moved to @addersmire

EDITORIAL

We didn't grasp what it would mean to do this project…

We are so grateful about the love we received from the community since the release of the first issue of What's New in IF?

We didn't think it would reach so many people so quickly, and so positively. We're really floored by the lovely comments we received in the reblogged tags and replies and dms. It really means so much to us!

Though it is quite a bit of work, to track so many places and select the coolest stuff (especially from itch…), and we really didn't realise until now what we brought ourselves into…

But it is all worth it.

And we hope we can meet your expectations every week!

Thank you for everything!

ERIKA, MARJORIE, AXEL, ZACH, AND NOI

ADDENDUM

The game mentioned as The Dice in the zine is actually called The Dice Test. Apologies to @stanwixbuster .

We misnamed the project Bladeweaver (as Dawn of Heroes), and the update only included new scenes, not the full Ch2. Apologies to @bladeweaver-if.

REWIND

BECAUSE WE MISSED SOME THINGS LAST WEEK

Femboy Dating Simulator received an update with new routes. (@kathrinesadventures)

anhedonia and SUDDEN DEATH by DOMINOCLUB were released.

EVENTS

Spotlight on: The Spring Thing

Currently in its Voting Period, the Spring Thing is a yearly Interactive Fiction festival, meant as an informal counterpart of the big IFComp in the autumn. It has been held every year since 2002.

“The Spring Thing especially welcomes diverse voices and populations traditionally under-voices and populations traditionally under-represented in gaming, including women, people of color, queer and LGBT+ folks, and blind, neuro-diverse, or disabled creators. People from all walks of life should feel encouraged to participate as players, authors, or reviewers.”

The event is sectioned into three categories: the Main Garden, for games eligible for prizes, the Back Garden, for unfinished projects or experiments, and New Game+, for remastered and updated games.

Aside from the winning “Best in Show” ribbon (and prizes), each entry can receive “Audience Awards”, customised ribbons submitted by voters.

You can play the 33 entries over on the Spring Thing website! And if you liked one very much, consider voting for it before May 11th!

According to the organiser, the votes are really split, so EVERY VOTE COUNTS!!

CONFERENCE

You can now register for the Narrascope! It is happening June 21-23, in hybrid. They've also released the schedule of talks!

ONGOING (VOTING)

Do you speak German? The annual Grand Prix has released its submissions and is looking for voters! Deadline is May 1st!

[And the Spring Thing too!]

ONGOING (SUBMITTING)

The Dialogue Jam by the @neointeractives group is open for submission until Tuesday 30th! Only Dialogue is allowed!

On Tuesday 30th, the window to submit for the Text Adventure Literacy Jam 2024 will end. The goal is to make a parser for beginner players.

Also ending at the end of the month is the Amare Games Festival 2024, which is all about love!

On the Choice of Game Forum, the Diversity Jam is running. They accept any CScript game… as long at is not in ENGLISH!

THE BITSY JAM IS BACK!!! NO DIALOGUE - 8 DAYS (sorry, we almost missed it, we're really excited for it, but space was limited)

OTHER

The Interactive Fiction Showcase is still running, with new submissions, since last week! It is happening on itch!

GAMES

NEW RELEASE

We're Women, After All (RenP’y) is a new short entry to the Art Without Blood's universe. (@catskets)

Loser (HTML) is a new short game by the DOMINO CLUB collective.

Leechcraft (Twine) is a dark-fantasy medieval game where you play a vampire healer. (@addersmire)

Mysteries of the Star Odyssey (Twine) is a sci-fi first project looking for feedback.

A Tavern at Night (RenP’y) is a cosy fantasy D&D- inspired visual novel involving campfires and tarot cards. (@qkayoostudio)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse — The Book of Hungry Names (COG) is out!

NEW RELEASE (WIP)

Geo-Terra (Twine) is a fantasy project where you will be able to play multiple races.

The Heir of Alvion Kingdom (Twine) is a fantasy game where you suddenly become the sole heir of a kingdom. Website:

Mending Yesterday (Twine) is a dark slice-of-life project with maybe a hint of horror. (@moonlightpeddler) Website:

GAMES UPDATES

Obsolete Stars (CScript) completed its 8th chapter, now available in the demo. (@obsolete-stars-if)

Alpha, Beta, Omega (Twine) has included new scenes in the demo. (@dam-peace)

An Unexpected Green Journey (CScript) is going through final general updates before submission! (@krogpile)

The Bar on the Abyss (Cscript) released Chapter 4 (@thebarontheabyss)

Daria: A Kingdom Simulator (CScript) is looking for beta readers for the last update.

Ripples of blood (CScript) now has a new route.

FFS, Another Northern Duke (RenP’Y) has released its final demo before commercial release.

Thicker Than (CScript) has made the last update public (@barbwritesstuff)

BREACH: Chicago War Zone (CScript) is now over 1 million words! (@breachverse)

Those Long Dead (Twine) has released the Twine port of the demo. (@aevumgames)

Midnight Market - Book 2 (Twine) has made Chapter 4 public (@night-market-if)

To be human (Twine) has released its demo! (@kinglyoverlord)

BLESS (B+F+S) (Twine) has released Chapter 7. (@mahadeoh-blog)

The Ink Stained Chessboard Test (Twine) has been moved to Twine. (@inkstainedchessboard-if)

“The In-Between” (CScript) has released a SFW version of the game.

The Ultimate Magic Student (CScript) now includes 31k more words.

We apologize if we missed an update or a release. We are but volunteers trying to find as much info as possible, but sometimes news pass through the cracks.

Please, let us know if something should have been added to the zine, and we will shout it out next week!

HIGHLIGHT ON...

A couple of games that we thought were cool.

Birdland by Brendan Patrick Hennessy (Twine) @brendanpatrickhennessy

The XYZZY Award-winning interactive game about summer camp mystery, surrealism, and finding who you are. An amazing lesbian YA dramatic teenage romance. recommended by [anonymous]

31st March, midnight by Prof. Lily (RenP’y)

An a phenomenal short visual novel about the game dev experience in an up-and-coming studio and the perception of Visual Novels in the gaming industry. recommended by Kastel

Ryan Veeder's Authentic Fly Fishing by Ryan Veeder (Inform)

“I can't believe I only found this game like… 3 days ago. I just freaking love fishes and this was the most frustrating ever because you can't only fish in there. But gosh darn isn't it amazing. Like I didn't expect to get tangled in all of this…”

submitted by Eli

Your favourite game here?

Do you have a favourite game that deserve some highlighting? Tell us about it! A old or recent game that wowed you so much you want to spam it to everyone? Tell us about it!

We'll add it to the page!

FINAL WORD

Before we end this issue, we would like to thank:

[anonymous], @elegantunknownphantom, Eli, [anonymous], Jill, Kastel, [anonymous], and (again xD) [anonymous].

Your messages left on our itch page, our Tumblr ask and submission inbox, our email (! even), and the Google Form, have been so so useful in making this issue (seriously, we wouldn't have found at least 10 games without your tips).

And we'd like to thank all of you, who liked and especially shared the issue with so many people! Thanks to you, we were able to reach new readers (who got to find new games!) and new authors (who we didn't know about before!).

Sharing is truly caring!!

See you again next week!

ERIKA, MARJORIE, AXEL, ZACH, AND NOI