Hey guys, I just want to make it clear that the featured games are not set in stone and if you think that other games are better, you should reply in this thread. Keep in mind though, that there can be a maximum of 6 featured stories per category!
If you'd like to nominate a storygame for featuring, you must also nominate the story it should replace, providing that there are already 6 featured stories in the category.
Also of note, I'm of the opinion that you guys are rating stories way too highly. You shouldn't be giving more than a couple 8s and a handful of 7s! By rating so many stories so highly, you're making it so that high ratings don't reflect incredible quality.
So far, the following stories have been nominated:
Dungeon Stompage over Innkeeper - Declined because while I would feel comfortable featuring Dungeon Stompage in a weaker category, I feel that fantasy is our strongest category and Dungeon Stompage's plot isn't strong enough to warrant a spot. That being said, Dungeon Stompage is an excellent game and demonstrates incredible advanced editor usage. In the end, both Dungeon Stompage and Innkeeper bring a fresh perspective to the genre, but Innkeeper is the superior work of fiction.
Dungeon Stompage over Magus: Betrayel - Accepted. I am loathe to lose Magus as a featured storygame as I believe that it's the longest featured story on the site now, but the time has come. Magus is linear, unfinished and basic, and while it may be the site's best written storygame, its shortcomings mean that it's no longer featurable in the site's strongest category.
A Dog's Life over N/A (there is room for it) - Declined because A Dog's Life doesn't meet the minimum standards for a featured story game, in my eyes. The writing could use some polish and I didn't feel that the author used the POV of a dog in a useful or novel fashion. I also thought that the plot was not particularly unique or interesting and there was little character development. I also felt that using the same device that Sethaniel uses in Snow is becoming a little tired and needs to be used more judiciously or to greater effect.
Avery M: Dead Man's Journal over Creature II - Accepted. Excellent storygame.
The Ocean's Daughter over Desperate Heart - Declined. I don't feel that The Ocean's Daughter meets the minimum site standards for featuring. The story is somewhat juvenile, and Fergie's dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. That being said, this is a good story that Fergie can be proud to have written, especially considering her age.
Project Origin: Unraveling (Part 1) - Declined. This story is not a choose-your-own-adventure, per se, as it's entirely linear and also, actually quite short. Sabley could have put a lot more into this.
Terra Proxima: The Lines are Drawn over Mechanized Assault Unit - Declined. Both of these storygames are very good and while Terra Proxima is a more ambitious project, MAU is more well written.
MyVacation in Modern Adventure (Space Available) - Accepted. No brainer, what an excellently complex sandbox style game.
Through Time over Orpheus - Accepted. Through Time is a superior storygame and Orpheus is too linear.
A Game of Life and Death over DZD 3 - Accepted. Die Zombie Die! is a fabulous series by an old friend but the time has come for new-wave horror. DZD feels too outdated to remain featured.
The Price of Freedom: Innocent Lost over N/A - Accepted. I haven't ready this story through to the end but the writing is of a high enough quality to warrant its featuring. Briar does a very great job of reeling the reader into the plot and the characters seem believable enough. The storygame isn't perfect but it is featurable in Everything Else.
Tower of Riddles over Dangerous Memories - Declined. Tower of Riddles is by no means a bad storygame, and it's more literally a puzzle than Dangerous Memories is. The core value of Mystery & Puzzle isn't to create intricate quizzes, it's to create storygames with plots that feature a mystery at the core of their plot, or puzzles as plot devices. Tower of Riddles is basically a tough multiple choice quiz. There's no plot, no character development and it's not really a story. I'm not going to make an outright blanket statement saying that games without plots can't be featured, but in Mystery & Puzzle, I'm looking to feature stories that integrate mystery/puzzle as a core piece of their plot and concept. I also feel that the CYOA medium does not suit itself to riddles very well, as the majority of riddles in Tower of Riddles were very, very easy, simply due to the fact that they were forced to be multiple choice.
