2016 XYZZY Awards: eligible and ineligible games

Very, very belatedly (mea culpa), here are the works of interactive fiction eligible for consideration in the 2016 XYZZY Awards – and the IFDB entries which aren’t eligible. (Many thanks to everyone who helped out with this.) If you have last-minute corrections before voting opens, please let me know!

Ineligible

Games can be considered ineligible for three reasons:

Not released as complete in the year under consideration. If a game isn’t listed as released in 2016, we don’t consider it. If it was released in 2016, but it’s presented as incomplete – it’s a demo, or a public beta, an expansion to an existing game or the like – it becomes eligible in the year that it’s completed. (We use best judgement, or ask the author, if a game is shown as ‘Chapters 1-3 of 4’ or ‘Book 1 of the Foo Trilogy.’)

The Aegis Saga – Blood
Abgesang: Der Tag der Toten
Choices – And Their Souls Were Eaten
Dragon Ninjas Lettuce – Preview
Dry Winter Alpha 1.0
The Empress’ Shadow
Forest adventures
The Frequently Deceased
Known Unknowns
Nono and the Rainbow Apple
Rule of Three
Scarlet Sails (post-comp)
Trapped
The Waltz that Moved the World
Zombienomicon TM Eisegesis

(A point I welcome debate on: in the past we have regarded Exceptional Stories – narratives released as bonus paid content for Fallen London – as not constituting distinct works, since they can’t be played separately from FL. Unless I hear otherwise I’ll continue this policy, but I don’t really like either option at present.)

Don’t exist. A lot of games are ephemeral – the author never uploads them to an archive, throws them up on their Dropbox, and Dropbox changes its settings and the game disappears. Or an author deletes all their philome.la games and vanishes into the night. Some IFDB entries are for games that never got published at all, or are written as tests. Regardless: if there’s no obvious way for the public to get a copy of your game, it’s not eligible.

– by Anonymous
Allison and the Cool New Spaceship Body
ARK – Space Colony
B. Nixon’s CE
Click Faggot
COMP1917: Hide and Seek
Hello? (Is the world dead?)
I am sorry for destroying the world
Jenga
The man in the white hoodie.
Moving Day
The Nature of Prejudice
Project Demon Storm
Relatos en la historia: la cuarta especie
Shape’s Quest
The Skazzin
Space Australia
Space station adventure alpha
Sub Way
Test
They Sleep
Treasure Hunt
The Unknown Alpha testing
The Veeder
Wandering Instants
WIP: Tech-Knuckle-Support
A Work in Progress

Not interactive fiction, even by a generous estimate. This is the least-used reason; the XYZZYs aren’t interested in defining what counts as IF. Sometimes, though, games show up in IFDB which have no focus on text or narrative at all.

Five pieces were excluded by this rule, four of them non-IF entries in the Imaginary Games from Imaginary Universes event, and one a graphical game:

A Game Played By Galaxies
The Interrogation
Our Bleak-Ass Writing Competition at the Ragged Verge of Spacetime
ShadowCast
shadow tactics

