View source for Interactive Fiction Writing Month

{{Event
|Type=Jam
|Series=No
|Organisers=Lea Albaugh
}}
[[Interactive Fiction Writing Month]] is, according to [http://www.instamatique.com/if/ its website], ''"a loosely-organized set of tasks assigned one per week for four weeks, from February 15 to March 15, 2009, hopefully coupled with a few informal live discussion sessions (location-dependent, of course). The goal is to get a group of participants familiar enough with the Inform language to produce some simple games, and to promote discourse on game design in general through the medium of IF."'' The organizer was [[Lea Albaugh]].

==Overview==
Each week, participants were given a new assignment to work on. Participants were free to continue expanding on their games from one week to the next, or start a new project each week, as they saw fit. Stories need not be very long. Meetups between participants were scheduled in both Pittsburgh and Boston, for those able to attend.

* '''Week One: Setting.''' Also known as "Hello World" week. Focus on producing Z-code files,  thinking about some of the differences between static prose and IF, understanding the syntax of [[Inform]] and describing simple [[object]]s, and creating a [[setting]].
* '''Week Two: Player Character.''' Create a [[winnable]] story featuring a unique [[player character]]. [[Puzzle]]s are encouraged but not required.
* '''Week Three: Non-player Character.''' Write a winnable story that involves, as a crucial element, an interesting [[NPC]].
* '''Week Four: Custom Verb.''' Write a story that includes at least one custom [[verb]] that contributes to the story in a seamless way.

==Submitted Stories==
Note: Every submitted story was submitted in the year 2009 and for the [[Z-code]] 5 platform.

{| border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0
|-
| '''Week One: Setting (Inform 6)''' || '''Week One: Setting (Inform 7)'''
|-
| style="vertical-align:top" |
* ''[[Artifice]]'' ([[Paul J. Furio]]; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Blasphemy]]'' ([[gwillen]]; 23-Feb).
* ''[[Bus station]]'' ([[Alex Mitchell]]; 22-Feb).
* ''[[Colophon]]'' ([[Akiva Leffert]]; 23-Feb).
* ''[[Frater Evanesco|Heavenly Rest Switcheroo]]'' ([[Kevin Jackson-Mead]]; 20-Feb).
* ''[[Inheritance (by Thomét)|Inheritance]]'' ([[Michael Thomét]]; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Metro Hobo]]'' ([[hvincent zeng]]; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Oh My Elder-God]]'' ([[aric]]; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Rolled]]'' ([[Shannon Prickett]]; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Trails]]'' ([[Joshua Frederick]]; 21-Feb).
| style="vertical-align:top" |
* ''[[Assignment One]]'' ([[Rob Maule]]; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Breaking and Entering]]'' ([[Dietrich Squinkifer]], writing as Deirdra Kiai; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Checkpoint]]'' ([[George Oliver]]; 22-Feb).
* ''[[Heaven-Sent]]'' ([[Michael D. Hilborn]]; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Hello World!]]'' ([[namekuseijin]]; 22-Feb).
* ''[[if-month-zero]]'' ([[Fjord Folio]]; 22-Feb).
* ''[[the office]]'' ([[William Lovas]]; 22-Feb).
* ''[[Perilkeet]]'' ([[Sarah Morayati]]; 21-Feb).
* ''[[Tower (by Dunstan)|Tower]]'' ([[Vivienne Dunstan]]; 22-Feb).
* ''[[Winter]]'' ([[chrisamaphone]]; 21-Feb).
|-
| '''Week Two: Player Character (Inform 6)''' || '''Week Two: Player Character (Inform 7)'''
|-
| style="vertical-align:top" |
* ''[[Bus station|Bus station v2]]'' ([[Alex Mitchell]]; 02-Mar).
* ''[[Frater Evanesco|Heavenly Rest]]'' ([[Kevin Jackson-Mead]]; 28-Feb).
* ''[[Laura (game)|Laura]]'' ([[Michael Thomét]]; 28-Feb).
* ''[[Metro Hobo]]'' ([[hvincent zeng]]; 28-Feb).
| style="vertical-align:top" |
* ''[[Blackberry]]'' ([[Tekgo]]; 28-Feb).
* ''[[Grocery Shopping]]'' ([[Dietrich Squinkifer]], writing as Deirdra Kiai; 01-Mar).
* ''[[Octopus's Garden]]'' ([[Michael D. Hilborn]]; 28-Feb).
* ''[[Searching for Answers]]'' ([[Lorne P. Benore]]; 01-Mar).
* ''[[Tower (by Dunstan)|Tower]]'' ([[Vivienne Dunstan]]; 28-Feb).
* ''[[Up Your Sleeve]]'' ([[chrisamaphone]]; 02-Mar).
|-
| '''Week Three: Non-Player Character (Inform 6)''' || '''Week Three: Non-Player Character (Inform 7)'''
|-
| style="vertical-align:top" |
* ''[[Bus station|Bus station v3]]'' ([[Alex Mitchell]]; 07-Mar).
* ''[[Frater Evanesco]]'' ([[Kevin Jackson-Mead]]; 08-Mar).
* ''[[Laura (game)|Laura]]'' ([[Michael Thomét]]; 07-Mar).
| style="vertical-align:top" |
* ''[[Late Train To Nowhere]]'' ([[Michael D. Hilborn]]; 06-Mar).
* ''[[No Muse]]'' ("[[fjordfolio]]"; 09-Mar).
* ''[[Smugglers Rest]]'' ([[Vivienne Dunstan]]; 06-Mar).
* ''[[Spare Some Change]]'' ([[Dietrich Squinkifer]], writing as Deirdra Kiai; 07-Mar).
|-
| '''Week Four: Custom Verb (Inform 6)''' || '''Week Four: Custom Verb (Inform 7)'''
|-
| style="vertical-align:top" |
* ''[[Bus station|Bus station v4]]'' ([[Alex Mitchell]]; 16-Mar).
* ''[[Colophon]]'' ([[Akiva Leffert]]; 15-Mar).
* ''[[Frater Evanesco]]'' ([[Kevin Jackson-Mead]]; 15-Mar).
| style="vertical-align:top" |
* ''[[painterly (fragment)]]'' ("[[fjordfolio]]"; 17-Mar).
* ''[[Sea Dreams]]'' ([[Michael D. Hilborn]]; 13-Mar).
* ''[[Up Your Sleeve]]'' ([[chrisamaphone]]; 15-Mar).
|}

==Links==
* [http://www.instamatique.com/if/ IFMonth Website]
* [http://ifmonth.proboards.com/ IFMonth Forum]
* [http://ifmonth.blogspot.com/ IFMonth Blog]
* RAIF threads:
** [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/browse_thread/thread/eb2335a7c5930f6f 1]
** [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/browse_thread/thread/40b7fb9882ba4fee 2]
* {{ifarchive index|games/mini-comps/ifmonth/}}.

[[Category:Events]] [[Category:2009]] [[Category:Inform]]