Canonicity and IF - an IFDB Poll
by juliaofbathI'm interested in determining whether or not a clear canon has emerged within the world of IF/hypertext. Of course, there is a clear critical opinion regarding which works belong to this tentative canon, but I'm interested in what readers and fans of the genre feel. I mean 'canon' in the traditional literary sense. For the sake of clarity I will define it here less as a coherent, codified list of works and more as a loose assemblage held in the minds (and in this case lists) of readers, reviewers, and critics.
| Colossal Cave Adventure, by William Crowther and Donald Woods 19 votes "The original." [+]"The original.: Atmosphere, style, exploration, puzzles, structure, comedy, genre deconstruction. Practically everything in IF except for plot and characters can be found in the original Adventure." --neroden... "The original." [+]"The original.: Self-explanatory." --Chris Conley... (No comment) [+](No comment) --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) (   ) --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Tobias V. I. Langhoff... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Jade68... (No comment) [+](No comment) --cgasquid... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Adam Biltcliffe...  Vote for this game | |
| Zork I, by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling 18 votes "It launched a company and a swathe of imitators." [+]"It launched a company and a swathe of imitators.: This took Adventure's dungeon crawling puzzle game design, added a more in-depth combat system and humorous writing, and practically launched the commercial IF industry, at least in the US." --Chris Conley... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ivanr... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Tobias V. I. Langhoff... (No comment) [+](No comment) --neroden... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --cgasquid... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| Galatea, by Emily Short 12 votes "Coming to IF in recent years," [+]"Coming to IF in recent years,: every resource I read, every thread I perused, made it clear that playing Galatea was essential to understanding where IF had gone in its post-commercial phase. While things have continued to evolve since then, I think Galatea remains essential." ( ) --Ghalev... "A very well-realized on-character conversation game." [+]"A very well-realized on-character conversation game." --Chris Conley... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jakomo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ivanr... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Wanderlust... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --cgasquid... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| Anchorhead, by Michael Gentry 11 votes "Of course." [+]"Of course." --Ivanr... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --jakomo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Wanderlust... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --tekket... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Jade68... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --cgasquid... Vote for this game | |
| Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 10 votes "A whole game revolving around wordplay." [+]"A whole game revolving around wordplay.: An entire game revolving around wordplay, puns, and rearranging-letter puzzles. The kind of thing that could never possibly work as anything but interactive fiction." --Chris Conley... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ivanr... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Billy Mays... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --tekket... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Jade68... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Edo... "A game which..." [+]"A game which could only exist in this medium, never successfully imitated " () --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| Photopia, by Adam Cadre 10 votes "The first big famous "story" or "puzzleless" IF." [+]"The first big famous "story" or "puzzleless" IF." --Chris Conley... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ivanr... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --jakomo... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Wanderlust... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin 9 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ivanr... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --cgasquid... "One of the most..." [+]"One of the most significant early explorations of the narrator-PC-player relationship" () --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| Aisle, by Sam Barlow 8 votes "The One-Move Game's first move" [+]"The One-Move Game's first move" --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jakomo... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Wanderlust... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| A Mind Forever Voyaging, by Steve Meretzky 7 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --jakomo... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --cgasquid... Vote for this game | |
| Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed 7 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota 7 votes "My first recommendation to newcomers." [+]"My first recommendation to newcomers.: And I don't think I'm alone in that. Lost Pig is welcoming, funny, deeply implemented and satisfying. If it isn't considered some kind of gold standard, that makes no sense to me." ( ) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| De Baron, by Victor Gijsbers 7 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Chris Conley... "To my mind, the..." [+]"To my mind, the most affecting example of a story-focused parser game" () --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| Slouching Towards Bedlam, by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto 6 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ivanr... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Wanderlust... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Trinity, by Brian Moriarty 6 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jakomo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Fredrik... "IF to this point..." [+]"IF to this point has been funny romps, this is the first example to make IF into something more than that." --Mikalye... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| howling dogs, by Porpentine 6 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --cgasquid... Vote for this game | |
