XYZZY Awards (Best Use of Medium)

XYZZY Awards
Browse by Year	1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Categories	Best Game • Best Writing • Best Story • Best Setting • Best Puzzles • Best NPCs • Best Individual Puzzle • Best Individual NPC • Best Individual PC • Best Use of Medium (1997–2009) • Best Implementation (2010–) • Best Use of Innovation (2010–) • Best Technological Development (2010–) \| Best Supplemental Materials (2010–2013) • Best Use of Multimedia (2014–) • Other awards
See also	Statistics

The Best Use of Medium award was awarded from XYZZY Awards 1997 to XYZZY Awards 2009. Although originally intended to reward games for thorough implementation of objects, appropriate parser messages and so on, in practice many voters took it to mean games that did unusual, clever or groundbreaking things. Beginning with XYZZY Awards 2010, this award/category was split into two new awards: Best Implementation and Best Use of Innovation.

Best Use of Medium Winners

1997 Best Use of Medium: The Tempest (Graham Nelson; Z-code).
1998 Best Use of Medium: Spider and Web (Andrew Plotkin; Z-code).
1999 Best Use of Medium: Aisle (Sam Barlow; Z-code).
2000 Best Use of Medium: Shrapnel (Adam Cadre; Z-code).
2001 Best Use of Medium: The Gostak (Carl Muckenhoupt; Z-code).
2002 Best Use of Medium: Earth and Sky 2: Another Earth, Another Sky (Paul O'Brian; Glulx).
2003 Best Use of Medium: ASCII and the Argonauts (J. Robinson Wheeler; Z-code).
2004 Best Use of Medium: The Dreamhold (Andrew Plotkin; Z-code).
2005 Best Use of Medium: Mystery House Possessed (Emily Short; Z-code).
2006 Best Use of Medium: The Baron a.k.a. De Baron (Victor Gijsbers; Z-code; English and Dutch).
2007 Best Use of Medium: Deadline Enchanter (Alan DeNiro as Anonymous; Z-code).
2008 Best Use of Medium: The Moon Watch (Paolo Maroncelli and Alessandro Peretti; Glulx).
2009 Best Use of Medium: Blue Lacuna (Aaron A. Reed; Glulx).

