I clearly had no idea what to expect 6 weeks ago. I was thinking 3 reviews/week would be a reasonable pace! I appreciate so much the support and feedback throughout this weird, wild journey. I deliberately isolated myself from other reviews so as not to ‘contaminate’ my opinions or review style. Early on it felt kind of ‘talking into the void.’ Thanks especially to Mike Russo and Dr. Victor for their supportive encouragement, as well as everyone that bumped the reviews as they rolled out. Now that I have committed to posterity, I very much am going to deep dive into everyone’s reviews to see just how badly I got it wrong.
Thanks especially to the amazing authors that put together this smorgasbord for me to just gluttonously gobble down. The variety of voices, visions and implementations was breathtaking and kind of intimidating. But what a treat for me to indulge in. I hope my words were helpful and entertaining, supportive for works that resonated with me and constructive for works that did not. In my haste to be clever, it is likely I did not respect feelings as much as I could have and I do regret that. Across the board, but particularly for works that challenged me, it was important to me to explain WHY my scores were what they were. Thank you all for making these last six weeks exciting, adventurous and sometimes really, really anxious!
And so, to mark my inaugural review run, and to celebrate this terrific field I am going to present some informal, autocratic awards of my own, in advance of the IFCOMP awards proper. Without further ado, here are the first ever…
ROOTie AWARDS
THE BONUS BUNCH. The works that earned a bonus point for one reason or another, demonstrating the shallowness of my hubristic and narrow grading criteria.
- Death by Lightning
- The Last Christmas Present
- Graveyard Stroll
- The Pool
- Glimmer
- Let Them Eat Cake
- Counsel in the Cave
- Lost Coastlines
- The Archivist and the Revolution
THE BAD BOY PENALTY PEERS. Watcha gonna do when they come for you? The rebels that told me to stuff my rules, Teach, they were doin it their way, and didn’t care about my one point penalty on their permanent record.
- Tower of Plargh
- Nose Bleed
- To Persist/Exist/Endure Press 1
- Grown Up Detective Agency
- A Long Way to the Nearest Star
THE EDDIE HASKILL. Parents love him, kids fear him. The classic switch hitter, earning bonus AND penalty!
- January
The GEEK SQUAD, ASSEMBLE! Award. To the works whose narratives can truly shine with just a bit more technical love.
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Headlights
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The Tin Mug
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Lost in the Market
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Jungle Adventure
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Staycation
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A Long Way to the Nearest Star
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…and the winner: Cannele’ and NomNom - Defective Agency
Honorable Mention to TEXTURE and that @#$^@#$% font resize issue that has GIVEN MY EYE A PERMANENT TWITCH.
The SUCK IT, REVIEWER. To the works that most clearly exposed the flaws in my rating scheme by satisfying multiple rankings simultaneously and forcing me to flail for scoring justification.
- Star Tripper (withdrawn)
- …and the winner: Lucid
CLOCKSTOPPERS. To the works least well-served by the two-hour judging time limit, and probably shine much brighter over a longer run.
- Arborea
- Lost Coastlines
- Trouble in Sector 471
- One Final Pit Bull Song at the End of the World
- …and the winner The Only Possible Prom Dress
The BUBBLE BABIES. To the works that brushed up against the next scoring tier, challenging my ideas of discrete scoring thressholds.
- Trouble in Sector 471
- The Chinese Room
- The Archivist and the Revolution
- Admiration Point
- …and the winner Low-Key Learny Jokey Journey
The HOLD MY BEER Award. To the works that shred any and all preconceptions of what IF can be and do. Transcendent or bonkers, these are unforgettable in their uniqueness.
- Admiration Point
- The Absence of Miriam Lane
- Thanatophobia
- January
- To Persist/Exist/Endure Press 1
- Nose Bleed
- One Final Pit Bull Song at the End of the World
- …and the winner Death by Lightning
Finally, to close out, the top 5 2022 games according to me. I know what you are going to say, but I am absolutely sticking with the award name, so there’s no use groaning. Your dismay makes me stronger. I proudly, gratefully, excitedly present:
THE 2022 ROOTie TOOTies! (Yes! I quadruple down on it!) The top 5 games this year, according to JJMcC’s ROOT not necessarily [wink, wink] in order:
- I Wish You Were Dead
- Admiration Point
- The Absence of Miriam Lane
- A Walk Around the Neighborhood
- No One Else is Doing This
Thanks again for a great 6 weeks one and all. If plans materialize, you can all get revenge next year on my Rookie TADS entry.
EDIT: eep. fixed name