Winners of the 2000 IFComp

Switch to compact list view Browse / download 2000 game files

1st place

Kaged

Cover art for Kaged

Ian Finley

"But my madness speaks:

It will but skin and film the ulcerous place,

Whilst rank corruption, mining all within,

Infects unseen."

Welcome to the Citadel of Justice. The Inquisitor is waiting.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 7.76
Votes Cast 82
Standard Deviation 1.92

2nd place

Metamorphoses

Cover art for Metamorphoses

Emily Short

You wake to stillness. The hammering, banging, and shouting that kept you awake half the night are gone. The air is cold, and something smells burnt. Your master's experiments must be finished, but with what result?

This work also won 3rd place (tie) in the 2000 Miss Congeniality Awards.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 7.27
Votes Cast 104
Standard Deviation 2.11

3rd place

Being Andrew Plotkin

Cover art for Being Andrew Plotkin

J. Robinson Wheeler

Zarf? you think to yourself. Could it be? The one and only Zarf? Xyzzy Award winner? IF Competition winner? The mighty Inscruitable One? Gosh. What it must be like to be Zarf... You begin to crawl forward, the tunnel floor oozing and pliable under your knees and palms. The secret door bangs shut and disappears. The tunnel begins to shiver, and from up ahead a roar like a waterfall issues from the darkness.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 7.24
Votes Cast 134
Standard Deviation 2.10

4th place

Ad Verbum

Cover art for Ad Verbum

Nick Montfort @nickmofo

With the cantankerous Wizard of Wordplay evicted from his mansion, the worthless plot can now be redeveloped. The city regulations declare, however, that the rip-down job can't proceed until all the items within had been removed.

As an adventurer hired by the demolitions contractor to kleptomaniacially clear out this mansion, you must engage in wordplay in order to gather all the items inside. It is not necessary to think of puns, cliches, or homonyms, however, as has been the case with previous logological interactive fiction. The puzzles in Ad Verbum are of a different -- and perhaps even unique -- nature.

This work also won 1st place in the 2000 Miss Congeniality Awards.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 7.13
Votes Cast 111
Standard Deviation 1.98

5th place

Transfer

Tod Levi

The staff's jubilant anticipation of the first human transfer was now replaced with dread. Why had the Professor fallen ill so suddenly? And how callous of the Overseers to insist on proceeding without delay!

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 7.01
Votes Cast 77
Standard Deviation 1.99

6th place

My Angel

Jon Ingold

I wake peacefully, and already she is there.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.97
Votes Cast 95
Standard Deviation 2.17

7th place

Nevermore

Nate Cull

A short tale of mystery and madness inspired by Poe's "The Raven".

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.90
Votes Cast 105
Standard Deviation 1.86

8th place

Masquerade

Cover art for Masquerade

Kathleen M. Fischer

You walk purposefully down the sidewalk, looking neither left nor right. You don't need to look; you can tell you are being watched from whispers overheard as you pass by. "Poor Amelia..." you hear somebody say. Poor Amelia, indeed. You hurry on, not caring to hear any more. Reaching the Lucky Strike, you force yourself to climb the steps and push open the doors, stopping just inside to let your eyes adjust to dim light.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.89
Votes Cast 110
Standard Deviation 2.02

9th place

Yes, Another Game with a Dragon!

John Kean

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.84
Votes Cast 89
Standard Deviation 2.06

10th place

Shade

Cover art for Shade

Andrew Plotkin @zarfeblong

A one-room game set in your apartment.

This work also won 3rd place (tie) in the 2000 Miss Congeniality Awards.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.68
Votes Cast 102
Standard Deviation 2.33

11th place

Guess the Verb!

Cover art for Guess the Verb!

Leonard Richardson

Now you too can GUESS THE VERB for fun and prizes! Read evocative and amusing room descriptions while manipulating interesting objects! Interact with the simulated motives and desires of quirky NPCs! No thesaurus required!

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.54
Votes Cast 99
Standard Deviation 1.92

12th place

Letters from Home

Cover art for Letters from Home

Roger Firth

Centuries of ancestry, decades of memories, years of decline; now, barely two hours in which to reflect on the glorious past, that bygone golden age when nostalgia really meant something...

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.44
Votes Cast 85
Standard Deviation 1.85

13th place

Rameses

Cover art for Rameses

Stephen Bond

This work also won 2nd place in the 2000 Miss Congeniality Awards.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.41
Votes Cast 108
Standard Deviation 2.39

14th place

The Djinni Chronicles

Cover art for The Djinni Chronicles

J. D. Berry

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.23
Votes Cast 105
Standard Deviation 2.02

15th place

The Best Man

Rob Menke

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.22
Votes Cast 85
Standard Deviation 1.76

16th place

And the Waves Choke the Wind

Cover art for And the Waves Choke the Wind

Gunther Schmidl

some thing inside of me has opened up its eyes why did you put it there? did you not realize?

