Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’

Review Fix chats with Tin Man Games’ Neil Rennison, who discusses “The Warlock of Firetop Mountain” coming August 31 to Windows and Mac via Steam. One of the most beloved tabletop RPGs of all time, Rennison and his team have worked tirelessly to put a modern spin on the game, all the while retaining what made it so special in the first place.

ABOUT THE WARLOCK OF FIRETOP MOUNTAIN:
In 1982, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone (co-founders of Games Workshop and the first Dungeons & Dragons distributors in Europe) wrote the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Its overwhelming success paved the way for the more than 50 Fighting Fantasy books that followed, eight of which Tin Man Games has already adapted into digital gamebooks.

But this upcoming Steam release is much more than a simple text adaptation. It’s a tabletop adventure come to life complete with an expansive, interactive map populated by digital figurines, simultaneous turn-based combat, and rich storylines that vary depending on which of 12 unique heroes you choose to quest with.

For More on The Game, Click Here.

Review Fix: How important was the original “The Warlock of Firetop Mountain” to you?

Neil Rennison: Strangely The Warlock of Firetop Mountain wasn’t the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook I played. That honour went to Deathtrap Dungeon by Ian Livingstone! I came to Warlock a few books later, after I had to go backwards to fill in the gaps – I remember fondly really enjoying as it was full of so many monsters. From chatting with FF fans, I do know that Warlock was the first ever gamebook for many young readers in the early 80s and set into motion a life-long love affair with fantasy literature and role-playing games.

Review Fix: Was it a difficult game to turn into a video game? Any pressure?

Rennison: Yes, it was very tough to turn into a video game. Balancing what made the gamebook work as a choice-based paperback book and mix that with the expectations of the modern RPG gamer is no easy task. We had to choose carefully what we could keep and what had to change and adapt to make it work visually. We’ve been releasing digital gamebook apps for a few years now which have been more traditional in their approach, so we had a good base point to evolve from.

As for the pressure, well, dealing with such a treasured license is always going to add pressure, because the fans have such fond memories! Overall we relished the challenge though and Steve and Ian were both very supportive of our changes, which helped a lot.

Review Fix: What has development been like?

Rennison: This has been our biggest and longest development cycle yet – around 2 years since we first started drafting the new look Firetop Mountain on paper and taking our first 3D steps forward with environment creation. It’s not always been plain sailing and the game has changed a lot over that time, but it has been so much fun seeing the gamebook grow and expand with new characters, challenges and locations. The Kickstarter really helped last year, as it not only helped us financially but validated a lot of the design decisions we had made up to that point. The fans were very excited and supportive!

Review Fix: How do you feel now that release is rapidly approaching?

Rennison: Busy! We still have a few important loose ends to tie up in the writing and design and then we need to work hard to promote it as much as possible. We’re debuting the game at PAX West in Seattle in September and then bringing in back for PAX Australia in November. We also have a bunch of updates planned over the coming months which include new implementing new heroes and new previously unvisited parts of the mountain.

Review Fix: How close did you work with Steve Jackson on this?

Rennison: Quite close! Both Ian and Steve have been informed of all our major design decisions and have given us feedback at key stages. I’m still receiving emails daily from Steve as he plays the game himself and picks up bugs and suggests last minute changes!

Review Fix: Has he shared his thoughts on the game?

Rennison: Yes! He’s really pleased with it, which obviously puts big smiles on my team’s faces.

Review Fix: What do you think truly makes this game special?

Rennison: Warlock was the entrance point for kids to the world of gaming in the early ‘80s. It was literally the first fantasy RPG they had ever laid eyes on and pre-dated many digital and table-top adventure games. Those kids then went on to play RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, creating their own worlds on their parent’s dining-room tables. What I think is really special is that we’ve distilled the gamebook into its purest form, keeping much of what made it work but at the same time recognising where those gamebooks lead next, and trying as hard as possible to create a visual flavour of what a gamebook could be if it became an RPG-based adventure. Combining that with effects that you can only do on a computer, we’ve almost created a hybrid genre that we feel really works well.

Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?

Rennison: The first in a new tradition of digital gamebooks. We want to take this further with subsequent releases and do more and more with each new project.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Rennison: My first gamebook love, Deathtrap Dungeon! I can’t wait to get going on that.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone play it?

Rennison: If you love interactive fiction with a dash of fantasy table-top RPG thrown in, all set within a rich, detailed world over thirty years in the making, you love The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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