DOCSLIB.ORG

The Lurking Horror and Stationfall Do Panic! a Demon on Floyd Returns in Boffoid the Loose at GUE Tech Sequel to Planetfall It's a Dark and Stormy Night

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Lurking Horror and Stationfall Do Panic! a Demon on Floyd Returns in Boffoid the Loose at GUE Tech Sequel to Planetfall It's a Dark and Stormy Night A letter from Hermit Crab the President Racing Seepages The Status Line See pages 6 & 7 Volume VI Number 2 Formerly The New Zork Times Summer 1987 The Lurking Horror and Stationfall Do panic! A demon on Floyd returns in boffoid the loose at GUE Tech sequel to Planetfall It's a dark and stormy night. The wind howls When the results came in from the recent Status around the monolithic buildings of G.U.E. Tech, Line poll, high on the list of favorite Infocom sending the heavy snow into blinding swirls. In games was Steve Meretzky's Planetfall®. We the Computer Center, you huddle over your weren't surprised. Planetfall has long been terminal, struggling to complete an assignment. popular with interactive fiction fans. And Floyd, Suddenly, strange images appear on the your mischievous robot companion in the game, screen, hinting at a ghastly fate close at hand. easily takes the prize for best-loved Infocom Darkness overcomes you as you're drawn into a character. fiendish world full of unimaginable horrors. Planetfall is also a favorite of reviewers and When you struggle awake (for surely it must be a critics. Meretzky won a Best Computer Software dream), you find yourself clutching an object last Designer award for Planetfall in 1983, and seen in your nightmare ... additional awards include Best Adventure Game Thus begins The Lurking Horror™, Infocom's ~~iiii=:;::::::::::--l_of 1983 from InfoWorld. One reviewer mirrored first interactive horror story. the enthusiasm of many when he said, "Planetfall is just about worth the purchase of a computer." G.U.E. Tech In The Lurking Horror, you're a student at Requests for Planetfall sequel George Undeiwood Edwards Institute of Steve Meretzky has received countless re­ Technology. Although you're dedicated to the quests for a sequel to Planetfall. Now he has pursuit of knowledge, once you "awake" from made everyone happy by writing Station/all ™. your nightmare, you've got more on your mind All the elements which made Planetfall one of than your term paper. As though pulled by a Infocom's best-loved games are here in powerful force within the object you've so myster­ Stationfall: the ever-efficient Stellar Patrol, the iously acquired, you leave your computer and comical characters and situations, the amazing venture into the dark nether regions of the tools and machines of the future, the ingenious Institute. puzzles, and the endearing little robot Floyd. Now you're treading on dangerous ground Although Planetfall fans will delight in meeting indeed. For beneath the Institute lies a warren of old friends, it's not necessary to have played one dimly-lit corridors and storage rooms, some so game to enjoy the other. ancient that they contain only rotting piles of At the start of Station/all, you're still enlisted That Lurking Horror package really makes eye unidentifiable junk. There are miles of decrepit in the Stellar Patrol. Your heroics in saving the contact, doesn't it? And the cover of Stationfall tunnels, crumbling into hazardous piles of timber planet Resida in Planetfall earned you a f eatures you in your new job as a member of the and brick. But negotiating the terrain is the least promotion to Lieutenant First Class, but that was Stellar Patrol's Paperwork Task Force. of your problems. five long years ago, and since then nothing has Shapes emerge from dark corners. Eerie changed at all. You've merely gone from a sounds draw closer. Slimy passageways lead to scrubworker to a paperpusher. sights so horrifying that they will feed your And today promises to be just as boring as nightmares for weeks. A ghastly presence is at Marathons from every other day. You're being sent to a nearby work here, committing unspeakably loathsome space station to pick up a supply of Request for acts. Can you stop it .. .before it stops you? Stellar Patrol Issue Regulation Black Form coast to coast Binders Request Form Forms. H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King The motley crew of seven settled down at the But wait ... all is not lost. By a happy twist of The Lurking Horror follows in the tradition of two-foot-high table for the big game. Six-foot­ fate, your companion for the journey turns out to H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, as author four Steve Meretzky was a bit uncomfotable on be your old pal Floyd! That's right, it's the very Dave Lebling turns an everyday world into a the 18-inch seats-but it did not matter. The same mischievous little robot who was your frightening web of uncertainty. The numerous stakes were high. "I'll raise you two paper clips playful buddy in Planetfall. puzzles , ill challenge both first-time and and five rubber bands," bluffed Tim Anderson. experienced players, and Lebling's chilling Another Monday night of poker at Infocoin? No, Floyd and his paddleball descriptions will leave you with images you'll it was the first "international" Marathon of the With Floyd and his paddleball set in tow, never forget. Minds, at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. you're soon on your way to the space station. As As with all Infocom games, the package in­ As Infocom and Science Centre staff battled it you can see from your packet of blueprints, the cludes items to introduce you to your role as the