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1999 Summer IF Art Show Rules
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1999 Summer IF Art Show (Juried)
(or How to Build a Better Mouse Trap)
> You have entered a hushed art gallery with grey walls and subdued
lighting, except for the bright spotlights aimed at pictures and various
pedestals around the room. At first the raised displays look like ordinary
sculpture, but then you notice the intriguing "Flash Gordon" ray gun in the
center. You glimpse lights flashing, hear rustling and discover even more
unusual forms: a Cubist futuristic booth and what appears to be an outdoor
setting, complete with storm clouds rolling over wind tossed trees. It is only
when you spot the burly man in the flannel shirt chopping wood that you fully
realize that this is sculpture unlike any you have imagined before.
These 3-dimensional displays are IF sculptures, modeled with text.
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Purpose:
To explore the I in IF, the Interactivity * of Interactive-Fiction.
(without the obscuring framework of too much structure)
* 3-dimensionality, experiential aspect, simulation or virtual reality
capability, tangibility, both descriptive and responsive depth, effectively
communicated sensory feedback (kinetic/auditory/visual, etc.).
To run one's hands over an IF sculpture, to experience the IF medium.
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Panel of Judges:
David Dyte, Michael Gentry, Christopher Huang, David Lebling,
Mike Roberts and Lucian P. Smith. *
* Jacob Munkhammar, originally on the panel, lost his Internet connection
and did not judge.
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This is a juried art show. Juried shows are judged BEFORE the
entries are shown to the public. Only the top four places are
awarded. All other entries are not ranked, but are put on display.
Best of Show
Best of Still Lifes (Objects)
Best of Landscapes (Scenery/Rooms)
Best of Portraits (NPCs)
Any category for which there are three or more entries will have a best of
category award.
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Rules:
1. No graphics, sound files or ASCII art.
2. All entries must be original works. However, they may be taken from an
unreleased work in progress. Plagiarism is frowned on.
3. Pseudonyms may be used, but anonymity is not required.
4. "Playable" in less than 45 minutes. Shorter is usually better.
5. To make your exploration easier, and to isolate your entry on a
pedestal and/or put it into an artistic "frame", choose one of the
following:
Still Life - Object
Landscape - Scenery
Portrait - NPC
(No maximum number of items per category, but fewer is better.)
Other types of items (inventory objects, stationary objects,
locations) may be present to help support the selected category (except
interactive NPCs, which are solely for portraiture). To keep your entry
short and your focus tight, it is best for supporting items to be limited
in number and "sketchy."
Remember: Judges will focus on how you present and explore your
choice, not on "background." So you will do yourself a favor if you
avoid wasting time on extra items. An excellent entry might have none
at all.
You will need to specify which category (Object, Scenery, NPC) you are
entering.
6. Basically plotless and puzzleless.
Plot (minimal or optional, except the middle):
Introduction
To set the stage and provide the player with some motivation
to explore.
Middle
Experiential.
Scoring
A "task achieved" score, to give players an idea of when
they have explored as much as possible.
Ending
A definite finish to give the player closure.
Puzzles: Absolutely no "brain twisters".
Puzzle
Something which puzzles and "tests" the player.
Non-Puzzle
Everything else.
You may and are encouraged to explore the boundary between puzzle and
non-puzzle as they are defined here. In fact, that is a great deal of
the "exercise" embedded in the IF Art Show. However, in most instances,
if players need to figure what to do, it is recommended you guide them
to the appropriate action/topic with subtle (not too subtle) hints in
descriptions/responses.
> > > Stumping the player is not the goal. Encouraging exploration is. < < <
7. How you achieve a convincing portrayal of your choice; how you
accomplish the illusion that what you model with your text descriptions
and IF programming is 3-dimensional, is actually/fantastically "real"; is
up to you.
Every available technique is allowed.
8. All entries will be displayed at the IF Art Gallery for a two-week
show.
9. The deadline is Friday, August 27th, at midnight EDT (Eastern Daylight
Savings Time -- four am Saturday, August 28th GMT).
Email your entry in a zipped file to
[email protected].
There are no guidelines.
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Suggestions:
Is This IF Art?
Any exhibit/piece that fits into the above parameters is IF Art.
There is no one "set" way to do it or view it.
Verbs.
A piece that is realistic probably should implement a fair number
of verbs to avoid having too many standard library responses.
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Comments:
I, personally, hope experienced IF writers enter because I think this is
a different, freeing approach to writing IF.
But newbies, and those who feel they will never write a full-blown game
because of the necessity of having to create a plot and/or puzzles, are
especially encouraged to enter. To help us all explore the IF medium.
I have tried to make clear in these revised rules that a puzzle does not
cover *every* type of complicated activity. An IF Art Show/Gallery exhibit
attempts to explore one category of items through the lens of all types of
interactivity, stopping short of those that are truly puzzling.
An exhibit is not a game.
Thank you to: Den of Inquity, Michael Gentry and Luc French for
helping with this revision. Also, Peter Berman for editing.
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On "Art & Originality":
Don't feel required to be completely original. To quote Picasso,
"Good art borrows; great art steals." Quoting Luc "Virgin Idea" French,
"A distinction must be made between 'stealing' and outright plagiarism.
One involves merely borrowing ideas; the other involves copying your
ideas from one source. If you're going to steal, do it in the grand
tradition of great art, take from as many people as possible."
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