"All the Grues New Zork Area Weather: That Fit, We Print" Dark - carry ·a lamp.
VOL. 3 .. . No. I WINTER 1984 INTERNATIONAL EDITION SORCERER HAS THE MAGIC TOUCH ~~~InfoNewsRoundup~~~
New Game! Hint Booklets Sorcerer, the second in the En In December, Infocom's long chanter series of adventures in awaited direct mail operation got the mystic arts, is now available. underway. Many of the functions The game was written by Steve formerly provided by the Zork Meretzky, whose hilarious sci Users Group were taken over by ence fiction game, Planetfall, was Infocom. Maps and InvisiClues named by Info World as the Best hint booklets were produced for Adventure Game of 1983. In Sor all 10 of Infocom's products. The cerer, you are a member of the games themselves were also prestigious Circle of Enchanters, made available primarily as a ser a position that you achieved in vice to those of you in remote recognition of your success in geographical areas and to those defeating the Warlock Krill in who own the less common com Enchanter. puter systems. When the game starts, you re Orders are processed by the alize that Belboz, the Eldest of Creative Fulfillment division of the Circle, and the most powerful the DM Group, one of the most Enchanter in the land, has disap respected firms in direct mail. peared. Perhaps he has just taken Their facilities are in the New a vacation, but it wouldn't be like York metropolitan area, which him to leave without letting you explains the strange addresses _ _ _,kn= ow. Yoµ rems:mber that he has and phone numbers you'll see on been experimenting with power the order forms . ful spells and dangerous demons, There were admittedly some apd you fear the worst - that annoying start-up problems, but Belboz has been trapped by an the operation is now running evil force, and that his magic smoothly. We hope that those of might be turned against the Cir you who experienced problems cle. And only a powerful Sorcerer with your first order will give us can rescue him from a terrible another chance. fate! With its reliance on magic Included in the Sorcerer package you will find an issue of Popular Enchanting spells and potions, Sorcerer has Zork Fan in Orbit Magazine, the Creatures of Frobozz Jnfotater, and a handy storage pouch. become an immediate hit both When she's in the air, Sally inside Infocom and with our crew Ride, the nation's first woman to of outside game testers, many of go into space, is occupied with whom think it's our best yet. the computers on the space shut Hello Sailor! Besides its outstanding writing tle Challenger. But when she gets and its intricately crafted plot and her feet back on the ground, she Welcome to the Infocom Elite and why we only let them out on problems, it boasts the largest turns to Infocom for entertain Adventurers Society. Some of you Sundays and Thursday after vocabulary of any Infocom game: ment. Sally's favorite compute: may remember The New Zork noons! And more! The whole over 1000 words! With your En pastime is none other than Zork. Times put out by "Mike" of the spectacular, sordid, spine-tingling .cyclopedia Frobozzica, you'll "Zork is going to drive me to my Zork Users Group. Well, Mike is story is right here in The New have a lot of fun researching the knees," Sally said in a recent now Infocom's Product Manager Zork Times. Enchanter universe and the magazine interview. and The New Zork Times and While the staff of The New History of the Great Under some of the Zork Users Group's Zork Times never runs out of ground Empire. The Enchanter other services have been taken subjects to write about, now and ·series will be concluded in 1985. Zork in Print over by Infocom. then we do like to reach into the Look for details in future issues of Steve Meretzky, author of What can those of you who NZT mailbag for a few ideas from The New Zork Times. Planetfall and Sorcerer, has writ have never seen The New Zork our readers. If you have any sug ten three "What Do I Do Now?" Times expect? The latest break gestions for articles or regular Technical Hot-Line books for the Tor Young Adult throughs! The newest Infocom features you would like to see, or Infocom has established a Adventure series. They are titled games to watch for! Special of if you just want to practice your direct line to our technical sup ZORK: The Forces of Krill, fers! Feature articles: the making penmanship, drop a line to: New port staff. Call (617) 576-3190 for ZORK: The Malifesto Quest, and of an Infocom game; unusual Zork Times, Inevitable Newslet answers to questions of a techni ZORK: The Cavem of Doom. commands that get outlandish ter Articles of the '80's, 55 cal nature (e.g., disk problems, Look for them at your local book results; the people behind the Wheeler St., Cambridge, Mass., game bugs, etc.). Please note that store. scenes, what they're doing