Game On

Once you’ve picked up Anshumani Ruddra’s The Enemy of My Enemy,read carefully because at every step you will need to make the right choice so that you and Agent PRD Jhabvala can save the earth from permanent darkness. And if you think you cannot do this on your own,we suggest you ask a friend to join you. This is arguably India’s first multiplayer gamebook and for all those who love a good adventure,the more,the merrier.

For the uninitiated,gamebooks are interactive fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices that affect the course of the narrative. “At every crucial juncture,the protagonist has to make a choice and the reader can take a decision for the character and take the story forward,” says Ruddra,27,who grew up reading gamebooks such as Dungeons & Dragons by Ernest Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson,and Goosebumps by R L Stine and is influenced by Japanese manga and anime. While most gamebooks are usually meant for a single player,Ruddra has devised a structure that allows teams to play. “Readers can play by splitting into two teams,Crusaders of Chaos and Knights of Order. While the former looks for a peaceful way to solve the matter,the latter causes more trouble,” says Ruddra,who feels that fantasy allows for more possibilities in a story and is a genre that works very well for a gamebook. Depending on which side and which path you take,you have to jump pages,and flip back and forth through the book to solve the case.

While he has written fantasy and science fiction for young adults,the seed of The Enemy of My Enemy (Rs 90) was planted only last year during discussions between Ruddra and Scholastic,his publishing house. “It took me four months to structure the book but only four weeks to write it down. We’ve used illustrations as well as motifs and place markers to denote where Jhabvala — and the readers — will travel to solve the case,” says the Mumbai-based author. The reader can travel to South Africa or Antarctica,depending on the respective strategies.

Currently touring schools in Mumbai,Chennai,Bangalore and Pune,Ruddra is pleased to introduce the concept to schoolchildren and adults alike. “Gamebooks are not just meant for children or teenagers. They can be written for adults as well with darker themes. But right now,I’m working on the sequel to The Enemy of My Enemy which will be out in December,” says Ruddra. Another strange case it will be: a million baboons have plans to take over the world and Jhabvala will have to stop it. So can you.