Why Do What We Do?

Growing up I loved the Animorphs series. It was a young sci-fi series in which a group of teens were given the ability to not only absorb the DNA of any animal they touched but also completely transform into said animal whenever they wished.

The series was cool, but one thing released that  I loved was a Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) book in which you were able to become one of the Animorphs.

You navigated adventures through a series of choices:
If you'd like to morph into a fly turn to page 7

If you'd like to morph into a whale turn to page 46...etc

This is the closest I have ever been to being part of the story. Years later I was introduced to Table Top Roleplaying Games (TTRPG's).

While there are hundreds if not thousands of different TTRPG's, they all revolve around the concept of a storyteller (DM, or GM) and players (PC's) who act as certain characters in the storyteller's story. They are responsible for the actions that the character takes in the story. The success or failure of actions the players attempt within the story is usually determined by rolling dice.

I took the idea and "Invented"  the concept of mixing the genres. A CYOA novel that used dice to determine the success or failure of your actions...at least I thought I had invented it.

While I had never been exposed to what I now know to be called Gamebooks, or Solitaire Rpg's, they have been around for decades.

Not only have they been around, but their dice systems completely outclass my original  "groundbreaking" dice systems. 

However, instead of being disheartened by the fact that someone had already done what I had set out to do, (and done it better), I was fascinated. I began buying book after book. I played them. I learned from them.

Now, I've created a system that takes the best of the old systems and I've put my own spin on them to create something that hasn't been seen before. I even use my original dice system as the mechanism for character progression.

But, why do we do what we do?

I could say its because the popularity of the Solitaire Rpg genre has greatly diminished since its heyday. I could say that our own imaginations are far more powerful than anything a video game RPG  might be able to give us, and this is a medium to flex that imagination. I could say that I believe there's a genuine hunger for the genre and not as many options as there once were.

But to be honest, I just love making games, and want to make books that give me the same feeling (if not better) that I had when I first joined the Animorphs.