Eligible

“Do Not Meddle”
呃啊! Capybara
年獸文字冒險遊戲 | The Beast, Nian: A Chinese Text Adventure
κρύο
111 cm. de aprendizaje
1181
16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds
30 kilogrammes
500 Apocalypses
À la basse et au chant
The Adventures of Rogelio Price
AETERNAL
Aether Apeiron: The Zephyra Chronicles
Aftermath
Alexander Systems
All I Do is Dream
All Your Time-Tossed Selves
The Anachronist
Another Day
Antropology
The Anxious Object
Area 51
Ariadne in Aeaea
Ash
At Anchor
Atrocitron
Awake
The barbarians are coming!
Barroom Brawl
Because You’re Mine
Before the Storm Hits
Best of Us
The Black Phone
Black Rock City
Blood Will Out
Blow Out the Candles
Bower of Blood and Thorns
A Brief Introduction To This Game
The Brigand’s Story
Bring Me A Head!
burning alexandria
Burning Temples
Cactus Blue Motel
Campus Row – Part 1
Cancel Cable Or Die Trying
Candle flames in windless air
Cannonfire Concerto
CASTLE DOOMENSTEIN
Cat Simulator 2016
A Checkered Haunting
Cheesed Off!
A Child Without an Eye: Chapter 1
Choice of Alexandria
Choice of the Pirate
ChoiceScript Interactive Tutorial
Christy
Cinnamon Tea
City of Dead Leaves
Coffee and Tea
Collision
Color the Truth
Commander
Como la Gente Civilizada | Like Civilized People
Compound Fracture
Congresswolf
Conversatio Nihilo
Countdown
Cryonix
The CryptoGame
The Curious Incident at Blackrock Township
The Daring Mermaid Expedition
Darkened Dreams
Darkest Words Soldado
Darkiss! Wrath of the Vampire – Chapter 2: Journey to Hell
The Day time stood still
Dead Man’s Hill
The Dead: A Story
Death at Hamsterley
Death’s Tomb
Deeper
The Depths Of Sarcasm
Der Tag an dem Emilia W. verschwand
Destination Unknown
Detectiveland
Dietro l’Angolo
Distance
Dr. Sourpuss Is Not A Choice-Based Game
Draculaland
The Dragon Diamond
Dragon Fate
Dream State Zero
Dreamland Revised
Dude, Where’s My Scapula?
Düstere Dickichte 1: Schurken-Alarm!
Edith’s Cats
Eh what drink did you order?
Eidolon GGJ2016
Eight characters, a number, and a happy ending
El asesino durmiente
Ember’s Diary
Enchanted
Endure
ENGINE MACHINE: The Deities of Time and Space
Enough
Entropy
Epitaph
Escape | 逃出去: A text adventure game for Chinese learners
Ethics AI: Don’t Freeze Edition
Euphoria
An Evening at the Ransom Woodingdean Museum House
Evermore
Evertree Inn
Evita Sempai
EyeMoon: Protect My Precious Vilg!!!
Fair
Fallen 落葉 Leaves
Famous Baby
Fantastic Backflip
Far-Out Space Freaks
FATHERHOOD SIMULATOR 2016
The Filmmaker
The Final Labyrinth of King Minos
The First Day
Flash in the Pan: ADHD Simulator
Flight of the Necrovoyager
Florida Road Trip
Foo Foo
Four Sittings in a Sinking House
Fourdiopolis
Fridgetopia
A Friend to Light Your Way
The Futographer
Gaia’s Web
The Game of Worlds TOURNAMENT!
Garbage Collection
Get Lost!
The Ghosts of Christmas ______
A Gift For Mother
A girl and a boy
The God Device
Going Home
A Good Wick
Grofast Industries
Guns of Infinity
Hand Washing Simulator 20XX
Hanferd Goes To Camp
Hanferd Meets The Wolfman
Hard Puzzle 3 : Origins
Harmonic Time-Bind Ritual Symphony
Hello Chagall
Her Majesty’s Trolley Problem
Heretic Dreams
The Hero Project: Redemption Season
Hill Ridge Lost & Found
A History of Publishing
Hollowed Weed
Home Open
Honeysuckle
The House Abandon
House of Lies
How to Win at Rock Paper Scissors
Howled House
A Hunger Games Prequel, by Connor
A hypertext night
I Didn’t Really Like It Before
i love gardening
I THINK I’LL STOP OFF ON THE WAY
The Ice-Bound Concordance
Iceweb
Images Across a Shattered Sea
Impetum Maleficus
In Good Company
Inside the Facility
Interstellar Pizza Brigade
Into the Dragon’s Den
Jenga
The Jinni
Jones N. Forebuts and the Secret of the Golden Butt
Juicing Simulator
Just Talk to Them
Killing the Hero
Kinsale Horror
Knight Moves
Korenvliet
Kotodama
L’Observatoire
La cuarta especie
La Missione di Kyle Remerook
Labour’s Letters Lost
Labyrinth of Loci
Ladykiller in a Bind
The Last Rites of Doctor Wu
Latch Trap
The Laughing Gnome
Le diamant blanc
The Legend of Blackbrook Village
Lethophobia
Letters
Li You’s Secret Admirer
Life with OCD
Lifestream
Light into Darkness
Literary Intelligence
The Little Lifeform That Could
The Locked Room
Lost Circus
The Lost Crypt
The Lost Heir 2: Forging a Kingdom
Low
The Lurking Beast Chapter 2
The Lurking Beast Chapter 3
The Lurking Beast
Machinations: Fog of War
Make Trump Great Again
The Mary Jane of Tomorrow
Mayfly
Mazurka – A Ghost in Italy
A Messenger Adventure
MetaQuest
Mhairie Sioux Escrivain and the Dracula of Hogwarts
A Midsummer Night’s Choice
Mighty Mage
Mind Games
Mirror and Queen
