IF Comp 2013 predictions

The internal name of the object is “bubblegum,” but the game accepts “gum” as a synonym.

Fine, I’m playing the genre game. There will be at least one of each of these:

  • Rococo
  • Theatre of cruelty
  • Theatre of mild irritation
  • Galactic romance
  • Bromance
  • 90s retro
  • Geeksploitation
  • Ironic retro CYOA
  • Temporal adventuress
  • Management sim
  • Mismanagement sim
  • Subverted dungeon crawl
  • Proletariat literature
  • Found IF
  • Children’s dark fantasy
  • Confessional memoir
  • Arabian nightmare
  • Hospital drama
  • Combat-free CRPG
  • Culinary
  • Urban fantasy
  • Suburban fantasy
  • Interactive flyting
  • Historical diorama
  • Modern fairytale
  • Engineering-problem science fiction
  • Yuppie sex fiasco comedy
  • Alternative-sports locker-room drama
  • Hard biology science fiction
  • Ruritanian romance

There will be at least one game for each of these:

• boring slice of life, beginning in a boring place, with no hint on how to go on with the game (“You are in your apartment. Nobody loves you.”)
• ancient mythology transposed to modern days
• non-understandable CYOA full of colors and cryptic content only the author can relate to
• forest/bucolic setting, starting in a hut the PC may or may not live in
• war game entirely taking place in a very big ship/starship/closed environment

There won’t be any of these:

• sci-fi game or game set in the future
• strong, emotional character
• mechanical NPC
• complex, non-word-related, fun puzzles
• games by me.

I’m cheating on at least one of the above.

…consistency, who needs it? [emote];)[/emote]

Maybe he meant spaceship slice-o-life:

You are on a spaceship. What do you do?

  1. Velcro back in and oversleep.
  2. Eat space ice cream.
  3. Recycle urine.

I’ve told you there was some cheating involved…

Anyway: the Shuttle is a starship, and it’s things of the past.

Actually, a starship is spacecraft that can travel between star systems, so shuttles don’t qualify. You could argue that Voyager 1 is a starship since it will pass near (for very, very broad definitions of “near”) Gliese 445 in about 40,000 years.

An increased number of Twine CYOAs in the comp might de-emphasize some of the traditionally prominent fiction genres found in the comp, like zombie and space opera. Maybe I’m ignorant, but from trying Twine games listed on the IFDB, it doesn’t seem like Twine is often used to tell those types of stories. I think Twine games favor slice-of-life and commentary.

This would be either a very good thing or a somewhat bad thing for the Comp, depending on what you like.

Well la di da Mister Starship!

  • Wade

Because I am unafraid to look goofy to my friends, I have described this scene to multiple people over the last couple days, including at last night’s pirate party. Your sense of humor receives a stamp of approval from Boston-area geeks.

If so, then Web-based CYOA games. No Windows-based (EXE files) games this time. [emote];)[/emote]

No, because that would be a bad thing. [emote];)[/emote]

Miss Congeniality for a CYOA entry? Really? Are you serious about that?

Maybe maybe… [emote];)[/emote]

Horrible horror games. [emote];)[/emote]

Or “too short”. [emote];)[/emote]

Yeah. And gamers will make this their major issue and argumentation in their reviews.

No zombies this time? Well… let’s just say I wouldn’t bet any money on that. if I were you. On October 1st you will know why…

  • u.

The eagerly awaited sequel to Choice of Zombies will be Lack of Choice of Zombies.

-Wade

The Golden Banana isn’t the prize for Miss Congeniality. It’s the prize for largest standard deviation in scores.
And I am predicting zombies. Zombies are the least surprising theme that I think will definitely be present.

Given that… another prediction.

Miss Congeniality will also be the top ranking game. But the Miss Congeniality runners-up will not be in the top three ranked games. They will be… (consults Magic 8-Ball) ranked 6th and 13th overall.

One more prediction: A game will be released horribly broken. The first in-comp update will not fix the game. The second will, but it will be too late.

Someone who is not me will create a comp-entry-themed playlist. I will hate or be indifferent to all but one of the songs on it.

I see. The “Golden Banana” is an award which you guys give outside the comp, since it is not officially listed on ifcomp.org.

Hehe. Yeah… When the first impression fails then all other following impressions seem to make no sense. [emote]:mrgreen:[/emote]

It’s like with girls, isn’t it. You screw up the first time she’ll have no interest in you for the rest of her life.

Never mind. Try the next girl… Or next game in this case [emote];)[/emote]

  • u.

That’s correct. It sprang up as an informal tradition several years ago.

Where by “several,” you mean twelve.

Yes.

Prediction review time:

Yep. 1/1 so far.

Nailed it. Unless you count the disqualified game. 2/2

19 CYOA games. 15 parser. 1 “other”. (Final Girl). 3/3

Not the most ambitious prediction, since it’s never happened. And the streak of it never happening continues. 4/4

So close. But sorry, Porpentine, Hanon beat you out this year. 4/5

I’m going to need a judge’s ruling on this. As I count it, the contenders are:
The Cardew House (definitely)
Coloratura (probably? I mean, it’s not a scary game, but you are definitely playing as what would be a Monster From the Deep from a different viewpoint)
The House at the End of Rosewood Street (Trapped in a dream world with a maybe murderer?)
Robin and Orchid (Probably not. But, still, a ghost hunt. Is Ghostbusters horror?)
Blood on the Heather (Definitely. Schlock horror for sure)
The Challenge (Probably? Trapped in a basement with a bloody knife, and told to kill yourself?)
Vulse (Gross-out squick is horror, right?)

TBD on this one.

Close. 4 games below 3. 4/6

I’m going to split this one into two predictions. The first I got right, and the second I got wrong. (Coloratura t-15th for lowest standard deviation.) 5/8

10/15 do, so that’s a miss. 5/9

Open for debate. Captain Verdeterre’s Plunder, Threediopolis and Mazredugin had really nice responses, in my opinion. I’m giving this one to me. 6/10

By my count: 5/35 horror, 8/35 Sci-Fi, 11/35 Fantasy, 11/35 Drama. Close on horror and fantasy, reversed the sci-fi and drama. Miss. 6/11

This was a dig at my own game, Tex Bonaventure, a title which most people decided was “too bland” rather than “too long”. 6/12

Nope! 6/13

Non human PC:
Coloratura,

Ollie Ollie Oxen Free, and Further,

Dad Vs. Unicorn,

Solarium,

9 Lives

Social Issues:
Your mileage may vary, but:
Their angelic understanding,
Autumn’s Daughter,
Imposter Syndrome,
Dad vs Unicorn

Derided Mazes:
Tex Bonaventure (another cheating “prediction”)
Paper Bag Princess
Ollie Ollie Oxen Free (to an extent)
Imposter Syndrome (The wall of links “maze”)

I’m calling this a win. 7/14

I forget, was there a squid in Coloratura? Or Captain Verdeterre’s Plunder? Those two seem the most… squid-capable. 7/15

And nope! No zombies! 7/16

So, the final score is seven out of sixteen for me. Not terrible. Not going to get me a job as a futurist any time soon.

Some nice predicting going on!

Not sure you did lose re: HanonO - StoryNexus is closer to CYOA than parser.

However…

I’ll give you Tex and Paper Bag Princess for that one, but I’m gonna call you on the other two.


(xkcd.com/285/)