City of IF

[Crunchyfrog]

A happy new year to all IFians from the IQ!





Two-Word-At-A-Time in IF
by PopeAlessandrosXVIII


Added recently by our King, Key, are several Two-Word-At-A-Time stories in Skiffiville and the Fantasy Forest. Taking the idea that, a story doesn't always have to be about some one person's ideas, but a community built tale, with simple two words bricks as building blocks.

I asked a few of the more frequent visitors to the T.W.A.A.T. topics to give me a little insight into their thoughts on these unique Story Games. Here are some responses.

When asked the question: What about Two-Word-At-A-Time stories do you find appealing, author Vikas Muralidharan replied “I think the idea about writing a whole story with all the other IFians appeals to me the most. Its not like the other SGs, Here you have much more interaction and participation which is completely outstanding.”

When asked: What are your opinions on the whole concept of them, author Thunderbird said “They lack true story quality by not being vision driven, but that's really not what they are about. Instead, they seem to appeal based on the unexpected twists and turns they take, whilst somehow retaining some semblance of cohesion. This aspect of them is really quite fascinating, especially when you have a great group running them, as I feel we do right now.”

And finally, when asked: What do you try to achieve with your two words, authors Key, Vikas Muralidharan, and Thunderbird answered as follows.

“In many cases you can't make anything happen in two words, all you can do is say "of the" or something like that. But when I have a little more freedom, I try to use an action word to make something happen. And the thing I try to make happen is whatever seems to follow most from what's gone before.” -Key

“There's no doubt in my mind that with my two words, I keep the story moving in an interesting direction and want them to be epic.” -Vikas Muralidharan

“The most logical conclusion so far. There are some moments where you have some plot control based on what's been said up to now, and if you're watching closely, you can capture those moments.” -Thunderbird

As common face around the T.W.A.A.T. water cooler myself, I must say it gives me a great sense of satisfaction when I can, with just my two words, push the story in a direction I feel it never would have gone without my little nudge. Makes me feel better on those days I'm too exhausted after work for much activity in the fine City of IF.

When you think about it, all stories are just a mix of words grouped together to form a cohesive idea, and for an entire community to come together with that singular goal in mind, it warms the heart to know that such a thing is possible. Covering the subjects of Romance, Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy, any type of writer can find a little bite out of their busy day to jot down a couple of words to keep the story rollin'.



“Do you even know where you are, kid?”
by Tayfinch


When I first popped into existence here at the city, things were much different than they are now. It was a tougher neighborhood back then. I started out like a lot of people did: commenting in the Fantasy Forest, taking some long walks down what we now call Linear Lane, and easing my way into things. One day, as fate would have it, I was invited to join a secret group which had its own, secret webpage full of secretive secrets. I was amazed that such things had grown up in the City without my knowledge... without any obvious traces.

Voicing my surprise to another member in a long and detailed PM, I received a one-line message in return:
“Lol... Do you know even where you are, kid?”

His point was that, while I'd been around the boards and made myself comfortable with many of the city's aspects, I knew little to nothing of its history. I knew little to nothing of what had come before.

Since those early days much has changed for me, personally: I was forced to leave the City and only re-registered two years ago under my old username. Upon my return I found that the city's image is cleaner, sleeker, and that new members continue to be ignorant of the history they've taken upon themselves.

Do you new members know where you are?

Have you ever heard of the “Head Eaters”? I didn't think so. Scary group, they were. Scarier, however, by far that after their breakup they're still lurking among us... Somewhere...

Have you ever heard of the City of IF Communist Party? Of course not. No, not with Chinaren and his lackeys writing the history books.

Speaking of him, have you read much about Chinaren Inc. and its shady subsidiaries? Its cloning vats? Its bank? The Arena of Death?

Here's my advice to you: get on the IFki (that's the City of If wiki) and read all you can. Some really good history is there, and not all of it has been scrubbed clean. Find out as much as you can about these seemingly immortals which run the city. Learn about the power struggles and epic battles which have defined the city today.

Armed with such knowledge, you will be ready to truly make a mark in this place.

You will know “where you are.”


__________________




In other news...




Introducing.... the Multiverse!

Ever wondered what might have come to pass if that DP result had gone the other way?

The City of IF Multiverse is a CYOA style authoring tool enabling writers to create their own branching storylines. Using this new feature, which was added in the summer, you can write CYOA stories either solo or by collaborating with your players.

Find out how it works and develop your CYOA writing skills in its dedicated discussion forums now!


Congratulations to Tikanni Corazon who secured the front page space by winning November's Spotlight Competition with the fantasy Storygame SparkleSteps. If you haven't caught up yet, now's the time!



Thunderbird's Heavy Metal and The Magician's Touch by Crunchyfrog battle it out for the top fave spot at 5 apiece, while Vishal Muralidharan's Nightmares Trilogy creeps up to third. Jostling for fourth place are Spotlight Winner Sparklesteps by Tikanni Corazon and Crazybookgal's debut SG Brandi's Story.

Bookmark your favourite Storygames by clicking on the Add to Faves link now!

Hooray for 3.691x10^-5 new members/second! - By Tayfinch, B.O.F.F.I.N. (Mathematics, Statistics, Square Root Vegetables)

Since the last issue of the IFquirer (more or less March of 2010), the population of the city has grown by 97 members! (That's 9.7 members/month; 2.425 members/week; and 3.691x10^-5 members/second!)**

That may or may not seem like significant growth to some of you, but just consider this!: when William the Conqueror was preparing to invade England in 1066, his armies grew slower (a rate of, as far as we can tell, 2.451x10^-5 recruits/second) during his initial recruitment period.

If we can keep it up, we may just have ourselves the numbers for our very own Norman invasion!

**Averaged for all 10 months, March to December. Averaging the months allowed a constant seconds/month ratio (as days/month vary)



The IFQ would like to thank...
...Our two main contributors, PopeAlessandrosXVIII and Tayfinch, who competed last month for the Editorship of the IFQuirer, and provided the two main articles, advertisement and new members article in this issue. Both won 500 fables and the option to run the IFQ issue 30. :cool:

[PopeAlessandrosXVIII]

Yay! I contributed... Very informative! WTG everyone!

[Vishal Muralidharan]

Good Stuff this is!

But now, Nightmares, Heavy Metal and Magician's touch are all tied for the top fav spot. (I know, but I am a stickler at placing myself higher than I actually am. You guys are better...)

Informative, yes! :clap:

[Amichan]

Very nicely done and i am suprised that despite my being gone i get a subtle holiday notation ..