Interactive Drama

Interactive Drama

Scenario-Based Theatre-Style Interactive Drama
Freeform Live Action Roleplaying Game Archive

INTERACTIVE DRAMA BOOKS

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Since the Interactive Drama archive is intended to be a comprehsnsive archive of scenarios and information about all aspects of the interactive drama, it seems appropriate for us to include a book list here - the purpose of which is to list all currently available professional publications related to live roleplaying with click-thru links to the Amazon.Com page for the book to make it a bit easier for folks to get a copy of their own.

This is our bibliography of all interactive drama titles currently available. Right now the list is just starting out but it will grow over time. Currently the list contains all of the Mind's Eye Theatre rulebooks, a large number of Murder Mystery scenarios and games, the various Play This Book, Star Wars<, Cyberworld, and Chthulhu Live products, some Adults Only Roleplay Scenarios, and a number of books related to the theory of simulation and roleplay design. There is also a cultural texts section that serves as a catch-all for books that some folks find useful when designing their games or for novels which have inspired interactive drama design, theory, or content. A few particular authors or systems have their own sections.

If you know of any other titles I should add to the list or if you would like to see a particular genre or subsection represented, please let Dr. Phillips know as the idea is to make it as easy as possible for folks to find professional scenarios and systems (eventually, I'll put reviews and critiques up as well - both my own and those submitted from folks around the web so feel free to contact me if you'd like to contribute to that effort). If a scenario or book is no longer in print, it is still appropriate to include it here for the sake of completeness (there are collectors who may be able to find a hard-to-find title).

If a book is available through Amazon.Com, the title will have a link. The title links are active and will take you to the Amazon.Com page for the book where you can conveniently order the book through the web. More than one link for a title indicates that there is more than one edition. Please, please, please, if you wish to order more than one book, come back to this page and use the click-through links so that Interactive Drama will receive referral credit for your order (otherwise we only receive credit for the first link). If you're using Windows, you can "right-click" on a link and use the "open in new window" option to keep this page open and handy. Feel free to use the search box at the bottom of the page to look for additional books, or to plug in other books you know you want from Amazon.Com as we do receive credit for an order made through this particular search box.

If you are a publisher, feel free to contact Dr. Phillips about providing a reveiw copy of your title and we would be more than happy to place a review here or assign a reviewer for the product or book for the Journal of Interactive Drama. As I have the opportunity to review more materials, I will place more developed critiques here as well.

If you are interested in other aspects of interactive dramas, feel free to browse the rest of this site. If you would like to contribute something, please email Dr. Phillips. This collection of webpages is intended to be a service to the entire interactive drama community. Feel free to use it and to suggest additions and changes, it's your page too.

Index

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Mind's Eye Theatre

This is a list of all books thus far published for the Mind's Eye Theatre interactive drama system. Mind's Eye Theatre is the most popular form of interactive drama currently being performed anywhere in the world. Even if you do not intend to use the system, it is worthwhile to be familiar with its fundamentals. If you know of other titles, please email Dr. Phillips. Feel free to check out other resources of this type at the Interactive Drama Resources page.

