The XYZZY Awards are the annual awards given to works of
interactive fiction
''
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...
, serving a similar role to the
Academy Awards for film. The awards were inaugurated in 1997 by Eileen Mullin, the editor of ''XYZZYnews''. Any game released during the year prior to the award ceremony is eligible for nomination to receive an award. The decision process takes place in two stages: members of the interactive fiction community nominate works within specific categories and sufficiently supported nominations become finalists within those categories. Community members then vote among the finalists, and the game receiving a plurality of votes is given the award in an online ceremony.
Since 1997 the XYZZY Awards have become one of the most important events within the interactive fiction community. Together with events like the
Interactive Fiction Competition and
Spring Thing
Spring Thing is an annual competition to highlight works of text adventure games and other literary works, also known as Interactive Fiction.
Adam Cadre, author of several works of Interactive Fiction, including ''Photopia'' and '' Varicella'', ...
, the XYZZY Awards provide opportunities for the community to encourage and reward the creation and development of new works within a genre that is no longer commercially lucrative.
[Davidson, Drew. ''Well played 1.0: video games, value and meaning''. ETC Press. 2009. ]
The name of the awards comes from the magic word "
xyzzy" causing teleportation from the popular early text adventure game ''
Adventure''.
Awards
The awards have been presented in the following categories.
Best game
The game which is the most enjoyable as a whole; other awards recognize merit in particular qualities.
Best writing
A game which rises above the others in the quality of its descriptive text.
Best story
The game with the deepest or most original story.
Best setting
The most original or best-described locations.
Best puzzles
The most well-crafted, clever, and appropriate puzzles.
Best NPCs
Appropriate, amusing, and well-written casts of non-player characters.
Best individual puzzle
The most inspired, well-crafted, and intriguing puzzle.
Best individual NPC
A particularly well-implemented and well-written
non-player character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
.
Best individual PC
A particularly well-defined and well-written player character.
Best use of medium
The category had no specific criteria given to voters; many chose to interpret this award as a recognition of particularly daring interpretations of the limits and abilities of interactive fiction, especially as regards the relationship between the
player, narrator, and player character. This award was retired in 2010, when Best Implementation and Best Use of Innovation were introduced as replacements.
Best implementation
Introduced in 2010 along with Best Use of Innovation, to replace the Best use of Medium award. It recognizes "completeness of implementation, excellence in parser messages, etc".
Best use of innovation
Introduced in 2010 along with Best Implementation, to replace the Best use of Medium award. It recognizes the "most innovative game".
Best technological development
Recognizes "interpreters, authoring systems, libraries, utilities, and so on".
Best supplemental materials
Outstanding non-game content ("
feelies") created to accompany specific games. Eligibility is based on the year when the supplemental materials were released, regardless of the year of release of the game.
* 2010: ''Creating Interactive Fiction with Inform 7'' (Aaron A. Reed)
* 2011: PDFs and screencast tutorials for ''Kerkerkruip''
* 2012: Feelies for ''Muggle Studies''
* 2013: Multimedia – ''Dominique Pamplemousse''
Best use of multimedia
References
Further reading
*
External links
Xyzzy Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xyzzy Awards
Fiction awards
Interactive fiction
Video game awards
Video game lists by reception or rating
Xyzzy awards for interactive fiction puzzles
XYZZY