A showcase of narrative game excellence in conjunction with NarraScope 2025.

Calling all narrative game makers!

Designers, developers, writers, and students of narrative games and interactive fiction are invited to submit digital game projects to the first ever NarraScope Showcase. The Showcase celebrates the best in narrative game design and interactive fiction, and will culminate in an opening day event at the NarraScope 2025 Conference in Philadelphia, PA from June 20th - June 22nd, 2025.

NarraScope hopes to encourage the exploration and proliferation of narrative games and interactive fiction as a form through this event. The Showcase, much like the NarraScope Talks and Papers, intends to focus on freedom and creativity in the field of digital narrative game design and development. All genres, styles, and formats of games are welcome, including those which are experimental in nature or defy traditional classification.

How do I submit?

Submission Guidelines

All submissions must be uploaded via this itch.io page and submitted to this competition page prior to the close of submissions. New or never-before-seen work is preferable, but not a requirement for submission to the Showcase. Work made in whole, or in part, utilizing LLMs or other generative AI technology will be disqualified from the selection process.

Important Dates

• February 1st, 2025: Submissions Open
• May 1st, 2025: Submissions Close
• June 1st, 2025: Notification of Shortlist Selections
• June 20th, 2025: Showcase and Award Ceremony

Then what happens?

From the period of May 1st to June 1st, a jury of experts in narrative games and interactive fiction will determine the shortlist for a number of awards, namely:

• Best in Show
• Best Narrative
• Best Experimental Work
• Best Student Work

On or about June 1st, the shortlisted candidates will be invited to appear at the in-person NarraScope Showcase event in Philadelphia, PA. At the event, said jury of experts will present the award to the winning games selected from the shortlist of each respective category.

Unfortunately, travel support is not available for those presenting shortlisted games, but shortlist awardees will be provided with complimentary registration to the NarraScope conference itself. If the absence of travel support is an issue for shortlisted candidates, their games will still be showcased at the event on their behalf by members of the NarraScope committee, if they would like. Award winners, in addition to bragging rights, will also receive a small monetary honorarium in addition to complimentary registration to the conference.

Legal Stuff.

Anything submitted to the NarraScope Showcase 2025 is wholly and completely owned by you. NarraScope, the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, and the event's sponsors hold no claim to rights of ownership of your work.

Any submission to the Showcase may be used in NarraScope, Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, or the event's sponsors' marketing and / or communications materials. However, any of the mentioned parties will be sure to obtain written permission from the submitter prior to utilizing their work for any such purpose.

We reserve the right to disqualify or remove any submission from the competition if their work is considered excessively Not Safe For Work, or is offensive or discriminatory toward any group in any way.

Keep an eye out!

This is the first time that NarraScope has ever run a showcase of this nature - so bear with us a bit. Be sure to keep an eye out here and on the NarraScope website for any news and updates about the Showcase as we get closer to the day! (like perhaps jury reveals and / or additional award categories...)

Thank you!

Thank you to those who consider submitting, to those who submit, to those who tell their friends to submit, and to everyone who has made this event possible. 

Particularly, thank you to the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, the amazing work of which has supported the interactive fiction and narrative games community diligently over the years. 

Thank you @devinne for the NarraScope Showcase 2025 banner image.

And, thank you to our Showcase event sponsors:

pklwrks LLC

game studio and software engineering consultancy

FAQ:

My game is password protected - can I still submit?

Yes! If you decide to submit, one of the questions to answer accompanying the submission is if your game is password protected, and there will be a follow up question where you can submit the password. The password won't be shared outside of the jury and the jam organizers - unless you'd like it to be.

My game is isn't on Itch, it's hosted on another platform  - can I still submit?

Yes! We'd ask that, for the sake of centralizing showcase submissions, you create an Itch page for it with a link to where we can find it, and to whom we should reach out in the event we are in need of keys to access the game. The itch page can be password protected if you like, if you intend to only create it for the purpose of this showcase.