Independent developer Choice of Games announced the release of two text adventure games, Choice of the Dragon and Choice of Broadsides, on Amazon's Kindle platform.
Though the Kindle platform is mostly regarded as a service for purchasing digital books, both indie developers and major publishers have started releasing games there in recent months. Three of the top ten bestsellers in the Kindle Store are currently games ported by Electronic Arts: Scrabble, Monopoly, and EA Solitaire.
Choice of Games is taking a different approach from EA, releasing interactive fiction titles instead of board/card game adaptations. Choice of the Dragon is a Choose Your Own Adventure-style release in which players take on the role of a dragon, looting and pillaging, dominating their local kingdom, finding a mate, and fighting wizards.
The second title, Choice of Broadsides, is "a swashbuckling naval adventure" in which players guide a British officer fighting in the Napoleonic wars and commanding a Royal Navy frigate. It was recently selected as an Honorable Mention for the Independent Games Festival's Nuovo award, which recognizes "abstract, short-form, and unconventional game development".
Choice of Games says it has more games on the way for the Kindle Store. Along with Dragon and Broadsides, the company currently has two other titles available to play for free online: Choice of Romance and Choice of the Vampire.
"Our games are perfectly suited for Kindle," says Choice of Games co-founder Dan Fabulich. "Building our games entirely with text gives us the freedom to tell sophisticated stories that put you and your choices at the center of the action. Our games are like 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books, but bigger, deeper, and richer."
