IF Comp 2017 opens for scribes and crowdfunds prizes

The annual Interactive Fiction Competition has opened for authors, and is crowdfunding for cash prizes with the hope of raising a $6000 prize pool. That might sound like a lot to ask, until you remember that every year the IF Comp results in a smorgasbord of good stuff and suddenly it seems like too little. If you are one of those word vomiters and you want some of that dripping tale money, you have until September 1 to register your disgusting intentions.

The prize pool  is called the Colossal Fund and will be “distributed among the top two-thirds of competition entries” say competition organisers, the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation. “It’s important to note that Colossal Fund adds to, rather than replaces, IFComp’s traditional prize pool.” By this they mean that the IF Comp has usually done the same thing, just in a different and less-formal way, accepting both money and other prizes like books and games from within the community. In other words, it looks like they’re branching out this year, asking folks who might not necessarily participate in the contest but who enjoy the fruits of it nonetheless to finally put their hands in their pockets and throw some precious lint-covered coins into the kitty.

There’s a more detailed breakdown of how the prize pool will work, of course, with graphs and everything. But that's for maths people. Ew. Regardless, we're probably in for more good stuff. Previous entrants to the competition have included the alien library of 500 Apocalypses and teen camp absurdity Birdland. Emily had a monopoly on writing about interactive fiction for us and if you like that sort of thing you can just read all her columns.