Melissa’s story is the story of a girl caught up in circumstances beyond her control. A lesbian, she has fallen in love with her teacher only to discover that her teacher is involved with some rather unsavory characters. On top of this, she has problems with her home life as her parents are definitely against her alternative lifestyle. Set in a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style, the three stories outlining Melissa’s journey do a wonderful job of telling her story.

Sir Richard is the guy you love to hate. Manipulative and scheming, he epitomizes the callous big-business man – even down to sleeping with his secretary. It is this down-right nastiness that helps relate the story-line of Weekend in a way which isn’t morally objectionable. After all, your goal in the game (besides saving your father’s business) is to score with Sir Richard’s wife, his daughter and his secretary – all in the man’s own house. In the end, it feels not right but just that you get back at him in this manner.

NewKid’s depiction of the preacher’s daughter turned stripper (turned hot, steamy, sexual dynamo) is the latest in his presentation of tantalizing sexual encounters. Gertrude’s personality shift from haughty, hateful opposition to wanton sexual partner builds slowly over the course of the game. As a player, you find yourself getting agonizingly small tastes and bites of the full experience, always finding the next bit frustratingly out of reach until a little later in the game. NewKid is well known for his teasing characters, and Gertrude is a masterful representation.

Gertrude is this year’s best female character (see Erin above) for a good reason – NewKid’s masterful use of tantalizing build-up leading to the final sexual encounter between the PC and Gertrude. NewKid leads you closer and closer to the ultimate exploration of your relationship with this hot temptress, keeping her charms just out of your reach until the denouement. It is this long, teasing build-up that makes this sexual encounter so hot, so steamy, so damned satisfying!

Similar to NewKid’s long, slow build-up to the final sex scene above, A. Ninny also turns in an excellent teasing build-up to the final sex scene between the PC and Claire. An early encounter between the PC and Claire and the hot, sexy Toni gives you glimpses into how rawly sexual the final encounter will be, and it is no wonder that A. Ninny’s portrayal of this climactic scene finished so high in this category.

Walk up to any American male and ask him “Betty or Veronica?” and he will instantly know who you are talking about. These two gorgeous archetypes have been the basis of almost as many arguments as “Ginger or Mary Ann?” In Purple Dragon’s first installment in his exploration of Riverdale, he does an excellent job of bringing these two girls to life. The scene is a well done voyeuristic exploration of these hot student’s exploration and discovery of each other.

One of author NewKid’s many talents is his ability to take what is otherwise a seemingly overdone topic and make it fresh and new. In this scene, the hero encounters (and, of course, conquers) two bored cheerleaders. The magic that is NewKid turns this overworked fantasy into something new as you slowly work up the girl’s libidos in an erotic striptease.

Ideal Pacific Coast University (NewKid)

With two nominations in Best Heterosexual Scene (winning for the PC with Getrude) and being a runner-up in Best Threesome/Orgy, is it any wonder that NewKid’s latest epic won the category of Best Sex Overall? His combination of tantalizing tease and scintillating sex sizzles in scene after scene – the shower scene with the tennis pro, the erotic reading with the literary teacher, the sorority girls…just to name a few!

In this game, A. Ninny brings us the unique perspective of an erotic artist who gets caught up in his work – literally! The author brings Buzz (and you) along on the journey as he entices models for his art, and shows them just how fun modeling can be! The twosome/threesome/twosome between Jim, Liz and Buzz is just one example of the hot and steamy scenes that can be found in this game.

A. Bomire practically owns the "Best Technical Implementation" award for his polished games, but Tomorrow Never Comes was particularly exceptional. TNC is so ambitious and at the same time so crafted that almost seems inappropriate to put it on the same level with ordinary AIF, rather than professional production.  Of particular interest are several unprecedented and technically precise scenes: a car chase and a mid-air freefall, both done perfectly and with great interactive feeling.

The true test of a bug-free game is that players don’t even notice it. They don’t realize the hours of frustration and sweat that goes into making some of the seemingly simplest scenes – which is exactly how it should be. The strip club scene in Ideal Pacific Coast University comes off exactly how a strip club should – dancers appear on stage, they wander the crowd, you can even buy a little time for yourself with them. But no-one plays those scenes and thinks of just how complicated bringing all of that off in realistic way truly is. This is what marks a truly great technical game.

