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Slamdance originally announced 14 finalists. They are currently down to 8 participating finalists.

Super Columbine was ejected.
Braid has pulled out.
Flow has pulled out.
Toblo has pulled out.
Once Upon A Time has pulled out.
Everyday Shooter has pulled out.

With nearly half of the finalists already gone, just a few more pullouts could cause a complete collapse of Slamdance this year.

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Did you know that the genre of text RPGs known as MUDs still exists and is still going strong with new development to older games as well as release of brand new games? The larger, long-lasting MUDs such as Medievia have withstood the test of time and still manage to not only engage the player in a world of fantasy, but also manage to have such in-depth gameplay that they hold the players' interest for years on end. These games are constantly in development and are releasing programming on the cutting edge of AI and gaming. While the playerbases are not as large as WoW, the larger, more popular games get 500 players online or more at peak times. The best thing about MUDs is that the social aspect is a large part of the game, moreso than graphical MMOs. Friendships are made and relationships form that can't be found elsewhere. If you want a new type of adventure, think outside the box, and try (or re-try) a MUD.

Links:

http://www.medievia.com/ - One of the oldest and most popular MUDs, in development since 1992.

http://www.ironrealms.com/ - Iron Realms Entertainment: providing 4 different worlds to explore.

http://www.mudconnector.com/ - The Mud Connector - major MUD portal

http://www.topmudsites.com/ - Top Mud Sites - ranking site for MUDs

Wow, I'm really surprised that this article could completely miss online IF (otherwise known as MUDs). Not only are there commercial entities successfully running online IF (such as Iron Realms it allows for a much larger story to be told.

The big problem with IF is that you can't do whatever you want. You're limited to what the creator was able to forsee and program. Not so with MUDs, which are able to have long and rich stories. The reason MUDs are able to overcome this limitation is that they have staff running it all the time, who are constantly adding new code updates and story updates.

An example of a player run storyline is in ArmageddonMUD, which is based on Dark Sun. In it a player playing a dwarf decided to free his fellow dwarves who were slaves in the obsidian mines, and lay seige to the city-state that had kept them enslaved. This was entirely thought up by players, and with the staff's help, done by the players.

MMOs sometimes attempt to be roleplaying games, to enable an interactive story to be told. But they're even further limited by the fact that, you can't do what you want. You can only do what animations have been coded. Again, MUDs don't have this limitation, with any action being able to be provided by emoting. MUDs have the advantage over IFs in that they are multiuser. Whereas in an IF there's no-one but yourself.

So I'm very surprised that something discussing interactive fiction, including it's future (which IMO are MUDs, with more and more being created every day while others continue to be run for over 10 years), didn't feel the need to mention MUDs.

God forbid multiplayer in TES! I prefer singleplayer RPGs for a reason, and that is roleplaying. In SP games I can really get into the game and play my character's role, without being distracted by kiddies who use MMORPG mostly as a chat room. I don't call a good roleplaying when you end up in a party where two other players are real life buddies who chat about that day's school and call themselves by their real names.

The closest to the real thing that I tried was MUDs (I especially like Iron Realms games, and still play them) but in the end there is usually little fun playing on your own. SP games allow me to play my role and have fun and still not have to socialize. Because you know, I am a geek after all, so I like being alone :-)

http://ironrealms.com/

Go check them out, you'll be amazed.

One of the best: http://www.achaea.com/
I'm currently playing: http://www.imperian.com/
Main site with other MUDs: http://www.ironrealms.com/

I can't afford to advertise in gaming magazines so I can't get a bunch of wankers to gush endlessly about my upcoming project.

Pffft. This guy has been extremely profitable, and I doubt very much he had money to advertise in gaming magazines at the start.

The big companies have convinced everyone you need lots of money to make a profitable game, but I think as time continues the indi-market will grow and the big companies will stagnate and die.