| Curses, by Graham Nelson 6 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Enchanter, by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling 6 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Fredrik... (No comment) [+](No comment) --neroden... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Hadean Lands, by Andrew Plotkin 5 votes "Canonically awesome." [+]"Canonically awesome." ( ) --Billy Mays... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Rameses, by Stephen Bond 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| With Those We Love Alive, by Porpentine and Brenda Neotenomie 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Wanderlust... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --cgasquid... Vote for this game | |
| Birdland, by Brendan Patrick Hennessy 4 votes "So weird yet so effective." [+]"So weird yet so effective.: A great take on character building. Well-written. The best entry in this Twine loose trilogy from BPH." --Chris Conley... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Lime Ergot, by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight) 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| 80 DAYS, by inkle, Meg Jayanth 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Jade68... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Shade, by Andrew Plotkin 4 votes "The first game that came to mind. Evey "great IF" list seems to at least include Shade." [+]"The first game that came to mind. Evey "great IF" list seems to at least include Shade." --Ivanr... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Savoir-Faire, by Emily Short 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Chris Conley... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Gun Mute, by C.E.J. Pacian 4 votes "What if Shadow of the Colossus, but text?" [+]"What if Shadow of the Colossus, but text?" --Chris Conley... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... "Early exploration..." [+]"Early exploration of what would become known as limited-parser games" ( Vote for this game | |
| The Hobbit, by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler 3 votes "A true classic" [+]"A true classic: I bring this game up whenever there is a discussion of classic or canonic status. It was extremely influential on the European 8-bit IF market, and it is probably one of the biggest-selling non-Infocoms ever. It also showed that you can make a complex game even with very limited hardware." ( ) --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Adventureland, by Scott Adams 3 votes "Scott Adams' first" [+]"Scott Adams' first: I am surprised that I seem to be the first one to vote for this game. It was the game that started the whole IF thing for 8-bit computers, and showed that a game did not have to be huge or extremely complex to be fun to play." ( Vote for this game | |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky 3 votes "One of the hearts of the medium." [+]"One of the hearts of the medium.: Even if we're examining it as a study in how excruciatingly unfair some Infocom games could be when they were feeling playful." ( ) --Fredrik... Vote for this game | |
| my father's long, long legs, by michael lutz 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Chris Conley... Vote for this game | |
| Planetfall, by Steve Meretzky 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Main Hall & Beginners Cave, by Donald Brown 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die, by Rob Noyes 2 votes "My introduction..." [+]"My introduction to both one-move IF and joke IF, it maintains a place in the canon for me by dint of innovation, if not quality." ( Vote for this game | |
| Bee, by Emily Short 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| The King of Shreds and Patches, by Jimmy Maher 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis, by One of the Bruces and Drunken Bastard 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Anya Johanna DeNiro... Vote for this game | |
| Everybody Dies, by Jim Munroe 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Worldsmith, by Ade McT 2 votes "A modern classic." [+]"A modern classic." ( ) --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Laney Berry... Vote for this game | |
| Horse Master, by Tom McHenry 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --CMG... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Gostak, by Carl Muckenhoupt 2 votes "The canonical..." [+]"The canonical language-puzzle game" ( ) --Adam Biltcliffe... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --EJ... Vote for this game | |
| Choice of the Dragon, by Dan Fabulich and Adam Strong-Morse 2 votes "The start of all things Choice of Games" [+]"The start of all things Choice of Games" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Digital: A Love Story, by Christine Love 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Superluminal Vagrant Twin, by C.E.J. Pacian 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Choice of Magics, by Kevin Gold 1 vote "Way more reactive than you'd think." [+]"Way more reactive than you'd think.: A great example of how the linear Choice of Games structure can still provide a cohesive experience that reacts dynamically to the player's choices." --Chris Conley... Vote for this game | |
| Lydia's Heart, by Jim Aikin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Captain Verdeterre's Plunder, by Ryan Veeder 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom, by S. John Ross 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Bugsy, by Priscilla Langridge 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Axe of Kolt [2014 ADRIFT version], by Larry Horsfield 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Fish!, by John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South, Rob Steggles 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Metamorphoses, by Emily Short 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| The Incredible Erotic Adventures of Stiffy Makane, by Mark Ryan 1 vote "An unpleasant and..." [+]"An unpleasant and poor-quality game which for some reason has made a disproportionately significant impression on the amateur IF scene" --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| Fallacy of Dawn, by Robb Sherwin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... Vote for this game | |
| Thaumistry: In Charm's Way, by Bob Bates 1 vote "Not out till September 2017. I'm calling this one early." [+]"Not out till September 2017. I'm calling this one early." --Billy Mays... Vote for this game | |
| Risorgimento Represso, by Michael J. Coyne 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
| Eat Me, by Chandler Groover 1 vote "The go-to example..." [+]"The go-to example for limited-parser games" ( ) --Adam Biltcliffe... Vote for this game | |
| Scapeghost, by Pete Austin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( Vote for this game | |
Poll created on July 27, 2017
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