So the IF Art Shows were before my time but I absolutely love the concept behind it and wonder why it stopped being a thing and whether it could start being a thing again?
Apparently the person (Marnie Parker) who had been running it for several years just kind of stopped- it’s speculated she got too busy or lost interest or something along those lines, judging from this forum post from a few years ago.
I imagine you’d need to find an organizer willing to take the project on at this point, but since it’s been so inactive for so long, it’s probably open season for anyone who wants to do so.
There have been a few competitions inspired by it, since. This one (The Interactive Fiction Showcase, 2024) is run by Manon, a general showcase for the year of completed IF games. E. Joyce and Encorm also ran the IF Short Games Showcase, which was for short works completed in the year to bring a little more attention to them.
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Because my entry into the last Spring Thing was openly inspired by the IF Art concept, (portrait category, literally 
) I think that this type of comp (NOT jam…) should be restored; personally I feel that the landscape category mates well with CYOA engines.
My suggestion is testing the interest into IF art competition next spring thing.
(there’s a backgarden, why not a terrace ? (of course, I have in mind the palladian ones, with statues, busts and magnificient panorama around…) )
Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.
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Yes, this thread was brought up earlier in conversation- and it’s not much our usual style, due to the ranked and judged by a formal panel nature of the original event. The Neo-Interactives events are generally unranked. Hopefully someone else takes on the task of organizing it.
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sorry, my lexical fault.
I use “not jam” for “hosted whatever isn’t itch.io”, because is an hopelessly nosy site, and I prefer NOT to have to do with it. (I admit it, is another rationale of my “spring terrace” idea…)
Best regards from Italy,
Dott. Piergiorgio.
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Pretty much every event here is run by just plain old community members—whoever wants to step up and do it! The IFTF funds some of the big ones, but doesn’t really manage them directly.
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The Art Show was a “run by plain old community members” event because it ran long before IFTF existed!
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I am definitely interested in helping out in a revival of the IF Art Show. It’s such an important contest that has given us some influential titles. Of course, my main concern is getting a batch of judges who is willing to write full-length critiques.
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I’d be willing to organize and bring back the IF Art Show (with some help, of course). I have experience working on/taking part in traditional art shows and the concept of an IF Art Show sounds fantastic.
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I’d love 2 help
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When the original events were set up, I’m not sure how the work was actually shared but I have some ideas as far as the presentation side, for example having it so that you access the various exhibits from within a parser-based game (each exhibit in its own room, basically), accessible online. Each time someone enters the room it would start the entrant’s game in the browser and when they exit it brings them back out to the hallway they originally entered from.
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Zoe, your idea is good, if not excellent, for a Museum, but not for an exhibition.
to put mildly, Authors will always question their placement in the (virtual) halls, albeit I can agree that there’s people favoring exploration (the “Landscape” category) and people favoring investigation (the “Portrait” category) so we should at least implement the two broad grouping, but inside this grouping, how to give fair and equal, and more important, satisfying every author, sub-grouping ?
I’m not against your idea, but I’m perplexed about how to implementing it in a cool (in more than one sense…) way.
Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.
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I think a choice-based “layout” rather than a parser-based “layout” would probably be easier and more accessible, but I do think that’s a great idea. After all, comps usually have a big page with links to play all the entries. Why not fluff that page up a bit?
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You both have a great idea. I think a choice based exhibition is much better than parser-based. Maybe in a format that is accessible for sight-disabled and old browsers?
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Yeah, I think anything that adds a level of interactivity could work!
I think it’s important to realize that the whole point of the Art Show is to foster creativity, so anything that does that without getting in the way could be good. It’s also okay not to take the metaphor of the Art Show too literally, imo.
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I always thought the IF Art Show sounded cool. I’d be interested in helping in some form if it’s getting revived!
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It’s a shame the art show ended so early; it makes me wish I could go back in time to experience and learn more about it. On the bright side, our community has grown and become more united, so organizing another art show shouldn’t be an issue. Maybe we could do a just one-off tribute event.
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I’m going to do what I can to get this off the ground
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so, now we have two axis: portrait and landscape and parser and choice.
Thinking a bit perhaps choice (I’m looking at you, Harlowe’s click-append) allows a mixed “portscape” category (landscapes whose are very detailed, click-append easily trasmogriphing three-four lines into 20+lines) so let’s say that now we have five broad categories…
Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.
I’m not sure I’d make parser/choice as separate categories/axes…the initial one was portrait, landscape, still life
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