I echo the cheers of my fellow Horseriders - despite judges promising Famine, Pestilence, War and (yikes!) Death, and also apparently Middlebrow Entertainment, the ChIF and Challenger delivered a Feast, Cured us of our boredom, brought the Peace of artistic satiation, and delivered the highest of Highbrow Joy. I’m not really sure they defeated Death, but… that one really stands out against the rest, doesn’t he? But y’know what? If anyone could, good try @lpsmith and @Afterward!
What a great week.
But seriously, that last scroll is driving me to distraction!
While the victorious Iron Chef Afterward and technical advisor Zed retire to the ranks of their colleagues to await future challenges, let’s have a round of applause for our superb panel of judges: Chandler Groover ( @CMG ), Victor Gijsbers ( @VictorGijsbers ), J. J. McC ( @jjmcc ), Brian Rushton ( @mathbrush ) and N. Cormier ( @Encorm )!
Although their treatment of the competing chefs was not quite as apocalyptic as advertised, there’s no doubt that they kept the broadcast lively and interesting between updates from the competing chefs, and that they delivered in-depth, insightful evaluations of the two dishes presented.
There are still more notable forum members who have volunteered to act as judges, but these maginificent Riders are all invited to return as honored guests in future episodes. The camera turns to the members of this episode’s cast for some final words, then we’ll wrap up with some updates about what comes next for the show…
Quick reply from the train: it was awesome, all around great crew, contenders, horsemen, audience. Let’s hear a special applause for our organiser, @otistdog !
Congratulations to @Afterward for a well-deserved win! A loss to an 11-hour stunningly-crafted piece is hardly a loss at all.
And thank you again to all the judges and audience members and our lovely host. I came into this knowing I wanted to be as open as possible, so that win or lose, I could serve as an example, both to others and to myself-in-the-future. What I didn’t expect to happen was that I would also end up wearing my heart on my sleeve: my emotions and mental state ended up being as much open source as my code. Everyone was lovely about both, and I felt loved and supported by our community. Can anyone ask for anything more?
Indeed, one final round for our host and Chairman, whose organizational skills set the table for our communal banquet! The doors of Keyboard Stadium may soon close for this episode, but who knows what future dishes might await? Even behind the scenes, I have no doubt the Iron ChIFs will continue to sharpen their knives…
Stepping out of the role of “chairman,” I want to thank:
@lpsmith, whose audacity and luck served him well in this contest, and who received a record audience response with his performance as challenger. I hope the recorded moments of your time in Keyboard Stadium will be of enduring value.
@Afterward, who was the first person on the forum whom I approached with this idea, and whose endorsement gave me the confidence to start recruiting other volunteers. You’ve demonstrated that the mantle of Iron Chef truly sets its bearers apart.
Our superb panel of judges: @CMG, @Encorm, @jjmcc, @mathbrush and @VictorGijsbers, who kept up the energy all week and were every bit as entertaining and insightful as the premier panel from the pilot. Special thanks to Encorm, who volunteered even after seeing all the work entailed up close! (I’m told that the fun involved more than makes up for it.) You all have my thanks, and I’m sure that the audience would be just as thrilled as I would to see you return in a future episode.
@Zed, who took a break from bubbling beakers and contributing to the next version of Inform to be the technical advisor for this episode. I did my best to convince Zed that he didn’t have to go as far as improvmonster did with his overview post, but he cheerfully ignored this and cemented into place the high bar of quality established by his colleague. Hats off to you, sir!
@rh, who submitted this episode’s challenge ingredient, which was snatched up by the chefs with vigor. It seems to have worked its magic! Though there is a pool of dozens of candidate ideas already on hand, I hope to see other audience suggestions for future episodes – see the FAQ for details about how to submit them.
All of the challengers waiting for their turn, who will undoubtedly be refining their skills in preparation for their time under the spotlight. Try to be patient – it’s coming!
You, the audience, whose interest and participation are the fuel that powers this whole idea. Hopefully you enjoyed the show, and more importantly the games and their written evaluations. If you had fun and learned something, then this thing’s twin aims have been achieved. Don’t forget to rate the two dishes on IFDB!
As for what comes next:
There’s a poll up to seek audience input about the experimental beta testing policy. If you haven’t cast your votes in that, please do, because your input will help to shape the future of the show.
The role of Iron Chef TADS remains open, leaving challenger jjmcc without anyone to battle at Keyboard Stadium! TADS proponents: I’ve seen a lot of you sing the praises of your chosen platform; this is your invitation to step up and show it off to the world! Send a PM if you think you have what it takes to join the august assemblage of Iron Chefs.
We still have two Iron Chefs with no challengers: Iron Chef Inform 6 Warrigal and Iron Chef Adventuron Dee_Cooke. The goal for Season One is to cover as many noteworthy development platforms as possible, so if you want a fast track to the arena, consider trying your hand at these systems. (Already-registered challengers can switch platforms, too.) See the FAQ to learn more, and send a PM if interested.
Zed has formally relinquished his bid to be challenger, leaving three challengers with equal claims to priority for the next episode. Due to exigencies of scheduling, Season One Episode 2 will feature a challenge by Lancelot, who will face SomeOne2 using ZIL. Our technical advisor will be none other than vaporware, creator of ZILF, who released version 1.0 of that compiler a few months ago. More details about S1E2 will be announced later this month, but the current plan is to hold the episode at the end of May. We hope to see you then!
