Category: News

Interactive fiction’s history both intersects and acts as an alternative space to modern game development—even indie, narrative-based development—with its own unique traditions and community standards. One of the most prominent is “comp,” which could also be a “mini-comp” or a “speed comp.” Most were small, one-shot affairs with perhaps a few games entered, while others […]

Well, folks, here we are in February already. In January, we brought you “All Those Parties We Didn’t Cry At,” by Natalia Theodoridou. Haven’t played that yet? Go check it out! We’ll wait. Played it? We’d love to hear what you thought! In February, we’re picking up the pace a little as we move to bring […]

It’s Tuesday again! Already. Somehow. And whatever that may mean for you, for us at sub-Q it means another week of updates to report on. Coming Next Week We’ve been busy working on our January story, Natalia Theodoridou‘s “All Those Parties We Never Cried At.” As always, Natalia brings a lot of oomph to her storytelling in […]

2017 was… Well, it was a year, wasn’t it? On many fronts, in fact, it was an outright disaster. Here at sub-Q, we had overall a positive 2017. Although we may have had a few hiccups, we still released some great pieces of interactive fiction, and regained some momentum we intend to keep up through […]

Hello, sub-Q readers. I hope you are all well and having a peaceful and productive summer. As sub-Q Magazine enters its third year, I’ve taken a job that has left me without the discretionary time it takes to keep submissions flowing and new stories publishing. That’s why I hope you will join me in welcoming Devi […]

I’m delighted to welcome aboard our new editor, Nicole Delcore, and our new first readers, Gail Marsella and Blaize Kaye. Nicole is a student and poet pursuing a degree in English at Tufts University. Her interests include playgrounds, dogs, and dyeing her hair unnatural colors. She joined sub-Q a year ago as a first reader, and I’m grateful for her […]

…and they’re partnering with us to do it! From Strange Horizons‘ 2016 fund drive announcement, courtesy Editor-In-Chief Niall Harrison: The second area we’re hoping you will help us to expand into is interactive fiction. As with translations, this is an area we’ve been open to, without really necessarily having the in-house skills or experience to […]

“I think that one day Rybread is going to successfully get what’s churning around in his mind written & compiled and present us with an absolutely stellar adventure game. And after giving us three weeks to play it, I predict he’ll then blow up the earth.” –Robb Sherwin on L.U.D.I.T.E.   When I first became […]

Weave a circle round him thrice, And close your eyes with holy dread, For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise. In 1993, the golden age of commercial interactive fiction was mostly over, although a few notable games—such as Eric the Unready—were still being published. TADS (Text Adventure Development System) was […]

Le roi est mort. Vive, vive le roi! sub-Q survived the year! Thanks to the kind support–financial, social, and downright emotional–of readers like you, we’ve got the traction to keep going in 2016. To ensure our survival, we’re tightening our focus, adding ways to support us, and structuring our rewards for supporters. What does this […]

Are you a seeker of the strange, a finder of the fantastic, a bringer of the bizarre? There’s a long list of interactive fiction that deserves a fresh audience. If you know a title that should be on that list, we want to hear it. Friday Finds—a new review segment we’re starting this month—is going […]

You’ve heard of parser IF. You want to like parser IF. But there’s a lot of typing, and the goal isn’t always clear, and failing to land on the right verb for what you want to do can make feel kicked out of the story. It may sound bananas, but the frustration is what makes it fun. […]

Ah, my sweet loot fans. Here lies the last of Halloween 2015’s set of six. If you’ve found them all, look for a little additional reward link on your loot page. More sets and more little rewards are to come. Thanks for playing. It’s awful nice to have you here.