Videogame critic Chris Suellentrop wrote in The New York Times that “text games,” or interactive fiction (think Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books), are seeing a resurgence across various platforms since its inception in the 1980s. Such platforms include games for iPhone, Twitter, and open-source tools for creating interactive stories such as Device 6, Twine, and Blood & Laurels.

Interactive fiction comprises a variety of types, and involves a fusion of narrative with text commands, sound effects, music, and/or graphics. They might otherwise be known as “visual novels” or literary works not written in a linear fashion, which allow the reader to manipulate the outcome of the story. While they have been around for a few decades now, Suellentrop believes that the untranslatability of a good Twine or Blood & Laurels story may determine the playing field for literature in the future. He writes of his experience as a reader, “Blood & Laurels made me feel more like an improviser than a reader, someone who was asked to perform a role in a troupe, responding to the unpredictable decisions of my fellow actors, who in turn had to adjust to my decisions.”

The annual 2014 Interactive Fiction Competition (IFComp) recently opened on July 1 and is open to entries until September 28. However, authors must submit their intent to register by September 1. All games are judged by the public on a one-to-ten scale, and competition prizes include donated books, magazines, apparel, and services.