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Choose Your Own Adventure books allow readers to make choices for the hero without knowing the outcome. Originally published in 1979, the series has 185 books with 8-50 possible endings. The books have influenced RPGs and video games. The series has spin-offs and has been reprinted by Chooseco with new titles and online content.
The Choose Your Own Adventure books are a series loved around the world. The unique idea behind the series is that the reader makes all the choices of the heroes, without knowing where they lead. The Choose Your Own Adventure books were originally published between 1979 and 1998 and have been reprinted in the 21st century.
The first of the books was called Sugarcane Island, written by Edward Packard in 1969. The book, which began as a bedtime story for the Packard children, was unsuccessfully pitched to several publishing agencies before coming to the publisher’s attention RA Montgomery of Vermont Crossroads Press (VCP.) The format was originally published as Adventures of You, but in the late 1970s Montgomery contracted with Bantam Books to produce at least six new titles now called Choose Your Own Adventure Books.
The format of the Choose Your Own Adventure books was not entirely original, having been used with varying success by different European authors in previous years. Each book is written from a second person perspective, so that when the hero does something, the book says “you” do it. At the end of each segment, the reader is given two or more choices, moving to a different page depending on their choice. Choices can lead to rewards, monsters, unexpected endings, or death. The books contained between 8-50 different possible endings to their story, so that the book could be read repeatedly for different experiences.
The attraction of the series lies in its ability to insert the reader into the story. With the development of role-playing video games (RPGs), this desire to be the hero of a story evolved into major video game franchises. When the Choose Your Own Adventure books were released, however, video games were in their infancy and very few RPGs were made for early game systems. The Choose Your Own Adventure books are held to be partially responsible for the RPG genre, as well as the popularity of other game books such as Dungeons and Dragons.
The original series contains 185 books, starting with The Cave of Time and ending with Escape From the Haunted Warehouse. Packard and Montgomery each wrote about 60 Choose Your Own Adventure books each, with other contributors making up the remaining amount. The series has spawned several successful spin-offs, such as Choose Your Own Adventure For Younger Readers, Choose Your Own Adventure: Walt Disney Series and Choose Your Own Nightmare, which are based on scary stories.
In 2005, Montgomery began publishing Choose Your Own Adventure books under the name of his new company, Chooseco. The books feature new artwork and plans to add new titles to the series. A website, www.coya.com, is maintained by Chooseco and features online content and secret online endings for many of the re-released titles. Online innovation appears to be the direction the company is taking, with some fans suggesting that internet-powered versions of books will be possible in the near future.
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