there, 02138. B this is not a hint line. . .. More InfoNews on Page 2 PAGE2 THE NEW ZORK TIMES WINTER1984 Call the Exterminator Despite our best honing efforts, the dungeon door FROM THE some pretty funny bugs have INSIDE! The Dungeon Master made it out into the marketplace. will tell you you're not ready and Here's a run-down of some of the send you back to the Button most embarrassing and hilarious Room, but also follow you! You bugs on record. Note of caution: can then lead him all over the If you haven't finished a par game, and even strand him in the ticular game, we'd advise against Zork I area, if you're clever. reading the associated paragraph. In an early version of the game, you could carry a light source ZORKI across the lake inside the chest, There is an obscure container thus avoiding using the viewing bug that is probably in every table to get the grue repellent, single version of the game. A and consequently finishing the while back, we were wondering game with only 6 of the 7 points. what would happen if you have Since this bug was fixed, we've two large containers, and you had people call up, saying "but tried putting them inside each my friend says the way to get to other. So, we went into Zork I, the Key Room is to bring a light put the coffin inside the raft, and source across the lake inside the then said PUT RAFT IN COFFIN. chest''! They both disappeared! Zork I, being our oldest game, STARCROSS contains some classic InfoBugs in Speaking of talking to in its early version. Shaking any animate objects, this bug is ram non-empty open container may pant in early versions of Star cause a crash. You "bump your cross. A simple (though totally "I don't see what's so imaginative about these games." head on the river" if you try to unintended) solution to the red enter it. And saying GO rod problem is to say NEST,
Have you arrested the "A Gift From Space". Nobody's the time of a murder, led us to SF book as a word meaning ar murderer in our mystery thriller socks were knocked off, so we immediately think of the title rival on a new planet (much like "Was It Murder?" Or found the gave G/R another shot. They pro Witness. G/ R suggested changing landfall). Nobody really believed alien artifact in "Celestus"? Or posed five possible titles: this slightly to The Witness, a him, but it was never improved maybe met a somewhat childish Celestus, The Linking, Alien In title more in keeping with titles upon. robot in "Lost Planet"? No, those tercept, Stardate: 2186, and Star in the Raymond Chandler era. Our first Tale of Adventure aren't the names of our newest cross. Celestus didn't have the Enchanter, written by Blank and might have been called Pyramid. games - in fact, they're rejected right down-at-the-heels image for Lebling, had its name before it Though uninspired, it was used names for some existing ones your ship's name. The Linking through the game's initial testing was even started. It just sounded (can you guess which?). As a sounded too much like a Stephen and had a loyal following due to right and its only serious com player, you're probably taken the King novel. Alien Intercept its descriptive nature. G/ R was petition was Zork IV. A strenuous names of our games for granted. begged for a joystick. And Star unimpressed and suggested In We didn't. And if you think that date: 2186 wasn't even good argument raged for weeks: was it fidel. Infocom was unimpressed: writing the games is tough, you enough for a Star Trek episode. a Zork or wasn't it. It wasn't. it sounded more like something should have been there when we Starcross, however, with its Planetfall was titled Sole Sur from the Crusades than an ex named them. reference to the stars and its vivor by its author, Steve Meret ploration for a lost pyramid. But To be honest, some names similarity to the word star zky, and later shortened to just in combination with its distinc were easier than others. Zork, for crossed, had the right sort of feel, Survivor. When we discovered tive logo and the proposed example, was simple, since it was and was selected. another game called Survivor, we package design, we relented. We used by some of the founders of We did a little better internally decided we'd rather switch than even changed the game a bit to Infocom back in 1977, when the with some of our recent games. fight. G/ R went to it again and make it work better. game was first written. At that Mike Berlyn's Suspended was submitted a list about 30 long, That takes us to the present. As time the only other "adventure" originally called Suspension their favorite of which was Lost this newsletter appears, we will game was the original Adventure, (Suspenders, affectionately) for Planet. Reaction was less than be releasing the sequent to En and authors Marc Blank and Tim the main character's state of enthusiastic, not the