DOCSLIB.ORG

SUMMER 1985— INTERFERON EDITION New Release: a Mind Forever Voyaging

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
SUMMER 1985— INTERFERON EDITION New Release: a Mind Forever Voyaging ® “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. A Mind Forever Run For Your Lives! It’s ism and a return to American values Voyaging represents Infocom's as they were at the country's peak, greatest step yet away from games, the 1950s. The public, desperate for and toward true fiction: a serious, FOOBLITZKY a change, embraces the Plan, but often chilling, look at the future of many high government officials are the human race, reminiscent of such A Unique Graphics Strategy Game unsure whether it will succeed. That great works of science fiction as is where you come into the picture. 1984 or Brave New World. Infocom? Graphics? about any game is how much fun it You are PRISM (Perelman-Randu What makes an epic game like this No, hell hasn't frozen over. Pigs is, how enjoyable it is to play, not Introductory Soliptic Machine); the possible? Interactive fiction "plus", haven't sprouted wings. But Infocom whether it does or doesn't have first intelligent, self-aware computer. the latest development system from is announcing its first non-interactive graphics. And Fooblitzky is a winner. You have been created to enter a Infocom, designed to complement fiction game — and it does have Already, there are addicts at simulation of Rockvil, years in the our currently-used "classic" system. graphics. Infocom. future, and return with recordings of "It's a hoax," you're thinking. Logic, deduction, chance, and what life would be like if the Plan Continued on Page 3 "Infocom would never use graphics social interaction are all big parts of to illustrate locations in text Fooblitzky — just like deductive adventures. Infocom hates graphics." reasoning is a part of Clue® and Well, yes and no. Mastermind®. (Fooblitzky reminds InfoNews Roundup Infocom has yet to see computer some people of a cross between graphics that add to the quality of a those games, even though its theme Wishbringer Event pastries. Over 300 people joined us text adventure. There may be ways is completely different.) Fooblitzky to celebrate the release of our 16th in which graphics could be used is a multiplayer game — 2, 3, or 4 This time it was not a mansion but a title. more subtly to enhance your mental people can play. The name museum, there were no murders, no Those who attended were treated imagery. But with today's machine "Fooblitzky" was chosen because it's clues, not a puzzle to be solved. Not to speeches from our Marc "Mark" resolutions, and even with proposed easy to remember and incredibly unless you found it a puzzling Blank, Jon "Buckingham" Palace, advancements in technology, difficult to pronounce. experience to have a good time. The Mike "Max the Knife" (Stan) graphics can't begin to compete with Okay, so the name is goofy. The event was the Wishbringer Dornbrook, and even the professor the scenes and characters you can game is goofy. But it's sophisticated announcement, and a good time was himself. The presentation drew a imagine. Therefore, Infocom still goofiness. had by all. standing-room-only crowd (thanks to firmly believes that words paint the The roots of Fooblitzky go back This party was held in the Field Max, who was seen before the party most vivid images in your mind. more than 2 years. Marc Blank and Museum of Natural History in removing the auditorium's 200 Of course, there is a place for Michael Berlyn wanted to develop Chicago. And it was no coincidence folding chairs!). graphics today: in a completely something unique, something totally that Summer CES was in Chicago as The party was more than anyone different setting and in a completely different from text adventures — or well. The press, distributors, and could have wished for, especially if different kind of game. In fact, any other kind of computer game. many of our own Infoployees you were one of the seven lucky Fooblitzky is all graphics, and has They hired a crazed crackerjack art- (including Wishbringer implementor prize winners. Infocom drew names more graphics in it than any other ist, Brian Cody, and a programming "Professor" Brian Moriarty) attended from a crystal punch bowl to award computer game on the market. an evening of music, dancing, and But the really important thing Continued on Page 3 the 3 p's: presentation, prizes, and Continued on Page 3 PAGE 2 THE NEW ZORK TIMES SUMMER 1985 David Alan Hoag feature, "Searching for the Relics of translation of Zork for the PDP-11/ Mail Bag Placentia, CA the Emu," which appeared in the V-11 (translated