Best Use of Medium Winners and Finalists

1997 Best Use of Medium: The Tempest (Graham Nelson; Z-code).
- Finalist: I-0 (Adam Cadre; Z-code).
- Finalist: A New Day (Jonathan Fry; Z-code).
- Finalist: The Space Under the Window (Andrew Plotkin; Z-code).
- Finalist: Sunset Over Savannah (Ivan Cockrum; TADS 2).
1998 Best Use of Medium: Spider and Web (Andrew Plotkin; Z-code).
- Finalist: Arrival, or Attack of the B-Movie Clichés (Stephen Granade; TADS 2).
- Finalist: Bad Machine (Dan Shiovitz; TADS 2).
- Finalist: Once and Future (Gerry Kevin Wilson; TADS 2).
- Finalist: Photopia (Adam Cadre; Z-code).
1999 Best Use of Medium: Aisle (Sam Barlow; Z-code).
- Finalist: Hunter, in Darkness (Andrew Plotkin; Z-code).
- Finalist: Six Stories (Neil K. Guy; TADS 2).
- Finalist: Varicella (Adam Cadre; Z-code).
- Finalist: Worlds Apart (Suzanne Britton; TADS 2).
2000 Best Use of Medium: Shrapnel (Adam Cadre; Z-code).
- Finalist: Ad Verbum (Nick Montfort; Z-code).
- Finalist: Metamorphoses (Emily Short; Z-code).
- Finalist: Rameses (Stephen Bond; Z-code).
- Finalist: Shade (Andrew Plotkin as "Ampe R. Sand"; Z-code).
2001 Best Use of Medium: The Gostak (Carl Muckenhoupt; Z-code).
- Finalist: Best of Three (Emily Short; Glulx).
- Finalist: Heroes (Sean Barrett; Z-code).
- Finalist: Pick Up the Phone Booth and Aisle (Ola Sverre Bauge, Steve Bernard, Jon Blask, John Cater, Liza Daly, David Dyte, Stephen Granade, Iain Merrick, Rob Noyes, Dan Schmidt, Dan Shiovitz, Emily Short, J. Robinson Wheeler; Z-code).
- Finalist: Textfire Golf (Adam Cadre; Z-code).
2002 Best Use of Medium: Earth and Sky 2: Another Earth, Another Sky (Paul O'Brian; Glulx).
- Finalist: Lock & Key (Adam Cadre; Glulx).
- Finalist: Photograph (Steve Evans; Z-code).
- Finalist: Savoir Faire (Emily Short; Z-code).
- Finalist: When Help Collides (J. D. Berry; Z-code).
2003 Best Use of Medium: ASCII and the Argonauts (J. Robinson Wheeler; Z-code).
- Finalist: City of Secrets (Emily Short; Glulx).
- Finalist: Narcolepsy (Adam Cadre; Glulx).
- Finalist: Slouching Towards Bedlam (Daniel Ravipinto and Star Foster; Z-code).
- Finalist: To Hell in a Hamper (J. J. Guest; ADRIFT).
2004 Best Use of Medium: The Dreamhold (Andrew Plotkin; Z-code).
- Finalist: All Things Devours (half sick of shadows; Z-code).
- Finalist: Bellclap (Tommy Herbert; Z-code).
- Finalist: Future Boy! (Kent Tessman; Hugo).
- Finalist: Return to Ditch Day (Michael J. Roberts; TADS 3).
2005 Best Use of Medium: Mystery House Possessed (Emily Short; Z-code).
- Finalist: A New Life (Alexandre Owen Muñiz; Z-code).
- Finalist: Book and Volume (Nick Montfort; Z-code).
- Finalist: Distress (Mike Snyder; Hugo).
- Finalist: Whom The Telling Changed (Aaron A. Reed; Z-code).
2006 Best Use of Medium: The Baron a.k.a. De Baron (Victor Gijsbers; Z-code; English and Dutch).
- Finalist: Another Goddamn Escape the Locked Room Game (Riff Conner; Z-code).
- Finalist: Attack of the Yeti Robot Zombies (Øyvind Thorsby; Z-code).
- Finalist: Bronze (Emily Short; Z-code).
- Finalist: Legion (Jason Devlin as "Ian Anderson"; Z-code).
2007 Best Use of Medium: Deadline Enchanter (Alan DeNiro as Anonymous; Z-code).
- Finalist: An Act of Murder (Christopher Huang as "Hugh Dunnett"; Z-code).
- Finalist: Fate (Victor Gijsbers; Z-code).
- Finalist: Lost Pig (Admiral Jota as "Grunk"; Z-code).
- Finalist: Slap That Fish (Peter Nepstad; TADS 2).
2008 Best Use of Medium: The Moon Watch (Paolo Maroncelli and Alessandro Peretti; Glulx).
- Finalist: Afflicted (Doug Egan; Z-code).
- Finalist: Everybody Dies (Jim Munroe; Glulx).
- Finalist: Gun Mute (C.E.J. Pacian; TADS 3).
- Finalist: Violet (Jeremy Freese; Z-code).
2009 Best Use of Medium: Blue Lacuna (Aaron A. Reed; Glulx).
- Finalist: Alabaster (John Cater, Rob Dubbin, Eric Eve, Elizabeth Heller, Jayzee, Kazuki Mishima, Sarah Morayati, Mark Musante, Emily Short, Adam Thornton, and Ziv Wities; Glulx).
- Finalist: Klockwerk: The Shadow in the Cathedral (Ian Finley and Jon Ingold; publisher: Textfyre; FyreVM).
- Finalist: Rover's Day Out (Jack Welch and Ben Collins-Sussman; Glulx).

Links

XYZZY Award for Best Use of Medium at Wikipedia.