Hi everyone! Some of you might know our community on Tumblr already, but we are here to expand ourselves to itch.io as well. We know there are plenty of works of interactive fiction here already (whether they're text-based, visual novels, or lots of other variations of it!) so we wish to encourage our community to branch out, interact with other works, experience what else the IF community has to offer, and possibly start creating themselves!

The submission deadline for the jam is finally behind us, meaning the voting phase has officially begun!

Everyone who has submitted a game will now be able to judge the other entries. This means that once you open a game, you will have a list of all the categories you can vote on. Let's break down what each of them implies for more clarity:

-Usage of the theme: The theme is "cliffhanger"! It's up to you to decide whether the story made strong use of the resource/theme or if it felt more weak/forced/etc within the narrative

-Story & plot: Here you judge the writing, pacing, engagement, etc. Does it feel like a good, original story?

 -UI design: In this one you're meant to judge the layout where the game is displayed. Is it intuitive? Aesthetically pleasing? Shows some level of skill? It all goes here

-Gameplay/usage of the medium: Now you ask yourself, was the interactive aspect of the story used properly? Did it feel like it added an extra layer to the story you were reading or did the choices feel empty? Was it overall a satisfactory, immersive experience?

 If there are any other doubts regarding this, please head over to the community section and let us know.

FAQ

• What kind of game can I make?  For this edition, we're accepting short story text-based works of interactive fiction! This means your game might rely on sound effects or a few images, but they shouldn't be the focus of your narrative. Games such as visual novels or with point and click elements will not be counted.
  If you have any questions on what kind of games we're expecting, please check out this collection for examples.

• When does the jam begin? The jam will begin on the 1st of January at midnight (happy new year!) in the GMT -3 timezone
• What can I make my game in? Anything! As long as the story is text-based, anything goes.
• What's the theme? The theme we've chosen this time around is
• Who will judge the games? Only the mods of interact-if and the people who have submitted their own entries will be able to vote.
• And when does the voting begin?  The voting begins right after the submission deadline (the 31st of January at 11:59 PM) and will be available throughout the whole month of February.
• What will the games be judged on? The categories for judging are 1. Usage of Theme 2. Story & Plot 3. UI Design 4. Gameplay/Usage of the interactive medium. The scores from these categories will be averaged out in an overall score which will then be used to determine ranking.
• Are there prizes for the winner? Yes, the winners will be interviewed and featured on the interact-if Tumblr blog in March!
• I don't feel like competing against others but I still want to challenge myself: Here's the non-ranked version of the jam for those who want something more casual!
• Where else can I find interact-if? On Tumblr @interact-if, or our Discord server here!
  

Legal section:

- Anything you make during the jam is your property.  Interact-if will claim no rights or ownership of your game or assets created for the game jam.
-Winner of the ranked jam and honorable mentions of both the ranked and non-ranked jams will be featured on the interact-if Tumblr.