least chanter, Spellbreaker. No that's Anderson were at a complete loss suspended animation, but because it reminded two of us of no right - I think it's Spell in thinking up a good name for Suspended seemed to work a lit- the TV series, Lost in Space. bound. Or was it Sorcerer? I don't tlieir new game:- Since they t e etter. tu a ey's · an suggeste P1anetfQJI during know, really. And I don't care. wanted people to play it, and 1930's-style mystery, in which a long, frustrating meeting - he I'm just glad I'm not working on since you can't run a nameless the player is actually present at thought he had seen it once in an ad copy. El program, they needed something ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ quick. Blank chose Zork, a nonsense word commonly used 111•••••••••• at the MIT Lab for Computer Science as an all-purpose interjec CLASSIFIEDS tion. He figured that he would FOR SALE: Twenty valuable trea· think of something else later, but sures. Someone just left them in the the name stuck (he never did trophy case in my living room . How about that ?' Write to Ellron , White ·c· .. a~1ar~n, cav1ar come up with anything better, House in the Clearing . Forest ot ITIS anyway) and survives to this day. Zork 9060 . . out. This adage · fits just one brand As an aside, the original Zork FOR SALE: Three-headed dog . cheap . Used to be fierce guard dog . of computer had well over 200 rooms, a now just slobbers over everyone . • game software. vocabulary of nearly 1000 words, Very friendly, upkeep low - one ITBecause nothing Ells else stimulates your imagination and chal and required a mainframe com dragon ca rcass a day should satisfy it . Contact Boris Flathead , Keeper ot lenges your computer's capabilities like Infocom prose games. puter with over a megabyte of the Tomb . Our secret? We put you inside our stories. And once within, memory! Infocom's Zork trilogy FOR SALE: Single-person mining you'll find a dimension alive with situations, personalities, has about twice the material of ship , perfect for asteroid belt. and logical puzzles that can't be experienced anywhere the original mainframe Zork in Equipped with personable naviga· outside our stories. lion computer. A beauty; hate to about one quarter of a megabyte. part with it but am leavi ng quantum Step up to Infocom. All words . No pictures. The secret That's progress. black hole biz to go on lecture cir· reaches of your mind are beckoning. When Marc Blank started cuit . Write Box 3, Ceres Station . The next dimension is in there waiting writing Infocom's first mystery, WANTED : Gardener tor large estate . for you. Last one quit in huff . Grounds in· (For more information on Infocom he tentatively called it "Was It elude rose garden and orchard . Murder?" After all, it looked like Generous salary. Send references games contact: Infocom, Inc., P.O. a suicide. The name was distinct to Leslie Robner , 506 Lakeview Box 855, Garden City, NY 11530.) Road , Maitland , CT. ly bland, but nobody around In WANTED : Authenti c working En· focom could think of anything chanter 's wand . Last one stolen by lnFDCDlft better (give us a break, we had on upstart adventurer. Wiii pay top The next dimension. ly three employees). We gave the dollar. Contact Wizard of Frobozz . in Exile, Remote Corner ot the Great ·,-...c-- problem to our ad agency, Giar Underground Empire 9t33. dini/Russell (G/R), who came up WANTED : More reliable manutac· _-:-1£, ' . ~.' with the name Deadline along lurer ot integrated circuits . Current c ~.lf .'WI \\, :;• • i1' brand failed at Inopportune mo· I with its distinctive logo. ment. Please send brochure to : lg· For your Apple II , Atari, Commodore 64, CP/M 8", DEC Rainbow, DEC RT-II , IBM , MS-DOS 2. 0, NEC APC, NEC PC-8000, Osborne. Dave Lebling gave his science natz Feroukin, Planetary Manage· TI Professional. TI 99/4A, TRS-80 Model I, TRS-80 Model Ill. fiction scenario a working title of ment Bureau , Contra , Sector 19G. PAGE4 THE NEW ZORK TIMES WINTER1984 INSIDE LOOK AT INFOCOM CALLED "BEST GAME DEVELOPMENT THING SINCE SLICED BREAD" Here at Infocom, we try to get SGT. DUFFY: With all due Another batch of awards - Stu Morning News segment featuring as many people as possible in respect, sir, I don't think I can Galley, author of The Witness, The Witness. The New York volved in the game development take the situation to the lab. was in the Big Apple recently to Times foot to be confused with process in order to create a FROBOZZ: Fiddlesticks. accept an award for his popular The New Zork Times) Sunday smorgasbord of ideas. Our theory murder mystery challenge; Elec Book Review devoted a page to is that "too few cooks create a FLOYD: Enough talking! Let's tronic Games named The Infocom's interactive fiction - noisome stew." In fact, we fre play hider-and-seeker! Witness the Best Adventure of