Like a fish trying to stealthily peek its face out of the water (this intro will make sense in a minute), Boss Fight Books is back with an announcement for their next slate of books.
Boss Fight Books: Season 8 will include a trio of new books, all focusing on titles that had their own unique impact on the world video games.
First up is a travelogue-style approach to the world’s first portable fishing RPG, Legend of the River King, by Alexander B. Joy. Closely connected to the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series, more than a dozen River King games have been released in Japan, but Legend of the River King was the first to make its way to North America. Launching just before Pokemon, it built up a cult following among Game Boy players and Joy will plumb the depths of what Legend of the River King has to say about “the fields of art, culture, philosophy, and ecology.”
Next is Kaitlin Tremblay’s Life is Strange, which will explore the adventure game’s relationship to “personal history, YA fantasy, identity formation, grief, and most of all, choice.” Life is Strange was something of an unexpected blockbuster, possibly because of its ability to give players the chance to make choices that “[say] something about who we are and who we want to be.”
Finally, Charlotte Reber will unpack exactly what happened during the notoriously short development cycle of Dragon Age II. Hoping to capitalize on the massive popularity of Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare rushed a sequel into production that ultimately divided fans and critics alike. Was it a flop? Was it a secret success? New interviews with the game’s narrative team (David Gaider, Jennifer Hepler, Lukas Kristjanson, and Karin Weekes) will attempt to get to the bottom of it.
Boss Fight Books is currently seeking funding for Season 8 through Kickstarter until August 5th, and they’ve promised that a fourth book in the season will make its debut in a separate campaign later this year.
But in the meantime, you can learn more about Legend of the River King, Life is Strange, and Dragon Age II after the break.