out with a deck of cards, 15 teams, representing station has nine levels of offices and living areas, main character in the story. There's a copy of high schools from the entire Province of Ontario not to mention a huge plant for printing Stellar "G.U.E. at a Glance," chock-full of photos, tips, raced to be the first to solve Station/all. The Patrol forms. Not included on the official blue­ and inside info on George Underwood Edwards overnight event on March 6-7 was the eighth prints, but fully visible from the spacetruck, is a Institute of Technology. And to make sure you such grueling competition. In our last issue, Stu space village, a seedy cluster of tubes, bubbles, can get your delicious dining hall lunch, there's Galley reported on Marathons 3 and 4, held in and discarded rockets which has grown up also a genuine G.U.E. Tech student I.D. card. San Francisco and Seattle. Since then, Infocom around the space station in blatant violation of all Please turn to page 4 Please turn to page 10 Please turn to page 4 Page 2 The Status Line Summer 1987 TSL Editor Susan >Read the letters Goldman resigns I Gentlemen: Dear Editor "I must go, perhaps into oblivion, but to those You guys are just incredible! Can't find a name (or Susan or whatever): with whom I've worked and sweated these past for the stuff you design, huh? You've been The enclosed list of games was found in my months I say move forward without regret. Keep working at it for years, and you still don't know clothes dryer. Since I know for a fact that my the proud name of The Status Line as a beacon to what it's called, eh? My god, if you would just socks enter the 8th dimension via the dryer, I all those who seek to interact. And remember, take the effort to remove your heads from the assume that my counterpart at the other end automatic hyphenation is just around the comer." dark hole they are stuck in, you would be able to keeps his important papers in his dryer, thus With those words, Susan Goldman, editor-in­ see what this particular forest is composed of. indirectly proving the existence of Infocom as a chief of TSL for the past year, bid a fond "Interactive fiction." Great zot, the hyper­ metaphysical constant. farewell to her former staff and other assorted tensive poobah who came up with that over­ Feel free to publish this in The Status Line, cronies at an intimate affair held in the TSL press inflated term ought to have some of the air let but please don't make any real games out of these room. out of his ego. You see, it's quite simple to spot without paying me lots and lots of real U.S. Reacting quickly to the situation, Mike if you just put your minds to it. For no matter currency. Dornbrook, chief theorist of the TSL, what you name them, Planetfall or Suspended, Infocom Games from the 8th Dimension: announced, in a terse communique, that " I am in Infidel or Trinity, they are one and all, all of the A Mime Forever Voyaging: You're a mime on control here." He went on to say that Goldman's same class and species .. by all that's holy, they the Love Boat and you've got to convince people time at the TSL had been marked by great strides are ZORKS!!! that you really are drowning in the pool and not in both hard news and publishing technology. Really, folks , it's your term. Belongs to you, just practicing your craft. Try to get saved Although Ms. Goldman's departure was a and you thought it up, now use it. Why is every without talking. shock to many of her co-workers, it was not tissue a Kleenex, and every photocopier a Xerox, Bali Hai: You're stuck in an elevator and the totally unforeseen. "The heat she took on that and every cola a Coke? Because these great record is skipping at Muzak.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • SPELLBREAKER IS HERE! the Exciting Conclusion to the Enchanter Trilogy
    ® “All the Gnus Weather: State of the That Fit, We Print” The New Zork Times atmosphere VOL. IV....No. 4 —FALL 1985— INTERFLUVIAL EDITION SPELLBREAKER IS HERE! The Exciting Conclusion to the Enchanter Trilogy In a world founded on magic, guildmaster has been turned into an sorcerers rule the land, creating the amphibian! All, that is, but your- spells needed to do everything from self... and a shadowy cloaked figure making bread to taming wild who slips quietly out the door. animals. Your position as a leader of Thus begins Spellbreaker, the the Circle of Enchanters has earned riveting conclusion to Infocom's you respect from all others in the Enchanter series (including En- kingdom. chanter and Sorcerer™) and the final But now a crisis has fallen. Magic chapter in the story of a magician's itself seems to be failing. Spells go rise from novice to mage. strangely awry or cease to work Spellbreaker was written by Dave altogether. The populace is becom- Lebling, co-author of the Zork® ing restive, and rumblings are heard concerning Enchanters. Marathon: p. 2 A great conclave is held, con- vening all the guildmasters in the trilogy and Enchanter and author of A Frobozz Magic Magic Equipment Catalog, an Enchanter’s Guild pin, and land. One by one, they step forward, Starcross® and Suspect™. According six Enchanter trading cards are included in every Spellbreaker package. describing the devastating effects of to Lebling, "You don't have to have the diminished magic. Beer tastes played the other games in our fantasy such as allowing you to add some will find their skills tested by the like grue bathwater, pastries are thick series in order to enjoy this one, words to the already large vocabu- most challenging puzzles ever and greasy, huntsmen are unable to although that makes it more fun.
