IFcomp is an annual celebration of new, text-driven digital games and stories from independent creators, as well as one of the most prestigious contests in the IF world. Judging runs from now to Oct 15.
This year, we have one entry written in Choicescript, from our veteran HG author @Felicity_Banks . Anyone can be a judge! Do feel free to play the games and participate in the judging. All entries are free to play. If you wish to judge the entries, you will need to create a free account on the IFcomp website and play/rate at least five entries, but the more the better!
Of course, if you prefer to put your new CS entry in a contest without the brutality of contest rankings, there is always next year’s Spring Thing. Comp entries are still eligible for publication under CoG/HG.
If you enjoy the ChoiceScript games, by all means, feel free to rate and review them, but a gentle reminder to try out the non-ChoiceScript games as well. For us choice-based fans, there are also games in Twine, and if you haven’t tried parser games, now is a good time to give it a shot. IFcomp is an opportunity to build bridges, so let’s make it happen. (Ok, I self-plagiarized this from my Spring Thing post.)
I’d like to draw attention to a couple of IFComp entries I had the privilege to beta test.
There’s only one entry in ChoiceScript this year, Miss Duckworthy’s School for Magic-Infested Young People by @Felicity_Banks. I’m really hoping to see this one come to Hosted Games someday. It’s a fantasy set in a dystopian world where sometimes people become magical, more or less spontaneously, and need to be bundled off to this special school both to keep them separate from ordinary society, and to learn to use their abilities. Needless to say, the school has a few secrets of its own. I’ve been a fan of Felicity’s work ever since I read her 2021 IFComp entry, Fine Felines, and it was an honor to beta for her again this year.
A Death in Hyperspace was created with Twine, but seven of the ten authors who collaborated on this project have been published by CoG: @Stewart_Baker and @jdbeamo (authors of The Bread Must Rise), Phoebe Barton (author of The Luminous Underground), Kate Heartfield (author of The Magician’s Workshop and The Road to Canterbury), @nacarat (author of Teahouse of the Gods), @natalia.theodoridou (author of Rent-a-Vice and Sins of the Sires), and M. Darusha Wehm (author of The Martian Job). Every author whose game for CoG has been nominated for a Nebula Award contributed to this game. In this game, you play as the sapient computer of an intelligent ship traveling through hyperspace. When your captain is murdered, it falls to you to figure out what happened. The game has several endings, most of which I’ve seen, and it’s worth playing several times to discover new layers to the story.
If you’re checking out IFComp games this year, these two are worth looking into!
They both sound amazing. I’ll have to try and get some time together to check them out before the end of the comp
They always need more people to vote at IFComp. Really easy to register, play a few games (they’re free!) and vote for your favs! If you’re looking for where to start can either scroll through the main ifcomp page (if you don’t want to play parser, you can restrict it to “choice”), or there’s already reviews coming through on the infiction boards.
Awesome news about IFcomp 2024! I’m excited to dive into the new entries and explore the variety of text-driven games. I’ll definitely check out the Choicescript games by @Felicity_Banks and try some non-ChoiceScript ones too. Looking forward to participating in the judging!
A gentle reminder that we’re now well past the halfway point. The contest closes on 15th Oct. If you haven’t done so, do consider taking a look at the games, choicescript or otherwise.
Also, if you’ve enjoyed any of the games at IFcomp, you’re also welcome to share your thoughts here!
Edit: Fun fact. @NumberedEntity has donated two copies of An Unexpectedly Green Journey to the prize pool.
…aaand the results are in. Congratulations to everyone who participated.
Anyways, if anyone would like to see Fine Felines, Bali B&B or Miss Duckworthy’s expanded into a Hosted Games entry, do feel free to say something right here. I believe Scarlet Sails should be getting a steam rerelease soon.
Either way, let’s congratulate @Felicity_Banks for another successful IFcomp entry!
(The Spring Thing next year should be open for registration sometime soon. I’ll probably make another announcement when that happens.)
I haven’t played Bali B&B, but I’ve made no secret of my desire to add Fine Felines and Miss Duckworthy’s to my HG collection someday. Fine Felines in particular will forever have a special place in my heart.
I think congratulations are also due to @Stewart_Baker and the rest of the team that worked on A Death in Hyperspace, most of whom have written for CoG previously. Like Miss Duckworthy’s, A Death in Hyperspace made a respectable showing without quite making it into the top 20. It’s not quite like anything else you’ve ever read, and definitely worth a try.
Congratulations, @Felicity_Banks! You remain the Choicescript-entrant to beat when it comes to IFComp!
It was a lot of fun to work on A Death in Hyperspace with folks, and I’m pleased with where we ended up.
I made a few small tweaks to the game based on judge feedback about the timer stressing them out immensely–it should be clearer now when you start the game that you can play with or without it.
I got about 3/4 of the way through Miss Duckworthy’s and thought it was great. Hoping to finish it off this week. I’d love to see it expanded and into a HG It has that almost shadow-runish premise that people exposed in some way to magic are being turned into previously thought to only be “mythical” creatures. But then goes dangerous magical school mystery (with talking animal side kick) on you. Anyway, I thought the setup in particular was great.
Death in Hyperspace is on my to finish list as well, it seems great (my free time won’t stay free this year.). So great to see a collab like that one!
That’s great, I’m a without it kinda person (although I understand why the timer is there.)
I’m excited to dive into the new entries and explore the variety of text-driven games. I’ll definitely check out the Choicescript games by 