Miss Clemory & the Wall of Fire
The Missing T
The Monster In Me
Moonland
the morning after
The Mouse
Mouth of Ashes
Ms. Lojka or: In Despair to Will to Be Oneself
Murder Simulator (How To Get Away With Murder)
Mushrooms Red As Meat
Mustard, Music, and Murder
My Last Rodeo
Mystery!
Nadia’s Late
New Town New Me
Night House
Nights of the Arcane: Blacklam
No Quiero Verla
Noble crook
Nocked! True Tales of Robin Hood
Nono and The Rainbow Apple
Northern Powerhouse: Last Towns Standing
Not All Things Make It Across
Not Another Hero
November 9th, 2015 – Jan 26th, 2016
Odin City – Für Ruhm und Ehre
Open Sorcery
Open Up!
Orpheus and Eurydice
Out There Chronicles – Ep. 1
På loftet sidder nissen
PATHOGENS: An Interactive Zombie Survival Gamebook
The Periwink
Pink
Pogoman GO!
Point Blank Blank
The Poisoned Soup | 有毒之湯
Portcullis
Powers of Two
Predictions of a Strip Mall Psychic
Psychomanteum
Put A Sock In It!
The Queen’s Menagerie
Quest for the Traitor Saint
Rastros
Realistic Zork
The Realm
Reference and Representation: An Approach to First-Order Semantics
Relentless Drag
The Reveal
Rite of Passage
Rites of a Mailmare
Roberta Williams Eats a Sandwich
The Role of Music in Your Life
Room
Rough Draft
Saga of the North Wind
Save the City with Hatsune Miku from Zombies.
Scars
School 4
SCREW YOU, BEAR DAD!
The Sea Eternal
Seachange
Shady Brook
The Shape of Our Container
sheep here
The Shoe Dept.
Sigil Reader (Field)
The Silence of the Night
Silver Spooning: Close Encounters with Mr. Right
Sisters of Claro Largo
Six-sided Die: The Text Adventure
The Skull Embroidery
Skull-Scraper
The Skyscraper and the Scar
Sleepy Puppy’s Rest Quest
Slicker City
Smash Your TV
Snake’s Game
Sorcery Is for Saps
Sorcery! 4
Space detective
Space Pizza Delivery
Space Police
Space Poop
Space Princess Coronation
The Spectrap
Spellbound
Standoff
Star Yonza
Stars
Starship Adventures
stay | leave
Staying Put
Stealing the Stolen
Steam and Sacrilege
Stone Harbor
A Study in Porpentine
Stuff and Nonsense
Superhero Stress
Superluminal Vagrant Twin
Swag Simulator 2: #Based Baller
Swamp Castle
Swedish Dads
Synchronicity
Take
Take Over the World
Tangaroa Deep
Tao Through Space and Time
Teeth and Ice
Tentaculon
That Damn Elevator!
Thaxted Havershill And the Golden Wombat
Theatre People
This City Knows You
This is My Memory of First Heartbreak, Which I Can’t Quite Piece Back Together
Three Little Pigs
Three-Card Trick
The Thulheim Ritual
A Time of Tungsten
The Time Travelling Watch
TinyHillside
TinyUtopias Football Manager: Super Soccer Slam Edition
Tipelau
TL-MEGA-777-13
To Kindle A Light
To The Wolves
Toiletworld
Toiletworld Omega
Tokyo Wizard
The Tower and the Toucan
The Train of Life
Transplant
Traveling in a sueno
Tu Gutes Spiel
The Tunnel
The Twilight Zone – A Stop at Willoughby
The Twilight Zone – A Text Adventure
Ukraine Ghost Story
Un Aventure
Una noche en Darkadia
Underground Adventure
Underground Dungeon
A Universidade
Unreal City
The Unstoppable Vengeance of Doctor Bonesaw
Untie
Ventilator
VERSUS: The Elite Trials
Vesp
Violets
The Way Home
We Are Unfinished
Welcome to Pineview
What Fuwa Bansaku Found
What to Do When You’re Alone
Who Are You, Mr Cooper?
WhoDunnIt
Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist
WitherOver
Workers In Progress: Special Edition – Progress Harder
Worldsmith
Xanadu – The World’s Only Hope, Part 2 – Revenge
The Xylophoniad
Yes, my mother is…
Yesterday, You Saved the World
You are standing in a cave…
You Matched!
You’re The World’s Most Successful Pickup Artist. Can You Have Sex With The President Of The United States?
Zigamus: Zombies at Vigamus

12 thoughts on “2016 XYZZY Awards: eligible and ineligible games

    1. Sam Kabo Ashwell Post author

      Sure. (I can’t promise to catch all games added after the database scrape, but on a request basis it’s reasonable.)

      Reply
    1. Sam Kabo Ashwell Post author

      So it does – but as a tabletop roleplaying / interactive theatre piece, I don’t think it counts as IF .

      Reply
      1. Jason Dyer

        Yeah, I figured you might have just accidentally had it one category above what was intended. Just making sure.

        Reply
  1. icj

    Thank you for all your work on this, Sam. It’s really appreciated by a whole bunch of people out there.

    Reply
  2. Andrew Schneider

    My game, Nocked! True Tales of Robin Hood, is currently listed as eligible in the 2016 awards – but that was a demo. The complete game releases this July 8, 2017. Should it be held until next year?

    Reply

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