Golden Banana of Discord
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The Golden Banana of Discord is a special prize awarded to the game whose scores have the highest standard deviation.
Physically, it is a crescent of gold cloth stuffed with cotton. You can see a picture of the original banana here. Andrew Plotkin created the first 'teddy banana' and donated it to the 6th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2000).
The banana was originally just a normal prize, and in 2000 it was chosen by Brendan Barnwell, author of The Big Mama. Brendan redonated the banana back to the IF Comp in 2001 with the standard deviation stipulation. Winners of the banana are expected to re-donate it back to the competition in the following year.
In 2005, a new banana—The Golden Banana of Discord, Mark II—was donated to the competition by Daphne Brinkerhoff and Greg Boettcher. You can see pictures of the new banana here.
Winners of the Golden Banana of Discord
- The Gostak (Carl Muckenhoupt; 2001; Z-code). IF Comp 2001: 21st place. Standard deviation: 3.05.
- Constraints (Martin Bays; 2002; Z-code). IF Comp 2002: 19th place. Standard deviation: 2.48.
- Sweet Dreams (Papillon; 2003; MS-Windows). IF Comp 2003: 20th place. Standard deviation: 2.26.
- Gamlet (Tomasz Pudlo; 2004; Z-code). IF Comp 2004: 9th place. Standard deviation: 2.51. (Tomasz claims to have donated it to the tsunami victims; nothing excites him more than putting a smile on a child's face.)
- On Optimism (Zach Flynn as "Tim Lane"; 2005; Z-code). IF Comp 2005: 24th place. Standard deviation: 2.30.
- MANALIVE, A Mystery of Madness - I (Bill Powell; 2006; Z-code). IF Comp 2006: 24th place. Standard deviation: 2.34.
- Deadline Enchanter (Alan DeNiro; 2007; Z-code). IF Comp 2007: 12th place. Standard deviation: 2.45.
- Berrost's Challenge (Mark Hatfield; 2008; TADS 2). IF Comp 2008: 10th place. Standard deviation: 2.05.
- Condemned (Mark Jones; 2009; Z-code). IF Comp 2009: 12th place. Standard deviation: 2.22.
- Leadlight (Wade Clarke; 2010; Web browser). IF Comp 2010: 14th place. Standard deviation: 2.29.
- The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M (Michael D. Hilborn; 2011; Glulx.) IF Comp 2011: 6th place. Standard deviation: 2.24.
- howling dogs (Porpentine; 2012; Twine; Web browser). IF Comp 2012: 11th place. Standard deviation: 2.37.
Game appearances
- Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis (Adam Thornton as "One of the Bruces" and Drunken Bastard; 2010 and 2011; Glulx). The Golden Banana of Discord is the MacGuffin of the story.