from MDL for the You will notice that the number of Spring '85 issue of The New Zork ARPANET), the dam tour guidebook Dear Infocom: entries was down this time. Also, Times. I look forward to seeing the claims that FCD#3 was composed of What a great puzzle! I solved don't forget that The New Zork Times proper photographs in your next "3.7 cubic feet of concrete." To the puzzle number 5 two days after Puzzle Winner T-shirts can't be issue. Incidentally, I recently partici- best of my knowledge, it is very receiving my latest copy of The New bought — you must solve the puzzle pated in a research project at difficult, if not impossible, to take a Zork Times, but I had to replay Zork to own one — Ed. Hellspont Historical Institute which lump of concrete measuring one foot II to determine whether "FEEL uncovered startling evidence that the by one foot by three point seven feet FREE" was in the Crypt Anteroom Hi, Emus were NOT wiped out by the and build a structure the size of or the Crypt. I had made a Zork II encroachment of western man, but FCD#3. While on the topic of the I was really making progress on map, but I loaned it out, and my were instead conquered by a race of guidebook, how come the present the NZT puzzle in the Winter issue. I friend lost it. He claimed a little guy malignant Yaks native to mountain- day versions of Zork I don't mention have all the Infocom games and with a beard and pointy hat just ous New Zealand. A fellow the work force of "384 slaves, 34 spent hours and hours researching popped in, waved a wand, mumbled researcher proved this invasion pos- slave drivers, 12 engineers, 2 turtle the questions and filling in my grid. I something like "Filch," and the map sible by successfully traversing the doves and a partridge in a pear tree" had a ways to go but felt I was on the just vanished. The loss had occurred treacherous between New Zealand or the command team of "234 right track when I was called on to some time ago, and this current and Tasmania in a coracle made en- bureaucrats, 2,347 secretaries (at babysit a friend's cat. puzzle was just the motivation I tirely of spun Yak hair. The creatures least two of whom could type), To make a long story short, the cat, needed to play the game again to the Europeans discovered were the 12,256 paper shufflers, 52,469 unknown to me, had a craving for remap Zork II's world. sad remnants of their proud race, rubber stampers, 245,193 red tape graph paper and ate my almost who quickly died of culture shock processors, and nearly one million I must say, however, that I appreci- complete grid. (She gave birth to a from exposure to gunpowder weap- dead trees?" Keep The Times ate the definitive Infocom trivia little of black and white checked ons, canvas, and "pick-a-path" game coming. encyclopedia the puzzle solution kittens yesterday.) booklets (a primitive form of Interac- Marc Egazarian provides. Nobody I know had ever I would like to make a comment on tive Fiction!). I hope this sets the Blauvelt, NT thought to count the leaves, and sure the gender of computer gamers.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Theescapist 055.Pdf
    in line and everything will be just fine. two articles I fired up Noctis to see the Which, frankly, is about how many of us insanity for myself. That is the loneliest think to this day. With the exception of a game I’ve ever played. For those of you who fell asleep during very brave few. the classical mythology portion of your In response to “Development in a - Danjo Olivaw higher education, the stories all go like In this issue of The Escapist, we take a Vacuum” from The Escapist Forum: this: Some guy decides he no longer look at the stories of a few, brave souls As for the fact that thier isolation has In response to “Footprints in needs the gods, sets off to prove as in the game industry who, for better or been a benefit to them rather than a Moondust” from The Escapist Forum: much and promptly gets smacked down. worse, decided that they, too, were hindrance, that’s what I discussed with I’d just like to say this was a fantastic destined to make their dreams a reality. Oveur (Nathan Richardsson) while in article. I think I’ll have to read Olaf Prometheus, Sisyphus, Icarus, Odysseus, Some actually succeeded, while others Vegas earlier this year at the EVE the stories are full of men who, for crashed and burned. We in the game Gathering. The fact that Iceland is such whatever reason, believed that they industry may not have jealous, angry small country, with a very unique culture were not bound by the normal gods against which to struggle, but and the fact that most of the early CCP constraints of mortality.
