TIL. Thank you for that. Man, 805 games in 1984. That is impressive as all hell. What fraction of those were due to the commercial scene?
Also, 535/805 = 66%.
Does that mean, in terms of gross number of titles, (not fraction of game market) that Interactive Fiction has recouped two thirds the way to their 1980s peak?
This is completely off topic, but the vast majority of games released in 1984 were commercial releases for 8-bit computers. The remainder were type-ins. This was the golden age of text adventures. Some of the people on here werenāt even born then.
For what itās worth, hereās a chart I did a little while back to compare CASA stats with IFDB stats.
You can see the cross-over in stats in 1997 and the boom in choice-based games about ten years ago. CASA doesnāt include choice-based games.
Getting back on topic, I noticed that the PHP pages on the XYZZY web site (such as Historical Results and the voting page) show a blank page. The log on page takes you to the IFComp log on page. As IFComp is managed by IFTF, there must surely be some sort of cooperation between the two organisations.
Perhaps. As far as Iām aware, heās still literally married to the IFCOMP organizer, so some ties wouldnāt be surprising.
That said, from everything Iāve read of theirs and the handful of years-old brief passing interactions Iāve had with Sam on IFMUD, I donāt think anyoneās telling Sam to do anything he doesnāt want to do. Not successfully anyway. If heās expressed a desire for the XYZZYs to be independent, Iām sure theyāre functionally independent.
Good point. Maybe someone should approach Jacqueline to get to Sam.
Maybe, and you could arguably say a simple āhey Hon, the villagers are growing restless, just so you knowā is probably harmless. (ETA: Rereading this, I meant that to be clearly said spouse to spouse, not as some rando addressing Jacqueline as Hun. Itās late here and my language isnāt as precise as it should be.)
On the other hand, thinking about my marriage here, I wouldnāt want to feel like I was speaking, or feel as if I am being expected to speak, on behalf of my spouse, or visa versa. I wouldnāt want Jacqueline to feel like she was expected to make a statement of some kind.
Reaching out to someone about their spouseās business might be unpleasant.
The XYZZY Awards are mostly a historical reference to me. A bit like looking at the list of Oscar winners and nominations for 1957. The XYZZYs for a certain year in the past give me a good idea of what was considered exceptional in that year. Looking through them year-to-year also gives a nice overview of IF history and development.
This fits in with my playing preferences outside of comps: Iāll almost always look for games that are at least 7 or 8 years old, my preferred period being the late nineties and the aughts. According to my whim of the moment, Iām happy to search the specific categories for the best puzzlers/stories/NPCs for 2004, for example.
Bias is in the nature of any kind of award, honestly. Creative works can be assessed objectively only up to a point.
Rather than taking it from someone, Iād personally focus on getting IFTF to take it on. Itās an institutional memory thing, and it probably shouldnāt be contingent upon individual acts of heroism. Life can be quite busy, and pretty much everything in IF is free work that someone has to do. If maga canāt get to it, they canāt, and itās very kind of them to have ever done it at all.
just my take
I actually already did this, so donāt everyone else 
Things are indeed moving, but everything is slow, of course. Theyāre aware that people are willing to help, too!
I donāt believe thereās any kind of actual āconspiracyā to front load XYZZY awards with Comp winners except for the malfunction where if the nomination and voting process happens a year later, people are going to naturally forget what games they are supposed to be voting for and clump around Comp winners so they donāt have to review a list of every game released that year. Itās not insidious, itās human nature.
Also, up to this point XYZZYs have been run by one person with a personal life that might be increasingly diverging from IF. Thatās only my observation. I donāt know the actual situation and I doubt many other people do either, so please keep discussion constructive and avoid pointing accusing fingers or becoming conspiratorial where phrases like āprove me wrongā come into play.
XYZZYs are literally just a community back-pat for a job well done. There is no money, prize, nor physical trophy involved. While it may be disappointing when they donāt go as planned, please assume the best without jumping to conclusions regarding all involved until itās worked out going forward.
Agreed. Most awards have issues and controversy. I was just reminded this morning that Henry Kissinger was a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Awards should be viewed as a flawed best effort at best.
This includes all languages (link); Iām guessing IFDB has mainly English games, so makes sense it would have fewer.
CASAās games for 1984 are up to 809. Of these, 661 are in English. Both CASA and IFDB include foreign language games.
Remember that both sites rely on volunteers to contribute information, so theyāre only as good as those contributions. The main difference is that CASA contributions are moderated, whereas IFDB contributions are immediate. CASA has a bias towards āclassic text adventuresā (no choice-based games, apart from a few of the very early commercial classics), whereas IFDB has a bias towards āmodernā works.
CASA has some technical issues at the moment, so moderation of contributions is on hold until those issues are sorted out. You can still make contributions, but it might take a while until they make it into the database.
In case anyone missed it, Sam responded in a separate thread here:
Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed denizens of the Interactive Fiction realm, I regret to inform you that a rather unconventional arrangement has been struck to salvage this yearās XYZZY Awards. In a moment of dire necessity, we found ourselves compelled to negotiate with forces beyond our usual purview.
With a heavy heart and a distinct lack of figgy pudding, I must convey that, in lieu of our usual festive celebrations, a peculiar pact has been made, and as such, Christmas, that cherished yuletide tradition, has been reluctantly canceled worldwide. Please accept our deepest apologies, and rest assured, the decision was not taken lightly.
In the spirit of the season that isnāt, let us gather around the glow of our computer screens and console ourselves with the exceptional achievements of the Interactive Fiction community. May your adventures be textually rich, your puzzles challenging, and your understanding of devilish negotiations broadened.
Once again, our sincerest apologies for this most curious turn of events. Wishing you a joyous season of mirth, despite the absence of sleigh bells and sugarplum fairies.
Merry XYZZYs and a Happy New Year!!!
You have dived into a new level of obfuscation. What the hell are you talking about?
I donāt know what he is on about either. WE still have 6 months left until Christmas (in July) down here in the Antipodes. The only āsnowā we see at this time of year is generally ash fallout from bush fires.
Ah, my esteemed interlocutor from the land Down Under, it appears I have inadvertently woven a tapestry of perplexity with my words. Allow me to elucidate our predicament forthwith. In a desperate bid to salvage this yearās XYZZY Awards, we found ourselves entangled in an arrangement of such peculiarity that the customary festivities of Christmas had to be, regrettably, cast aside.
A devilish pact was forged, and Christmas, with its customary merriment, now lies dormant in the recesses of holiday cancellation. I assure you, this decision was reached with the gravest of hearts and the most rational of minds, though I understand that my articulation may have lent itself to an unintended convolution. Pray, forgive this lapse in clarity, and let us refocus on the logical labyrinths of text adventures that bind us, for in their intricacy lies our shared purpose.
Tl;dr: (The joke being a deal was made with the devil to save the XYZZYs at the 11th hour, but in exchange, he required the surrender of Christmas for everyone.)