    [Show full text]
  • The Craft of the Adventure
    The Craft of the Adventure Five articles on the design of adventure games Second edition 1 Intro duction :: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :::: ::2 2 In The Beginning ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: ::: 3 3 Bill of Player's Rights : ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: :7 4 A Narrative... ::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :: 12 5 ...AtWar With a Crossword : : :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: :: 21 6 Varnish and Veneer : ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :::: ::: :::: ::32 1 1 Intro duction 1 Intro duction Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful ob jects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us mo dern art. {Tom Stoppard, Artist Descending A Staircase Making b o oks is a skilled trade, like making clo cks. { Jean de la Bruy ere 1645-1696 If you're going to have a complicated story you must work to a map; otherwise you'll never make a map of it afterwards. {J.R.R.Tolkien 1892-1973 Designing an adventure game is b oth an art and a craft. Whereas art cannot be taught, only commented up on, craft at least can be handed down: but the tricks of the trade do not make an elegant narrative, only a catalogue. This small collection of essays is just such a string of grits of wisdom and half-baked critical opinions, whichmaywell leave the reader feeling unsatis ed. One can only say to such a reader that any book claiming to reveal the secret of how to paint, or to write novels, should be recycled at once into something more genuinely artistic, say a papier-mach e sculpture. If there is any theme here, it is that standards count: not just of comp etent co ding, but of writing.
    [Show full text]
  • DESIGN-DRIVEN APPROACHES TOWARD MORE EXPRESSIVE STORYGAMES a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Satisfaction of the Requirements for the Degree Of
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ CHANGEFUL TALES: DESIGN-DRIVEN APPROACHES TOWARD MORE EXPRESSIVE STORYGAMES A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in COMPUTER SCIENCE by Aaron A. Reed June 2017 The Dissertation of Aaron A. Reed is approved: Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Chair Michael Mateas Michael Chemers Dean Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright c by Aaron A. Reed 2017 Table of Contents List of Figures viii List of Tables xii Abstract xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 1 Framework 15 1.1 Vocabulary . 15 1.1.1 Foundational terms . 15 1.1.2 Storygames . 18 1.1.2.1 Adventure as prototypical storygame . 19 1.1.2.2 What Isn't a Storygame? . 21 1.1.3 Expressive Input . 24 1.1.4 Why Fiction? . 27 1.2 A Framework for Storygame Discussion . 30 1.2.1 The Slipperiness of Genre . 30 1.2.2 Inputs, Events, and Actions . 31 1.2.3 Mechanics and Dynamics . 32 1.2.4 Operational Logics . 33 1.2.5 Narrative Mechanics . 34 1.2.6 Narrative Logics . 36 1.2.7 The Choice Graph: A Standard Narrative Logic . 38 2 The Adventure Game: An Existing Storygame Mode 44 2.1 Definition . 46 2.2 Eureka Stories . 56 2.3 The Adventure Triangle and its Flaws . 60 2.3.1 Instability . 65 iii 2.4 Blue Lacuna ................................. 66 2.5 Three Design Solutions . 69 2.5.1 The Witness ............................. 70 2.5.2 Firewatch ............................... 78 2.5.3 Her Story ............................... 86 2.6 A Technological Fix? .
