List of XYZZY Awards By Category - Best Individual PC

Best Individual PC

The award for the Best Individual PC was one of two XYZZY Awards added in 1997. It is intended to recognize particularly well-defined and well-written player characters. The very existence of this award violates the principle of AFGNCAAP, which stresses the importance of leaving certain characteristics of the protagonist intentionally vague to allow the player to more easily envision themselves as the central character. However, many games, such as those listed here, have demonstrated that successful interactive fiction stories can also be told with a more well-defined player character.

• 2011: Mentula Macanus in Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis by Adam Thornton
  • Alistair Liddell in Sentencing Mr Liddell by I-K. Huuhtanen
  • Mangiasaur in Mangiasaur by DCBSupafly
  • Morgoth, Lord of Darkness in A Comedy of Error Messages by Adam Le Doux
  • Nicholas St. John in Love, Hate and the Mysterious Ocean Tower by C.E.J. Pacian
  • Variously-named PC in Zombie Exodus by Jim Dattilo
• 2010: Anthony Saint Germain in Death Off the Cuff by Simon Christiansen
  • Balthasar in The Bible Retold: Following a Star by Justin Morgan
  • Helena in The Blind House by Amanda Allen
  • PC in Gris et Jaune by Jason Devlin
• 2009: Lottie Plum in Broken Legs by Sarah Morayati
  • The detective in Make it Good by Jon Ingold
  • Silhouette in Walker & Silhouette by C. E. J. Pacian
• 2008: Hardy the Bulldog in Snack Time! by Renee Choba
  • Graham in Everybody Dies by Jim Munroe
  • Mute Lawton in Gun Mute by C. E. J. Pacian
  • David in Nightfall by Eric Eve
• 2007: Grunk, in Lost Pig by Admiral Jota
  • Erskine Ring, in Ferrous Ring by Carma Ferris
  • Death, in A Fine Day for Reaping by James Webb
  • The King, in The Reluctant Resurrectee by David Whyld
  • Farahnaaz, in Varkana by Maryam Gousheh-Forgeot
• 2006: The player character in Delightful Wallpaper by Andrew Plotkin
  • Legion, in Legion by Jason Devlin
  • The player character in The Baron by Victor Gijsbers
  • The player character in The Primrose Path by Nolan Bonvouloir
  • The player character in The Traveling Swordsman by Mike Snyder
• 2005: Wendy Little, in Tough Beans by Sara Dee
  • Inspector Maltelli, in Beyond by Mondi Confinanti (Roberto Grassi, Paolo Lucchesi, and Alessandro Peretti)
  • Conan, in Conan Kill Everything by Ian Haberkorn
  • Jacques, in Flat Feet by Joel Ray Holveck
  • The abbot in Vespers by Jason Devlin
• 2004: Julia, in Sting of the Wasp by Jason Devlin
  • Dante, in Blue Chairs by Chris Klimas
  • Tomasz Pudlo, in Gamlet by Tomasz Pudlo
  • Austin, in Luminous Horizon by Paul O'Brian
  • Jarrett Duffy, in Necrotic Drift by Robb Sherwin
• 2003: The player character in Episode in the Life of an Artist by Peter Eastman
  • The chef, in Gourmet by Aaron Reed
  • Eugene Oregon, in Narcolepsy by Adam Cadre
  • Enra, in Shadows on the Mirror by Chrysoula Tzavelas
  • Triage, in Slouching Towards Bedlam by Daniel Ravipinto and Star Foste
• 2002: Pierre, in Savoir Faire by Emily Short
  • Dutch Dapper, in Dutch Dapper IV: The Final Voyage by Harry Hol
  • Goldilocks, in Goldilocks is a FOX! by J. J. Guest
  • The janitor, in Janitor by Peter Seebach and Kevin Lynn
  • Jack Downer, in Photograph by Steve Evans
• 2001: The Kissing Bandit, in The Tale of the Kissing Bandit by J. Robinson Wheeler
  • Aubrey Foil, in The Beetmonger's Journal by Scott Starkey
  • Helen Tsakis, in Best of Three by Emily Short
  • Delarion Yar, in Fallacy of Dawn by Robb Sherwin
  • Troy Sterling, in Fine Tuned by Dennis Jerz
• 2000: Rameses Alexander Moran, in Rameses by Stephen Bond
  • , in Being Andrew Plotkin by J. Robinson Wheeler
  • The MULE, in LASH by Paul O'Brian
  • The alchemist, in Nevermore by Nate Cull
  • The player character in Shade by Andrew Plotkin
• 1999: Primo Varicella, in Varicella by Adam Cadre
  • The player character in Aisle by Sam Barlow
  • The cat, in A Day for Soft Food by Tod Levi
  • The wife, in Exhibition by Ian Finley
  • Sarah, in Winchester's Nightmare by Nick Montfort
• 1998: The employee, in Little Blue Men by Michael Gentry
  • Mover #005, in Bad Machine by Dan Shiovitz
  • Rev. Stephen Dawson, in Muse by Chris Huang
  • The agent, in Spider and Web by Andrew Plotkin
  • The troll, in Zork: A Troll's Eye View by Dylan O'Donnell
• 1997: Tracy Valencia, in I-0 by Adam Cadre
  • David, in Babel by Ian Finley
  • The bear, in A Bear's Night Out by David Dyte
  • Improv, in The Frenetic Five vs. Sturm und Drang by Neil deMause
  • Mattie, in The Lost Spellmaker by Neil Brown