The text is being set by our own KHan Games (you might recall his great work from the e-zine days), and he has done an excellent job so far! He started at the beginning of the book (surprise), so nothing too new to see in terms of content, but you can get a general idea of the quality and format. All images subject to change as things shift around and become finalized.









11/10/16


p.s. Now you know why Spook-o'-tron has been so late!

Very cool! Sorry I never got you my story. Trying to do too much.

How many pages total? Good info for future proofers.

No worries on late stories! I plan to add to the tale at some point and do some other stuff with it as well, so feel free to send me your thoughts/experiences whenever.

Page count is hard to say until it gets formatted, which won't happen until after proofing. The Word doc, prior to adding the pictures in (just thrown in, for the sake of the readers), was a bit over forty pages I think (?). Whatever 22k words comes out to be.

Very excited for this!

Sounds like a good read. Will it be for purchase, or just given to those who bought LLE's?

That is a good question. The LLE edition is exclusive to the console release, so far as I know. I am considering doing another printing, but will need to figure out the production side of things and also gauge interest for it. I'll likely do a set print run and then call it good, as opposed to doing a print on demand option, and will do an interest check as things get figured out. I am also leaning towards adding some extra content, putting the footnotes back in, adding some extra images, and gently expanding an area or two. Basically a revised, second edition that still has the same general flow, but done in such a way that it is readable by non-hardcore AVS fans. Like my games and my writing, there is a certain vision that I have in my head and I want to have all aspects, including production, up to that level. That is not to say that the LLE edition is less than that, but as I was writing I kept thinking "maybe just a bit more here," or "perhaps i should explore that issue too," "should I add an index or a list of images at the front," that type of thing. Plus, footnotes; I love footnotes  . LLE holders do not need an extended footnote on who Dain is, or a reference to when Mr. Gimmick came out and what it is. In a way, that have been spared that drudgery!

At some point, perhaps after the AVP gets further along, I'd like to explore the two systems (AVS and AVP) from a different angle altogether. The current AVS book is a little too specific to NA and avid AVS followers, and would likely be lost on a more general audience. As mentioned, due to the nature of it, I eliminated introducing a lot of general knowledge since it is more or less common knowledge to us all. There are a few explorations that I would like to undertake in regards to the homebrew community, so we will see what happens next!

Awesome, I was wondering when we would get an update on the book. Can't wait for it. I just hope I won't feel like I am missing something if there is a second edition that comes out with additional content soon after the first edition.

That is something that I have thought about a lot, and gone back and forth on even more. On the one hand, I don't want LLE supporters to feel like they are missing out, yet on the other hand I also want them to get something unique and truly limited. If I just went ahead and released the initial version to everyone, then LLE holders would rightfully feel miffed (I know I would, #6 on the list). Then again, if it is never released to the public, or at least a wider audience, very few will ever get to read the tale that is the AVS; and it is a great story! Not because of my writing, but due to the wonderful people involved. So, what to do?

My compromise with my conscience has been to let this first version be a one and done deal. Brian has said that he is only going to print the number he needs, and that will end the first edition. In order to not simply cash in on the project and burn LLE supporters, I feel that is necessary to revise or expand things. In a way it is a bummer for LLE people, yet you will be one of very few to be able to read the first editon. 

The other solution is to wait another six months to a year (maybe longer) for the book to be finished to my (final) liking, which no one wants  . This is simply due to the fact that while I was writing a lot of things that I was not aware of came up that I could not have planned for; whole stories and side projects that at first appeared to be tangents and then became pieces of the tale in their own right. Brian and I also had different ideas of what the book would/should be, and I did not follow directions  . It was mostly going to consist of images from development with some explanatory text (I think), but I had a different vision from the start and just went with it. The result is a healthy mix of what we both thought should be in there, but both sides of that deserve to be taken further. I also want to make the book useful to people down the road and include references. Most video game history books obliterate all anchors to their sources, and it makes them less than useful to later writers. Sheff's Game Over is a marvelous book for the history that it provides, and a good read too, but there is no way to track or verify any of his claims. It is regrettable that I am now guilty of this as well, at least for now.

In case anyone is terribly upset about the situation, I will happily trade anyone a second edition (whenever it is done), for their LLE first edition. I certainly would not mind having a stack of them on the shelf, as they will be rather pretty. A standing offer that I am sure no one will take, but there it is.

Sorry for the lack of updates on the book as a whole. I didn't want to announce it until it was almost complete and headed to the printer's. Two grammatical proof readers to go and then formatting; thanks to everyone who has already offered constructive criticisms at the final hour! I will be making some final changes because of them. Everyone that has read it (ok, been forced to read it) has seemed to enjoy it, but I will leave that up to you all. LLE people are in the unique position too of offering feedback and asking for further exploration of areas. If you want to see more written about something, just ask. As for anyone else who has some of the AVS story to tell that I might not have had a chance to speak with (show attendees, people who glimpsed the protos or witnessed the early Scoreboard, etc.) please feel free to contact me.

I'll be sure to post some pictures of what the pages are going to look like (or let him if he wants), once KHan gets started on them.

Formatting has begun, thanks to Mr. Hanley!