    [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]
  • 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]
  • The Zork Chronicles
    THE ZORK CHRONICLES Delve into the challenge and adventure of the world of ZORK with the fantastic imagination of GEORGE ALEC EFFINGER "We (science fiction writers) stand in awe of a writer so young, so strong, so good…." Harlan Ellison "Wry, inventive, nearly hallucinatory…" Publishers Weekly "Great entertainment…" Fantasy Review Other Avon Books in the INFOCOMTM Series ENCHANTER® by Robin W. Bailey PLANETFALL® by Arthur Byron Cover WISHBRINGER® by Craig Shaw Gardner STATIONFALLTM by Arthur Byron Cover Avon Books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund raising or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs. For details write or telephone the office of the Director of Special Markets, Avon Books, Dept. FP, 105 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, 212-481-5653. George Alec Effinger THE ZORK® CHRONICLES A Byron Preiss Book AN INFOCOMTM BOOK AVON BOOKS NEW YORK Zork: The novel is an original publication of Avon Books. This work has never before appeared in book form. This work is a novel. Any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. Special thanks to Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Richard Curtis, Rob Sears, John Douglas, David Keller, and Alice Alfonsi. AVON BOOKS A division of The Hearst Corporation 105 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10016 Copyright © 1990 by Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc. Cover painting copyright © 1990 by Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc. Published by arrangement with Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc. ZORK software copyright © 1980 by Infocom, Inc. ZORK and the INFOCOM logo are trademarks of Infocom, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • A Selected List of Interactive Text Adventures
    Michigan Reading Journal Volume 22 Issue 4 Article 9 July 1989 A Selected List of Interactive Text Adventures Kent Layton Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj Recommended Citation Layton, Kent (1989) "A Selected List of Interactive Text Adventures," Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 22 : Iss. 4 , Article 9. Available at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol22/iss4/9 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Michigan Reading Journal by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Selected List of Interactive Text Adventures Compiled by Kent Layton INFOCOM. 35 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. A Mind Forever Voyaging, Ballyhoo, Battletech, Crescent Hawk, Cutthroats, Deadline, Enchanter, Journey, Infidel, Moonmist, Planetfall, Seastalker, Shogun, Sorcerer, Spellbreaker, Starcross,, Suspect, Suspended, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Witness, Wishbringer, Zork I, Zork II, Zork Ill, and Zork Zero. SCHOLASTIC, INC. 2931 E. McCarty Street, P.O. Box 7502, Jefferson City, MO 65102. An Oval Office Odyssey, Captains of the China Trade, Cosmic Hero, Crickety Manor, Escape from Antcatraz, Haunted Channels, History Mystery, Malice and Wonderland, MicroAgent of the Body Guard, Quest for the Pole, Robot Rescue, Safari, The Funhouse Caper, The Frogs and the Fables, The Great Frankfurter, The Myths of Olympus, The Wizard of Darkling Wood, Tickets to America, Voyage to See What's on the Bottom, and Wagons West. (Available through Microzine and Microzine Jr. subscriptions.) SIERRA ON-LINE. Empire State Building, Suite 1101, 350 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10118.
    [Show full text]
  • Jay Simon 3/18/2002 STS 145 Case Study Zork: a Study of Early
    Jay Simon 3/18/2002 STS 145 Case Study Zork: A Study of Early Interactive Fiction I: Introduction If you are a fan of interactive fiction, or have any interest in text-based games from the early 1980’s, then you are no doubt familiar with a fascinating series known as Zork. For the other 97 percent of the population, the original Zork games are text-based adventures in which the player is given a setting, and types in a command in standard English. The command is processed, and sometimes changes the state of the game. This results in a new situation that is then communicated to the user, restarting the cycle. This type of adventure game is classified as belonging to a genre called “interactive fiction”. Zork is exceptional in that the early Zork games are by far the most popular early interactive fiction titles ever released. It is interesting to examine why these games sold so well, while most other interactive fiction games could not sell for free in the 1980’s. As we will see, this is a result of many different technological and stylistic aspects of Zork that separate it from the rest of the genre. Zork is a unique artifact in gaming history. II: MIT and Infocom – The Prehistory of Zork Zork was not a modern project developed under a strict timeline by a designated team of programmers, but credit is given to two MIT phenoms named Marc Blank and Dave Lebling. Its history can be traced all the way back to the invention of a medium-sized machine called the PDP-10, in the 1960’s.
