IntroComp 2009
Last updated: October 5, 2009

The competition is over for 2009, with the results being as follows:

1st Place - Obituary, by Drew and Johnny
2nd Place - Gossip, by Hugo Labrande
3rd Place - Selves, by J'onn Roger

 Congratulations to the authors for getting this far!

These authors have until August 29, 2010 to complete their introductions. If they make that deadline, they will be rewarded with a cash prize. Their completed games will also be eligible for Xyzzy nominations for the year in which the game was completed (i.e. if they don't make the deadline of Aug '10, but instead release on Jan 1, 2011, then their games will be eligible for the Xyzzies for the games released in 2011).

A transcript of the awards ceremony that was held to announce the winners, as well as a playthrough of the individual introductions, can be found here.

If you haven't already posted a review or sent these authors your feedback, please do so. That's the best prize of all when it comes to IntroComp - feedback! If you haven't yet played, the authors would still very much appreciate you taking the time to do so. You can download the comp-release of these introductions here.



Thinking Ahead to 2010? (Posted October 5, 2009)

This year's IntroComp fell during a time when I was moving and starting a new job, at a time of year that would have been really busy regardless. Hopefully next year will go a lot more smoothly. Watch for an intent to enter deadline in mid-June, with introductions due around the end of July. Want to submit your intent to enter right now, before the hard deadlines are even set? Drop me an e-mail and let me know! (my gmail account is jacqueline.a.lott)



Prior 2009 IntroComp updates:

Initial Competition Announcement
New Rule Update (Posted July 26, 2009)
Intent to Enter Deadline Extension (Posted August 16, 2009)
Games Released! (Posted August 31, 2009)
Games in the Archive (Posted September 5, 2009)



Games in the Archive (Posted September 5, 2009)

You can now also find the file uploaded to the IntroComp site on the ifArchive.




Games Released! (Posted August 31, 2009)

Three entries were received this year, and it appears to be the year of the One Word Title:

     Gossip, by Hugo Labrande
     Obituary, by Drew and Johnny
     Selves, by J'onn Roger

Games can now be downloaded here.

By the end of the week these files will hopefully also be available through the IFArchive, and I'll also have a voting form available... watch for an update here.

Should you want to play and vote before I'm able to post the voting form, feel free to submit your votes to my gmail account [jacqueline.a.lott] and remember the voting rules:

   * Authors may not vote.

   * Beta testers are allowed to vote, but only on games they did not test.

   * Everyone else in the entire world may vote

   * Vote for as many (or few) of the entries as you like

   * Vote on 1-10 scale (10 being the best)

   * Your votes are based on how interested you are in seeing the full game

   * Voting deadline is Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, 23:59 EST

Thanks for your interest. Happy playing and voting, and we'll see you at the awards ceremony, which will be held in the auditorium on ifMUD on Saturday, Sep 19, 2009, at 15:00 EST.




Rules Update (Posted July 26, 2009)

As per a question received by one of the prospective competition participants, there is a new rule regarding multiple entries by a single author.

You may enter more than one entry, but only your top-voted entry will be ranked and eligible for a prize. So, have more than one game you're working on right now and you're not sure which one to focus on? Find out which premise will be the best received by the community by entering them here.

Of course, unless you wish to incite the wrath of the IF community and, more importantly, the competition organizer, any and all entries you enter should be well-tested and created in earnest. Please don't spam the competition with lots of half-baked entries. Need I reiterate that, as an Alaskan, it is really easy for me to acquire a high volume of rotten salmon and mail it to you. Please, don't tempt me.

Also, I should perhaps remind you that any entries to IntroComp are often then no longer eligible for other competitions, such as the annual IF Competition. However, upon completion (whenever that may be) your finished games are all eligible to be nominated for Xyzzies for the year in which the completed game was released.

Happy writing! Get those intents to enter in by August 10, 2009.




Initial Competition Announcement for 2009

> SIT DOWN

Hooray! It *is* that time of year again, isn't it?!
No, wait... it's *past* time. WTF, Jacq?
> SIT DOWN

Okay, fine. I'm sitting down.
> GAZE INTO CRYSTAL BALL

As before, the colors in the sphere begin to shift and transform, coalescing into something familiar...

IntroComp: An Interactive Fiction Competition
(First time players should continue reading)
Intent to Enter Deadline: Aug 10, 2009, 23:59 EST
Entry Deadline: Saturday, Aug 29, 2009, 23:59 EST
Voting Deadline: Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, 23:59 EST
Awards before ClubFloyd - Sep 19, 2009, 15:00 EST
Release 8

A wave of relief washes over you. The time has come yet again!
What should you, the writer and programmer, do now?
> SEND INTENT TO ENTER TO JACQUELINE.A.LOTT's GMAIL.COM ADDRESS

Okay, intent sent. Now what?
> CODE THE BEGINNING BITS OF THE BEST IF GAME *EVER*

Sounds like a plan.

_____


***** IN CASE YOU MISSED IT PREVIOUSLY *****

The requirements of IntroComp are deceptively simple: All entrants must submit the beginning of a new, never before seen work of IF. This can be as short or as long as the author likes, so long as it is 1) a working, playable game and 2) interactive fiction.

The deadline for completing your intro is August 29, 2009 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. That's not as much time as I typically give, but it's still a month and a half if you get started right now. It's just an intro, so get crackin' on it soon so that you can have an intro that's interesting, polished, and deep, albeit short. Plenty of time if you don't put it off...


