games/competition2001/readme.txt

               The 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition

   Introduction
   ------------

   What began seven years ago as an effort to encourage the
   development of short works of interactive fiction has grown into a
   competition involving some fifty authors and around two hundred
   judges. Each year people from around the world write text
   adventures that can be played in two hours or less. In recent years
   the definition of what interactive fiction is has changed, as each
   year more games with graphics and sound are entered in the
   competition.

   Whether you've never played a text adventure before in your life,
   or you've judged in every competition since 1995, we're glad you're
   taking part.

   Welcome to the Seventh Annual Interactive Fiction Competition.


   Playing The Games
   -----------------

   (Note: for the latest information, please visit the competition
    web site at http://www.ifcomp.org)

   You may play the competition games in any order you
   choose. However, if you don't think you'll have time to play all of
   the games before the end of the voting period, you are encouraged
   to use Comp01.z5. Comp01 is a front end for the competition which
   is designed to look like a text adventure. It has information about
   all of the games, and will present them to you in random
   order. That way, even if you don't play all of the games you will
   have played a random sampling of them. Comp01 can also keep track
   of the scores you give each game. You don't have to use Comp01, but
   if you decide to give it a try, load it using a Z-machine
   interpreter (more on Z-machine interpreters in a moment) and type
   ABOUT for more information.

   There are two types of competition games: interpreted games and
   platform-specific executables.


   Interpreted Games

   Interpreted games are written using a computer-independent
   language, and can thus in general be run under many different
   operating systems. To play an interpreted game, you need an
   interpreter. There are several types of interpreted games in the
   competition.

   The first are TADS games. They are found in the tads folder of the
   competition directory. The filenames of TADS games end in .gam, and
   they are run using a TADS interpreter. You can find TADS interpreters
   at
   http://ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXprogrammingXtadsXexecutables.html

   The second are Inform, or Z-machine, games. They are found in the
   inform folder of the competition directory. The filenames of Inform
   games end in .z5, .z6, or .z8, and are run using a Z-machine
   interpreter. Z-machine interpreters can be found at
   http://ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXinfocomXinterpreters.html

   The third are Glulx games. They are found in the glulx folder of
   the competition directory. The filenames of Glulx games end in .ulx
   or .blb, and are run using Glulxe. You can get a copy of Glulxe
   from
   http://ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXprogrammingXglulxXinterpretersXglulxe.html

   The fourth are ALAN games. They are found in the alan folder of the
   competition directory. ALAN games consist of two files, one ending
   in .acd, the other in .dat, and are run using an ALAN
   interpreter. You can find one at
   http://ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXprogrammingXalanXexecutables.html

   The fifth are ADRIFT games. They are found in the adrift folder of
   the competition directory. ADRIFT games run only on Windows
   systems. You can get the ADRIFT Runner at
   http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~jcw/adventure/

   The sixth are Quest games. They are found in the quest folder of
   the competition directory. Quest games run only on Windows
   systems. You can download the Quest package from
   http://www.axeuk.com/quest/

   The seventh are web-based games. This year there is one game
   written in Java. It can be found in the web folder of the
   competition directory. You can play the game on any computer that
   has the Java VM installed. To play it, load the .htm file from that
   directory in a browser.

   Platform-Specific Games

   This year there are two types of platform-specific games: MSDOS and
   Windows games. The MSDOS games are found in the msdos folder of the
   competition directory. The Windows games are found in the windows
   folder of the competition directory. They are playable only on DOS
   and Windows systems or with a DOS or Windows emulator.


   Rating The Games
   ----------------

   Rate each game you play by giving it a whole-number score from 1 to
   10. Larger numbers are better. Your rating must be based on no more
   than two hours of cumulative playing time. If, after playing a game
   for two hours, you want to keep playing it, you must give it a
   score *and not change that score later if you resume play*.

   Comp01 can keep track of your scores for you, which will make
   submitting them easier. You must submit them before the end of the
   day on November 15th, 2001.


   Submitting Your Scores
   ----------------------

   Once you have played and rated as many games as you can before the
   November 15th deadline, you need to submit your scores. You do not
   have to play all of the games to vote; however, you must play at
   least five games. There are three ways to vote. The first is to use
   the web-based interface located at
   http://www.plover.net/~textfire/comp01/cgi-bin/vote.cgi. The second
   is to use Comp01. Comp01 will create a file called rating.txt with
   all of your ratings. You can e-mail that file to the vote-counter,
   Mark Musante, at markm@plover.net. The third is to put all of your
   ratings in an e-mail message and send that to Mark. You may submit
   different ratings, and only the last one you send in will be counted.

   If you choose to e-mail your votes to Mark and you do not use
   Comp01's rating.txt file, use the following format for your
   e-mail. In the subject line of your message, put "VOTE". In the
   body of the message, put the name of each game you are rating
   followed by its rating, with one game name and rating per
   line. Send your message as plain ASCII. Do not use HTML or send
   your votes as an attached non-ASCII file like a Microsoft Word
   document.

   Remember, you must vote before the end of the day on November 15th,
   2001, where "end of the day" means "by 11:59 P.M. EST." Votes
   submitted after that date will not be counted, so if you won't have
   access to the Internet around that time, be sure to vote early. You
   can always change your votes at a later date.


   T-Shirts
   --------

   As in years past, I am selling competition t-shirts. They will be
   short-sleeve cotton shirts with the competition logo on the front
   and a list of the top games and their authors on the back. The cost
   in US dollars will be $15 for people living in the US or Canada,
   $20 for people living in other countries. The shirts will be sent
   out after the competition ends. We will be taking orders through
   November 10th, 2001.

   If you would like a shirt, you have two payment options. One, you
   may use the online service PayPal to pay via credit card. You will
   have to sign up with their service to do so. You may sign up at
   http://www.paypal.com. Should you wish to pay in this fashion, pay
   the appropriate amount ($15 for each shirt if you live in the US or
   Canada, $20 for each if you live outside the US or Canada) using
   PayPal and send an e-mail to sgranade@phy.duke.edu containing your
   name, shipping address, a list of what you're ordering, and
   requested shirt sizes if necessary (S, M, L, XL).

   If you would prefer not to use PayPal, send a check, money order,
   or cash for the appropriate amount ($15 for each shirt if you live
   in the US or Canada, $20 for each shirt if you live outside the US
   or Canada) along with a card containing your name, shipping
   address, and requested shirt size if necessary (S, M, L, XL) to:

   Stephen Granade
   1221 C Rosedale Ave.
   Durham, NC 27707
   U.S.A. 

   (Shirts larger than XL are available for an additional $1 per X
   above XL.)

   I can only take cash, checks, or money orders outside of PayPal,
   and they must be in US dollars. If your order will not reach me by
   November 10th, do not send it. This is a very limited-time
   offer.