The Magazine for Interactive Fiction Enthusiasts
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July/ August 1996 Issue #10 The Magazine for Interactive Fiction Enthusiasts My devoted ’zine readers may remember that I’ve been IF-deprived— not to mention sleep-deprived and social life-deprived—because of the book I’ve been writing. I’m happy to report that “The Essential Photoshop Book” (Prima Publishing, ISBN: 0-7615-0695-0) is finally on its way to print. Woo-hoo! :) And just in time too, because I’m glad to be able to join in on the collaborative “let’s make an IF CD” project proposed by Andrew Plotkin on the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.int-fiction. The CD proposal seems a natural extension of a couple of other recent r.a.i-f threads on whether IF game authors can make money and how to market or publicize this game category. Currently, the plans call for soliciting games (each author will receive an equal share of profits); producing a small batch of several hundred CDs (is there an equivalent term for “print run” that relates to CDs?); printing docu- mentation; marketing; and overseeing sales and distribution. I’m way excited about the project and the opportunities it presents for long-distance collaboration. Just by following the newsgroup posts, you can see that there are already IF fans from several different countries and—luckily—with different areas of expertise joining the effort. I don’t know who will be organizing sales, but at this point I’d say if you’re Contents: interested in contributing to the project or placing an order, Andrew Top 10 Picks for IF Plotkin ([email protected]) should be the point person on that. on the Web.................2 In other news, this issue addresses the impact of Activision’s new Letters .......................3 graphical adventure game set in the Zork universe, Zork Nemesis. Interviewer Matt Newsome spoke with a couple of key members of XYZZYnews Talks to The Zork Nemesis Zork Nemesis’ development team—and then separately with several Developers .................5 of the old Infocom implementors, including Marc Blank, Dave Lebling and Steve Meretzky. Andrew Pontius describes in a“Tales from the More Interviews with the Infocommies .......10 Code Front” story the difficulties he faced in trying to program in TADS singular objects that are referred to in the plural (e.g., scissors). Tales from the Code C.E. Forman contributes a song parody that should appeal to any IF Front: Scissors, Pants, Glasses, fan familiar with the TV cartoon show “Animaniacs,” and the usual and Yahoos ..............15 “Top 10 Picks for IF on the Web,” letters, and game reviews are included as well. Yakko’s IF World (a song parody).........20 Until next issue, happy gaming! Game Reviews: Eileen Mullin Zork:Nemesis ........22 Lost New York........23 [email protected] What’s on the Disk....24 NEWSBRIEFS…NEWSBRIEFS…NEWSBRIEFS…NEWSBRIEFS… July/August Top 10 Picks XYZZYnews is published bimonthly by Bran Muffin Communications, 160 West for IF on the World Wide Web 24th Street, # 7C, New York, NY 10011, USA. Email: [email protected]. URL: A Mazing Tale http://www.interport.net/~eileen/design http://www.entertain.com/creeper/ /xyzzynews.html. Send all inquiries, let- ters, and submissions to any of the addresses above. CNET gamecenter: outlaw gaming guide: Zork Nemesis http://www.cnet.com/Gamecenter/Guide/Zork/ Contents © 1996 XYZZYnews. All rights reserved. Published in the United States Gamers Site: UHS (Universal Hint System) Files of America. http://www.nitehawk.dk/KOLSTRUP/gsuhs.html Electronic versions: There are Gav and Peloso’s Interactive Story currently three versions of XYZZYnews http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/neutronics/gav/ made available online. One is in ASCII and can be viewed with any text reader. wayfarence/welcome.html You can also download a .PDF file that mirrors the layout of the print version. Hot Software: text adventures to download Use the Adobe Acrobat Reader (available http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/gamezone/html/downloa2.htm for Windows, Mac, DOS and UNIX) to view the .PDF file; no special fonts or linked Invisiclues for Andrew Plotkin’s game So Far (written by graphics are needed. You can obtain Acrobat Reader from ftp.adobe.com in Lucian Smith) the pub/adobe/applications/Acrobat http://www.bioc.rice.edu/~lpsmith/IF/sofar.html folder, or follow the links from their Web page at http://www.adobe.com. Thirdly, NeoText Software Home Page (Philip Dearmore) you can also read this issue of http://www.eskimo.com/~morbeus/neotext.html XYZZYnews on the World Wide Web at http://www.interport.net/~eileen/design /xyzzy.10.html Python Universe Builder http://www-acs.ucsd.edu/~jstrout/python/pub/index.htm Subscriptions: All electronic versions are available at no cost. You can obtain either Quest Home Page the ASCII or PDF versions by FTPing to the http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~masters/quest/quest.html ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/magazines/ XYZZYnews directory. To be added to the mailing list, please write to eileen@inter- The Virtual Mystery Theater port.net and specify text-only or .PDF ver- http://www.coolsite.com/intro.html sion. The print version includes a 3.5" Mac or PC disk and is $21 (U.S.) for one year (6 issues) or $3.50 for a sample issue. For print subscriptions outside the U.S. or Canada, please email or write for rates. All products, names, and services are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Editorial deadline for Issue #11 is August 31, 1996. Editor: Eileen Mullin Contributors to this issue: Rob Daviau C.E. Forman Matt Newsome CNET has a quick-and-dirty guide for beating Zork Nemesis. Andrew Pontious 2 Issue #10 July/August 1996 LETTERS…LETTERS…LETTERS…LETTERS…LETTERS…LETTERS…LETTERS…LETTERS…LETTERS… Greetings XYZZYnews!, Thanx for all the hard file. I use Adobe’s Acrobat work you put in to getting us Distiller to convert the I have just read your news- each issue. PostScript file to a .PDF file.— letter for the first time, and I —Dave EM found it very interesting. Keep [email protected] up the good work! I have always wanted to be Hi, Eileen. either a writer or a game Dear Eileen: designer, and now with my I’ve been playing Infocom finding of IF, I can now be A weeks ago, I read first time games for years. I am stuck in both. I have AGT Master edi- XYZZYnews, and find it very two different games though. Is tion, and so far I have written interesting. there an online hints site three games on it, Maybe I must introduce somewhere, other than the MY1STGAME, MYGAME, myself…my name is Juan J. great “Spoiler Column” in and MYWORLD, all of which Munoz, and I’m the director of your newsletter??? Thanks for were more or less getting to the most important (besides your help! known AGT. I am now work- the older) adventurers club in ing on my 1st public release Spain, the CAAD. —Kelly Martin (no title yet) and so far AGT CAAD stands for “Club de [email protected] has done everything I could Aventuras AD” (AD dream up to put into my Adventures Club). Aventuras Let me point you towards the games. I believe that if you AD were the principal pro- solutions subdirectory of the have a good idea to start with, gramming group of adventures IF archives on GMD; there and take the time to do it right in Spain, and we start as an you’ll find a number of walk- AGT can make wonderful extension of them, but now throughs for all the Infocom games, but I have only played we’re at our own. games and a bunch of other 2 TADS games before and 1 .z5 We have a publication too text adventures. I bet you’d game, so I might be missing (or a fanzine), and I’m very also get a fast response by something. Could you clear interested in the process you posting a specific question me up on the difference in follow for make the .PDF ver- about the game you’re stuck AGT and other IF languages? sion, because we need a PC in to the Usenet newsgroup —Steve reader based version of CAAD, rec.games.int-fiction. —EM [email protected] and this seems a good way to do it. Let me steer you towards the Well, this is all by now. Is To XYZZYnews: “Which System is Better?” good see that the spirit of the FAQ maintained by Bob adventure is still alive! I finally fixed the Panic!! bug! Newell and posted on GMD at See you! [Sneak Previews, XYZZYnews ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/ #9] ]Rejoice, rejoice, and all whichsys.zip, which does a Juan other rejoice-related activities! much better job of succinctly [email protected] The reason for that bug, how- outlining the pros and cons of ever, is because I didn’t define the various text adventure sys- P.S. Excuse my poor English…I something that I never used. tems than I could. —EM learned it playing adventures! Sounds strange? (Sounds like a 8-D holdover from Turbo Pascal, if you ask me!) Anyway, I expect Eileen, Here’s how I go about creating Panic!! to be finished by the the .PDF file for each issue: I second week of August, and Just wanted to say excellent first lay out the ’zine using the Panic!! 2 to be finished near work! Love XYZZYnews—I QuarkXpress page layout pro- the end. As you said in the pre- look forward to each issue and gram, then print it to a view, it’s still FunWare and it’s have been since issue #4 (I did PostScript file.