IF Art Show 2000 Rules
(Expired)

1. No graphics, sound files or ASCII art.
   
   
2. All entries must be original works. However, they may be taken from an
   unreleased work in progress. Plagiarism is frowned on.
   
   
3. "Playable" in less than 45 minutes. Shorter is usually better.
   
   
4. To make your exploration easier, and to isolate your entry on a pedestal
   and/or put it into an artistic "frame", choose one of the following:
   

   Still Life - Object
   Landscape - Scenery
   Portrait - NPC

   There is no maximum limit on number of items per category, but fewer
   is better.
   
   Other types of items (inventory objects, stationary objects, locations) may
   be present to help support the selected category (except interactive NPCs,
   which are solely for portraiture). To keep your entry short and your focus
   tight, it is best for supporting items to be limited in number and "sketchy."
   
   Remember: Judges will focus on how you present and explore your choice,
   not on "background." So you will do yourself a favor if you avoid
   wasting time on extra items. An excellent entry might have none at all.
   
   You will need to specify which category (Object, Scenery, NPC) you are
   entering.
   
   
5. Minimal plot and a restrained use of puzzles.
   
   

   Plot

   No overriding, compelling, "world saving" goal that
   hurries players on, encouraging them to bypass experiences.
   
   

   Introduction

   Minimal or optional; to set the stage and
   provide players with some motivation to explore.
   

   Middle

   Experiential.
   

   Scoring

   Optional; a "task achieved" score, to give players
   an idea of when they have explored as much as
   possible.

   Ending

   Minimal or optional; a finish to give players closure.

   
   

   Puzzles

   Absolutely no "brain twisters". If players need to figure out
   an object/conversation, guide them to the appropriate
   action/topic with subtle hints (not too subtle) in
   descriptions/responses.
   
   

   Complicated Puzzles

   It is recommended that complicated/very complicated
   puzzles be made optional, so players need not solve
   them to finish. Or provide a graceful exit (other
   than quit) in case they are unable to finish.

   
   Remember: The entry with the cleverest puzzle(s) will not be an automatic
   winner, judges will be looking for a complete exploration of interactivity.
   For instance, a realistic piece should probably implement a fair number
   of verbs in order to avoid too many standard library responses.
   
   >>> Stumping the player is not the goal. Encouraging exploration is. <<<
   
   
6. It has been suggested the IF Art Show have a theme each time. If you need
   something to further focus your creative energies, envision the future. An invention
   (Object), futuristic location (Scenery), or human/animal scientific/social
   development (NPC) that will occur in the new millennium. But because I am still
   of two minds about a theme, it is not required and theme entries will be given
   no preference.
   
   
7. All entries will be displayed at the IF Art Gallery for a two-week show.
   
   
8. The deadline is Friday, March 24th, at midnight EDT (Eastern Daylight
   Savings Time -- four a.m. Saturday, March 25th GMT).
   
   Email your entry in a zipped file to doeadeer3@aol.com.
   
   
9. Past IF Art Show entries and my "Visualizing" now function as
   IF Art examples. To see how others have defined "IF Art" simply
   download them.

1. Is This IF Art?
   
   Any exhibit/piece that fits into the above parameters is IF Art.
   There is no one "set" way to do it or view it.
   
   
2. Do I need to use a pseudonym?
   
   You may use one, but anonymity is not required.
   
   
3. Who Should Enter?
   
   I, personally, hope experienced IF writers enter because I think this is
   a different, freeing approach to writing IF.
   
   But newbies, and those who feel they will never write a full-blown game
   because of the necessity of having to create a plot and/or clever puzzles,
   are especially encouraged to enter. To help us all explore the IF medium.
   
   
4. What is art?
   
   The use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic
   objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others.
   The term art may also designate one of a number of modes of expression
   conventionally categorized by the medium utilized or the form of the
   product; thus we speak of painting, sculpture, film making, music, dance,
   literature, and many other modes of aesthetic expression as arts and of
   all of them collectively as the arts. The term art may further be
   employed in order to distinguish a particular object, environment, or
   experience as an instance of aesthetic expression, allowing us to say,
   for example, that a drawing or tapestry is art...
   
   Encyclopedia Britannica
   
   
5. On "Art & Originality":
   
   Don't feel required to be completely original. To quote Picasso,
   "Good art borrows; great art steals." Quoting Luc "Virgin Idea" French,
   "A distinction must be made between 'stealing' and outright plagiarism.
   One involves merely borrowing ideas; the other involves copying your
   ideas from one source. If you're going to steal, do it in the grand
   tradition of great art, take from as many people as possible."