Worst IF Games ever!

General Off-Topic Discussion
#1

Howdy everyone, I am trying to find some of the worst games ever programmed in the IF community. No matter how old, these games have to be the worst in story, command, and ending. I am making a list of the worst IF games ever for a future episode of Awesome Text Adventure Gaming and have a few of my own, but I wanted to see what you guys had to say? As I will also play them and give my own view on them. :sunglasses:

#2

http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=1po9rgq2xssupefw

Detective is pretty notorious.

#3

The Incredible Erotic Adventures of Stiffy Makane. So bad it got a MST3K edition and inspired four spinoffs. One, Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis is surprisingly one of the well-annotated, literary games on IFDB.

EDIT: Incredible, not Amazing.
ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=kvw4jbopz0ly85jm

MST3K
ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=6g2wak6bb0ow7bjb

MM:A
ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=etul31tqgl3n22nl

#4

Rippled Flesh: An Interactive Goosing, by Rybread Celsius

Death Agency (no longer available)

Westfront PC by Paul Allen Panks

Coming Home / A Simple Home Adventure

#5

Having a look at the lowest 3 or 4 ranked games in every year’s IF comp can give you some ideas…

#6

Here are some of the worst ones according to IFDB ratings: ifdb.tads.org/search?sortby=ratd … ings%3A10-

#7

“Last Day of Summer” is on that list? Harsh.

ETA: Not anymore.

#8

I’m not responsible for the ratings! Well, other than my own!

It’s interesting to note how many of those are recent, but I guess that’s just because more people are playing and rating newer games. If you decrease #ratings more games will be listed, but they may not be as reliable. 10 low votes is a pretty strong indication of how bad it is!

#9

If you must compile a list of “worst games ever” then I hope it is to give some constructive criticism and not just to highlight the fact that they’re bad.

Give a thought to the authors. How old are they? Is English they’re first language? How many other games have they written before or since?

If your purpose is just to tear them down, then how many potential future authors will you be turning away?

Personally, the fact they have written and published a game at all deserves praise as it is certainly more than I can do. The closest I have come is to port old games written in various versions of BASIC (TRS, AMSTRAD, COMMODORE, APPLE, GW-BASIC, Quick Basic, etc.) for my own use as I don’t want to breach copyright in some other country or other.

So I look forward to some positive comments in your future episode of Awesome Text Adventure Gaming.

cheers.

#10

The problem with the IFDB listings is that it only lists games that someone bothered to make entries for. It’s tough with a real stinker to hold your nose and throw away good time documenting it after bad (playing it.)

#11

Also, comp games will be overrepresented in any list with a minimum number-of-ratings requirement - usually the nature of bad games means that fewer people will play them, but every game in the comp gets played by a whole bunch of people.

#12

That’s not as funny.

#13

I’m not like the avgn or that other critic, when I real, I real from the gut. Not to bring down and absolute destroy and make fun of. But to discuss why it’s bad.

#14

Plus, a bad game shouldn’t be coddled. I’m glad I wasn’t coddled after my first game.

#15

This seems an appropriate time for me to briefly chime in and say that I’m playing Dark Carnival, and so far I’m finding it much more enjoyable than Ill Wind. Progress is palpable, well done.

#16

Hey, thanks!