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.21
Votes Cast 91
Standard Deviation 2.19

17th place

At Wit's End

Cover art for At Wit's End

Mike Sousa mike67@gmail.com

A case study of Murphy's Law in action. In-game hints available.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.16
Votes Cast 89
Standard Deviation 2.14

18th place

Dinner with Andre

Liza Daly

A date by candlelight in a fine restaurant. Should be a perfect evening.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.12
Votes Cast 114
Standard Deviation 1.85

19th place

Planet of the Infinite Minds

Alfredo Garcia

"All that is secular is given over to rudeness and capricious violence. The Mohammedan principle -- the enlightenment of the Oriental World -- is the first to contravene this barbarism and caprice." (G.W.F. Hegel)

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 6.00
Votes Cast 71
Standard Deviation 2.03

20th place

The Big Mama

Brendan Barnwell

Three or four sailboats cruise lazily in the glow of the setting sun, which casts a poetic shimmer across the swells. In the distance, about 15 km offshore, you can discern the dim, hunched shapes of the oil platforms. The breeze is straight out of some beach-blanket B-movie: salty, soft, and refreshing.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.72
Votes Cast 101
Standard Deviation 1.80

21st place

The End Means Escape

Steve Kodat

Some things should be left undone.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.67
Votes Cast 82
Standard Deviation 1.96

22nd place

Punk Points

Jim Munroe @nomediakings jim@nomediakings.org

It's the first day of high school and you've decided to give yourself a mohawk. Now you've gotta stand up to teachers, impress peers and make a name for yourself until you've earned enough Punk Points to escape the suburbs.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.64
Votes Cast 101
Standard Deviation 2.22

23rd place (tie)

A Crimson Spring

Cover art for A Crimson Spring

Robb Sherwin @icecreamjonsey

Red Cloud meant more to me than anyone else on the planet. Sometime between one and three in the morning, on March 26th, 2015, she was brutally slain. Nobody knows why. I am going to find out if it means ripping this filthy city apart, brick by brick. I am a masked vigilante who attempts to fight this senseless violence every single night. I am the Holy Avenger.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.48
Votes Cast 54
Standard Deviation 2.55

23rd place (tie)

Enlisted

G.F. Berry

"Fleeing a broken marriage and a failed business you decide to join the space faring version of the French Foreign Legion." This is a more traditional Infocom style work (emphasis on puzzles, and subtle(?) humor), with plenty of story animations, chances for the player to define his/her lead character, and a few alternate endings.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.48
Votes Cast 88
Standard Deviation 2.02

25th place

Futz Mutz

Tim Simmons

It's Saturday and you're nine years old. NO SCHOOL! You have the whole day to yourself! And to top things off, it's your birthday too! You're just starting to wake up as you roll over onto your back and stretch. You look out through your window and see cars and people passing by upside down. Not too unusual since you're lying on your back. Still, something is different. You look down and realize that you have been sleeping on a thick bed of shredded newspaper! You look down at your body. The realization quickly dawns on you - you are a dog!

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.46
Votes Cast 61
Standard Deviation 2.31

26th place

Return to Zork: Another Story

Stefano Canali

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.45
Votes Cast 86
Standard Deviation 2.77

27th place

Unnkulia X

Valentine Kopteltsev

The Great Master of your village speaks: "My people, the Demons of Unnkulia are back again! And they demand a human sacrifice, unless we want our nice Vilefen to be wiped off the Earth's surface!" The crowd buzzes, some shouts are heard. But after a long discussion, the villagers decide that since you, Joan Fleaumont, are an orphan, you are optimal for the purposes of sacrificing. Of course, they don't ask YOUR opinion on the matter. In great haste, they tie you up and throw you into a cell. You are left there while they prepare to burn you alive as a sacrifice to the Demons of Unnkulia. Will you be able to escape your fate and (possibly) save your village from the dreadful Demons?

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.36
Votes Cast 67
Standard Deviation 1.72

28th place

Desert Heat

Cover art for Desert Heat

Papillon

WARNING. This game is intended for mature readers and may contain explicit sexual scenes and/or questionable consensuality depending on play. It is possible to complete the game without encountering these elements; however, the reader is assumed to be proceeding at their own risk.

The sound of windblown sand smoothing the dunes and scouring the city walls is the only song nature produces in Hajima. You have seen representations of colorful and exotic birds in your brother's books, creatures who are said to produce music more easily than a musician's flute, even found in the market rare insects and reptiles that chirr or hum in pleasing tones. But sandsong is not kind to life. The beasts bred for desert work are thick-skinned, dull, and plodding. There is no beauty in them.

