Two teams at Global Game Jam 2015 created Twitterbot entries (#Dramarama and Project 46). Inspired by their efforts, I came home and asked Caelyn Sandel:
“Hey, do you want to make a Twitterbot?”
@yayfrens is a … Keep reading →
For a spy romance story, this one is pretty decent if only because the moral spy heroine doesn't do dumb things.
The post Rogue Spy by Joanna Bourne appeared first on HOT SAUCE REVIEWS.
Last August, we modified Author Rule 4, extending the period of time authors are forbidden to discuss entries from “during the voting period” to “before the end of the voting period”. This effectively barred authors from talking about their entries in public at all until the competition ended. An author discussing or writing about their game in public at any time before the competition’s end — even months prior to the competition’s start — could find themselves in violation of this rule.
I hereby undo this change, and have simplified the text of the rule accordingly. The updated rule now reads as follows:
Authors of a competition entry may not discuss or promote any of the entries in a public forum, blog, or social network during the judging period.
Feel free to encourage the public to participate in the competition, playing your entries and others, either casually or as judges. However, you may not engage in public discussion or promotion about any of the games in particular — including your own — during the competition judging period.
This rule does not disallow private correspondence about the competition. Furthermore, authors may use the authors-only discussion forums on intfiction.org without restriction.
Effectively, this gives authors the freedom to discuss their intended IFComp entries however they please until October 1, when (as has been the case since the third IFComp in 1997) authors must clam up about all the comp games until the comp ends.
Please note that this modification does not lift or otherwise change the restriction against public releases of intended entries prior to October 1, as outlined by Author Rule 3. So, do continue to show caution there.
You could, for example, write a development blog about your competition entry, right up through the summer of 2015. However, if you did end up entering it this year, you would need to avoid publishing any posts about the game between October 1 and November 15. You’d also need to avoid sharing any early releases of the game on the blog prior to October 1.
As for why this change, and the one before it: 2014’s IFComp was arguably the first one to fully embrace social media, and therefore the first meeting of IFComp’s rules with certain communication platforms that, when those rules were first drafted, were still years away from existing. These platforms allow authors to get their voice out about their work, the IFComp, and IF in general in ways inconceivable during the 1990s — and that’s great! That also forced me to make some snap decisions about how to interpret the spirit of these rules in 2014. Last August’s change to rule 4 was one such outcome.
In the months since then, and in fielding questions from (and observing public writing by) some of 2015’s hopeful entrants, I have come to conclude that, while I can stand behind my decision for 2014’s contest, the rule change conflicts with the natural energy of modern social media, and sows too much confusion and worry to justify keeping it in place for future competitions. So, back in the box it goes.
As always, feel free to contact the organizers with any questions about this or any other IFComp rule.
