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J. Leigh, author of Way Walkers: University and Way Walkers: University 2, has written a novel, Way Walkers: Tangled Paths, published by Red Adept Publishing. You can buy it in paperback or as an ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or the iBookstore.

Twelve Ways create a thousand tangled paths.

Hatched from an egg but unable to shift into dragon form, Jathen is a moot among the Tazu. His rightful throne is forbidden him because of his transformative handicap, and neither his culture nor his religion offer acceptance of his supposed flaws. Driven by wounded anger, Jathen strikes out across the vast world beyond Tazu borders, desperate to find a place where he feels accepted and whole.

Though he travels with the most trusted of companions, sabotage and conspiracy soon strike his quest. Jathen and his allies must struggle against man and magic alike, at the mercy of forces beyond their ken.

As Jathen presses further from everything he once knew, his questions of belonging are surrounded by those of identity, loyalty, and betrayal. Where will the path of his destiny lead, and will he follow, or fall?

As documented here, http://www.choiceofgames.com/2014/04/our-site-was-hacked-forums-are-down/ our Vanilla Forums web site was hacked yesterday, at 10:20am on April 26th.

Right now, go here https://www.choiceofgames.com/forum/profile/password and change your password.

I believe that we’ve closed the security hole in the forums, but it’s hard to be 100% sure of that. In a separate thread, I’d like to begin a discussion about what changes we’d like to make to make the forum better and more secure. https://www.choiceofgames.com/forum/discussion/3315/switching-off-of-vanilla-forums

Our website was hacked earlier today. The attacker exploited a vulnerability in our forum software (Vanilla Forums), so we’ve temporarily disabled the forums.

EDIT: Forums are back up now!

If you’d like us to email you when our forums are back online, please subscribe to our mailing list using the “Subscribe by Email” button on the right.

We’ll also post to our Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ when our forums have returned.

We don’t know how long it will take to restore the forums. Rather than bring back the old forum software (with its gaping security flaws), we’ll probably have to choose another type of forum software and then switch to something better.

We’re proud to announce that Trial of the Demon Hunter, the latest in our Hosted Games label of multiple-choice interactive-fiction games, is now available for iOS, Android, and, via the Chrome Web Store, Windows, OS X, and Linux.

Trial of the Demon Hunter is an interactive fantasy novel by Samuel Harrison Young where your choices control the story. Battle against the forces of evil and embark on a perilous journey to avenge your decimated village alongside your shape shifting companion.

We hope you enjoy playing Trial of the Demon Hunter. We encourage you to tell your friends about it, and recommend the game on StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. Don’t forget: our initial download rate determines our ranking on the App Store. Basically, the more times you download in the first week, the better we’ll rank.

We’re proud to announce that Tin Star, the latest in our Hosted Games label of multiple-choice interactive-fiction games, is now available for iOS, Android, and, via the Chrome Web Store, Windows, OS X, and Linux.

Tin Star is an interactive western mystery novel by Allen Gies (author of Marine Raider and Apex Patrol) where your choices control the story. The game is entirely text-based–without graphics or sound effects–and powered by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

It’s also the biggest interactive novel ever made, as far as we know. A single playthrough from beginning to epilogue can run over 80,000 words. The source code for the game is over 1.3 million words long. It’s on sale for $3.99 until March 10, when the price will increase to $4.99.

Ride out into the Old West as a U.S. marshal! Confront outlaws, find romance, challenge Indians, defy the elements and craft an enduring legend as you uncover a conspiracy whose deadly web stretches from San Francisco to New York City!

We hope you enjoy playing Tin Star. We encourage you to tell your friends about it, and recommend the game on StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. Don’t forget: our initial download rate determines our ranking on the App Store. Basically, the more times you download in the first week, the better we’ll rank.

Choice of Games is proud to announce two new games as part of our Hosted Games program!

1) Unnatural, by Sam Kabel. Monsters are real. Join the Supernatural Response Team, an organization formed in direct response to the first documented case showing the existence of the darker side of humanity. Unnatural has earned excellent reviews, averaging 4.5+ out of 5 stars on all of the app stores in which it’s available.

2) Burn(t), by Vivi Tran. It’s a zombie apocalypse story with a twist. Will you work together with a group, or take what you can? Abandon the group or be abandoned? Without spoiling it, all I can say is that this game is about more than just zombie survival.

These authors have developed their games using ChoiceScript, a simple programming language for writing multiple-choice interactive novels like these. Writing games with ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for authors with no programming experience. Write your own game and we’ll publish it for you, giving you a share of the revenue your game produces.

We’re proud to announce that Choice of the Deathless, the latest in our popular “Choice of Games” line of multiple-choice interactive-fiction games, is now available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and, via the Chrome Web Store, Windows, OS X, and Linux.