The men who drive them are little more appealing, wrapped in the rough, colorless cloth that is all they can afford to protect them from the blowing sand. Brutes and slavers, suitable for nothing more than labor.

Perhaps it is this attitude that has kept you unmarried and untouched, despite your brother's urgings. Even in the slender courtiers with their gold and silks you see reflected the hateful black eyes of the drovers.

You are Aika Sabakan, a free woman of high social class, and no one can force you to do anything against your will, not even carry on the family line.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.20
Votes Cast 92
Standard Deviation 2.17

29th place

Got ID?

Marc Valhara

Continue to believe it: you are not a loser. In fact, this evening, you'll be a hero. According to Article C, Section Eight of the Tennessee State Criminal Code, it is illegal for any person under twenty-one years of age to purchase, attempt to purchase, or otherwise obtain alcoholic beverages. According to Deanna Vale, head cheerleader at your high school, the first person who can score some beer for her party tonight may sit at her cool clique's cafeteria table all year. >inventory You are carrying an ATM card and a fake ID...

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.17
Votes Cast 95
Standard Deviation 1.87

30th place

Castle Amnos

John Evans @Chaoseed

"crux ('kr&ks, 'kruks) Function: noun Etymology: Latin cruc-, crux cross, torture 1 : a puzzling or difficult problem : an unsolved question 2 : an essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome 3 : a main or central feature (as of an argument)" --From the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster 2000

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.11
Votes Cast 92
Standard Deviation 1.82

31st place

Masque of the Last Faeries

Ian Ball

The masque is on, but at least one of the guests is not what he or she appears to be.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 5.08
Votes Cast 102
Standard Deviation 1.94

32nd place

The Pickpocket

Alex Weldon

A short game, with about 20 rooms and 10 puzzles, in which you are attempting to chase down the pickpocket who stole your money pouch. The author's first attempt at IF.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 4.83
Votes Cast 89
Standard Deviation 1.68

33rd place

The Trip

Cameron Wilkin

Life sucks, but there's always a way to get away from reality.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 4.76
Votes Cast 84
Standard Deviation 1.71

34th place

Happy Ever After

Robert M. Camisa

You still can't quite believe that Gwyneth dumped you. Not after all you went through. Hopefully sepnding a couple of days babysitting Uncle Steve's museum will at least make a start on mending your heartache...

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 4.63
Votes Cast 78
Standard Deviation 1.82

35th place

Prodly the Puffin

Jim Crawford and Craig Timpany

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 4.60
Votes Cast 102
Standard Deviation 2.09

36th place

Withdrawal Symptoms

Niclas Carlsson

You have the keys to the deposit box safely in your hand as you approach the bank. Finally you are about to find out exactly what you inherited from your old aunt. Nothing can go wrong now. At least that is what you think.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 4.56
Votes Cast 93
Standard Deviation 1.86

37th place

Aftermath

Graham Somerville

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 4.31
Votes Cast 91
Standard Deviation 1.79

38th place

The Clock

Cleopatra Kozlowski

You've done it again. This is what you get for being easy-going and good natured.

Kitty called you up last night at some inhuman time, and implored you to come over to her house at the edge of town. You've known Kitty for many years, but still can't quite make her out. The only sure thing is that she never fails to get you into some sort of trouble. But you've finally agreed to stay at her strange house for a few nights, while she's away on some 'extremely important business.'

When you arrive, already in the middle of the night, you find Kitty in a state of turmoil. Still, she lets you in, and before you know it, she is gone. Strangely, you don't hear her open or close the door - in fact, the door leading outside has been left locked, and you haven't got the key. So it seems you are trapped here until Kitty returns.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 4.30
Votes Cast 82
Standard Deviation 1.73

39th place

Wrecked

Campbell Wild

A few months ago, I got talking to a mate, who got me interested in shipwrecks. I never knew there was so much unclaimed treasure lying at the bottom of the oceans. All you need to do is find a wreck, search it, and you're a billionaire. At least, that was the way he put it...

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 4.00
Votes Cast 44
Standard Deviation 2.24

40th place

Threading the Labyrinth

Kevin F. Doughty

An experimental reflection on meaning and intent.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 3.94
Votes Cast 88
Standard Deviation 1.76

41st place

Void: Corporation

Jonathan Lim

VOID: CORPORATION is a short AGT game set in a cyberpunk world I invented when I was a kid. Generally, a fairly easy game (so I am assured) looking at a wider universe! It's also my first "serious" game, so be kind...

