Would *you* want to be a contestant on IF Iron Chef?

Playing Forum Games, Wordplay, and Challenges
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Do you know the TV show Iron Chef?

For those who don’t: It’s a show from Japan in which two chefs compete. At the start of the show, without advance warning, they are told a single challenge ingredient. The two competing chefs have one hour to make a series of dishes, each of which must incorporate the challenge ingredient but is otherwise unconstrained. When the hour is up, they submit their dishes to a panel of judges for tasting, and the judges declare a winner.

One of the chefs is the challenger, who is different each episode. The other chef is one of the Iron Chefs, a group of chefs who are part of the cast of the show, each of whom is an expert in a particular style of cuisine. The challenger chooses which Iron Chef will be the opponent for that episode.

I had a hare-brained idea to try to adapt the concept to IF and the forum, and to my surprise several prominent authors have already tentatively agreed to play the role of Iron Chef for particular development systems. (So far: Inform 7, Twine, Dialog and TADS.) Several more well-known forum personalities have signed on as potential judges (though I’m waiting on responses for some invitations), so it certainly seems like a viable proposal. The largest question remaining is: Who wants to be a challenger?

A rough outline of the core process as currently envisioned:

  • Would-be challengers would post their short pitch about why they should be chosen, and audience voting would determine who is chosen.
  • Challenges would last for five days, a Mon-Fri scheduled in advance.
  • Both challenger and Iron Chef would have to post something (screenshot, code snippet, draft text, etc.) each day along with some brief commentary from their work in progress. [EDIT: Chefs will not be posting commentary, only the materials. This is closer to the TV show – the chefs are too busy to talk!]
  • Judges would comment on released materials (and/or each other’s commentary) each day.
  • When time is up, the two chefs must post their completed work for judges and audiences to play.
  • Over the following weekend (Sat-Sun), voting would be tabulated and a winner determined.

If that sounds fun to you, record your votes in the polls below. There are lots of details that are still TBD, but based on the response so far, I’m optimistic about a “pilot episode” to be scheduled late this year or early next.

(I will warn you that the Iron Chefs who have volunteered are serious business. They will be tough to beat! Do not sign up lightly.)

Would you consider being a contestant on IF Iron Chef?
  • Yes!
0 voters
Would you be interested to participate as a member of the voting audience? (anonymous)
  • Yes
  • No
0 voters

[EDIT: Oops – I had to reset the first poll because I set up the first one as a pie chart instead of bar chart.]

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What sorts of “ingredients” would be used in the challenges?

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The current idea is a short piece of code, something comparable in size to an example in the Inform 7 Recipe Book. That type of ingredient may not be compatible with all development systems, so in some cases it may be some other kind of component of interactive fiction, perhaps taking the form of a general idea of the type seen in SeedComp.

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I see! So the contestant would first choose the development system for the challenge, then an ingredient for that system would be selected? Prepare a bank of a half dozen or so for each?

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Right. For the TV show, a brief bio of the challenger is presented before he or she selects the opponent Iron Chef, then both chefs learn what the challenge ingredient will be.

I didn’t really plan to create a bank of ready-made challenge ingredients so much as find one that’s suitable on an as-needed basis. Based on the sample schedules that I’ve been trying to hash out, there would probably be a delay of at least several days between the announcement of the challenger (when the challenger makes a system selection) and presentation of the challenge ingredient. That will give me some time to locate or come up with a suitable ingredient – if I can’t find one to steal then I’d look for some advice and assistance from the non-selected Iron Chefs (who would be honor-bound to disclose nothing in advance to their challenged colleague).

As with the show, outside of the requirement to incorporate the challenge ingredient there would be no restriction on how the two chefs make use of it. The winner is selected based on which chef makes more inventive and enjoyable uses of the ingredient.

Props to @FLACRabbit for being the first person brave enough to step up as a potential challenger, and to @rileypb for being the second! Just one courageous entrant is all it will take to have a pilot episode to test the concept, but I’d like to see a few more before I ask the volunteer Iron Chefs and judges to make firm commitments.

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My immediate reaction to this idea is “heck yes”.

I’d like to see a bit more guidance on how much time the challenger and chef are expected to spend working on their “dishes”. I’d feel pretty bad if I stepped up to compete thinking that I could spare a couple of hours each evening after work, and then discovered that my opponent was putting in ten-hour days—or vice versa!

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The rules of the show would limit only the start and end times for the challenge period. It would be up to the chefs (both challenger and Iron Chef) to decide how much time to spend, since it’s their reputations on the line (in a very minor way, since this is mostly for fun). Time pressure is a factor in the TV show that I would want to preserve, but a Mon-Fri period for development was sketched out primarily to assure a quick weekend voting cycle and get the main segment of the show down to one week. I think I’d want to stick to that for a pilot, but if that proves to be too short, I’d be open to changing it in later episodes.

I’ll be trying to firm up all of the details with everyone involved before the pilot episode, and nothing is really set in stone yet, so don’t worry too much about the specifics now. As with the Iron Chefs and judges, I’m just trying to gauge viability and collect tentative commitments at the moment – that’s why the poll asks whether you would consider being a contestant.