  • Antagonists - Storytellers and performers can now incorporate human hunters and other antagonists into their chronicles. These are all the rules you need to play the bad guys.
  • The Apocalypse - The rules for playing garou (werewolves) in your chronicle, as antagonists or as protagonists in their own chronicle.
  • The Book Of Props - Theatre props, items, costumes, and makeup discussions to make M.E.T. interactive dramas more realistic and more pleasurable for everyone.
  • The Elder's Revenge - This marvelous scenario incorporates a traditional drama in the performance. It can be performed as a stand-alone or incorporated into an on-going chronicle.
  • Laws Of Elysium - Here are the rules for playing and incorporating elder kindred into your chronicle.
  • Laws Of The Hunt - This text has all the rules for hunters and similar antagonists collected into one easily referenced source.
  • Laws of the Hunt Players Guide - Supplemental rules for incorporating humans and hunters into a chronicle.
  • Laws Of The Night - Everything you need to play Masquerade chronicles has been collected into one easy to use source. Material here is based upon earlier texts. This is just the core rules though, without the background or campaign materials.
  • Laws Of The Wild - All of the garou rules collected into one source.
  • Laws Of The Wyld West - Now you can ride the open range of the Old West or have a shoot out in a saloon with the best of them.
  • Liber Des Goules (The Book Of Ghouls) - Here is everything you need to be a ghoul or have one.
  • The Long Night - Here's how to run a Dark Ages chronicle.
  • The Masquerade - This is the original MET text (well, this is actually the second edition of the first text).
  • The Masquerade Player's Kit - This is the original brief guide for Mind's Eye Theatre players with the storyteller information absent.
  • Mind's Eye Theatre Journal, Number One - Here we have the first issue of the official journal for discussion of White Wolf's Mind's Eye Theatre interactive drama system.
  • Mind's Eye Theatre Journal, Volume Two - The second volume in White Wolf's journal for M.E.T.
  • Mind's Eye Theatre Prop Deck - Yes, a props aid for running Mind's Eye Theatre events.
  • Oblivion - Everything you need to play a wraith or other ghostly creature that goes bump in the night.
  • Prince's Primer - This is a multi-method (tabletop and live) atmosphere text for would-be kindred princes.
  • The Shining Host - Fairie Changelings and how to play them. This is the lightest of the MET settings and perhaps the most accessible for many novice performers. It is not the easiest of settings though.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

World of Darkness of the East

These are the Kindred of the East and Year of the Lotus materials from White Wolf. These World of Darkness books are in the same setting as the Mind's Eye Theatre books but they are intended for the tabletop game. Those interested in performing interactive dramas in Asian (Far Eastern) settings should find them very valuable. However, a little juggling can be done to use them as interactive drama resources. Others are planned in this series and they will be added to the list as they are published.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Murder Mysteries and Similar Scenarios

This is a list of commercial interactive dramas in the mystery genre. Most of these pieces follow a similar format of separate acts and new clues being given about the events of the "murder" until solutions are called for in the final act. Depending upon the publisher, the "criminal" may or may not know who he or she is. Scenarios are typically for either six or eight characters and intended to be played as part of a "dress-up" dinner party. You can learn more about scenarios of this type by reading the Murder Mystery Party Game FAQ at this site. If you know of other scenarios of this type, please email Dr. Phillips. For more information of this type of scenario, you can check out the Interactive Drama Resources page.

  • All My Children - This episode in the How to Host a Mystery series features all your favorite characters from the popular television series. It's a bit dated now but hardcore fans will still enjoy it.
  • Archaeologically Speaking, It's the Pits - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set in 1895 at a dig in Cairo.
  • Barbeque with the Vampire - This episode in the How to Host a Teen Mystery series features a barbeque where everyone isn't as they seem. Someone has been drinking the blood of the town residents and one of the party guests is the vampire. Ooooh, pinch me I'm frightened!
  • Boardwalk Melody Hour Murders - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • Brewing Trouble - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • Broadway Babylon - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • Bullets 'n Barbecue - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • Burritos and Banditos - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • The Chicago Caper - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set in Chicago in a speakeasy during the roaring 1920's with gangsters galore.
  • Chinese Takeout - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • Class of '54 - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set at a high school reunion in 1959.
  • A Deadly Game of Klew - This is a Warner Solve-It-Yourself Whodunit Party.
  • The Duke's Descent - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series explores the murder of the 13th Duke of Airesbourne at his English country estate in 1931.
  • Eat, Drink, and Be Married - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • The End of the Line (Beauty Meets the Beast) - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • The Good, The Bad, and The Guilty - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set in July of 1881 in Roadkill, Wyoming. Judge Waylon Payne has been found murdered just before the scheduled hanging of an infamous gang of outlaws.
  • The Grapes of Frath - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set in June of 1925 on board a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean.
  • Greetings from the Grave - This is a Warner Solve-It-Yourself Whodunit Party.
  • The Hilarious Hillbilly Massacre - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • Hoo Hung Wu - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set in eigth century china during festival season. This is not particularly accurate but it can still be quite fun.
  • Hot Times at Hollywood High - This episode in the How to Host a Teen Mystery series is set in the land of rich kids and dark secrets.
  • The Icicle Twist - This is an episode in the Murder Mystery Party series.
  • The Last Train from Paris - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set in Paris during the German occupation of 1940.
  • Murder at Tall Oaks - This is an episode in the Murder Mystery Party series.
  • Murder at the Prom - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • The Murder Game - This is a novel by Janice Harrel. The characters in the novel are invited to participate in a murder mystery party game of the type found in this list. When the party'd corpse turns out to be real, the real mystery game begins. Suitable for young (adolescent) readers.
  • Murder on Misty Isle - This is an episode in the Murder Mystery Party series.
  • Pasta, Passion, and Pistols - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • Powar and Greede - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series takes place in 1936 at a luxurious Hollywood movie premiere.
  • Revenge in Rome - This is an episode in the Murder Mystery Party series. I have used an adaptation of this game (with colleague Michael Cheng) for years in my English as a Foreign Laguage classes with very good results.
  • Roman Ruins - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series takes place in the first century at the villa of a famous controversial Roman poet.
  • The Secret of the Bitter Sweets - This is a Warner Solve-It-Yourself Whodunit Party.
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation - This episode in the How to Host a Mystery series features all your favorite characters from the popular television series.
  • A Taste for Wine and Murder - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • Tragical Mystery Tour - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set in the Summer of Love. Break out your love beads and heat up the bahng, you're one of the exclusive guest on a cross-country road trip to Beefstock with one of the hip-hip-hippiest rockers in the land.
  • A Vintage Murder - This is an episode in the Murder a la carte Mystery Play series.
  • The Wall Streeet Scandal - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series takes place in the board rooms of Wall Street after the stock market plunge in 1987.
  • The Watersdown Affair - This episode in the How to Host a Murder series is set in an English country mansion during the winter of 1936.
  • When an Angel Dies - This is an episode in the Murder Mystery Party series.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Other Interactive Dramas

