I know it's been said, but looking back over the past thirteen months really just underlines how many unexpectedly, astoundingly good stories you guys wrote.
Fifteen new features, or sixteen if you count the polished and republished version of Frameshift. Or you could even say eighteen, looking at the publishing of Azula and Zuko and Ciara's Game right at Christmas in 2018. Many of these are from relatively new members as well, which is even more impressive.
2019 was a such a great year for the site and with the community we have assembled here 2020 may be even better. With this thread I just wanted to take a moment to frame some of the best stories and hang them on the site's refrigerator next to the crayon drawings and turkey handprints, because even though I've sworn off adopting more internet children, and you're all much too competent to fit my...exacting criteria anyhow, you're still all very special and important to me.
First off, the contest winners. We had most of these contests crammed into the final third of the year and a bunch of you proved you could write REALLY well under pressure.
_______________
Corgi's Lord's of the Land: @Cricket with
Sir Osis
Gower's Ruins of a Dead Civilization: @Ninja with
The Sanguine and Blackbeard's Cutlass
Endmaster's Succubus: @Ogre with
Hank's Journey
Mizal's Lone Hero: @Pugpup1 with
Father Leofwine is Dead.
End of Year: @Enterpride with
A Treatise on Heartly Matters
_______________
A few of these were also featured, but let me just launch into the big list now of all the games that have fought for sometimes difficult spots to be deserving of the extra attention that way.
_______________
The Knight Order of the Golden Sun @RNDGamer
When The Music's Over @Chris113022
Secret of the Grass Planet @Bill_Ingersoll
Sabbatical Report Presentation @Gower
The Daemonologists @pugpup1
Woban Island @Bill_Ingersoll
A Treatise on Heartly Manners @Enterpride
Private Game for Natalie @Gower
Kelly Unicornstrider and Friends (1982-1985) Super Quiz @Gower
The Book of Vanishing Tales @Camelon
The Price of Freedom: Innocence Lost @Avery_Moore
Twin Arrows @ninjapitka
Edithe Zilonis @MadHattersDaughter
Father Leofwine is Dead @pugpup1
The Sanguine and Blackbeard's Cutlass @ninjapitka
And then we have
Frameshift by @AzBaz,
Azula and Zuko by @WouldntItBeNice, and
Ciara's Game by @simplesabley.
_______________
As you will notice, there's a few names that appear multiple times. Not only is that kind of output just plain impressive on its own, but most of them joined in 2018 or later. In many ways 2019 was the year of the noobs outperforming the regulars. (If you're a long time member, yes, I'm singling you out: feel bad.)
Now, the featured games are selected by admins from well received games, as it right and proper, but I also decided to do a little experiment in democracy this year. Authors nominated the following games for consideration to be titled the BEST of 2019, as chosen by popular vote:
_______________
Secret of the Grass Planet
Edithe Zilonis
Private Game for Natalie
When the Music's Over
The Chronomantic Adventures of Professor Gower: Office Hours
A Pixie Danced
Ineptitude 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
Landslide
_______________
The end tally of votes was as follows:
PGfN 5
WtMO 3
SoGP 2
EdZi 2
Although I'm more of a Kelly fan, that makes Natalie the winner of the CYS Choice award. Congrats Gower! Apparently the people just loooove your creepy stalker side.
Of course the disappointing number of votes sent in and the general lack of discussion in the actual discussion thread (tbh I'm not even certain everyone who voted read all the games...) proves once again that democracy doesn't work. Next year's CYS Choice award will be chosen by myself or a small channel of elite judges, same as for other contests. Trouble yourselves in these confusing matters no more, peasants. Return to your fields. It's easier this way.
BUT, while you're out there, takes some time to exercise your privilege as actually literate peasants. Relax in your thatched hut and read some of these stories. Most of the contest winners were up against some serious competition and the authors were working in a very limited time frame to turn out gold. And as for the featured stories, there's eighteen and everything, you can spend as much time getting to know them as you like and it's not weird or illegal or anything. Authors have put a lot of work into creating these worlds and characters and offering them to CYS readers for free, and so maybe take a little time to enjoy them, and rate and review to let them know.
(Just a note to readers, if you're on a PC, I recommend stopping by
BradinDvorak's profile and installing the extension for Firefox or Chrome. It just makes reading more comfortable with an option for dark mode and some formatting changes, plus has the helpful side effect of turning all the names with @ next to them up there into clickable links to profiles, many of which contain even
more good games!)