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 3.63
Votes Cast 54
Standard Deviation 1.79

42nd place

1-2-3...

Chris Mudd

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 3.37
Votes Cast 136
Standard Deviation 1.97

43rd place

Escape from Crulistan

Alan Smithee

Locked in a jail cell and sentenced to death. Can you survive this? Probably not.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 3.34
Votes Cast 50
Standard Deviation 1.84

44th place

Stupid Kittens

Marc Valhara

You are standing in Karen's room. >POOP ON COMPUTER Woo, bad kitten!

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 3.22
Votes Cast 122
Standard Deviation 2.23

45th place

Marooned

Bruce Davis

After finishing with some afternoon fishing, you notice some rather dark and menacing clouds have snuck up on you. While preparing to head back to port, the wind picks up and jagged streaks of lightning stab the sky. A heavy rain begins to pelt you. The waves grow stronger and threaten to dump you in the raging ocean.

Dark clouds drift overhead and the ocean swirls angrily around the boat. You can barely make out anything in front of you.

Despite your attempts to keep the boat upright, a huge wave hits you and dumps you into the raging ocean. You plunge deep into the water and everything is confusion. You can't tell up from down as you struggle to make your way to the surface. You see what appears to be an island and use all your strength to swim towards it. After struggling with the surf, you pull yourself onto a beach. Tired and with muscles aching, you black out and sleep for what seems like hours.............

And when you wake up, you don't know where you are. Some kind of island, but you can't see or hear anything to indicate it's inhabited. One thing is clear though. You must somehow get off this speck in the middle of the ocean.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 3.21
Votes Cast 47
Standard Deviation 1.40

46th place

On the Other Side

Antonio Márquez Marín placeholder@example.com (writing as “Lumpi”)

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 3.14
Votes Cast 72
Standard Deviation 2.32

47th place

Jarod's Journey

Tim Emmerich

"Jarod!" comes the weakened call from the father's room. With a torn heart, Jarod remembers his father of old, a once great centurion. Jarod quickly runs to his father's bedside. When he kneels beside the bed, his father starts to speak.

"My son. I am proud of the responsible young man you have become. But, thinking back over my life, I can't get Golgotha out of my mind. As you know, my life was changed from witnessing that event. I'd seen so many crucified, yet he was different. He didn't resist when they drove in the spikes. His plea to Heaven was for our forgiveness, not his rescue! It is hard to believe, we were the ones killing him and he asked God to forgive us! Surely, he was the son of God!"

The father shifts in bed, weazing slightly. "I've prayed to God that you will learn about the man that I only had a glimpse of. I believe God has answered my prayer. You are to leave tomorrow on a journey of discovery to learn more about God's son, Jesus Christ."

After a fit of desperate gasping ends, the father continues. "Son, I beg you to go. Don't worry about your mother and I. But do come back as soon as your are finished. I want to hear about the journey and what you've found ... before I die."

Jarod immediately responds with "Yes, father" even though his mind is racing. It is filled with excitement, a sense of adventure, and a slight fear of the unknown.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 3.04
Votes Cast 75
Standard Deviation 1.96

48th place

Infil-traitor

Chris Charla

This is a vintage 1981, never released, adventure game. Check out the read me for more info. Take a trip back in time with Infil-Traitor! (Note: this should take you about 20 minutes to complete.) An exe for PC is included, as is a Mac file that runs on the freeware Chipmunk BASIC (http://www.nicholson.com/rhn/basic/) and source code for C64 and Apple II.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 2.76
Votes Cast 55
Standard Deviation 1.62

49th place

Comp00ter Game

Brendan Barnwell

play my comp00ter game and yyuo wil see its glory!!!!!

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 2.59
Votes Cast 131
Standard Deviation 2.11

50th place

Little Billy

Okey Ikeako

A short but harrowing tale of a hurt child.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 2.33
Votes Cast 69
Standard Deviation 1.63

51st place

Asendent

Nate Cull and Doug Jones

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 2.29
Votes Cast 113
Standard Deviation 1.37

52nd place

What-IF?

David Ledgard

Have you ever wondered what might have happened if a key leader had lived or died, a key decision been made differently...? Such arguments were a popular pastime BC when there was less to occupy thinking peoples' free time. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking some more. To the best of my knowledge everything is historically accurate. All arguments are based on reasonable premises.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 1.87
Votes Cast 127
Standard Deviation 1.31

53rd place

Breaking the Code

Gunther Schmidl

Yes, it's deliberate.

Play, download, or learn more about this game on the IFDB

Score 1.80
Votes Cast 122
Standard Deviation 1.83

The organizer of the 2000 Annual Interactive Fiction Competition was Stephen Granade.