    [Show full text]
  • The Z-Machine Standards Document: Contents
    The Z-Machine Standards Document: Contents The Z-Machine Standards Document Version 1.0 22nd June 1997 two misprints corrected, 9th August resources appendix updated and discovery added to header table, 4th September ● Preface ● Overview of Z-machine architecture Fundamentals ● 1. The memory map ● 2. Numbers and arithmetic ● 3. How text and characters are encoded ● 4. How instructions are encoded ● 5. How routines are encoded ● 6. The game state: storage and routine calls Input/Output ● 7. Output streams and file handling ● 8. The screen model ● 9. Sound effects ● 10. Input streams and devices Tables ● 11. The format of the header ● 12. The object table ● 13. The dictionary and lexical analysis Instruction Set ● 14. Complete table of opcodes (with Inform assembly syntax) file:///D|/doc/zspec10/index.html (1 of 2) [6/22/2000 4:34:11 PM] The Z-Machine Standards Document: Contents ● 15. Dictionary of opcodes An Unusual Font ● 16. Font 3 and character graphics Appendices ● A. Error messages and debugging ● B. Conventional contents of the header ● C. Resources available (with WWW links) ● D. A short history of the Z-machine ● E. Statistics ● F. Canonical story files file:///D|/doc/zspec10/index.html (2 of 2) [6/22/2000 4:34:11 PM] The Z-Machine Standards Document: Preface Preface The Z-machine was created on a coffee table in Pittsburgh in 1979. It is an imaginary computer whose programs are adventure games, and is well-adapted to its task, implementing complex games remarkably compactly. They were still perhaps 100K long, too large for the memory of the home computers of their day, and the Z-machine seems to have made the first usage of virtual memory on a microcomputer.
    [Show full text]
  • Lurking Horror by William E
    uestBusters TM The Adventurer's Journal July, 1987 VolN,#7 Lurking Horror By William E. Carte This is not a typical Infocom game: It can't be called a mystery or science fiction and should not be confused with Moonmist, a "ghost story" in which you are really a detective. Instead, Lurking Horror introduces a new kind of story to the Infocom catalog: horror. Don't expect the kind of gorey horror typified by Halloween and other contemporary slash films, for this is literary horror along the lines of the eerie tales that formed H.P. Lovecraft's "Cthulhu Mythos." (A computer in the game even bears Lovecraft's name.) The result is as intriguing as it is different Penned by Dave Lebling, the story you discover a mysterious message in takes place on the campus of G. U. E. all-nighter. But the weather and that place of your term paper files. The Tech, reflecting M I. T., the school deadline-are just the first of your troubles. message tells of a hideous creature, a where the Infocom story itself began. Like Lovecraft, who borrowed the trick summoning, and even a sacrifice. Then You've put off doing an important term from Arthur Machen and Bram Stoker, you "see" a picture of the monster paper that's due the next day. Despite a Lebling successfully employs the device onscreen and faint from fright. When you blizzard that has blanketed the entire of making a fantastic story believable by awake, your files have vanished forever campus with snow, you brave the storm introducing evidence in a letter, a rare and you now possess a peculiar looking and make your way to the campus book-or in this case, a word processing stone: Drawn by the stone into the computer center to pull an file.
