think a ton of people in the world are inspired consciously or otherwise by these books and it definitely trickles down to us when we're working. I'm so glad CYOA seems to be making a comeback in Bulgaria. Do you see them around at bookstores or are people talking about them more? Your sister is lucky to have you introducing her to this amazing form of reading and imagination! And no worries for the wall of text, it's why I make these videos. So cool to see other people out there appreciating these incredible series and media that deserve more attention!

[@theleap2946]

Loved these books! While I will say it compelled me to read more as a kid, it also turned me into a weird sci-fi nerd. War With the Evil Power Master, UFO 54-40, Space and Beyond, Invaders of Planet Earth and Hyperspace turned me into the abstract loving person I am today. One of these days I will start hunting down these books and try to get them all!

[@exitsexamined]

Same! Never got to War With the Evil Power Master though sadly. Which was your favorite? Good luck getting all of them, that would be quite the feat! Oh but you know the Chooseco website has package deals that include all of them I think!

[@theleap2946]

@@exitsexamined I wanna get the originals mainly due to the cover art. Some of the new ones are kinda meh. But my favorite was War With the Evil Power Master, Invaders of Planet Earth, Journey to Stonehenge, Escape, Beyond Escape, The Race Forever, The Phantom Submarine, Deadwood City, Secrets of the Ninja, Space Vampire, and Through the Black Hole. I have all of those in my collection and right now I have 40 or so titles.

[@lucianosgonzalez3561]

I saw this on the reddit and as a fellow CYOA-video-maker, it's so neat to see other people doing videos on this!

[@exitsexamined]

Hey! So cool to see other people that are covering it. You got some great videos, I subbed!

[@lucianosgonzalez3561]

​@@exitsexaminedwhoa, thank you!

[@blast_processing6577]

Ever heard of "Magical Kitties Save The Day!"? It's a tabletop RPG where players read through a "Choose Your Own Adventure"-style story at the beginning to establish their character's backstory and initial stats.

[@exitsexamined]

You have made my day by bringing this to my attention.

[@Lakatu]

I loved choose-you-own-adventure books…. I had a Star Wars one that I kept betraying my friends in 😂

[@exitsexamined]

I love these books... The beauty of having a classic star wars story and just willfully trashing the place haha

[@jonrhoades1845]

I would highly recommend the CYOA books to anyone with young children. It really does help foster a love of reading and provides some quality bonding time if you read together. When they get a few years with the Adventure books under their belt, upgrade them to the Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf series. Great video as always, keep up the good work.

[@exitsexamined]

I know for me, CYOA was one of my favorites as a kid and really did help me get into reading. I wish someone had introduced me to Fighting Fantasy because I'm pretty sure then I would have gotten into DnD way earlier. Glad you're enjoying the videos and appreciate you watching them!

[@coolnegative]

Yes! Really great info. I didn't know most of that.

[@Dayshan]

Ay wowzers!! I've never knew anyone else that had read the books so this was just such a trip ❤ My first was the Aztec book that I bought at my first bookfair as a little kid. Such a great memory

[@exitsexamined]

Hey that's the coolest thing about this channel is finding other people who are into these gems! Never got to the Aztec one, but I'm still dealing with the trauma of some of the more violent death scenes lol

[@Dayshan]

Ngl I did have some kid life crisis type sleepless nights with some of those books 😂

[@foxyfoxington2651]

Ah yes, I remember getting eaten by a Ninja.

[@exitsexamined]

I love these books haha

[@cobinizer]

For me, the peculiar hobby of Jumpchain is what scratches my CYOA itch.

[@exitsexamined]

Wow, this is whats so cool about doing these videos: I spent so long researching CYOA and didn't realize this sub genre of it existed. Looks really cool and I'm kicking myself for not including it in the vid! Do you have a favorite Jumpchain? Maybe I can include in the description

[@cobinizer]

@@exitsexamined Not really. There are thousands of them and most offer something cool. But if I had to have a favorite, it would be The Generic Gamer Jump.

