QUfSTJ?USTfRS The Adventurer's Newsletter Vol. Ill,# 4 April, 1986 ACTIVISION BUYS INFOCOM! If you can't beat 'em, buy by the end of June. craze, Activision ran into influence in the software 'em. That seems to be the Negotiations have been trouble when that market market." But would Infocom strategy of Activision, which underway since last December. vanished -- along with hundreds sell out simply to gain wider entered the adventure industry Plans are for Infocom to of programmers, designers, and distribution? Most industry only last year with the release function as a subsidiary of several game magazines. The watchers think not. Syndicated of Mindshadow, a graphics Activision, retaining its company faltered during the columnist Dan Gutman game. _Activision Chairman marketing and product early days of its transition into observed that Infocom "lost a and C EO James H. Levy development in Cambridge, computer games, before pile on Cornerstone trying to recently announced plans to Massachusetts. Activision, extensive reorganization. crack the productivity market" purchase lnfocom, whose all­ based in Mountain View, The main benefit to lnfocom An IBM database, Cornerstone text adventures virtually created California, will take over global will be Activision's European was initially priced at $495, but the adventure game market for distribution. Levy commented. marketing organization, Electric a week after the Activision deal home computers and have "We look forward to working Dreams. Infocom games have was announced Infocom cut the dominated it throughout the with Infocom to build their been available in England for price to $95, effective May 1. Eighties. position in the worldwide home some time, but may now see (Next thing you know they'll be Levy says Activision has computer software market" distribution in Germany and offering a free Cornerstone with signed a letter of agreement to Activision's action is part of some of the 40 other countries every copy of Zork.) Infocom trade two million shares of their what he calls a "long-term reached by Activision. will now focus exclusively on publicly-traded common stock strategy to broaden our product Asked to comment, lnfocom entertainment software. for all the outstanding shares of line." So far this has included President and CEO Joel Berez That includes more in their Infocom's common stock, a purchasing Gamestar, under said, "We have a high regard for Interactive Fiction Plus series, transaction valued at $7 .5 whose logo all sports games Activision's achievements and for computers with a minimum million. The deal won't be will now be marketed, and capabilities, especially their of 128K. The next title in the finalized until details are agreed Creative Software for their line worldwide distribution strength, line, Trinity, is scheduled for upon by the board of directors of productivity software. One and believe that the a . June release and set in an of both firms and Infocom of the companies that raked in combination of Infocom and alternative reality where "magic shareholders, expected to happen big bucks during the videogame Activision will have significant and science co-exist." Rings of Zilfin Rambo: The Game by Ronald Wartow searches for the other, aided by Rambo: "This time, can we Make a wrong move, forget to accomplices of unspeakable win?" make the right one, and you're Things have been peaceful of evil. You alone must find the General: "Not with this parser." dead on arrival, blown away by late, now that Werdna, missing ring, then retrieve the Vietnamese gunships, snipers, Mondain, Minax, Exodus, Claymore mines, river pirates, second ring from Dragos and Somehow I managed to miss Mantor and Lord Xyphus have restore order to the land. everything but a Vietnamese been dispatched. Rest on your While all this may sound Stallone's movie about a ore. laurels no more! Lord Dragos familiar, Rings- of Zilfin is a Vietnam vet who returns to The first few puzzles can be has reared his malevolent head, superb animated fantasy role­ rescue American MIAs. But solved with common sense and and the kingdom of Batiniq, playing adventure filled with after Mindscape turned "Rambo: the arsenal that comprises most once peaceful and prosperous, refreshing originality, First Blood, Part Two" into an of your initial inventory: a needs your help. The nation's innovative techniques and all-text adventure, I had no machine gun and five bullets, a three realms include 27 superior mood enhancement. choice. Duty called, so I signed compound bow with 6 arrows, a inhabited towns and villages, a Generously sprinkled with up, booted up, and shipped out knife, a camera, and a pouch dark tower and a mountain special encounters, puzzles, in a chopper for the jungles of full of salt. Then suddenly castle, all surrounded by harsh sound effects and