This is a list of other interactive drama books that are professionally published. If you know of others, please email Dr. Phillips.

  • Cthulhu Live - Here is the original interactive drama system for H.P. Lovecraft's mythos. This is an interactive drama adaptation of the classic Call of Cthulhu tabletop role playing game.
  • Cyberworld: Dark Ages of the 21st Century - Jeffrey S. Waters brings us live action cyberpunk. This is the flagship system from the folks at Dark Age Publishing.
  • The Everlasting: Book of the Light - The "divine" creatures for Visionary Entertainment's Foundation series of role playing books which have a rather unique multi-system multi-platform approach in which players can choose from several mechanics for resolution including tabletop, tarot card, freeform live role play, and others.
  • The Everlasting: Book of the Spirits - The "ghostly" creatures for Visionary Entertainment's Foundation series of role playing books which have a rather unique multi-system multi-platform approach in which players can choose from several mechanics for resolution including tabletop, tarot card, freeform live role play, and others.
  • The Everlasting: Book of the Unliving - The "undead" creatures for Visionary Entertainment's Foundation series of role playing books which have a rather unique multi-system multi-platform approach in which players can choose from several mechanics for resolution including tabletop, tarot card, freeform live role play, and others.
  • Guardians of Order Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book - Mark C. McKinnon presents comprehensive rules for tabletop roleplaying the Sailor Scouts which can be adapted to live or interactive drama play. See the Sailor Moon Costuming Help pages for some excellent suggestions and ideas for costuming an Interactive Drama based upon the series.
  • Havok! Live Role Playing - Fantasy role playing system for live action interactive drama.
  • Killer - This is Steve Jackson's classic game of espionage and murder. You have your assignment, now grab your water balloon and go out there and kill before you're killed. One of the first live action games, the new edition has brought all the original excitement back by popular demand.
  • Long Ago and Far Away - This is the second of the Play This Book series.
  • New England Roleplaying Organization Rule Book - Rules for the US's largest live action medieval fantasy roleplaying game. NERO has campaigns all over the country. The book includes all rules, advice sections,charts, pictures, examples and more, and has a full color cover. The book was compiled by Michael A. Ventrella who is one of the founders of NERO and currently runs the NERO Alliance. He is an attorney and a college professor who loves live action roleplaying games.
  • Nexus - This is the first of the Play This Book series of self-contained interactive drama scenarios. In addition to being a large scale scenario, this text has a great deal of useful advice for interactive dramatists and directors.
  • Our Town: A Community Simulation of Contemporary Issues - by Katherine Ruggieri-Vande Putte.
  • The Politics of Legislation: A Congressional Simulation - by David M. Olson.
  • QUAD: Live Action Role Playing Rules - The "selling point" for this system is that it is the "easiest" rules set there is (this is not true but it's an intriguing claim for a twenty page publication).
  • Star Wars Live Action Adventures - Here we have a complete system for stand-alone scenarios and series style chronicles in the same setting as the award-winning films.
  • Tropical Paradise - This episode in the How to Host a Romantic Evening series is set in the tropics.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Mature Subjects and Adult Roleplay

