ifcomp-2022

According to Cain: IF Comp 2022 results

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Cover image of According to Cain by Jim Nelson

Well, the results are in: My interactive fiction game According to Cain placed 6th in the 2022 Interactive Fiction Competition (IF Comp). This is my first IF Comp, and my first full-length interactive fiction, so I’m more than pleased to have placed in the top ten. (There were 71 entries total, and over 4,000 votes cast this year.)

Notably, According to Cain took 1st place in the Miss Congeniality contest. This is the award given to the game rated highest by the other game competition authors. I’m honored that the other creators rated Cain this way.

It was quite the haul getting to this point. Writing and debugging the game took a year’s time, and the competition itself lasts 45 days, which is nerve-jangling in its own right.

Congratulations to everyone else in the competition, including the top three winners: The Grown-Up Detective Agency by Brendan Patrick Hennessy, The Absence of Miriam Lane by Abigail Corfman, and A Long Way to the Nearest Star by SV Linwood.


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According to Cain—a new interactive fiction game

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I want to let you know about my latest endeavor, a new interactive fiction (sometimes known as a “text adventure”) called According to Cain.

In the game, you are tasked with solving one of the oldest recorded mysteries in Western literature: What is the Mark of Cain?

You are a medieval investigator sent back in time to learn the secrets behind mankind’s first murder. Using an alchemy system, observation, and your wits, you must discover the untold truth about Cain and Abel.

It’s more of a literary murder mystery than a religious one. And it has an unusual twist in the detective story: Rather than solving the crime, you’re trying to solve the nature of the punishment.

According to Cain is my entry in the Interactive Fiction Competition 2022, which started today. You can download or play the game online, and you can even participate in the competition as a judge.

This is a change of pace for me, and represents a lot of creative blood, sweat, and tears. I hope you take a little time to try it out. I’d love to hear what you think.


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