Battle demons and undead attorneys, and win souls to pay back your student loans! At the elite demonic-law firm of Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone, you’ll depose a fallen god, find romance, and maybe even make partner, if you don’t lose your own soul first.

“Choice of the Deathless” is a necromantic legal thriller by Max Gladstone, Campbell Award-nominated author of Three Parts Dead and Two Serpents Rise. The game is entirely text-based–without graphics or sound effects–and powered by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

• Explore a fantasy realm with a rich and evolving backstory, based on the novels published by Tor Books.
• Play as male or female, gay or straight, dead or alive (or both).
• Build your career on carefully reasoned contracts, or party all night with the skeletal partners at your firm.
• Navigate intrigue and mystery in a world of scheming magicians and devious monsters.
• Look for love in at least some of the right places.
• Balance student loans, sleep, daily commute, rent payments, and demonic litigation—hey, nobody said being a wizard was always fun.

We hope you enjoy playing Choice of the Deathless. We encourage you to tell your friends about it, and recommend the game on StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. Don’t forget: our initial download rate determines our ranking on the App Store. The more times you download in the first week, the better our games will rank.

On Friday, December 20th, we’ll release our last game of the year under the “Choice of Games” label: “Choice of the Deathless,” by Max Gladstone, Campbell Award-nominated author of “Three Parts Dead” and “Two Serpents Rise.”

Battle demons and undead attorneys, and win souls to pay back your student loans! At the elite demonic-law firm of Varkath Nebuchadnezzar Stone, you’ll depose a fallen god, find romance, and maybe even make partner, if you don’t lose your own soul first.

Our beta testers are giving it rave reviews; I have a very good feeling about this one.

To be notified when “Choice of the Deathless” is available, subscribe by email on the right-hand side of this page, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

It’s almost time for the annual Spring Thing interactive-fiction competition!

The Thing is designed to create a place for longer, more polished games (which means it has often featured a more select set of entrants than the IF Comp) but is open to any new, completed interactive fiction. You need to pay a $7 fee to enter, but there are cool prizes. In some years there have been over $1000 of prizes!

To enter, you’ll need to submit an “intent to enter” by March 1, and submit your entry fee and your finished game by April 9. Be sure to read the rules carefully, especially rule 8, that “All entries must be previously unreleased at the time of voting—that is, they must never have been publicly downloadable or otherwise publicly available. Obviously, this does not prevent you from having your game beta-tested, which is much encouraged.”

Start thinking about it now if you’ve got a work in progress!

Choice of Games has two announcements to make. First, Reckless Space Pirates, the latest in our popular “Choice of Games” line of multiple-choice interactive-fiction games, is now available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and, via the Chrome Web Store, Windows, OS X, and Linux.

Second, we’re announcing that Zombie Exodus Part V: Resolution is now available under our “Hosted Games” program as a $0.99 in-app purchase for iOS and Android, and Kindle Fire. This special sale price will only last until December 20th, when the price will increase to $1.99 for Part III, Part IV, and Part V (each). The full saga is also available for $5.99 in the Chrome Web Store.

Reckless Space Pirates: Plunder an Alien Colony or Defend It from Space Pirates!

You have a choice: join a crew of space pirates to steal priceless slime from a nest of mushroom-like aliens–or hoodwink the pirates and team up with the mushroom colony to prevent an interstellar war!

“Reckless Space Pirates” is a thrilling interactive science-fiction novel where your choices control the story. The game is entirely text-based–without graphics or sound effects–and powered by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

Will you survive the infamous space-slime pits? Will you earn the respect of the crew, or even start a romance with a space pirate? Can you negotiate with the fungoid aliens, despite linguistic and cultural barriers? Or will you blast their rubbery guts, plunder the slime pits, and retire in luxury?

Note: With “Reckless,” we’re experimenting with “try before you buy” on Android, where the first two chapters are available for free. iOS and Chrome users can try the first two chapters for free on the web. You can buy the rest of the game for $2.99–the same price on iOS, Android, and Chrome.

The Thrilling Conclusion to the Zombie Exodus Saga

Patient fans have long awaited the final chapter of Zombie Exodus. Part V continues your story as you rebuild after the massive zombie attack on the cathedral, and assume the leadership role of the survivors. It includes nine distinct endings, and brings the total word count of this story to 750,000 words, more than enough to keep you entertained for months of replaying and rereading.

We hope you enjoy playing Reckless Space Pirates and Zombie Exodus. We encourage you to tell your friends about it, and recommend the game on StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. Don’t forget: our initial download rate determines our ranking on the App Store. The more times you download in the first week, the better our games will rank.