Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Text Adventure Competition Reports A 36% Spike In Entries (ifcomp.org)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the twisty-little-passages dept.

There's just four days left to vote for the winner of the 23rd Annual Interactive Fiction Competition. An anonymous reader writes: This year's contest set a record, drawing 79 new text adventures -- 36% more entries than the previous year's 58. All of this year's games are available online, furthering the competition's goal of "making them freely available in order to encourage the creation, play, and discussion of interactive fiction." (And they're also available in a 236-megabyte .zip archive.)

Each game's developer is competing for $4,800 in cash prizes, to be shared among everyone who finishes in the top two-thirds (including a $247 prize to the first-place winner). Authors of the top-rated games will also get to choose from a 38-prize pool (which includes another $200 cash prize donated by Asymmetric Publications, as well as a "well-loved" used Wii console). But the most important thing is there's a bunch of fun new text adventures to play. Reviews are already appearing online, lovingly collected by the Interactive Fiction Wiki. And one game designer even livestreamed their text adventure-playing on Twitch.

10 of 21 comments (clear)

  1. I don't believe it by nospam007 · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's just a couple of AI game-masters making them up on the spot.

  2. Ob by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    I would have won but I was eaten by a grue.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:Ob by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      I'm playing this text adventure game called Linux, and I keep getting eaten by a GNU.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  3. Re:Please test my text adventure! by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

    Well, when I think about running a program the first thing that springs to mind is "where did it come from?" Not seeing a name in the readme or here in your post does not inspire confidence in running your code. There is a "The New Castle" listed on Moby Games, so are you Dan Gahlinger? Or is that another game?
    http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,303284/

    --
    You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
  4. I wish I had known about this by zifn4b · · Score: 2

    I would have made one. I used to have so much fun doing that on the C64. Cheers to whoever wins!

    --
    We'll make great pets
    1. Re:I wish I had known about this by BasilBrush · · Score: 2

      It's annual. Start one now and it'll be ready for next years contest.

    2. Re:I wish I had known about this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The IF comp people are an incestuous group, and they have intentionally blurred the line between Text Adventures and Interactive Fiction. They are not the same thing. Zork and Colossal Cave are not what the IF Comp is selling - they are selling novels and short stories wrapped in a an artificial package. Zork is about puzzle solving, exploration, etc.

    3. Re:I wish I had known about this by zifn4b · · Score: 1

      They are not the same thing. Zork and Colossal Cave are not what the IF Comp is selling - they are selling novels and short stories wrapped in a an artificial package. Zork is about puzzle solving, exploration, etc.

      Oh well I wouldn't have done that then. Any type of adventure game whether it be text, point and click what have you I personally think must be composed of both to be exceptional. They should have an interesting world/setting, satisfying puzzles and problems to solve, memorable characters and a good story line. I think back to my days of playing The Pawn.

      --
      We'll make great pets
  5. Winners each year and Top 50 of all time by mattr · · Score: 2

    I found this really useful page, look at the Prizes Chosen column. Each has a blurb and score of the top entries that year and if you click on it, you get reviews and links to the files.
    http://ifwiki.org/index.php/Pr...
    There are just so many entries from these years that I would love to see if there are any recommendations for best of in different categories! Well... googling for best interactive fiction gave me this very interesting page
    Interactive Fiction Top 50 of all time (2015 edition)
    It is awesome because each entry's page has a Play Online button so you don't even need to install it!

    1. Re:Winners each year and Top 50 of all time by mattr · · Score: 1

      p.s. looks like maybe you really should install your platform's player since online versions may be stripped down.