tabitha writes

For IFComp 2026, we are introducing a new rule addressing the use of generative AI. The guiding principle is that judges and players should experience work created by humans. Accordingly, all player-facing content in IFComp entries, including cover art, must be entirely created by humans. Authors may continue to use tools of their choice, including generative AI tools, for development assistance such as editing, debugging, accessibility support, research, limited translation assistance, or coding. Entries may not require judges or players to interact with external AI or generative services during play. This rule was informed by results from the 2025 post-competition survey and discussion within the IFComp Committee. We thank everyone who shared their feedback; this post-comp survey received the strongest response we have ever had, and it helped guide the Committee’s deliberations. That's the update! If you're interested in some of the information from the post-competition survey that helped inform the decision, keep reading.

Announcing the third Queer Vampire IF Jam!

This is a month-long game jam that will run from January 10 - February 20th, 2026. The goal of this jam is to create more interactive fiction games about queer vampires, focusing both on queer relationships and queer experiences, and exploring them through various vampiric narratives.

Check out our 2024 entries here, and the 2025 entries here!

🦇 🥀 🕯 🪦 🩸 JAM RULES 🩸🪦🕯🥀🦇

Your project must focus on queer characters and vampires. Relationships, romantic or platonic, as well as queer experiences, whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, ace, aro, trans and nonbinary - this is an inclusive jam. 

You can write from a human or vampire perspective (or both!) The vampire is a versatile tool, and you are not restricted to any one specific depiction of it.

This jam will accept any program/medium, so long as the work is an Interactive Fiction.

Interactive Fiction is hard to define, so in this instance as long as the game is recognizably interactive fiction - the game has a narrative focus primarily with text, and the player can interact (whether that be with direct choices, clicking through links, or allowing the player to choose how to move around and interact with the world/the game, like in bitsy) then it counts. Parsers, visual novels, choose-your-own-adventures are some of the popular examples of IF, but there are plenty that don't fall within any category, and we're not interested in trying to police a rigid definition. I suggest checking out past entries and browsing the IF tag for examples!

This jam will accept adult content as well as games covering heavy & uncomfortable topics, but please be sure to properly list trigger warnings either in-game or on the game page.

Entries that promote any kind of bigotry will not be accepted.

Games should not include any AI generated content. This includes both art and writing.

There is no language requirement; we will accept games in any language.

You can submit as many entries as you'd like.

You are allowed to start working on your project early! This is unranked and it's not a contest, this is just for fun.

Submissions open midnight, January 10th EST. They'll close February 20th at 11:59pm EST. 

A few possible resources for creating Interactive Fiction:

Twine

Ink

Ren'Py

Bitsy

Inform 7

Narrat

Choicescript

Join the jam here!

Another Saturday, another IF Weekly Roundup!