    [Show full text]
  • Now That I've Cleared out the New
    Issue #14 The Magazine for Interactive Fiction Enthusiasts Now that I’ve cleared out the New Year’s Eve party detritus — the confetti is swept, the empty champagne bottles tucked in with the recyclable trash — I’d like to venture forth with a 1998 proposition, not so much a resolution, for the IF commu- nity: let’s turn the now-yearly IF competition into a biennial event, celebrated every two years perhaps much like the Olympics are now. The benefits are readily apparent: IF programmers could have twice as long to fine-tune their entries, investing more time in thoughtful writing, elegant puzzle design, fleshed-out storylines, and better bug-testing; more aspiring programmers would toss their hats in the ring; while the rest of the IF fans would have more time to enjoy and methodically explore each new competition game — savoring more fully developed, memorable games instead of hurrying through too many games that, while generally well-conceived, were too rushed through development (to meet competition deadlines) to prove really enjoyable. Contents: While many IF fans have more free time than I do — and anyone who’s stayed tuned this long for XYZZYnews’s uneven Top 10 Picks for IF on the Web ................2 publishing schedule knows that I haven’t much to spare — just as many face even heavier demands from their work, family, Letters.......................3 school, and other obligations. So let’s give ourselves a collec- The Effects of tive break...! Many of us took years to finish Zork, Adventure, ‘XYZZY’ in the 1997 Trinity, and the other classic text adventures.
    [Show full text]
  • To Play This Game Please Exit Adobe Acrobat Reader and Follow the Instructions for Your System in the CD Booklet
    To play this game please exit Adobe Acrobat Reader and follow the instructions for your system in the CD Booklet. Communicating with Interactive Fiction ( If you are not familiar with Infocom's Interactive Fiction, please read this section.) With Interactive Fiction, you type your commands in plain English each time you see the prompt (>). Most of the sentences that The STORIES will understand are imperative sentences. See the examples below. When you have finished typing your input, press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. The STORY will then respond, telling you whether your request is possible at this point in the story, and what happened as a result. The STORY recognizes your words by their first six letters, and all subsequent letters are ignored. Therefore, CANDLE, CANDLEs, and CANDLEstick would all be treated as the same word. To move around, just type the direction you want to go. Directions can be abbreviated: NORTH to N, SOUTH to S, EAST to E, WEST .to W, NORTHEAST to NE, NORTHWEST to NW, SOUTHEAST to SE, SOUTHWEST to SW, UP to U, and DOWN to D IN and OUT will also work in certain places. There are many different kinds of sentences used in "LOST TREASURES". Here are some examples: >WALK TO THE NORTH >WEST >NE >DOWN >TAKE THE BIRDCAGE >OPEN THE PANEL >READ ABOUT DIMWIT FLATHEAD >LOOK UP MEGABOZ IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA >LIE DOWN IN THE PINK SOFA >EXAMINE THE SHINY COIN >PUT THE RUSTY KEY IN THE CARDBOARD BOX >SHOW MY BOW TIE TO THE BOUNCER >HIT THE CRAWLING CRAB WITH THE GIANT NUTCRACKER >ASK THE COWARDLY KING ABOUT THE CROWN JEWELS You can use multiple objects with certain verbs if you separate them by the word AND or by a comma.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Zork Times Dark – Carry a Lamp VOL
    “All the Grues New Zork Area Weather: That Fit, We Print” The New Zork Times Dark – carry a lamp VOL. 3. .No. 1 WINTER 1984 INTERNATIONAL EDITION SORCERER HAS THE MAGIC TOUCH InfoNews Roundup New Game! Hint Booklets Sorcerer, the second in the In December, Infocom's long- Enchanter series of adventures in the awaited direct mail operation got mystic arts, is now available. The underway. Many of the functions game was written by Steve formerly provided by the Zork Users Meretzky, whose hilarious science Group were taken over by Infocom. fiction game, Planetfall, was named Maps and InvisiClues hint booklets by InfoWorld as the Best Adventure were produced for all 10 of Game of 1983. In Sorcerer, you are a Infocom's products. The games member of the prestigious Circle of themselves were also made available Enchanters, a position that you primarily as a service to those of you achieved in recognition of your in remote geographical areas and to success in defeating the Warlock those who own the less common Krill in Enchanter. computer systems. When the game starts, you realize Orders are processed by the that Belboz, the Eldest of the Circle, Creative Fulfillment division of the and the most powerful Enchanter in DM Group, one of the most the land, has disappeared. Perhaps he respected firms in direct mail. Their has just taken a vacation, but it facilities are in the New York metro- wouldn't be like him to leave without politan area, which explains the letting you know. You remember strange addresses and phone num- that he has been experimenting with bers you'll see on the order forms.
