The 2018 Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction!

* or Fall Fooferal, for our Southern Hemisphere Friends

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We think games are for everyone.

Playing the Games

The 2018 Festival of Interactive Fiction featured twenty new interactive stories submitted by authors working across the spectrum of text games. Participants chose to place their games in either the Main Festival, where they were up for ribbons and prizes, or the Back Garden, with looser entry requirements allowing for more experimental or work-in-progress entries.

Main Festival

Back Garden

(Almost) all entries in one archive (71 MB zip): [Download from itch.io]
Ultramarine: A Seapunk Adventure: [Mac 73 MB] [Windows 91 MB] [Itch.io page]

Festival Readme and Changelog of updated games

Anyone is welcome to submit a game to . The organizer reserves the right to not show a game they feel is inappropriate for the festival, but entries are not otherwise vetted, and their contents and opinions reflect the views of the original author, not the as a whole.

How to Play Parser IF

S features all kinds of text games, but two of the major divisions are between what are sometimes called choiced-based games (where you interact by clicking links) and parser-based games (where you interact by typing commands).

To those unfamiliar with the parser, it can seem confusing or intimidating. Here are some resources for getting started:

To play some parser IF offline, the downloaded story file needs to be opened with a program called an interpreter, much like a .doc file needs Microsoft Word to open. Clicking on the story format (next to the download link) will take you to instructions for finding the right interpreter to play a particular game.

In the Main Festival

Play
Best Gopher Ever by Arthur DiBianca

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Best Gopher Ever By Arthur DiBianca Inform/Z kid-friendly Help the unfortunate residents of Fairview! (Who are all animals, by the way.)

A light puzzle game for all ages. Play Online Download (150 KB Inform/Z) Hints
Download
A Bunch of Keys by Mike Gerwat
A Bunch of Keys By Mike Gerwat With coding by Al Golden Inform/Glulx full-length A time travel story of a real life piano tuner and repairman who just happens to be blind. Organizer's Comment: The author of this piece really was a piano tuner to the stars in the '70s and '80s, working with acts including Genesis and Elton John, before he began losing his hearing as well. His incredible life story is chronicled in the book “Touch Me Please,” available from Amazon. He has written two previous interactive fiction stories. Mike has told me he would love to get feedback from people who enjoy the game. Download (1.49 MB Inform/Glulx) Maps Walkthrus Author's Book
Play
Confessions of an NPC by Charles Hans Huang

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Confessions of an NPC By Charles Hans Huang Twine short drama interviews depression suicide youth violence intergenerational conflict Interview characters in a kingdom not unlike our own who face the problems of our generation. Author's Comment: “I started with the idea of making a dramatic telling of the stories of NPCs from video games, but as different characters' conflicts emerged, it gradually became a commentary on the various dilemmas our society faces. I started this in 2016, but it's been quite shocking to see how our society faces many of the same issues as we did back then. It is my hope that this piece can be a part of a larger discussion about how we can better understand each other in our chaotic modern world.

Inspirations:
A Mother's Reckoning by Sue Klebold
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley” Play Online Download (748 KB Twine) Itch.io Page
Play
Drumsticks by Luke A. Jones
Drumsticks By Luke A. Jones Quest short casual parser puzzler humour You are the manager of a rock band down on their luck, when you are suddenly offered the gig of a lifetime. Can you get the band organised in time? (contains profanity from one NPC: a foul-mouthed roadie) Author's Comment: “A casual parser puzzler game in the old school style (but hopefully no hunt the verb!)” Play Online Download (557 KB Quest)
Play
The Eyes That Look Back by Leno

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The Eyes That Look Back By Leno Twine short text-only psychological horror depression We are surrounded with faces. The ones of the people around us and the ones we carry with ourselves. Author's Comment: “When I started thinking about this story, I realized it was a way to talk about things that are hard to put in words.” Play Online Download (1.60 MB Twine)
Play
Guttersnipe: The Baleful Backwash by Bitter Karella

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Guttersnipe:
The Baleful Backwash By Bitter Karella Quest full-length comedy puzzles bizarro historical gross humor It's 1929. Incorrigible street urchin Lil' Ragamuffin and her sewer rat pal Percy have been imprisoned in the cellar of the Baleful Backwash speakeasy by dastardly gangsters. Save Percy and evade bootleggers, bluesmen, and bedeviling birds to escape this basement bastille! Play Online Download (783 KB Quest)
Download
“My hand trembled while I reached for the door knob of the house. After having fled without notice it was only natural that my wife would be upset, so I came prepared to reassure her. But I suspected she would not find my reassurances to be enough, and where would that leave us?”
 House By Karona TADS 3 short one-room romance A conversation about the trajectory of a relationship lies at the center of this one-room work. Author's Comment: “For me this game is a significant milestone. After more than twenty years of wanting to make my own interactive fiction work, I have finally finished one.” Download (486 KB TADS 3)
Play
Illuminismo Iniziato by Michael J. Coyne