Deadline in particular - saying quently even invite characters 1984. It was the second straight "Deadline, in fact, is more like a from the games to our develop FLATHEAD: And it must be 600 year Infocom has captured the genre of fiction than a game.'' ment sessions. Here's a transcript thousand million billion mega honor - Deadline took the prize The December 5 issue of Time made from a recording of one bytes and take up 37 truckloads in 1983. Three more special magazine featured a full page on such session: of floppy disks . . . honors were recently announced: Jnfocom titled ''Putting Fiction BLANK: Maybe if we could start Planetfall was named Best on a Floppy," the December 22 MARC BLANK: We need to start by settling on a genre. Adventure Game of 1983 by In Washington Post devoted 3 pages working on a new game. foworld magazine; Suspended to the Infocom story, as did the GURTHARK-TUN-BESNAP: I was selected as the Best Com March 1984 issue of Discover DIMWIT FLATHEAD: It must don't know the word "genre." puter Game by Rolling Stone magazine. have two hundred thousand magazine; and Infidel was picked The December issue of rooms, four million takeable ob BLANK: That is, fantasy, sci-fi, Best Adventure/Strategy Game Creative Computing, which jects, and understand a mystery .. . by The Video Game Update. reviewed Planetfall and The vocabulary of every single word MONICA: The only mystery Readers of PC World chose the Witness in an article entitled "In ever spoken in every language around here is how you ever got Zork trilogy as best in the focom Does it Again . . . And ever invented. to be VP, gnurd. magazine's "World Class PC Again," had this to say: "With Contest." The Parent's Choice each new release, each new ven WIZARD OF FROBOZZ: Fantas FLATHEAD : ... and the Foundation recently gave Zork I ture into a genre they have made tic. packages will be made of solid its Parent's Choice Award. famous, the people at Jnfocom, gold and platinum . .. Readers of Electronic Fun authors of Zork and Deadline, MONICA: Not on your life, flat magazine voted the Zork trilogy a seem to reaffirm a commitment brain. Not with the crew of two KRILL: I can't use multiple direct winner in the first "Hall of Fun" to a level of quality and innova bit programmers we've got objects with the verb ''made.'' contest. tion that has guaranteed them not around this dump! BLANK: Maybe we should sched Infocom has received a lot of only a fiercely loyal following, ule another meeting . . . favorable publicity lately. Marc but also an undisputed position at BLANK: I think we ought to Blank, vice president for product the forefront of the computer analyze the situation. FROBOZZ: Friday. development, appeared on a CBS adventure market.'' El
· · · · · - ·(CUT oN 'ooiiE'o' i:1iiiiii · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·(CUT ON 'ooiiE'o' i:1iiiEi · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · - · - · · · · · · Free lnvisiClues with this coupon and the pur Ne"W Zork Tillles Puzzle chase of any lnfocom game. Return this coupon with your (D + E) game order or with proof of pur x chase of an lnfocom game (~t + (F)(G) (sales receipt dated between March 1, 1984 and May 15, 1984 A =The number of grasping extensions of all seven robots in Suspended (including Fred) identifying the game purchas put together. ed and the warranty/registra tion card from the game pur B =The seat number in Row R that Ms. Dunbar sat in when she attended the Hartford chased) and get one of the Philharmonic Orchestra on the evening of July 7, 1982, according to Deadline. following sets of lnvisiClues hint books and maps ($7.95 C = The value of the Flathead stamp found in Zork II, in zorkmids. value) absolutely free: D = The first year that the Royal Museum in Zork ill lay unguarded. Check One: o Zork I o Witness E = The number of matches in the matchbook in Zork I, at the beginning of the game. o Zork II o Starcross F =The cost of building Flood Control Dam #3, in millions of zorkmids. o Zork Ill o Suspended* o Enchanter o Planetfall G = The number of entries in the Staraoss tape library. o Deadline o Infidel x *Map included in game package Limit: one per customer. CONTEST RULES PRIZE: A copy of Sorcerer. Response must be postmarked 1. All entries must be submitted on this form. No copies accepted. Please enclose your name, no later than May 15, 1984. 2. All entries must be received by May 1, 1984. address, telephone number, and Return coupon to lnfocom, 3. Up to ten prizes will be awarded for correct answers. In the event the system you'd want Sorcerer Coupon Offer, C.S. 855, Garden that more than ten correct answers are received, a drawing will to run on. Return to Infocom, City, NY 11530. be held to determine the winners. Void where prohibited by law. NZT Puzzle, 55 Wheeler St ., © 1984 lnfocom, Inc. Cambridge, MA 02138 .