    [Show full text]
  • Ebook Download a Mind Forever Voyaging
    A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING : A HISTORY OF STORYTELLING IN VIDEO GAMES PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Dylan Holmes | 248 pages | 07 Nov 2012 | Createspace Independent Publishing Platform | 9781480005754 | English | [S.l A Mind Forever Voyaging : A History of Storytelling in Video Games PDF Book Delivered from our UK warehouse in 4 to 14 business days. Since the inception of video games, their depictions of violence, sexuality and other explicit themes have made them a lighting rod of controversy. Good video games and good learning: Collected essays on video games, learning and literacy 2nd ed. Can a Computer Make You Cry? International Journal of Research in Education and Science , 3 2 , Critical analysis, historical perspective, and a gently opinionated personal touch make A Mind Forever Voyaging an enlightening read that captures the best that video games have to offer. Rogers, R. The thought was that while this game might have a liberal slant, future games might have a conservative slant, or be educational, or whatever else — the sky was the limit. Course Schedule subject to change Please be sure to complete readings before that class day. Hugos, M. Hwa, S. Good video games and good learning: Collected essays on video games, learning and literacy 2nd ed. Owen, P. Average rating 3. Alternative gaming blogger Dylan Holmes focuses on games that tell stories in innovative and fasci From amazon. View all copies of this ISBN edition:. John Harney. Throw in the four contract-fulfilling Zork gamebooks he cranked out betwixt and between the computer games, plus all the help he gave to others with their designs, plus the way he just kept everyone insanely sane during all of the trials of the Cornerstone era with his parties and games and antics… yeah, Meretzky deserved carte blanche to make his next game exactly what he wanted it to be.
    [Show full text]
  • Mémoire FX Surinx Lire La Peur Dans Leur Jeu. Exploration Du Potentiel
    https://lib.uliege.be https://matheo.uliege.be Lire la peur dans leur jeu. Exploration du potentiel effrayant du texte dans le jeu vidéo Auteur : Surinx, François-Xavier Promoteur(s) : Dozo, Björn-Olav Faculté : Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres Diplôme : Master en langues et lettres françaises et romanes, orientation générale, à finalité spécialisée en analyse et création de savoirs critiques Année académique : 2019-2020 URI/URL : http://hdl.handle.net/2268.2/10602 Avertissement à l'attention des usagers : Tous les documents placés en accès ouvert sur le site le site MatheO sont protégés par le droit d'auteur. Conformément aux principes énoncés par la "Budapest Open Access Initiative"(BOAI, 2002), l'utilisateur du site peut lire, télécharger, copier, transmettre, imprimer, chercher ou faire un lien vers le texte intégral de ces documents, les disséquer pour les indexer, s'en servir de données pour un logiciel, ou s'en servir à toute autre fin légale (ou prévue par la réglementation relative au droit d'auteur). Toute utilisation du document à des fins commerciales est strictement interdite. Par ailleurs, l'utilisateur s'engage à respecter les droits moraux de l'auteur, principalement le droit à l'intégrité de l'oeuvre et le droit de paternité et ce dans toute utilisation que l'utilisateur entreprend. Ainsi, à titre d'exemple, lorsqu'il reproduira un document par extrait ou dans son intégralité, l'utilisateur citera de manière complète les sources telles que mentionnées ci-dessus. Toute utilisation non explicitement autorisée ci-avant (telle que par exemple, la modification du document ou son résumé) nécessite l'autorisation préalable et expresse des auteurs ou de leurs ayants droit.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Zork Times by Brief but Savage Downpour
    ® “All the Gnus Weather: Thic fog, followed That Fit, We Print” The New Zork Times by brief but savage downpour. VOL. 4. .No. 2 —SUMMER 1985— INTERFERON EDITION New Release: A Mind Forever Voyaging A Mind Forever Voyaging, the first were to be introduced. While you're advanced-level Science Fiction story busy exploring the future, the scien- from Infocom, is for true text- tists and programmers who created adventure buffs. Why? Because it you are honing and perfecting the has more locations to visit (several simulation's parameters. Thus, as the hundred), more things to do, more story progresses, you can travel responses, and a large vocabulary further and further in time, watching (1800+ words) than any of our previ- Rockvil prosper as the Plan ously released products. succeeds, or perish as it fails. Only The story takes place in 21st- you can tell on what course the century Rockvil, South Dakota. The country sets itself by adopting the United States of North America has Plan. fallen prey to incredibly high unem- While there are several puzzles to ployment and crime rates. Political keep players on their toes, designer indiffererence, perhaps caused by Steve Meretzky (author of Planetfall backward educational systems or and Sorcerer, and co-author of The diminishing national resources, has Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) Items from Dr. Perleman’s desk are contained in every A Mind Forever swept the nation. Exploiting this op- concentrated more on immersing the Voyaging package. portunity, Senator Richard Ryder has player in a vast, highly detailed, develop (sic) the Plan for a Renewed realistic world; a vision of the National Purpose, stressing patriot- destiny of mankind.
