====== IFComp ======
The annual Interactive Fiction Competition (held at https://ifcomp.org). I've played quite a few of these entries over the years, and even entered a game in 2022.

===== IFComp 2021 =====

[[https://intfiction.org/t/brads-ifcomp-2021-reviews/53313|My IntFiction.org thread]]

I made time to judge the 2021 Interactive Fiction competition. I played and rated 10 entries:

  * 8: [[games:The Waiting Room]]
  * 7: [[games:4x4 Archipelago]]
  * 7: [[games:The Last Night of Alexisgrad]]
  * 5: [[games:Starbreakers]]
  * 5: [[games:The House on Highfield Lane]]
  * 5: [[games:The Dead Account]]
  * 4: [[games:Universal Hologram]]
  * 4: [[games:I Contain Multitudes]]
  * 3: [[games:Walking Into It]]
  * 2: [[games:The TURING Test]]

Used this rubric:

  Interactive (up to 4 points)
  +1 Novelty within the medium
  +1 Interactions are fun and/or consonant with the theme
  +1 No distracting bugs
  +1 Polished; quality-of-life features (e.g. hints) that enhance the experience
  
  Fiction (up to 4 points)
  +1 Effective prose
  +1 Well-sketched setting
  +1 Compelling plot
  +1 Memorable character(s)
  
  Bonus (up to 2 points)
  +1 I like this!
  +1 I admire this

===== IFComp 2022 =====

[[https://intfiction.org/t/brads-ifcomp-2022-reviews/57989|My Intfiction.org thread (Author's Forum)]]

Alleson and I entered [[Esther's]] in IFComp 2022, and tied for 17th place.

Thoughts on 2022 comp games originally posted in [[https://intfiction.org/t/brads-ifcomp-2022-reviews/57989/9|this thread]] on intfiction.org which is restricted to authors, not everything's been copied over to Commonplace.

My top 10 in order (and their final comp ranking):

  - [[According to Cain]] (6th)
  - [[Prism]] (10th)
  - [[Elvish for Goodbye]] (32nd)
  - [[A Chinese Room]] (11th)
  - [[The Thirty Nine Steps]] (13th)
  - [[Trouble in Sector 471]] (5th)
  - [[Lazy Wizard's Guide]] (22nd)
  - [[CHASE THE SUN]] (21st)
  - [[The Princess of Vestria]] (9th)
  - [[Use Your Psychic Powers at Applebee's]] (16th)

Others:

  * [[An Alien’s Mistaken Impressions of Humanity’s Pockets]]
  * [[Campus Invaders]]
  * [[Cannele & Nomnom]]
  * [[Glimmer]]
  * [[Hanging by threads]]
  * [[Headlights]]
  * [[The Hidden King's Tomb]]
  * [[HOURS]]
  * [[Inside]]
  * [[The Last Christmas Present]]
  * [[Let Them Eat Cake]]
  * [[Lost Coastlines]]
  * [[The Lottery Ticket]]
  * [[A Matter of Heist Urgency]]
  * [[Nose Bleed]]
  * [[One Final Pitbull Song]]
  * [[One Way Ticket]]
  * [[The Thick Table Tavern]]
  * [[Through the Forest With the Beast]]
  * [[The Tin Mug]]
  * [[To Persist Exist Endure, Press 1]]
  * [[Who Shot Gum E. Bear?]]
  * [[Zero Chance of Recovery]]


===== IFComp 2023 =====

[[https://intfiction.org/t/brads-ifcomp-2023-reviews/64942|My IntFiction.org thread]]

  * [[The Whale's Keeper]]
  * [[Lonehouse]]
  * [[The Sculptor]]
  * [[Have Orb, Will Travel]]
  * [[We All Fall Together]]
  * [[Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head]]
  * [[All Hands Abandon Ship]]
  * [[Citizen Makane]]
  * [[The Ship]]
  * [[The Vambrace of Destiny]]
  * [[Assembly]]
  * [[Gestures Towards Divinity]]
  * [[Shanidar, Safe Return]]
  * [[The Little Match Girl 4 Crown of Pearls]]
  * [[DICK MCBUTTS GETS KICKED IN THE NUTS]]
  * [[Out of Scope]]
  * [[Who Iced Mayor McFreeze?]]
  * [[Milliways the Restaurant at the End of the Universe]]
===== IFComp 2024 =====

[[https://intfiction.org/t/brads-ifcomp-2024-impressions/71213|My IntFiction.org thread]]

=== Disclaimers this year ===

**All of my reviews are spoilery.** I always want to know what people really thought and read reviews after I've played a story, so that's what I write.

**Personal bias ahead.** I'm writing and scoring based on what *I want* out of IF, which I recognize is not universal. Things I look for, in no particular order

  * Are the interactions fun and/or consonant?
  * Does it try something new (mechanically, narratively or thematically)? Or perhaps: Is this work aware of its place within the medium?
  * Does it include quality-of-life features appropriate to its form and scale?
  * Does it have a well-sketched setting?
  * Is the plot compelling?
  * Did I find the characters memorable?
  * Does the prose serve it well?
  * Do I like this?
  * Do I admire it?
  * Did it give me something to think about?
  * (Negative) Does it have enough bugs, typos, or other issues to distract from the experience?

**I'm cherry-picking** this year. Life intrudes, so I'm jumping straight to entries that look interesting and skipping ones that probably aren't for me (especially anything horror-themed or with lots of content warnings.)

I also want to caveat that I'm feeling **less patient than usual** this year with high-friction experiences. I'm going to share raw impressions because as an author I'd want to know when someone bounced off my work. There are probably entries I'd have found more rewarding if I had the energy to push through a rough start, but there's just too much to see and too little time this go-round. I want to acknowledge my responsibility in that up front and hope there's no personal offense given.

=== Games ===

  * [[Under the Cognomen of Edgar Allan Poe]]
  * [[The Lost Artist Prologue]]
  * [[Doctor Who and the Dalek Super-Brain]]
  * [[Welcome to the Universe]]
  * [[Focal Shift]]
  * [[Bureau of Strange Happenings]]
  * [[A Very Strong Gland]]
  * [[A Warm Reception]]
  * [[Breakfast in the Dolomites]]
  * [[Hebe]]
  * [[Where Nothing Is Ever Named]]
  * [[Awakened Deeply]]