It looks like all we’re lacking for a pilot episode is an audience, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that we’ll see more “yes” votes on the second poll soon. (8-0 is a good start!) In the meantime, everyone can feel free to ask questions so long as it’s understood that any answer given now may change once I start the working groups to hammer out details.

One important item: Although of course it is intended to be fun to participate in any role (challenger/Iron Chef/judge/audience member), the main purpose of the show from my standpoint would be to help disseminate expertise in crafting IF – not just programming/writing tips and tricks but also story development, puzzle design, etc. Every Iron Chef that has volunteered so far is a star in my mind, someone that both challengers and viewers can definitely learn from. The volunteers for judges (which I’m still recruiting) all have excellent reputations as players, critics or authors, so their commentary should also be of value. So, yes – my not-so-secret goal would be edutainment that helps new authors hone their craft and players gain deeper appreciation of the form.

If anyone hasn’t seen this show, then FYI: As far as I can tell, the current rights holders have made many episodes available online for viewing. A search for the show’s title should bring up dozens with different challengers and challenge ingredients. Pick any one, and you’ll see the kind of energy that the cast of volunteers would be trying to recreate.

P.S. I salute (in alphabetical order, since the poll widget shows that) @BadParser, @billmaya, @jwalrus, @malacostraca and @nilsf for also being daring enough to sign on as potential challengers! If you bow out after learning who the Iron Chefs are, I will not hold it against you…

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depends on the rules. especially if there’s a complete scoreboard, which is a non-negotiable no-no.

(Italians: what is the correct term for “classifica” as in “classifica serie A” ?)

Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.

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This actually reminds me of the 48 Hour Film Festival I did one year. As you can imagine the goal is to plan, film (video), and edit an entire scripted 4-7 minute movie for screening within a 48 hour time limit.

To prevent people from working ahead of time, before the start of the clock each team draws a random genre for their movie - the most dreaded being “Western”. Each team also has to specifically incorporate a randomly drawn character, prop, and line of dialogue into their film. I think when I did it the character/prop/line were the same for every movie and team.

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FYI to everyone: We’ve definitely hit the minimum viability mark in terms of required “cast,” and I’ve just kicked off a working group thread with the four Iron Chefs who’ve already volunteered. (I’m still waiting to hear back on some judge invitations before doing the same with them.)

Everyone who listed themselves as potential challengers should start thinking about their candidate pitch. The challenger for the pilot episode will be selected by audience vote, not me.

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I’m pleased to announce that a fifth Iron Chef has signed on… Iron Chef ZIL!

Also, a round of applause for @caleb, the eighth potential challenger!

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Even though we’ve only just started the detail planning, the Iron Chefs who have signed on have all given permission for me to announce their involvement.

Challengers, try not to quail visibly as you learn your options for opponents! They are:

  • Iron Chef Inform 7: Ryan Veeder (Afterward)
  • Iron Chef Twine: SV Linwood (svlin)
  • Iron Chef Dialog: Daniel Stelzer (Draconis)
  • Iron Chef TADS: Jim Nelson (jnelson)
  • Iron Chef ZIL: Max Fog (SomeOne2)

I’m still looking for at least 20 yes votes on the audience interest poll above, but we’re three-quarters of the way there already, so things are looking pretty good…

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I have been preparing for 24 years, and my pitch is ready.

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Can’t stop thinking about IF Iron Chef. Let’s make this happen!

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Do we get to play ‘dress-ups’?

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I think it’s a requirement for the “Iron Chefs”, right Otis?

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Now I kind of want to see pixelated character portraits with chef hats.

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There will be no formal dress code, but the illustrious Iron Chefs may provide screenshots of their attire at their option.

On a more serious note: The working group for judges has been kicked off, and they, too, have given their consent to being announced.

Challengers and Iron Chefs, do not underestimate the magnitude of the task before you. Behold the fearsome minds whom you must strive to impress! They are:

  • Rosebush editor and #3 IFDB reviewer Mike Russo (DeusIrae)
  • Talented new author Amanda Walker (AmandaB)
  • Game enthusiast and #5 IFDB reviewer Rovarsson (rovarsson)
  • Choice author and noted critic Emery Joyce (EJoyce)
  • Creative juggernaut and noted critic Wade Clarke (severedhand)

Only a few more yes votes are needed to clear the bar for audience interest and greenlight this thing with confidence. I’ll be following up with the potential challengers about their pitches the moment that happens. Keep your fingers crossed… or use them to vote yes, if you haven’t already!

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That’s 20! (I didn’t even have to vote for it myself, and maybe some of the no votes will come around…)

OK, challengers: The Iron Chef and judge working groups need to hash out some important high-level details before I’ll be ready to start a working group with you, but you should be hearing from me within a week.

In the meantime, a special round of applause for the already on-board Iron Chefs, the judges for the pilot, and the brave-hearted souls who are prepared to face them! [EDIT: I’ve left the challenger sign-up poll open for anyone else who wants to test their mettle.]

“Allez cuisine!”

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…if I have time I may end up making that. That sounds like a lot of fun.

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