2007 IF Art Show
Doe
main things you need to know are:
1.) The deadline is May 18th.
2.) This is a juried show, so there will be a panel of judges. I am
still assembling the judges and will announce them later.
3.) The web page with rules, past entries, past winners, and past
judging panels is at:
http://members.aol.com/iffyart/
4.) I am still debating offering prizes. I only did it one year
previously, 2004. Since they come out of my own pocket I have to give
it some serious thought. :-) Mainly this show is for the "fame and
glory" of it. If you are new (within the last three years), you may
be
surprised about who were past winners and judges -- take a look at
the
page.
5.) The rules are below. They are just cut and pasted from the
2003/2004 rules on the web page. The rules, in other words, are the
same as last time.
6.) Yes, I know spammers have attacked the guest book and I will deal
with it. Sigh.
Doe :-) Nice to be back.
(aka Marnie Parker, http://members.aol.com/doepage/)
==============================================
IF Art Show 2007 (Juried)
(or How to Build a Better Mouse Trap)
> You have entered a hushed art gallery with pale walls and subdued
lighting, except for bright spotlights aimed at pictures and various
pedestals around the room. At first the raised displays look like
ordinary sculpture, until you notice the intriguing "Flash Gordon"
ray
gun in the center. As you glimpse flashing lights and hear rustling,
you 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. But 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). To run one's
hands over an "IF sculpture". TO EXPERIENCE INTERACTIVITY AS
A MEDIUM. This explorative venture is intended to be two-way: for
you to explore the various interactive techniques you can use to
involve
players, and for players to interactively explore your piece in turn.
See the following Q&A for more on interactivity.
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JUDGES:
The judges are still being assembled (the instructions are hard to
read J), and will be announced later.
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AWARDS/HONORS:
Only the top four (possibly eight) places are awarded. All other
entries are not ranked, but are put on display.
Best of Show
Any category for which there are three or more entries will also
have a best of category award. Or these honors may be awarded
depending on the total number of entries (the more entries --
the more awards).
Best of Still Life (Objects)
Best of Landscape (Scenery/Rooms)
Best of Portrait (NPCs)
Best of Event (Activity)
Also, to encourage newbies -- although these honors will not
necessarily be presented exclusively to newbies -- if there are
enough entries, honorable mentions will also be awarded.
Honorable Mention for Show
Honorable Mention for Still Life
Honorable Mention for Landscape
Honorable Mention for Portrait
Honorable Mention for Event
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RULES:
1. MULTIMEDIA - Multimedia is now *allowed*, even
encouraged. However, it is not required, because: 1.) not all IF
authoring systems offer it; 2.) not all platforms support
the various graphic & sound capabilities of the IF systems
which do offer it; and 3.) "text modeling" is an art form.
Suggestion: If using multimedia, make sure your entry can
stand alone without it, because judges with incompatible
platforms may play it without graphics and/or sounds. This can
be accomplished either by employing programming switches, or
by providing two copies -- one with multimedia, one without.
It is also recommended that you avoid static multimedia
objects. For example, an object represented by just a picture
might be considered static. Objects represented by graphics
and/or sounds should also usually have accompanying textural
interactivity -- not only to fulfill this show's purpose --
but for the same incompatibility reason mentioned above.
See the following Q&A for more about multimedia IF.
2. ORIGINAL - All entries must be original works. Plagiarism is
frowned on. However, pieces may be excerpts from works
in progress that will be released at a later date.
3. LENGTH - "Playable" in 45 minutes or less. Shorter is usually
better.
4. CATEGORY - To make your exploration of interactivity easier,
choose one of the following:
Still Life - Object
Landscape - Scenery
Portrait - NPC
Event - Activity
a. Style - The presentation of your selection may be:
realistic, impressionistic, expressionistic, surreal,
etc. The style is up to you -- your entry need not be
experimental, only experiential.
b. Number - There is no maximum on the number of items
per category (i.e. Still Life objects), but fewer is better.
Other types of items (inventory objects, stationary
objects, and locations) may be used to support your
selection (except for interactive NPCs, which are solely
for portraiture).
Suggestion: To keep your entry short and your focus
tight, it is best that supporting items be limited in
number and "sketchy."
Remember: Judges will focus on how you explore and
present your choice, not on the "background." So you will do
yourself a favor if you avoid wasting time on extra items.
An excellent entry might have none at all.
c. Event Category - The event category is a bit hard
to describe -- its closest art analogy is "performance art."
Instead of focusing on the details of interacting with:
objects, scenery, or npcs; your interactive focus should
instead be on an activity. The player may be a participant
in and/or an observer of this event. Examples of events:
a wedding, fencing, dancing, swimming, a war, sculpting.
5. PEDESTAL OR FRAME - To isolate your piece on a pedestal
and/or put it into an artistic "frame", feature a minimal plot with a
restrained use of puzzles.
