Choose Your Own Adventure Books Look to Be Resurrected in Tablet Form

You know you turned back to the previous page when you died instead of starting over. We're all adults now; let's be honest about it.

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If you grew up in the ’80s, you surely remember the feeling of dread when you turned to the wrong page in a Choose Your Own Adventure book. You know you turned back to the previous page, too, instead of starting over. We’re all adults now; let’s be honest about it.

If you never had the pleasure of reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book, the idea was basically that you’d read a snippet and be given a choice: Turn to page 32 to follow the fork in the road to the left or turn to page 67 to follow the fork in the road to the right. Each choice set in motion a different plot branch. Your goal was to “win” the book by not dying.

In retrospect, it’s similar to the format employed by video games that fall under the adventure category, and a format that lends itself nicely to modern-day tablets.

In that spirit, the people behind Choose Your Own Adventure – creator R.A. Montgomery and publisher Shannon Gilligan – are looking to resurrect the series on the iPad. (An Android version would be expected shortly thereafter.)

The series would be called Choose ‘Toons, with the first installment being called Your Very Own Robot. Unlike the original books, Choose ‘Toons would be interactive cartoons full of animation and voice acting, and will be targeted at five- to seven-year-olds instead of the late grade school to middle school crowd. Similar to the original books, Choose ‘Toons would feature decision-based plot branches.

Montgomery and Gilligan are seeking $130,000 in funding via Kickstarter; about 10% of it has already been raised within the first day of the project going live.

CHOOSE ‘TOONS by Choose Your Own Adventure [Kickstarter]

If you grew up in the ’80s, you surely remember the feeling of dread when you turned to the wrong page in a Choose Your Own Adventure book. You know you turned back to the previous page, too, instead of starting over. We’re all adults now; let’s be honest about it.

If you never had the pleasure of reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book, the idea was basically that you’d read a snippet and be given a choice: Turn to page 32 to follow the fork in the road to the left or turn to page 67 to follow the fork in the road to the right. Each choice set in motion a different plot branch. Your goal was to “win” the book by not dying.

In retrospect, it’s similar to the format employed by video games that fall under the adventure category, and a format that lends itself nicely to modern-day tablets.

In that spirit, the people behind Choose Your Own Adventure – creator R.A. Montgomery and publisher Shannon Gilligan – are looking to resurrect the series on the iPad. (An Android version would be expected shortly thereafter.)

The series would be called Choose ‘Toons, with the first installment being called Your Very Own Robot. Unlike the original books, Choose ‘Toons would be interactive cartoons full of animation and voice acting, and will be targeted at five- to seven-year-olds instead of the late grade school to middle school crowd. Similar to the original books, Choose ‘Toons would feature decision-based plot branches.

Montgomery and Gilligan are seeking $130,000 in funding via Kickstarter; about 10% of it has already been raised within the first day of the project going live.

CHOOSE ‘TOONS by Choose Your Own Adventure [Kickstarter]