SOME TIPS
What's the easiest way to write a CYOA game without busting your brain? This rather depends upon how much background one happens to have in writing code.
One option would of course be to use a traditional IF writing system like TADS, ADRIFT or Inform. A breeze for the seasoned programmer.
Alternatively, one might choose to hard-code the game from scratch in C++, VB or some other widely used low-level coding language. This would allow for a few touches of customization that might help.
My own suggestion, though, is to make use of Jon Ingold's excellent and thus far almost totally unused GUI for writing multiple choice adventure games, ADVENTURE GAMEBOOK. It's completely intuitive, takes maybe twenty minutes to learn how to use, and is buckets of fun. You don't need any programming skills whatsoever to use it. I've included a link to it in my LINKS section of this site, and Jon has kindly offered to answer questions over e-mail about how the system works.
PRIZES
This year's prizes were once again chosen with the likely preferences of the IF keener in mind. They are:
_Life's Lottery_ by Kim Newman _Replay_ by Ken Grimwood _The Warlock of Firetop Mountain_ by Ian Livingstone _One for Sorrow_ by Eric Mayer _The Zork Chronicles_ by G. Alec Effinger _The Neverending Story_ by Michael Ende
The Newman book was suggested by Demian Katz; the Eade novel was an idea of Shannon Cochran's. The others were all chosen as the result of my own fevered musings. This is the sort of thing that I sit up at night brooding about when I should be thinking about my doctoral thesis.
SAMPLE GAMES
The best place to look for inspiration, of course, would be at the last-years' winners' file. This can be found by heading back to my homepage and clicking on the "Show More Articles" link. Then go to last year's "LotechComp Results" page and you'll find a small file containing all six of least years' entries together with judges reports. Especially recommended are the games "Kingdom Without End" by Shannon Cochran and "A Dark and Stormy Entry" by Emily Short. But why not play all of them? You know you want to...
THE RATIONALE
What - another LotechComp? But why? you ask, chobbling nervously on your fingernails as you deliberate over whether your many other avocations should be shoved off to one side so that you may concentrate upon nothing else whatsoever for the next two months except doing your utmost to craft the perfect CYOA game?
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