Interactive fiction and the month of July – what could they possibly have in common? The annual IFComp, that’s what! That’s right, it’s time for creators of interactive tales to declare their intent to enter, and this year marks… let’s see… oh my, the 27th of its kind!
In case you’re already familiar with how IFComp works, well, I’d still suggest you don’t skim this article for stuff like links and dates, ignoring everything else, because… things have changed since last year; don’t worry, it’s all for the better. For starters, the registration form is slightly different. Slightly. Bits here and there. Yeah. But since you’ll be going through it when submitting anyway, let’s move on to something far more exciting: an experiment!
See, this year – and depending on how it goes, every following – authors are also allowed to act as judges, meaning everyone gets to vote on every single entry; as long as it isn’t your own game, for reasons fairly obvious. Aside from that… well, the rules still apply, so be sure to give them a thorough read prior to submitting anything. Would be terrible to have wasted so much time writing something… only to find it won’t be eligible. The ‘no copyright infringement’ bit almost goes without saying, although something that may surprise some is that all submissions must be free. Completely. No ads or other hoops to jump through before judges can get to reading.
Still with me? Great! Intent to enter has to be registered by September 1 (like years prior), while the submission deadline is September 28 (again, like years prior). Job’s done.