This has often been the least-understood part of the IF Art
Show. Entries are not intended to be "full-blown games", but
more vignettes -- exploring interactivity in greater depth by
narrowing the focus to one type of IF/artistic subject matter.
A heavy plot could divert players' attention to the writing
(the F in Interactive Fiction), and might also make a piece
more static. While, on the other hand, tricky puzzles, even if
highly interactive, wouldn't really EXPLORE interactivity --
as that is the form that we are all already familiar with.
Convoluted puzzles can also function as "stoppers",
halting players' exploration.
The following guidelines are offered for clarification.
a. Plot - No overriding, compelling, "world saving" goal that
hurries players on, encouraging them to bypass
experiences.
1. Introduction - Minimal or optional; to set the stage
and provide players with some motivation to explore.
2. Middle - Experiential.
3. Ending - Minimal or optional; a finish to give players
closure.
b. Puzzles
1. Stumpers - Absolutely no "brain twisters". If players
need to figure out an object/conversation, guide them
to the appropriate action/topic with subtle hints (not
too subtle) in descriptions/responses.
Suggestion: Make complicated/very complicated puzzles
optional, so players need not solve them to finish. Or
provide a graceful exit (other than quit) in case they
are unable to finish.
2. Scoring - Optional; a "task achieved" score, to give
players an idea of when they have explored as much as
possible.
Remember: The entry with the cleverest puzzle(s) will not
be an automatic winner, as judges will be looking for a
complete exploration of interactivity. For instance, a
realistic piece should probably implement a fair number of
verbs in order to avoid too many standard library responses.
>>> STUMPING PLAYERS IS NOT THE GOAL.
ENCOURAGING EXPLORATION IS. <<<
6. SHOW - All entries will be displayed at the IF Art Gallery
for
a two-week show. Afterward, they along with the judges'
reviews, will be uploaded to http://www.ifarchive.org.
7. DEADLINE - The deadline is Friday, May 18th, at midnight EDT
(Eastern Daylight Savings Time -- four a.m. Saturday,
May 19th GMT).
8. DESTINATION - E-mail your entry in a zipped file to:
doeade...@aol.com. You will also need to specify which
category (Still-life, Landscape, Portrait, Event) you are entering.
9. EXAMPLES - Past entries function as IF Art examples. To
see how others have previously defined "IF Art", read more
about the concept, and peruse past judges' reviews, visit:
http://members.aol.com/iffyart/
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Q&A:
1. Is this IF Art?
Any piece that fits into the above parameters is IF Art. There
is no one "set" way to do it or view it. Note that no entries
are rejected. Those not meeting the above guidelines may not
win, but they will not be rejected and will be put on display.
2. Do I need to use a pseudonym?
You may use one, but anonymity is not required.
3. Who should enter?
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 clever puzzles, are especially encouraged to
enter. To help us all explore the IF medium.
4. What is interactivity?
Exploring that question is the purpose of the IF Art Show. We
do not all necessarily define interactivity the same. Someone
else might define interactivity as simply being puzzles,
placed by the author to control plot development. I might
define it as simulated sensory feedback that helps me feel
I really *experience* a piece of IF.
Possible definitions:
3-dimensionality; experiential aspect; simulation or virtual
reality capability; tangibility; both descriptive and
responsive depth; effectively communicated sensory feedback
(kinetic/auditory/visual, etc.); opportunities for players to
act; player-instigated actions that appear to change the
"game world"; and/or feedback in response to a players'
actions that increases their knowledge of themselves as
the protagonists and/or of the game world
If you are still totally confused by the IF Art Show, visit
An Iffy Theory: http://members.aol.com/doepage/theory.html
5. Does this mean that an entry has to have a wealth of detail?
Yes, and no. As stated, if you are doing a realistic piece,
it is a good idea to implement a fair number of verbs in
order to avoid too many standard library responses.
On the other hand, you could explore forms of interactivity
other than verbs and responses to verbs. Or your piece
could be expressionistic, which could mean it doesn't
need a great deal of realistic interactivity to be effective
expressionistically.
Remember: Like all art, the main thing an entry ought to
be is experiential -- but how this is achieved is up to you.
New IF Art Show entrants are directed to look at these
past entries as examples of some non-complex but still
artful ways of exploring IF's interactivity/experientiality:
Pillow, Statue, Wheel, The Guitar of the Immortal Bard,
The Visitor, and Words Get...
6. Then... what is art?
"The use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic
objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with
others. The term art may also designate one of a number of
modes of expression conventionally categorized by the medium
utilized or the form of the product; thus we speak of
painting, sculpture, film making, music, dance, literature,
and many other modes of aesthetic expression as arts and of
all of them collectively as the arts. The term art may further
be employed in order to distinguish a particular object,
environment, or experience as an instance of aesthetic
expression, allowing us to say, for example, that a drawing or
tapestry is art..."
Encyclopedia Britannica