Winners of the 1997 IFComp

Switch to compact list view Browse / download 1997 game files

1st place

The Edifice

Cover art for The Edifice

Lucian P. Smith

Something new in your everyday hunter-gatherer routine: where did this strange edifice come from? Dare you enter and explore the secrets of this... thing, or do you try to face your enemies? Like you have a choice.

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


2nd place

Babel


3rd place

Glowgrass


4th place

She's Got a Thing for a Spring

Brent VanFossen

It's been a hectic year, and it's time to get away. He told you that, and you agreed. Now you're here, in a grove of aspen, and long for a good, long bath in the nearby hot spring.

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


5th place

A Bear's Night Out

Cover art for A Bear's Night Out

David Dyte

Tomorrow is the big Teddy Bear party, and you must definitely not let your owner forget about it...

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


6th place

Sunset Over Savannah


7th place

Poor Zefron's Almanac


8th place

The Lost Spellmaker

Neil James Brown

Spells are in short supply, and spellmakers are disappearing one by one. So your boss T sends you on a mission to find the famous Drew Tungshinach so that he may entertain the community further with his spells.

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


9th place

Sins Against Mimesis

Adam Thornton

Your lover Black left, and your days are full of loneliness. Your progress in finding him, however, is blocked by none other than the Devil himself; and to get rid of him, you must commit the seven deadly sins. And that is just the beginning...

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


10th place

A New Day

Jonathan Fry

For some reason, the author of this game died while writing it, and so you're stuck in an unfinished room. The author's creation, Winston, asks you to find out what happened. Can you finish an unfinished game full of bugs?

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


11th place

Zero Sum Game


12th place

Zombie!


13th place

The Frenetic Five vs. Sturm und Drang


14th place

Travels in the Land of Erden

Laura Knauth

When you arrive in the Land of Erden, thriving for adventure, you learn that the most dangerous enemy of the land is already defeated. A challenge less, but there is still the tale of the beautiful ruby, rumored to be hidden somewhere in the mountains surrounding Shalandria...

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


15th place

The Unholy Grail

Stuart Allen

Strange, unexplained deaths have been occuring in the marine life surrounding a remote island military base and you have been sent to investigate. Your investigation will ultimately lead you to the other side of the world where you will uncover the secrets behind a sinister plot to find The Unholy Grail.

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


16th place

Friday Afternoon

Mischa Schweitzer

Trapped in the MicroSun offices, you have just one wish: get out of there by six, to meet your date, and prove that you're not a nerd.

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


17th place

Madame L'Estrange and the Troubled Spirit

Ian Ball and Marcus Young

For Madame L'Estrange, contacts with beings from the ghost world are everyday routine. This case, however, is not. Did Dr. Taverner really kill himself? If not, who did it? And what about that beast?

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


18th place

Sylenius Mysterium

C. E. Forman

You are Sylenius Mysterium, video game player par excellence. At a mall, you discover a long-lost arcade game, and excitedly start to play. But nothing could have prepared you for what happens...

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


19th place

Phred Phontious and the Quest for Pizza

Michael Zey

The Royal Court Jester wants his pizza, and he wants it quickly. So his chef, Chet, sends you out to get all the necessary items. Along the way, you discover there just might be something going on...

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


20th place

Down


21st place

VirtuaTech


22nd place

The Obscene Quest of Dr. Aardvarkbarf


23rd place

A Good Breakfast

Stuart Adair

You are longing for a good breakfast, but where do you get the ingredients from?

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


24th place

Town Dragon

David Cornelson @david_cornelson

A dragon is terrorizing your home town, and the mayor is looking for volunteers to get rid of him. Fortunately, someone other than you becomes "volunteer." Unfortunately, it is still you who has to do the dirty work...

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


25th place

The Tempest

Graham Nelson and William Shakespeare

You play Ariel in William Shakespeare's comedy The Tempest. The text and descriptions are lifted from the original works, i. e. in old English.

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


26th place

Temple of the Orc Mage


27th place

E-Mailbox


28th place

Pintown

Stefan Blixt

As you are leaving your home, you must return the keys to your small home to the janitor. First, however, you must transform yourself into a human being again, and clean up a bit.

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


29th place

Leaves


30th place

Congratulations!

Frederick Hirsch

A short game in which you must take care of your newborn baby.

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


31st place

CASK

Harry M. Hardjono

The author's first stab at interactive fiction. A very buggy game that consists mainly of obscure puzzles, with no story at all.

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


32nd place

Symetry

Ryan Stevens

This new mirror you bought really is something. But in the night, it has a life of it's own...

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


33rd place

Aunt Nancy's House

Nate Schwartzman

This is an interactive tour of the author's aunt's soon-to-be former home.

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


34th place

Coming Home

Andrew Katz

Expect no more than what the title says. No plot, but lots of strange or time-dependent puzzles.

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


The organizer of the 1997 Annual Interactive Fiction Competition was Kevin Wilson.