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Illuminismo Iniziato By Michael J. Coyne Inform/Glulx full-length old school cheese built-in hints wacky wizard fantasy sequel zorkian Illuminismo Iniziato by Michael J. Coyne is the winner of the 2018 Spring Thing Audience Choice ribbon. Illuminismo Iniziato by Michael J. Coyne is the winner of the 2018 Spring Thing Alumni's Choice ribbon. Lovingly handcrafted in Inform6, this overripe sequel to Risorgimento Represso is full of cheese, gunpowder, chemistry and explosions (well, only a little chemistry). Includes automap, sounds and graphical newspaper. Author's Comment: “A Quixe-driven play online link is provided and is great for getting a feel for the game, but downloading the blorb file and playing through Git, Gargoyle or Glulxe is recommended for the full experience, with clickable newspaper links and sound. Vertical resolution of 768 pixels or more is recommended if you want to see the full text of the graphical newspaper.” Play Online Download (6.76 MB Inform/Glulx)
Play
The Imposter by Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

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The Imposter By Enrique Henestroza Anguiano Windrift micro puzzleless mystery surreal A man wanders the streets of Paris after a personal tragedy. Play Online Download (2.03 MB Windrift)
Play
Murder on the Big Nothing by Tony Pisculli

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Murder on the Big Nothing By Tony Pisculli Inform/Z short noir mystery parser-based minor puzzles some violence In its heyday, the Burlington-Northern Railroad criss-crossed the country, a favorite of tramps and vagabonds who called it... The Big Nothing. Author's Comment: “I wanted to explore the fatalism of noir by experimenting with time and memory.” Play Online Download (514 KB Inform/Z)
Play
“What was done to you in a world that should be yours.”
 Roads in Tempest By Adam Bredenberg Twine short easy weird Open-world abstract tirade / Experimental explore-em-up character study Author's Comment: “This is a draft of a whorl. The purpose is to soften our narrative techniques by blending literal and nonliteral imagery. Please pardon the inevitable bugs. It has a circular structure with no ending, so you can quit whenever you're bored. There is no progress to save. Just explore the environment, viewing things from different perspectives.” Play Online Download (113 KB Twine)
Play
Sherlock Indomitable by Brian Craig Rushton

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Sherlock Indomitable By Brian Craig Rushton Inform/Glulx full-length mystery murder detective conversation Join a dying Sherlock Holmes in a journey through his memories. Author's Comment: “Sherlock Indomitable is a direct adaptation of two Sherlock Holmes stories into a text adventure. At least 90% of the text is taken directly from Arthur Conan Doyle's writing. This game uses the clue/conversation system from my 2016 game Color the Truth.” Play Online Download (555 KB Inform/Glulx)
Play
Spy EYE by The Marino Family

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Spy EYE By The Marino Family Undum short kid-friendly choice-based Juan and Ichel are recruited for a spy mission to find their birth parents, only to find that the reunion is not what they expected. As they navigate the gadgets, villains, and flying beds, they must also sort through their feelings of hurt and loss. Author's Comment: “As part of a larger collection of games from Mrs. Wobbles and the Tangerine House, Spy EYE offers the first tale to reflect on the emotions of foster care children coping with separation from their birth parents. Written with my forever family, this choice-based tale offers the opportunity to choose the character's Point of View in a middle grade tale in which the ultimate adventure confronts us with the most powerful challenges: our own emotions. Features poems by Margaret Rhee and Lyla Joy Hinchey and illustrations by Brian Gallagher.” Play Online Download (9.93 MB Undum)
Play
Zeppelin Adventure by Robin Johnson

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Zeppelin Adventure By Robin Johnson Versificator 2 full-length puzzle sci-fi parser-choice hybrid Piloting a tea-zeppelin on Mars is a lonely job, but this run is nearly over and then you're due for a holiday. That's unless you get sucked into a puzzly adventure involving pterodactyls, robots, paternoster lifts and space elves! Author's Comment: “This is my third game using the parser/choice hybrid engine I previously used for Draculaland and the IFComp-winning Detectiveland, with some interface changes including long ‘examine’ descriptions (via clicking on nouns.) I'm hoping to make a game that feels as much like classic Infocom as possible while still being playable without a keyboard.” Play Online Download (390 KB HTML/Javascript)

In the Back Garden

Back Garden games do not take part in ribbons or prize nominations, and can be more experimental or excerpts from unreleased games (which are highlighted in yellow).