One of the most fascinating potentials for interactive drama and roleplay is in the bedroom or related venues as well as in mature subject matter materials. These books are about mature subjects and are intended for adults only. If you know of other worthwhile books of this type, please feel free to email Dr. Phillips. Some of the texts listed here are not specifically about roleplay or interactive drama but related subjects in an adult context.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Design, Theory, and Education

This is a list of texts related to interactive drama design or educational use. Some works listed here may be intended for other uses but have application in interactive drama. If you know of other worthwhile books of this type, please feel free to email Dr. Phillips.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Improvisational Theatre

Improvisational Theatre has been a large part of my own work. This section has quite a few texts that make for some worthwhile reading. This stuff is just plain fun! You can find more resources on this subject at my Taipei Eclectic Science Fiction Improvisational Theatre Sports Workshop. English as a Foreign Language teachers will find my Taipei Improvisational Theatre Structures: English Conversation ILS site to be an excellent resource. If you you have questions or suggestions for other worthwhile texts, please email Dr. Phillips.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Cultural Texts

This is a list of books which may be of interest to the interactive dramtists and performers. If you know of others, please email Dr. Phillips.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Robert Anton Wilson

This is a list of books by Robert Anton Wilson, my favorite writer. Wilson is a philosopher, author, psychologist, shaman, and just about anything else you can think of. His work has had a tremendous impact upon a generation of writers and thinkers.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Michel Foucault

Here are a few of the many works by or about Michel Foucault. These, and his other works, are well worth your time . . . particularly for the interactive dramatist interested in social dynamics and power.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

John Norman

This is a list of the Gor novels by John Frederick Lange, Jr., Ph.D. under the name of John Norman. For more resources, see the Interactive Drama Resources page. If you know of any complete interactive drama scenarios based upon this series, please let Dr. Phillips know.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

Spaceways

The Spaceways novels were mostly written by Andrew Offutt under the name John Cleve although others also contributed to the series. The novels are a wild ride of science fiction space opera. They are wonderful pulp and good for some rather racy entertainment. When I was in college, oh so many years ago, I created a tabletop roleplaying campaign based upon the series (using the original Traveller science fiction RPG rules). If I had known about interactive dramas way back when, I would have created some rather risque scenarios based upon the novels. Sadly, the series is out of print and my copies are packed away in a box at the bottom of a pile of junk somewhere in my Mother's garage back in the United States.

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

General Cultural Texts

These are books of general interest.

  • A Distant Mirror: the Calamitous 14th Century - This book has nothing to do with contemporary interactive drama, but in it historian Barbara W. Tuchmann describes a masque activity commonly played in the French Court of the day which sounds very much like current Theatre-Style Interactive Dramas as played by many modern troupes. In the masque, guests were assigned characters they then roleplayed for the duration of the evening - often in freeform. Given specific tasks and goal orientations that are at odds with other players, one would then have the equivalent of the modern interactive drama.
  • Dream Park - This is Larry Niven's classic science fiction novel about murder and mayhem that take place at a huge futuristic entertainment complex in which players take on characters and roleplay while going through physically and mentally challenging adventures. Many live roleplayers were inspired by this piece, as well as tabletop RPGers. If you have not read this classic, do so. Someday this is what interactive drama will be like . . . and it will be so kool!

[ Index | Introduction | Mind's Eye Theatre | Murder Mysteries and Whodunits ]
[ Other Interactive Dramas | Mature Subjects and Adults Only ]
[ Design, Theory, and Education | Improvisational Theatre | Cultural Texts | Search ]

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