IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

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Hipolito
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IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

Post by Hipolito »

For almost every year since 2005, I've posted pithy reviews of games in the Interactive Fiction competition.

This year, though, I'm finally competing. I hope to finish the first draft of my entry today.

I'm looking for beta readers to play my game and give feedback. Please PM me if interested. The game will be a simple browser-based story with no special software needed, and probably just take 15 minutes to go through.
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MonkeyFinger
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Re: IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

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Hipolito wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 1:39 pm This year, though, I'm finally competing.
8-)
-mf
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Daehawk
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Re: IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

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Good luck with it all.
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Hipolito
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Re: IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

Post by Hipolito »

The competition has begun, with this cool comic that pays homage to past winners.

Image

There's my debut game, "Rip Retold," among the 82 entries. Thanks to MonkeyFinger and Jaymon for playtesting my game and making it better with their feedback.

I encourage you all to judge the competition, not because I'm in it but because a contest of 82 entries needs a lot of judges! You only have to play 5 games for your ratings to count, and your rating for a game is based on at most the first 2 hours of play (most of the entries are shorter than that). MonkeyFinger and Jaymon, since you playtested my game, you can't judge it, but can judge all the others.

This will be fun! I'm going to play as many of the entries as I can. I've already played 2 of them and enjoyed them.
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Hipolito
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Re: IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

Post by Hipolito »

To belatedly announce the results: my game came in 56th place out of the 82 entries. My game was quite short and low in interaction, so I was not expecting a high placement. Had I finished just a couple of places higher, though, I would have won a little money!

The feedback I got was really constructive and positive. Though the game was flawed, people enjoyed the story.

I'm glad I finally competed. It was fun to get feedback and participate in the authors' forum.

The 1st-place winner was Zozzled, which is about a pleasantly plump 1920s flapper who's not about to let a bunch of ghosts ruin her night out. It has lots of laughs, good puzzles, and period dialogue. The author also won in 2015 with Brain Guzzlers From Beyond!

Other games that stood out for me were:
- Turandot (2nd place): the most interesting first date you've ever had. Based on an opera.
- Each-uisge (28th place): about a child who is drawn to a suspicious horse
- Limerick Heist (8th place): a comical crime caper told entirely in limericks
- Night Guard / Morning Star (7th place): a horror tale about a woman who has to guard her mother's paintings
- Out (38th place): you can guess from the title what's it's about, and you'd be right, but the scale of the game will surprise you. Also, there's a dog in it.
- Eye Contact (57th place): This dialogue game shows a close-up of the eyes of the person you're talking to. The eyes change expression based on what you say. Even shorter than my game, but worth experiencing.
- Faerethia (25th place): my favorite of the competition. This futuristic, philosophical think-piece reminds me of the Infocom classic A Mind Forever Voyaging, but it's even better. It encompasses a variety of perspectives and writing styles, and has good background music.
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Re: IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

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8-)
-mf
Jeff V
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Re: IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

Post by Jeff V »

Turandot is one of my favorite Pucchini operas. I'm not sure I'd play a game on it though...my very first review for Computer Games Magazine back in the day was a 6-disk adventure game allegedly based on Wagner's Ring cycle. The editor was looking for someone familiar with the opera and I had just started publishing reviews at The Wargamer. The game was utterly atrocious and years later developer got back at me for the shitty review I gave it by contracting a project I headed at The Wargamer then going bankrupt before paying us.

Anyway, how was the experience? Would you do it again?
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Hipolito
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Re: IFComp 2019, 25th anniversary (I'm competing!)

Post by Hipolito »

Jeff V wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 8:13 pm Turandot is one of my favorite Pucchini operas. I'm not sure I'd play a game on it though...my very first review for Computer Games Magazine back in the day was a 6-disk adventure game allegedly based on Wagner's Ring cycle. The editor was looking for someone familiar with the opera and I had just started publishing reviews at The Wargamer. The game was utterly atrocious and years later developer got back at me for the shitty review I gave it by contracting a project I headed at The Wargamer then going bankrupt before paying us.
I actually remember your review of that game! I never would have heard of it otherwise.

I would recommend giving the Turandot game a try. I never saw the opera (wish I had when it was at the Lyric last year), but other people who have seen it really like the game. My understanding is that the game is only loosely based on the opera, and the author's own spin on it is really fun to read.

But what the F, someone made a Turandot board game too?!
Anyway, how was the experience? Would you do it again?
It was fantastic, and I wish I'd done it sooner. The IF community is really supportive and gave me a lot of encouraging feedback. And the competition is excellently run. I do plan to complete again.
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