    [Show full text]
  • 14. Riddle Machines: the History and Nature of Interactive Fiction
    Nick Montfort Riddle Machines: The History and Nature of Interactive Fiction 14. Riddle Machines: The History and Nature of Interactive Fiction Nick Montfort Introduction The genre that has also been labeled "text adventure" and "text game" is stereotypically thought to offer dungeons, dragons, and the ability for readers to choose their own adventure. While there may be dragons here, interactive fiction (abbreviated "IF") also offers utopias, revenge plays, horrors, parables, intrigues, and codework, and pieces in this form resound with and rework Gilgamesh, Shakespeare, and Eliot as well as Tolkien. The reader types in phrases to participate in a dialogue with the system, commanding a character with writing. Beneath this surface conversation, and determining what the computer narrates, there is the machinery of a simulated world, capable of drawing the reader into imagining new perspectives and understanding strange systems. Interactive fiction works can be challenging for literary readers, even those interested in other sorts of electronic literature, because of the text-based interface and because of the way in which these works require detailed exploration, mapping, and solution. Works in this form are often less visually rewarding, and the rewards they do offer are only attained with time and effort. But text-based interactive fiction has provided some of the most the intricate and compelling literary simulations yet developed. Understanding how interactive fiction works, and how it has developed over the past three decades, is an essential part of the puzzle of literary computing. Characteristics of interactive fiction Formally, a work of interactive fiction (often called a "game," even if it does not exhibit the typical qualities of a game) is an interactive computer program.
    [Show full text]
  • The Post Infocom Text Adventure Collection
    The Post Infocom Text Adventure Collection Many of us played and loved the text adventures produced by Infocom in the 1980’s. They were rich in story and puzzles, and contained some excellent writing. In the years since Infocom’s demise in 1989, there have been a lot of good games produced using the Z-Machine - the game format that Infocom was using. This gives us a chance to make these modern-day games run on the computers of the 80’s, like the Commodore 64. I decided to create a collection of Z-machine games for the C64, and this is it. All in all, it’s 31 games, released in 1993-2015. Each game has been put into its own directory, in which is also an empty disk for game saves and a file called AUTOSWAP.LST to make life easier for people using the SD2IEC diskdrive substitute. If you haven’t played text adventures before, or feel that you never got the hang of it, you should read the chapter How to play a text adventure. If you want more of a background on Infocom and the game format they used, you should read the chapter about The Zork Machine at the end of this document. There is also a chapter about the process of porting Z-machine games to the C64 and, finally, a chapter about writing your own games. I created this documentation as a PDF, so that you could easily print it out and keep it nearby if you’re enjoying the collection on a real C64.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Small But Vicious Dog (B/X+WFRP hack), ver0 3 Introduction Welcome to a fantasy world where the men are Baldrick, the dwarves are punk, and the dogs are small but vicious. Welcome to a world of bawds, grave robbers, excisemen and witch-hunters; a place where “Blather , “Flee" and “Mime are legitimate skill choices; and where all material on the insidious threat of Chaos is officially interchangeable between settings. Welcome (back) to the Grim World of Perilous Adventure. Whisper it (that fanboys may not hear and descend a-squealing), but for all the charm of its skewed-familiar 1,th century milieu and the lurking horror of Chaos, Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play was little more than a modcop of classic Dungeons & Dragons . -es, our beloved WF.P was yet another /fix 0102 fantasy heartbreaker, albeit one which had the clout of the biggest name in British gaming behind it. Whole chunks of the system were lightly disguised 010 mechanics adapted to a roll-under d3 system 1, and many setting elements not gleefully ripped off from Tolkien, 5eiber or Moorcock were already established 010 tropes by the time WF.P was published. 2 But that7s ok. Indeed, that7s part of why all right-thinking people 9 Brits, Italians and Poles especially 9 love WF.P. To paraphrase a better man than I: we took an American invention, soaked it in a witches7 brew of Bosch, 0urer and 0or;, Mervyn Peake and Tom Sharpe, Blackadder , The Young Ones , pints of bitter, cheap weed, Iron Maiden and The Damned , and then we played the hell out of it.
    [Show full text]