<!--
	Title: (MARKETALK: Reviews) Infidel
	Author: Margot Comstock Tommervik
	Source: Softalk, v4(3)
	Date: November 1983
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

**Infidel**. By Michael Berlyn. Fiction writers enjoy developing all kinds of
characters, not just heroes. Kids, when they're playing make-believe,
enjoy pretending to be all kinds of people, not just heroes. So why
shouldn't computer game players enjoy playing roles that aren't heroes?

The protagonist of *Infidel* is not a very nice guy — in fact, he's the
heavy. As the story opens, his generally obnoxious behavior toward
others has just begun to catch up with him. Without proper planning and
provision, he has bullied a crew into an archaeological expedition he has
no right to make, all for stolen glory and wealth. Now the crew has abandoned
him in the desert and taken all the provisions with them. Ironically,
a crucial navigational tool arrives by plane-drop just after our
nonhero discovers the mutiny. Angry and alone, he can use the device to
fmd the buried pyramid they were seeking and explore it for its treasures
and secrets.

And, of course, that is the meat of the game. Now the player takes
control of this rather Machiavellian person. Since you probably aren't
mean, unscrupulous, and greedy, and since you're probably a lot more
interested in solving the puzzles than in whether the imaginary pyramid
is sacred, this is where you pretty much forget about the character of
your character.

The puzzles are excellent. Although losing sight of the unique portrayal
leaves you playing a relatively standard, single-protagonist-in-the-world
adventure, that standard adventure is among the best of its kind.
And a twistingly clever ending returns your antihero to himself.

It's a terrific concept — that of creating games in which we can play
roles very different from ourselves — and Berlyn is a fine enough writer
to achieve it. Perhaps if there were puzzles that required behaving dishonorably
for solution . . . beyond greed, that is. All adventurers have
learned to accept as a given the idea of gathering up all the treasure as if
they had a right to it without any reference to reality. So characterizing
greed is temporarily ineffective.

But there are all sorts of possibilities. . . .

Other than providing a fascinating, well-written background and setting,
the alter-characterization doesn't work in *Infidel*. However, the adventure
remains one of the best and certainly one of the most literary
games available. So play it and relish its puzzles and, when you're
through, sit back and enjoy contemplating the gaming future it
suggests.

<p class="smaller"><em>Infidel</em>, by Michael Berlyn, Infocom (55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138;
617-492-1031). $49.95.</p>