    [Show full text]
  • Instruction Manual for Wishbringer
    Instruction Manual for Table of Contents Wishbringer An Overview Page 12 Welcome to the world of Infocom’s interactive fiction, • What is interactive fiction? a world where: • Moving around • You are the hero or heroine in a story, • Turns and scoring • You use your own thinking and imagination to guide Tips for Novices 13 the story from start to finish, Nine useful pointers about interactive fiction • You meet other people, who may or may not help you, Communicating with Wishbringer 14 and • Basic sentences • You can go to new places, figure out mysteries and • Complex sentences puzzles, and fight against enemies. • Why doesn’t it know that word? In Wishbringer, you’re a postal clerk in a small seaside Wishing for Magic 16 village called Festeron. You deliver a strange envelope to Starting and Stopping 17 a magic shop, and discover that an old woman’s black cat • Starting Wishbringer (“Booting up”) has been kidnapped by “the Evil One.” The old woman • Saving and restoring asks for your help, and when you leave the magic shop, • Quitting and restarting you find yourself trapped in a nightmare world. Your Appendix A: Important Commands 18 once-quiet town is now full of nasty trolls, vultures, Appendix B: Some Recognized Verbs 19 fortress-like towers, and assorted wickedness. You Appendix C: Wishbringer Complaints 20 become entangled in the struggle between Good and Appendix D: Sample Transcript and Map 21 Evil; extraordinary help is found only in unusual places. Appendix E: We’re Never Satisfied 23 Others seek to possess a magic stone of dreams known Appendix F: If You Have Technical Problems 23 as Wishbringer; but only you can find it and use its powers Appendix G: About the Author 24 to make your town safe again.
    [Show full text]
  • The Status Line
    Meet Mike’s Important Dream Date Reader Poll See page 7 The Status Line See page 6 Volume VI Number 1 Formerly The New Zork Times Winter/Spring 1987 Douglas Adams' Bureaucracy Not very long ago, Douglas Adams It's a sad story, one that's replayed (who is, as everyone knows, the best- every day for millions of people selling author of that zany interactive worldwide. Of course, it's not always story The Hitchhiker's Guide to the a bank at fault. Sometimes it's the Galaxy™) moved from one apartment postal service, or the telephone com- in London to another. He dutifully pany, or an airline, or the govern- notified everyone of his new address, ment. All of us, at one time or including his bank. In fact, he person- another, feel persecuted by a bureauc- ally went to the bank and filled out a racy. What can be done? change-of-address form. Only Douglas Adams would exact Soon after, Douglas found that he such sweet revenge. He retaliated by was unable to use his credit card. He writing Bureaucracy™, a hilarious discovered that the card had been interactive journey through masses of invalidated by the bank. Apparently, red tape. the bank had sent a new card to his You begin Bureaucracy in your old address. spiffy new apartment. You're going to For weeks, Douglas tried to get the Paris this very afternoon for a combi- bank to acknowledge his change-of- nation training seminar and vacation, address form. He talked to bank offi- so you'll need to leave as soon as you cials, and filled out new forms, and get the money order your boss has applied for another credit card, but mailed you.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Zork Times Ask Duffy — P
    “All the Grues ® Puzzle — pp. 7 & 8 That Fit, We Print” Sports — p. 6 The New Zork Times Ask Duffy — p. 5 VOL. 3. .No. 3 SUMMER 1984 INTERGALLACTIC EDITION YOU’RE ABOUT TO GET YOURSELF INTO VERY DEEP TROUBLE INFOCOM INTRODUCES ™ CUTTHROATS Nights on Hardscrabble Island are lonely and cold when the lighthouse barely pierces the gloom. You sit on your bed, thinking of better times and far-off places. A knock on your door stirs you, and Hevlin, a shipmate you haven't seen for years staggers in. "I'm in trouble," he says. "I had a few too many at The Shanty. I was looking for Red, but he wasn't around, and I started talking about.... Here," he says, handing you a slim volume that you recognize as a shipwreck book written years ago by the Historical Society. You smile. Every diver on the island has looked for those wrecks, without even an old boot to show for it. You open the door, hoping the drunken fool will leave. "I know what you're thinking'," Hevlin scowls, "but look!" He points to the familiar map, and you see new locations marked for two of the wrecks. "Keep it for me," he says. "Just for tonight. It'll be safe here with you. Don't let--." He stops and broods for a moment. "I've got to go find Red!" And with that, Hevlin leaves. You put the book in your dresser and think about following Hevlin. Then you hear a scuffle outside. You look through your window and see two men struggling.
    [Show full text]