Download (Windows)
The 4th Break Up by Papp Róbert
The 4th Break Up By Papp Róbert O.H.R.RPG.C.E micro autobiographical Here is the spring, choose your mate. Or choose your own mental disorder. Download (Windows) (2.22 MB O.H.R.RPG.C.E)
Play
“Life gives people one chance—if they're lucky. This is yours.”
 Life in a Northern Town By People + Places Twine inklewriter Instagram Medium Series Wordpressfull-length adult language and situations An illegal solution to overwhelming debts leads to danger, deception, revenge and murder. Author's Comment: “This digital story of the American Midwest is told across eight characters and five platforms (Twine, inklewriter, Instagram, Medium Series, WordPress). It's an evolving work that may evolve into future commercial applications. It's developed by People + Places - an enterprise that presents stories and content from around the world.” Play Online
Play
REALLY, IF / REALLY, ALWAYS by Dawn Sueoka
REALLY, IF / REALLY, ALWAYS By Dawn Sueoka Twine short immersive unsettling music An experiment in human-mediated computer-computer interaction. Author's Comment: “Content warning: This story contains some adult themes. Readers may find it unsettling or menacing, and may experience feelings of claustrophobia, interrogation, or invasion.” Play Online Download (25.8 MB Twine)
Game Page
Ultramarine: A Seapunk Adventure by Lead Artist: Vextera (Sleepy Noodle), Elphie (Fetishism), Kumakuro, Fugi, Lillie Blue, amy_oai, and Hazel-Bun (Cherubim Scribes)
Ultramarine:
A Seapunk Adventure

By Seven Submarines


Lead Artist: Vextera (Sleepy Noodle)
GUI Designer: Elphie (Fetishism)
Musician: Kumakuro
Programmer: Fugi Gabrielle's VA: Lillie Blue
Video Editor: amy_oai
Writer: Hazel-Bun (Cherubim Scribes)
Ren'Py full-length visual novel action-adventure PG-13 turn-based battle Sacrificed to the sea, a pirate travels to the underwater Kingdom of Atlas to retrieve a magical stone. Along the way, she meets the crown prince and his royal guard. Author's Comment: “Mention of child slavery, sex trafficking, execution, and cannibalism. Blood and very loud noises!” Download Windows (90.9 MB Ren'Py) Download Mac (72.9 MB Ren'Py)
Play
Venience World by Daniel Spitz

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Venience World By Daniel Spitz HTML/Javascript short parser experimental excerpt Interpret the aphorisms of a mysterious, wise figure from your past. Author's Comment: “Venience World is my second experimental parser game and also my second submission the Spring Thing. The game introduces a novel parser interface that I think allows for some interesting new styles of play.

I've been working on and off on this game for about a year. It's being released in the Back Garden of the festival because it's just a prologue and partial first chapter. Nevertheless, it's quite playable as is. I intend to continue working on it, and to release a completed version some day.

Thematically, Venience World is about the thought processes underlying the interpretation of our experiences. Feeling lost, searching for meaning, arriving at and revising our understanding of things.

I'm hoping folks enjoy Venience World! Also if there is interest in the interface itself, please reach out!” Play Online Download (353 KB HTML/Javascript) Demo Source Code
Play
“Space Alice In Wonderland with Checkers.”
 We're All Fans Here
Chapter 1 By Naomi Norbez Twine short puzzleness no graphics sci-fi fangame excerpt Nigel enters a strange land where, to get home, he must win a game of checkers. A fangame of Three Guys That Paint. Author's Comment: “This is the first part of a large fangame I'm working on. I'd love to hear feedback on it--please let me know what you think!

Also, please check out Three Guys That Paint (the visual novel Nigel and Morwenna are from, and that inspired this Twine) and the Checkerboard Series (by daffs.itch.io, where Carmine is from).

Thank you for playing!” Play Online Download (538 KB Twine)

Platform Instructions

If a game does not have a "play online" link, or if you'd prefer to download and play offline, here are instructions for each kind of story format.

HTML/Javascript: Open the .html file in any modern web browser.†

Inform (Glulx): You'll need to use the Download link on an entry's listing to get the game, and you'll need an interpreter for Glulx. Lectrote is a good cross-platform interpreter. [format details]

Inform (Z): You'll need to use the Download link on an entry's listing to get the game, and you'll need an interpreter for z-code. Lectrote is a good cross-platform interpreter. [format details]

O.H.R.RPG.C.E. (Official Hamster Republic Role Playing Game Construction Engine): These games are compiled as platform-native binaries. The author has only provided a Windows version. [format details]

Quest: You can play these stories online, or if you have a Windows PC, run them locally by downloading Quest for Windows. [format details]

Ren'Py: These games are compiled as platform-native binaries. A Mac and Windows build are available, or visit the authors' Itch.io page for other options. [format details]

TADS 3: You'll need to use the Download link on an entry's listing to get the game, and you'll need an appropriate interpreter. On Windows, the HTML TADS Player Kit is your best option. On Mac, the game has issues with some interpreters but has been confirmed to work with frobTADS. [format details]

Twine: Open the .html file in any modern web browser.† [format details]

Undum: Open the .html file in any modern web browser.† [format details]

Windrift: Open the .html file in any modern web browser.† [format details]

† For offline play of browser-based formats, note that the Chrome browser's default security settings may prevent these games from running correctly: use a different browser for these, such as Firefox or Safari.

Prize Ribbons

Main Festival games in the 2018 could be nominated for two prize ribbons: an Audience Choice ribbon, and an Alumni's Choice ribbon voted on by prior participants.

The ribbons for the 2018 were awarded to:

After the festival closes, nominations also close and ribbons are awarded. The games will remain permanently available on the festival site and at the IF Archive, along with any supplemental material of the author's choosing (walkthrough, source code, etc.).