special effects, Vietnam. The mission: bring the going gets tough, and deserts, unclimbable mountains, it successfully combines the back proof that Amerian POWS unlike in Bard's Tale, there's no deadly mountain passes, dense better elements of all my are being held prisoner, and do pub where the tough can go forests and deadly marshes. favorite fantasy role-playing it within the eighteen-hour time drinking. Batiniq was formerly protected games and throws in surprising limit. (The current day is noted Survival is the only reward by the powerful Zilfin wizards. twists. For the 30 hours it at the top left, the minutes in for successful puzzle-solving, The wizards, forgers of the two took to complete the game, my the opposite comer.) for there is also no point rings g1vmg the wearer attention was riveted. It should have been subtitled system or score at all (not even inestimable magical power, are Your lone character begins "A Thousand Ways to Die," for a body-count, which would have now in hiding. Dragos has one this is among the deadliest of the rings and desperately Continued on page 2 adventures I've encountered. Continued on page 3 RINGS OF ZILFIN ADVENTURE HOTLINE Continued from page 1 New Games In Town Blank Leaves Infocom with no magic skill and minimal skill levels Bard lovers -- as in bard of Avon, not Adventure enthusiasts can expect to see in strength, endurance (hit points), fatigue Bard's Tale -- will want to check out a new more new by-lines on Infocom games. and fighting. If endurance or fatigue falls four-game package called MacBeth. These Mike Berlyn left the company last summer, below zero, your character dies. Obviously, text adventures (two also have graphics) and now Marc Blank, one of Infocom's replenishing endurance and fatigue is cover different parts of Shakespeare's play, original implementers and co-founders, has important, but none of the magic spells you eventually obtain will do this. Instead, and each has a "psychological program" in departed. Blank, who co-authored Zw:k, these important attributes and your spell which "Will and you dive into the minds of wrote Deadline. and designed the super Lord and Lady MacBeth." You want points are restored with mushrooms and parser that makes communicating with plants gathered during your travels. While packaging? Avalon Hill throws in a copy Infocom adventures so easy, left the there are only twelve magic spells (three of the play and a batch of articles and other company in early January. "It was just time levels), ranging from multi-monster zaps to background on it It's for C-64/128. to move on," says Blank, "I wanted to do shield protection to teleportation, the Activision's next adventures, still under other things." As Vice President of combination of these spells and your development, are both situated on boats. In Computer Software Development at Simon "gardening" makes for a powerful character. Riverboat, (a working title) you're a & Schuster Electronic Publishing, he is Prior to travelling, your character's gambler who must solve_ a murder on a now-doing those- other things in-New-York. -- locatien is represented by a small cross on a Mississippi- riverboat This is going to be Those things include: "artificial large aerial-view map of the realm. You the first all-text game that requires no intelligence, expert systems, sorting out type in SW to start moving southwest, or one of the other eight common directions typing. Crossbow, a graphic adventure, is new technologies like optical and disk (because of this, mapping is a breeze). The based on a historical perspective of a pirate's storage for Simon & Schuster." Some of map vanishes and you see a side-view of the life. You begin by choosing the life of a his projects will be aimed at middle market buccaneer or privateer, and then have to terrain and your character, a small white and corporate users. "Interactive fiction figure. To start him moving you just lean supply the ship with authentic gear of the isn't a priority" at S & S, according to on the space bar and watch him appear to era before sailing off to seek or bury Blank, but he says "what little they do I'll walk as the panoramic view scrolls from left treasure, fight other ships, and do all the obviously look at. If there's a particularly to right. The arrow keys increase and other things pirates did on the seven seas. good title or license [such as Star Trek. a decrease his rate of speed. Along the way A new company called Firebird has an big hit for the company], then we'll do it" you come across the plants and mushrooms, Apple/C-64 space trading & action game According to the QuestBusters' Rumor monks with whom you can converse, and called Elite, and a graphic adventure called Hotline, Blank's former office at Infocom magical pools that can help or hurt The Pawn for the Atari ST.