Jason Fischer is the author of the action-pack archeological adventure through Adelaide, The Treasure of Light, available free on the the Story City app. Learn about Jason, the inspiration for the story, and a bit about the history of Adelaide below. Then if you’re in Adelaide, grab your phone and take this adventure through the Adelaide streets!
*DISCLAIMER- includes dinosaur references. Sorry (not sorry).*
First, the important questions. Considering the sort of day you’ve had, what dinosaur would you be?
So far I’m most like a raptor, happy and nippy and jumpy. Later this afternoon I’ll probably slow down and resemble a grumpy diplodocus.
Movie makers tend to describe a movie as ‘something meets something’, like Matrix meets X-Men, Matthew Reilly meets the Time Traveller’s Wife, the Walking Dead meets My Little Ponies. What would you use to describe your story?
I would say this story is like National Treasure meets Spy Kids!
Tells us about your Story City story?
You play the part of a treasure hunter, seeking the lost treasures of Colonel William Light.
Throughout the years, clues to the treasure’s location have been hidden in the foundation stones of several historical buildings, forgotten until now. With your archaeologist friend Rhonda, you set out to find Light’s treasure, but there’s a catch – the ruthless tomb-robber Percy Graves is hunting for it too, and he is hot on your heels. Will you find the treasure in time, or will it be stolen from under your nose?
Did you know much about Adelaide before you started? What’s your favourite place to show people now?
I’ve lived and worked around Adelaide for most of my life, and I love to wander the streets. One thing that has always tickled my funny bone is the ornate gazebo in the Botanic Gardens, erected by the ‘Friends of Elvis’. I also adore the Adelaide Arcade, such a beautiful building steeped in history, and the shops are always interesting.
What is it about Adelaide that lends itself to a National-Treasure type story?
Adelaide is such a weird and wonderful city. It’s either crazy busy or dead quiet, and nothing in between. What inspired most of the Treasure of Light story is the way the city is laid out, and how a lot of Adelaide’s early history is still preserved in building form, especially in the foundation stones. I could easily have told a story twice as long, and made the Story City users walk until their legs fell off. Even so, I still wouldn’t have used all the locations I wanted to use! There are buildings still standing that are built within a year or two of the Europeans arriving in South Australia, and it blows my mind.
We meet several interesting characters on your adventure. What Hollywood actors do you imagine would play them in a movie adaption?
I think Zooey Deschanel would make a wonderful Rhonda, as would Mindy Kaling. When it comes to the villainous Percy Graves, Steve Buscemi would own that role.
You know all the different paths through your story, and all the great and horrible ways it can end. Which location do you hope the player will end up in? (Players, it’s your aim to make it here!)
Well, I don’t want to give the game away, but there’s some interesting endings on the banks of the Torrens, all along North Terrace, and in one of the town squares. Remember, this is a city that was laid out by Colonel Light, whose lost treasures you’re trying to find.
If your characters were real people, and you were single, would you date them?
Absolutely! If I was a single man, I would step out with Rhonda in a heart-beat. She’s smart and brave and enthusiastic about history. Percy, not so much, as he is a villain and a scoundrel without one redeeming quality.
What was the hardest thing about the project? Do you have any advice for others?
It was quite a challenge to turn a decision tree into an interesting set of choices that could meet the technological requirements of the Story City app. What worked was a lot of research on Google Maps, where you can see the most logical walking route between two or more points, getting an accurate distance and most importantly keeping them the required distance apart. Conversely, I think the best thing about the project was working with Emily and Grant from Story City, who ensured that the story made sense, and that the locations worked and were there for an actual reason. We writers are only ever as good as our editors!
Where can people find out more about you?
I maintain a website at http://jasonfischer.com.au and am on the following social networks:
Facebook: Facebook.com/jasonifischerio
Twitter: Twitter.com/jasonifischerio
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2847548.Jason_Fischer
This adventure was brought to you thanks to Renewal SA’s City Maker’s grant and the Government of South Australia.