***** JUDGING RULES *****

Authors may not vote.

Beta testers are allowed to vote, but only on games they did not test.

Everyone else in the entire world may vote on as many or as few entries as they like, on the usual 1-10 scale (10 being the best). However, they are asked to judge games with one thought in mind, and one alone: "How much do I want to play more of this entry?"

We ask that judges please refrain from posting reviews of the IntroComp games during the judging period, so as not to taint the voting process, but feel free to send feedback directly to the authors prior to the voting deadline - after all, the best prize that authors receive is feedback, right?

We'll allow the first half of September for judging, with results announced in the auditorium on ifMUD on September 19, 2009.


***** SORT OF NEW FOR THIS YEAR *****

Immediately after the awards ceremony, we shall adjourn to the Toyshop & Floyditorium, where we will, as a group, play all the intros that will run on our bot, Floyd. If you're curious, Floyd can play games written in Hugo, AGT, Inform (6 or 7), and TADS (either 2 or 3).

There is no requirement that your IntroComp entry be created in one of these languages, it just means that we won't be able to play it on Floyd.


***** PRIZES *****

There's money again this year... not that I've ever had to send anyone any money thus far, but in theory, there *is* money...

PRIZE RULES
1ST Place: $100
2ND Place: $60
3RD Place: $40
Honorable: $20

All values in US funds, minus any currency conversion fee that might be required. Void where prohibited by law. Some assembly required. No other warranty expressed or implied. Although the bag does not appear to inflate, rest assured oxygen will be flowing to the mask.

Oh, and in order to win you not only have to enter, but also finish your game. You will have one year (until August 29, 2009) to do so. No completed game? No money - and somewhere in the world, a fairy dies.

An explanation of the 'Honorable' category. Anyone who enters but doesn't place in the top three will fit into this category. We want everyone to have an incentive to finish their game, so the first Honorable to complete their game will receive the $20 Honorable prize, provided that the entry isn't incredibly buggy and just sort of slapped together. (Since the money will be coming out of my pocket, I have the final word on that bit. No questions asked, and no complaining. Submit your solid, finished game in the spirit of the comp and you'll get the cash; submit something you obviously wrote for a SpeedIF and I shall mock you and keep the $20 for the next person who finishes their game.)


***** DEADLINE *****

All introductions should be submitted on or before August 29, 2009 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Intent to enter should be submitted by August 10, 2009, so that I know that you've had enough time to do at least a little beta testing. If you want to send me your intent right now, go for it; you need not wait until the deadline.


***** UPDATES *****

As of 2009, XyzzyNews is no longer sponsoring IntroComp. Eileen Mullin and XyzzyNews have been fantastic to IntroComp over the years, but I felt it would be easier to streamline things, rather than making poor Eileen do lots of work that I'm perfectly capable of doing myself.

So, for updates, watch r.a.i-f, as well as at the IntroComp page on my site at http://www.allthingsjacq.com/introcomp09.html


***** REALLY IMPORTANT: SUBMISSION GUIDELINES *****

ALL questions, intents to enter, and final submissions should be sent to my e-mail account. This is more true than ever this year, as during the course of the comp I will be starting a new job, moving to a new town, and visiting four different countries. My e-mail account is the one thing I will check with regularity, so don't rely on posting your question to the groups.

So, to reiterate:

ALL CORRESPONDENCE
should be done by e-mail to my gmail.com account:
jacqueline.a.lott


Please also note that in addition to all that crazy stuff I mentioned above I'm also sometimes in the wilderness (that's right, the wilderness, where Internet is but a twinkle in some grizzly bear's eye) for several days at a time, so if you don't get a reply right away, it probably means that I'm in the woods and will reply as soon as my hiking boots or a small fixed-wing aircraft bring me back to 'civilization.'

_____

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS*
*for very small values of "frequently"

SO HOW LONG/SHORT SHOULD AN INTROCOMP ENTRY BE?
There are no strict length requirements. If you want to enter a complete game, or merely an opening screen or just a title, there's nothing technically stopping you - though given the voting rules, this may not be the best strategy.

WHAT'S TO STOP ME FROM JUST ADDING "AND THEN THEY ALL DIED -- THE END" TO MY ENTRY AND THEN CLAIMING MY PRIZE? BWAHAHAHA!
Nothing... except the ridicule and ostracization of your peers. Also, keep in mind that you have to send me your address in order to get your prize, and you'd be surprised how easily it is to acquire smelly, rotten salmon here in Alaska.

CAN I SUBMIT A SECTION FROM THE MIDDLE OF MY GAME INSTEAD OF THE BEGINNING?
No, that would be ExcerptComp.

HOW ABOUT THE ENDING OF MY GAME?
Next question, please.

WHEN I FINISH WRITING MY GAME, CAN I SUBMIT IT TO IFCOMP?
No go, my friend. It would run afoul of the spirit of IFComp's "no prior release" rule. You may be allowed to enter it in other minicomps, though - ask your local minicomp dealer.

BUT I STILL WANT TO KNOW MORE!
That wasn't exactly a question, that was more of an exclamation... Okay, I get your point. Maybe you should take a look the ifWiki to learn more on previous years' IntroComps: [LINK]

If you still have a question after that, drop an e-mail to my gmail.com account: jacqueline.a.lott

Thanks!