IFComp09 reviews: Eruption
This was the author's game he wrote to learn his development system. It's properly implemented, correctly spelled, tolerably written, and has a hint system and stuff while not being complex enough to really need it.
That alone would put it above a sizable fraction of most comp entries - or so many judges would lead you to believe.
It's a pity that the author forgot to not make his game be a complete waste of time, what with being a pretty flagrant tutorial adventure and such.
Simple numbers aren't really enough to represent this, but I think I have a new suggestion. My usual suggestion about how you shouldn't submit to the comp unless you think you're better than the stuff that was averaging 4.5 or so in previous years still holds, but I think I must now add this rule:
Should you disregard the previous rule, at least have the decency to be an epic trainwreck. More Gathered In Darkness or wHen mAchines aTtack, less this.
It's actually somewhat ironic that, while I was grading how effective zork, buried chaos was as an entry trolling the IFComp, and grading it poorly, Eruption's stated purpose was, I think, sincere. But if it weren't, as a troll it would have been a good nine out of ten for giving the more vocally grousy judges what they said they wanted, and making them regret they had asked for it.
As I have found myself saying many a time before, please do not submit homework assignments or personal exercises to the Comp.