That’s lovely to hear 
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For me it was Adrift, but to me the most powerful one is TADS. (Note that I say in both cases “for me”, because the experience might differ for other people.)
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I have a rough idea, a title and some initial concept art ready to go for next year’s entry, but a lot will depend on how much spare time I can find between now and then!
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My observation is that a lot comes down to personal idiosyncrasies. We all think differently, and this question in particular seems to demonstrate that. There are smart people who don’t get Inform (6 or 7, which are very different), and smart people who don’t get TADS. Some fortunates get all three, but that doesn’t seem to be typical.
Maybe try to make one room with both (Inform 7 and TADS), see how it feels. They’re pretty different, so you’ll likely find yourself more interested in one than the other.
I personally wouldn’t set out to learn ADRIFT unless I already knew that I was interested in it (please don’t be upset, ADRIFT fans! 
)
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I would love to, and there’s an idea I’m working on, but right now I want to concentrate on another, non-IF project. If that gets finished in time, maybe! One month less time certainly makes things more interesting.
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Hi Andrew,
I followed your advice and downloaded some inform source code from the Source Code Amnesty Day thread. Lots of really good stuff there. I also stopped reading and started writing. So far, so good.
Thank you!
Deborah
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I have a plan—who knows if I’ll pull it off.
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My working title also has “rat” in it. 
2024: the year of the rat quotient!
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Well, the opening few sentence of “Miss Duckworthy’s School for Magic-Infested Children” popped into my head last night, so now I’ve started writing (as one does). And apparently it’s a… light-hearted dystopia? I was not expecting that.
I’d say ‘comedic dystopia’ but I’m not funny enough to truly write a comedy (plus it takes away from emotional stakes) but I’ll certainly TRY to be a little bit funny along the way.
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Rat ratio!
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Furraction!
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And also set the historical study of alchemy back decades by convincing people that it was never actually about chemicals!
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Why?
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I wouldn’t want to do a tech critique of the system in a public forum, and I’m probably not qualified to do so. I’ll make a few non-technical observations:
Quantity (not quality!) of online discussion (there is an ADRIFT forum, too)
Amount of active technical development
Footprint/Mindshare
It seems like at least one highly visible reviewer has trouble with an ADRIFT game during larger events
Availability of source code/extensions
That’s not to say people don’t make good ADRIFT games–they do! You could be one of them. Try a room in ADRIFT too, if you like. You might prefer it.
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I’m a complete novice with using Inform 7, which I only discovered a week ago, but I’m not entirely new to interactive fiction, and not at all new to writing fiction of various kinds. If I can build up my Inform skills before the next IF Comp I’m likely to give it a try.
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I’d really like to enter and I do have a partially completed game that I’ve been disaffectedly tinkering with on and off (mostly off) for months and months. The trouble is that I find myself perpetually distracted by other hobbies and life stuff - wilfully distracted really, since pretty much anything else is easier than writing - and so when I do occasionally come back to the old WIP after however long away from it, I’ve forgotten where I’ve got to and find myself plagued with doubts about the whole project. A familiar scenario, I’m sure!
All of which is to say that, provided I manage to gain some traction and start moving more quickly than a gouty tortoise, I might just have it ready by September next year and it can go in the competition, however unsuitable it may be (I mean, it’ll be 10 hours long or something; I just can’t help it).
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I’m definitely planning to enter again - it’s been a regular thing for me for a few years now (but was this really your first? I hadn’t realised!).
At this point I’m definitely planning to enter another Bubble Gumshoe mystery, and I’m almost positive it’ll be called Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata? I’m not aiming for a huge game, but I’m hoping to add more polish than in the past.
I also really enjoyed having more than one entry this year, so since I’m trying to have my “main” game finished and tested well in advance, I’ll probably throw in something a little more experimental as well. I know the advice is to get things in the best possible shape and hold off a year if necessary, but so much of the response to anything unusual is down to whether or not judges like the basic idea at all so I’d rather test the waters first and revisit such an idea if it shows promise, and also I’d like to do that in a year when I’ve got a safer entry in the running alongside it. I know on an intellectual level that even the lowest-rated IFComp entries often include some fantastic work, but it still doesn’t feel great to go all-in on something and have it place poorly. I don’t mind so much if I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket.
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Oh excited to see the next entry!!
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Not Jack McNutt Gets Whacked in the Butt?
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Welcome to the IF Cabal! Make sure you ask for help if you need it. Peeps around here are super knowledgeable about Inform 7. Also, let us know if your secret decoder ring doesn’t arrive in the mail soon.
As for your potential first game, I shall utter a prayer for your efforts in my newly converted Napkinnian faith. May his copious folds cleanse your heart and hands.
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