Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson interview – 40 years of Fighting Fantasy
Two of gaming’s most influential figures celebrate Fighting Fantasy and their involvement in everything from Warhammer to Tomb Raider.
If you’ve ever played a tabletop or video game or in the last 40 years then you’ve almost certainly come across the work of Ian Livingstone and/or Steve Jackson. However, you might not necessarily have realised it, since even though Livingstone is a knight of the realm neither of them are anywhere near as famous as they should be.
The interview below is ostensibly to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Fighting Fantasy game books, with both Livingstone and Jackson releasing a new book each to celebrate, but that’s only one iconic franchise amongst many that they’ve been involved with.
Not only were the pair the first to import Dungeons & Dungeons to Europe, but they also founded Warhammer creator Games Workshop and oversaw the whole of the Fighting Fantasy franchise. They’ve had an enormous influence on the analogue gaming world but also video games as well, with key roles at Tomb Raider publisher Eidos and Fable creator Lionhead Studios.
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was the first Fighting Fantasy book to be published, in August 1982, and 40 years and 20 million sales later, Livingstone is returning to the series with the new book Shadow of the Giants, and Jackson with Secrets of Salamonis.
For those unfamiliar with the books, they are interactive adventures where you choose the direction of the story by picking different options and turning to the indicated section of the book to see what happens next. On top of that though the books have their own role-playing system, with stats and dice rolls to determine your success in combat.
Both new books will be released on September 1 for £6.99
Read more on metro.co.uk
