So, who is participating in IFComp this year? Just a few days left until the deadline…
I’m still polishing my entry (it’s going to be a very last-minute finish). It’s another Dendry game, almost like a spiritual sequel to Pageant/NYE2019, but in a very different setting.
I feel like this year is going to be a relatively slow year, with fewer participants than last time. It just seems like there are fewer people posting testing threads than before, and there’s been less promotion…
Welcome to IFComp and good luck with the entry! Finding some people to beta test it (even if it’s one friend you ask to look over it while you’re with them) is better than nothing. Especially since, at 20 minutes, there’s a possibility you may get the reassurance that no show-stopping bugs exist for the game.
I’m sitting out this year, but cheering on y’all as you wrap things up!
I’d go ahead and post it, that seems entirely reasonable given the length (also you can DM me and I’m happy to take a look, though I probably won’t be able to until Monday which I know is cutting things tight!)
Edit: on number of entries, yeah, I suspect it’ll be a little lower given waning of the pandemic effect and the high number of Spring Thing and ParserComp entries. But I feel like there were way more testing requests over the early and mid summer than I’m used to seeing, which maybe balances out the lower number over the last month - I think I tested more games this year than I ever have before (though partially that could just be because I said yes to more stuff as I didn’t have my own entry to worry about).
It does feel a bit quieter this year, doesn’t it? I’ve tested a few, but nothing like the volume I’ve dealt with over the previous couple of years. Might not be such a bad thing to have fewer entries though, as it makes it less overwhelming for potential judges.
Seriously, don’t be! You’d be doing everyone a favour by keeping a legion of under-utilised beta testers off the streets and out of trouble (they’re a nuisance around our way, vandalising phone booths and the like).
I’ll have a look at your game if you like.
I thought I was going to be participating this year, but I didn’t finish in time…
After lurking for over a decade I’m finally entering something in the comp this year! My wife and I wrote a small twine story, and I’m excited to share it with the community. We’ve been testing with friends and colleagues mostly outside the IF scene - I actually forgot about the forums until this morning.
I’m entering this year. I got beta testing out of the way early.
Last year, the authors seemed to have a good time, so I threw something together. Maybe the forums will be lively this year. Hopefully, they’ll open the author forums soon.
I’m not going to make IFComp, but I’m hoping to get mine into the Grand Guignol for Ectocomp. It will be nice to just play the IFComp games while I’m finishing mine up.
I’ll test it, Dorian, if you still need folks.
I’m willing to trade stuff for a final walkthrough. I’ve had people look at my games, but there always seem to be lingering issues, and I find that a quick reading from someone I haven’t worked with often turns up a few really useful ideas I can implement right away. Maybe I can return the favor, too.
So anyone who’s willing to swap, let me know.
I’m often surprised how many people come out of the woodwork, likely for the fabulous prizes but there are other IF communities (shocking, I know!) and people who don’t participate in message boards who enter IFComp.
The Colossal Fund is almost to the goal so interest hasn’t flagged - and most years there’s a burst during the voting period so we may be surprised, or it may have finally settled into an average of ~70 entries after the peak of >100 a year or two ago.
That actually would not be a bad thing at all. I have a few small changes to make, and I might need another set of eyes for that. In fact, it would allow for targeted testing of the most recent changes, which are most likely to break.
And if all this falls through, no problem there as well.
As long as you’re confident that your entry is solid and bug-squashed and you’re getting the feedback you need, more isn’t necessarily better. Especially if your readers are still actively helping you.
I’ve always found my best testers are those also entering the Comp so you each have something to offer each other.
I’m in a similar boat. The idea of asking on here for testers is terrifying for me (I honestly don’t know where I’m getting the guts to enter the comp at all really), but I might have done it if the friends I’d asked to have a look at it had actually done so in the month that they’ve had it… Although maybe that should be all the feedback I need right there 
Still, I’ll be entering. I’m confident that it works (very basic Twine), but it may just not be as dyslexia free as I’d like it.
Hi, I’m new! I’ve been lurking for quite a while, but this year I’ll be participating in the Comp. Nice to meet you all!
Also participating this year – although, like last time, I’m cutting it pretty close. Another hard-to-categorize Twine game (CYA fantasy with time travel/teleportation to mess up the usual linearity). As before, easter eggs for those invested in trying odd things. This entry is almost 4 times the size of my previous game (The Cave). Big ambitions. Hoping the effort pays off and people enjoy playing it.
Last year was my first year participating after decades of lurking, and it was a wild ride! Looking forward to playing your game, and welcome!
My first and last entry was in 2019. I had the idea for my next game pretty soon after that but it took a bit longer to finish it. Now it should be in good shape. 
Almost ran out of time this year again, and oh my did I (again) underestimate the issues that come out in beta testing. 
Totally failed to finish my game on time this year. Hopefully next year. However I hope to be able to do some reviewing at least. Good luck to all who entered!
Ade
I’m entering this year; it’s taken me over 40 years to finally get my act together and write (and finish) an adventure game but I’ve finally realised the ambition!
It’s a full-length Infocom-style game. Truth be told it probably belongs more in ParserComp than in IFComp, but anyway there it is. Hope it goes down well.
Richard
If anybody who is missing IFComp this year can get their game done by end of October, as long as it has something scary in it, you could put it in Grand Guignol in Ectocomp and we could all test each others’ games, since everybody else will be busy playing IFComp games. Looking at you: @McTavish , @johnnywz00 , @DeusIrae , and anybody else who’s close but needs another month. Just stick a zombie or a vampire bunny or a creaky old house into it.