With the release of Choices (and its sequels: Decisions and Options), David Whyld re-introduces the world of AIF to a new style: CYOA, or Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. There was one game released several years ago in this style, but other than that this is virtually untouched territory. Not only does David Whyld bring a new type of game to the scene, but he does it in a memorable manner -Melissa’s story is captivating and intriguing.

GoddoG’s story of a man trapped inside his own TV is a surreal journey, and the story is only made even more surreal by the inclusion of several pictures and sounds. The pictures don’t overwhelm the player, while the sounds are enhancing without being distracting. And who doesn’t hear the opening sound without being transported back to earlier days of television? (Well, for those of us old enough to remember it!)

NewKid is the author of some of the most challenging games in AIF. He comes through yet again with his latest offering. Each girl in the game has her own challenging “solution” to experience her charms, and it is all blended together into the overriding story to create a tapestry of puzzles that is uniquely NewKid’s style. Who else besides NewKid would create puzzles such as which girl is actually available?

This game is reminiscent of some of the great spoofs done by Mel Brooks. There are references to many classic science fiction themes such as "Star Trek" and  "Star Wars." What makes it even better is that author BBBen doesn’t hit you over the head with the references – they are subtly interwoven into the story in a way that you may not even notice them. All in all, a very funny game.

The comedy in NewKid’s game (like most other aspects of the game) is presented through the character dialogues. These characters are reminders of people we have met and/or known throughout our lives, presented as comedic caricatures. From the bored cheerleaders, Tina and Tonya, to the muscle-bound football jock, Diesel – these are familiar people to us. But they aren’t over-the-top versions, just subtle reminders of their real-life counterparts.

GoddoG has long been a part of the AIF community. Then he seemed to disappear a few years ago, only to burst back onto the scene in a major way with his epic tale Fever Cabin. The game is well-written and polished, while also providing a very innovative story. Let’s not forget the truly epic orgy scene at the end – destined to become an AIF classic!

In Reunion, Moriarty starts us off with a different take on a familiar theme. Usually, it is the boyfriend who wants to play the field in AIF games, but this time it's the protagonist's girlfriend who is getting the “seven year itch”. This is just one of the twists and turns this game takes during a very odd weekend at a beach resort, a weekend that includes pirates, jungle maidens, “Girls Gone Wild”-like auditions, as well as the usual sorts of activities you find at a high school reunion.

Beta-testing is easy; any player can tell you when your game has problems. Good beta-testing is finding those bugs and problems that your typical player will seldom find. Great beta-testing is finding those bugs and problems that no-one notices and presents them in clear and easy to follow formats. This is the work of A. Ninny. As runner up A. Bomire noted during the Erin’s ceremony “Working with A. Ninny is like working with one of those guys from CSI. I swear he has special lights and powders that lets him peer into the corners of your game to see problems no one else can see.”

Nominated in just about every other category, and winner of 4 other Erins including Best Sex Overall and Best Puzzles, it is truly no wonder that NewKid’s triumphant return has taken AIF’s top honor – Best Game. This game truly has it all – humor, story, wonderful characters, brain-teasing puzzles and, of course, hot, steamy sex! For those players who were around when NewKid wrote other great titles like Generic New York Apartment Building and Ideal New England High School, this is a return of the master. For the rest, you will definitely see why NewKid is considered a founding father of modern AIF.

It's one thing to be prolific, another altogether to be both prolific and GOOD, which is exactly what Christopher Cole is.  His writing is sharp and inspired, evoking powerful images with just the right amount of words to let the imagination run wild while the eyes lay riveted to the screen.  His characters are vivid and the situations he creates sit just on the edge of fantasy, here everything feels like it really could happen to you on some very, very fine day.  There was a time when Chris Cole carried AIF on his back. A time when he was essentially the only person writing AIF, keeping the genre alive when evil unnamed forces would have buried it beneath steaming piles of ineptitude.  And he also helped usher in a "new age" of AIF by creating numerous support and discussions communities where the scene has thrived ever since.