Final results time!
First off, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in this year's competition. We had six really great titles to choose from this year, and we had two really great judges (thanks Jeku and Dazzag!) who will probably join us again next year. We had a lot of fun playing these games and exploring these worlds that you've created, and I think it's safe to say I speak for all three of us judges when I say there wasn't a single "bad" entry this year.
We're sorry for the delay in posting these results. It's difficult to get things done during an election season and it didn't help that we encountered a few hiccups along the way. I thank everyone for your patience and I apologize for all of the added suspense! Alright, without further adieu, I'm pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 Text Adventure Competition on TGC:
SCORES
Vigilance = 9.4 overall score and grand prize winner
Relic = 8.5
Pulse = 7.2
Jungle Text Adventure = 7.1
Haunted House = 6.8
ForumQuest = 6.5
KUDOS AWARDS
The 2008 TGC Poet Laureate - Vigilance
Set in a brilliant dystopian world, Vigilance boasts some of the best writing and one of the most intriguing stories we've ever seen in a text adventure competition entry. This is backed up consistently by high scores across the board and a sweep of Kudos awards. For winning this Award, Darth Kiwi will be rewarded with 2,000 Game Creator Store points... and some bragging rights, too
Originality - ForumQuest
This game truly broke the status quo by delivering a fun experience in a genuinely unique world that really stands out from other more traditional locales. For winning the Originality Award, Bmaczero is getting a cool 1,000 Game Creator Store Points!
Story Development - Vigilance
The ability to draw in your audience and involve them in your story on a personal level is quite a skill to have, and Vigilance proves that Darth Kiwi is, for lack of a better phrase, a true master of storytelling. For winning this Kudos award, Kiwi can tack on another 750 Game Creator Store points to his collection.
Writing Ability - Pulse
Pulse was a beautifully-written masterpiece, and came extremely close to winning other Kudos awards this year. Seppuku Arts took the concept of producing a digital novel to a new plateau with this exciting story, and after playing it, you'll quickly realize why Seuppuku has won this award... and 500 Game Creator Store points!
Technical Design - Relic
Everytime Entomophobiac enters the TAC, I suspect he'll do well before I even play his title, and this year was no exception. Relic featured an interesting blend of both listed and parser input models, and a number of nifty features that brought the game to life in interestingly unique ways. Relic fought a hard battle against Vigilance for this award and it boiled down to a blow-by-blow of errors to figure out who would take this Kudos home.
Best Media - Vigilance
Right from the opening video sequence, Vigilance has the ability to widen your eyes with its incredible media. It can at times make you forget that you're even playing a text adventure game.
Best GUI - Vigilance
Vigilance has a fantastic GUI that's informative, simple to nagigate and use, and even entertaining (the adverts on the screen were a brilliant touch!)
Retail Award - Vigilance
I think Jeku summed this up perfectly. In his words, "I demand to see this as a full game in the future!"
Best Soundtrack - Relic
Relic's soundtrack is brilliant not only due to its composition, but also because of its ambience and subtlety. It draws you into the experience without drawing in your attention.
Best Protagonist - Vigilance
- And -
Best Antagonist - Vigilance
I only need to do one write-up for these two Kudos awards I think. The characters in this game were brilliantly vibrant and polished, and Kiwi did a fantastic job of drawing us in and letting us get to know the people in this world.
Best Environment - Vigilance
Kiwi's highly-detailed dystopian world reminded all of us of "1984" and "Brazil," and he goes so far as to acknowledge his influences, while not plagiarizing in any way. The world is perfectly detailed and very expansive.
I'll be contacting prize furbishers in the coming hours via email to let them know who won what and who they need to contact. If you won a prize, please keep an eye on your email inbox and let me know if you have any trouble getting your prizes (though we haven't had any problems in the past with TGC or Underware Design. I might be wrong about this but I *think* everyone who won a copy of Eternal Equinox already has a copy, so eh, you can give a copy to a friend or something, hehe.