[@SkylerLinux]

WRT Fox's Choose Your Own Adventure: The Movie, I suspect not so much Netflx's shows stole the thunder; but rather the lawsuit that scared the Exec's

[@exitsexamined]

I wondered about that too, it's 100% possible. I'd love to know more about the project but my impression is that nothing ever was done with it

[@killerbee1974]

People still make cyoa games to keep that type of gaming alive

[@Davivd2]

I can vividly remember coming to a choice, leaving my finger in between the pages to mark my place and turning to the page that corresponded to my choice. If that page was a paragraph or two long....NOPE... going right back. I didn't even need to read because I knew I was about to die. I loved these books as a kid. But the pacing could have been a bit better in some books. Ending the story 20 minutes into reading it never felt good. I feel like there shouldn't have been a story ending choice until you are like 3/4'ths of the way through the story.

[@exitsexamined]

I'd be super interested to talk to someone who "designs?" (is that the write word here?) these books because it must be extremlely fun and also a nightmare. Having 43 coherent and fleshed out endings would be so hard I imagine but I agree a lot of the books could have struck a better balance. Have you found any spin off books that you thought did it better?

[@Davivd2]

@@exitsexamined No I haven't found any books that scratch the itch. The last time that I read one of these books was as a kid in 1990. Yes, they are a pain to write. I wrote a choose your own adventure story for my 6th grade creative writing class because I was inspired by the concept. I had to do it all in one day. It wasn't easy.

[@FizzleFX]

8:25 HOLD ON!!! ... this reminds me of RedAlert 1... special ops. There was literally a mission in which you fought against, drumroll, giant mutant spider ants (not turtles)! I wonder... was this before all those silly "giant mutant x creature" or after? ... though I imagine great minds think alike and ants just make for compelling enemies... (smart buggers

[@exitsexamined]

You know honestly I'm surprised giant mutant spider ants hasn't been more of a concept in general over the years haha. They should really make a comeback in general, but it's not the same unless it has that campy charm haha. I think it would be a great fit for Fallout

[@grokashrimp]

Thank you. That was so fun.

[@exitsexamined]

Hey it's my pleasure to do! Glad you enjoyed!

[@FizzleFX]

*Baldurs Gate 3* ... enough said. (7:55 snrk. exactly! ... 10:05 but only one brief mention Oo seriously?! It slaps the other games so hard its not even funny^^) I was legit dumbfounded - outright baffled - how many options I had to solve one simple task. Not even main story but 'some guy I met on the road! Dozens of options and that's before you start breaking the game to any degree! ... and many of those can affect the game in the long run meaningfully. (losing/gaining a companion/item/quest) 5D chess for sure. The game is overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of it~ you feel like a jungle explorer! With new strange stories about your exotic journeys ♥ ps. BlackMirror took a good shot at it on Netflix^^ I had a good time. Not the most compelling story telling but certainly enjoyable and unique! ... - you gotta admire imagination.

[@ThisisDD]

Loved these!!

[@dmann1982]

Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks were a lot better, and from the UK. Very similar to CYOA, but somewhat darker in a lot of places, used a D6, and are still going. There were even books from way back when that let you make games, and do multiplayer games...

[@exitsexamined]

Yes! That's why I mentioned fighting fantasy in the video - is such a cool concept. Although I think it attempts to do slightly different things than CYOA. Did you have a favorite fighting fantasy book? I might cover it sometime!

[@tyghe_bright]

I've been delighted to find YA and adult versions of these recently. Chuck Tingle has a series of "Select Your Own Timeline Adventure" books that are a bit trashy, definitely strange, and a lot of fun. There are a bunch of others, with varying degrees of maturity and quality, called things like "choose your path", "interactive", "what if", or "your rules".

[@exitsexamined]

Yeah when making this video I realized if I started checking out all the rabbit holes of variations I would quickly lose focus on the CYOA story itself - but some of them look so cool! I would love to find more trashy and strange adult versions though haha. I'll check out the Chuck Tingle one!

[@user-yw7mr9xm5f]

Before there was Visual Novel games

[@exitsexamined]

I wanted to do an entire section on visual novel games for the video but I don't know anything about the genre and getting into was a bit intimating haha. Do you have any favorites?

[@ashadeofnight]

Fighting Fantasy was better!!

[@exitsexamined]

I'm ashamed to say I hadn't heard of it until researching for this video, but they really do look incredible. Did you have a favorite one? I have to check it out!