I might be joining this if I don’t go for the SpringComp instead.
Mostly, I’m posting to offer a suggestion for consideration: what if every entrant had to release the game’s source code (post competition, perhaps)?
This might help encourage people taking up parser IF, as newcomers to coding (such as myself) would have more examples to check out.
In general I’m very keen on people releasing their code - both as an author and as a critic - but I don’t think this would be a good idea. A lot of people - particularly newcomers and other people nervous about their ability - talk about how embarrassed they are by their code whenever this topic comes up, and mandatory exposure is a poor solution for shyness. (And at least in I7, there is a lot of source available; if newcomers are put off by parser, it’s certainly not for lack of available source.)
That is a great counter-argument actually, I can see how that might turn some people off (and code can sometimes look quite ugly in fact), so forget about that.
Official announcement coming November 1, along with nonmandatory topic!
Very good as is. However, I think it could be slightly improved with a couple of words about a parser, as in: “… is interpreted by a parser according to a ruleset…”
IMHO, releasing the source code is not going to help anyone new to parser-based authoring. While some newbies might be able to comprehend and follow the I7 code for a very simple game, following a complex I7 game through its source would be unlikely. And this same statement would apply to TADS3, Alan3, etc. because the source code from each system is so different from the others that understanding one then does not guarantee understanding of the others. Also, as already mentioned, there is the embarrassment factor for authors. Not everyone can write, clean, elegant, well formatted code that they would desire to submit to peer review, but that does not mean that they cannot write a good, bug-free game. It would be a shame to bar such games from the contest.
Personally, I really like the idea of a parser-based contest, but I cannot work on a parser-based game full time (i.e., 40 hours a week). Consequently, it takes a lot of calendar time for me to develop even a ‘short’ game much less a ‘medium’ one. Suppose I have worked a few hours a week for two years to complete and get a medium game tested? I feel like the absolute time constraints will keep me from entering this contest, when it is entirely within the stated objectives of the contest organizer.
Sorry to hear it, Robert. This may not be the right event for you. But there are no such constraints on Spring Thing, which has changed to become more of a general IF celebration, and which will be in the same approximate timeframe.
'tis Okay, Carolyn; I understand. I have entered the SpringThing a couple of times now, and I like what Arron is doing with it. It just seems that it is being flooded with choice-based games lately, and I be a die hard parser-based author who is worried about getting lost in the flood waters. Anyway, be that as it may, I will try to finish up my game in time to enter it again under the new Festival spirit.