<!--
	Title: (CyberPlay) The Lost Treasures of Infocom
	Author: Tom Malcom
	Source: .info, #49
	Date: April 1992
	Transcription by Steve Derby
	Transcribed by Steve Derby
-->

Some of the finest hours I've ever frittered away in front of a computer screen
were frittered with Infocom's text adventures back in the early Eighties. In fact, I've
been hunting unsuccessfully for a copy of the *Zork* trilogy for the past year or so and
if I hadn't been so eager to get it booted up, I would have been turning cartwheels down
the hall when this box showed up. Medigenic, the parent company of Activision
and Infocom has been tied up in bankruptcy and litigation for the past couple of years,
but have once again begun shipping a few titles. The first I've seen is this amazing
collection of Infocom classics. The package consists of six disks containing twenty
games. That's right, twenty of them, along with a comprehensive manual, a fat hint
book, and maps. Text adventures are a rarity these days, but even with the addition of
graphics, sound, and fancy interfaces of modern adventures, these Infocom works
have never been topped. In my book, they're the best interactive fiction ever
done and having them all together in one package is better than a thousand Christmases.

<figure class="float-right-half">
<img src="/public/img/articles/dotinfo-review-ltoi/ltoi-screen-shot.jpg" alt="A screen shot from Zork I">
<figcaption class="center">The classic opening of <em>Zork</em>,
	one of the twenty adventures in Activision's <em>Lost Treasures
	of Infocom</em>.</figcaption>
</figure>

The reason Infocom adventures are so good is the writing. I would revise the
description of them from interactive fiction to interactive literature. It's been long
enough since they were first published to provide a little perspective and they have
held up far better than I would have expected when I first played them. They're
not in the same category as the *Iliad* or *Hamlet*, but they can certainly hold their
own against *Alice in Wonderland*, *Peter Pan*, or *The Big Sleep*. The writing takes
advantage of the medium and does it with great style, wit, and a sure grasp of what it
takes to involve the player in the story. And most of them are laugh-out-loud funny.

The games fall into three basic categories, though there are a few strays. The
fantasies are my favorites and include *Zork I*, *Zork II*, *Zork III*, *Beyond Zork*, *Zork
Zero*, *Enchanter*, *Sorceror*, and *Spellbreaker*. The science fiction category has
*Suspended*, *Starcross*, *Planetfall*, *Stationfall*, and the sublimely loony *Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy*. The five mysteries are *Deadline*, *Witness*, *Suspect*, *Ballyhoo*, and
*Moonmist*. Rounding out the twenty titles are *Infidel*, an Indiana Jones-type Egyptian
adventure, and *The Lurking Horror*, which would do H. P. Lovecraft proud. I also want
to give credit to the authors here. The original *Zork* trilogy was written by Dave
Lebling and Marc Blanc, who are at the top my list for the computer game Hall of
Fame. *Beyond Zork* was written by Brian Moriarty and *Zork Zero* by Steve Meretzky,
both of whom are also on my Hall of Fame list. I'm really kind of surprised at how
small the group of Infocom authors is. Besides those already named, I only need to
mention Stu Galley (*Witness*), Jeff O'Neill (*Ballyhoo*). Jim Lawrence (*Moonmist* co-author).
Michael Berlyn (*Suspended*, *Infidel*). Douglas Adams collaborated with
Steve Meretzky in bringing his very successful *Hitchhiker's Guide lo the Galaxy* to
the interactive format. The contributions they've made to computer gaming are inestimable.

I suppose I like the fantasies best because *Zork* was the first computer game I
ever played. It's partly a nostalgia trip for me, but it's also the game that popularized
the adventure genre. The trilogy, consisting of *Zork I*, *II*, and *III*, is a cohesive whole,
filled with puzzles, strange places, even stranger goings-on. The basic premise is to
find your way around The Great Underground Empire and collect treasures. The
catch is figuring out how to do it. I long ago found all the treasures, solved all the
puzzles, and explored all the nooks and crannies, but I returned to it over and over
again. The reason is that *Zork* is such a great read and there's so much satisfaction
in making things work in it. It has never bored me and I go through it in slightly different
ways each time I play it. I treasure *Zork* above all other games. *Beyond Zork*
and *Zork Zero* aren't quite as successful as the trilogy, but I would have been disappointed
if they hadn't been included in the collection. They're later additions to the
series and while they are well worth playing again, they don't hold quite the
same fascination; they expand on already-discovered territory and ideas. Like most
sequels, they don't break much new ground, though they do make some technical
improvements.

*Enchanter*, *Sorceror*, and *Spellbreaker* form another trilogy and set the stage for
many of the swords and sorcery games being published today. After spending some
time with *Enchanter* again, I found myself wishing that the designers of current S&S
games would lake another look at this trio. The games don't take themselves seriously,
spells consist of a single word instead of needlessly complex formulas, and there's a
terrific sense of fun in playing. The emphasis is on exploration, interesting images,
and clever puzzles rather than on endless, meaningless combat with trite monsters and
villains. How refreshing these games are and how sad to have to go back nearly a
decade to find some originality.

I spent nearly as much time with the science fiction games as I did with *Zork*. *Starcross*
was always a particular favorite, though *Planetfall* and *Stationfall* are actually
better games. They also introduced Floyd, a robot companion I'd love to have
around in real life. *Suspended* took a little different approach. The plot has you waking
from cryogenic suspension unable to move. The planet you're on has gone terribly
wrong and it's up to you to save it by directing six robots, each of which has a
different ability. *Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, though, is the best of the sci-fi
adventures. I had, of course, read Douglas Adams' lunatic books long before I played
the game, but that didn't spoil anything at all. If anything. I appreciated the game
more for having read them. Adams was a Monty Python collaborator and that type of
humor pervades the game. Logic is skewed (and skewered), things are seldom what
they seem. Earth is about to be destroyed to make way for an intergalactic bypass, and
no one seems terribly concerned about it except you. Even so, *Hitchhiker's Guide*
tells us, "Don't Panic."

I regret to say I never played the mysteries all the way through. Some strange personality
quirk makes me prefer being told a mystery rather than figuring it out on my
own. That doesn't stop *Deadline*, *Witness*, and *Suspect* from being terrific games and
classic mysteries in the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie. They
add time limitations to the Infocom formula and also introduced us to Sgt. Duffy, who is
still referred to occasionally by old-timers in adventuring. *Deadline* is in the classic
locked room genre and places a time limit on finding the murderer. *Witness* is set in
1938 Los Angeles, and is my favorite of the trio. (Not too surprising, considering my
all-time favorite movie is *Chinatown*.) It, too. allows you only twelve hours to solve
the crime. *Suspect* takes place at an upper-crust estate, where a costume ball turns
deadly. *Ballyhoo* puts you behind the scenes in a circus where the owner's daughter
has been kidnapped. *Moonmist* covers yet another genre, the gothic romance. Set
in a prototypical English castle that may or may not be haunted, it rounds out the collection
of mysteries nicely.

In some fit of obsession, I played through all of *Infidel* in a single weekend. I
think I may have slept for a couple of hours, but I can't remember for certain. I do
remember being utterly exhausted after finishing, though. Set in an Egyptian pyramid,
*Infidel* offers Indiana Jones-type thrills, exotic scenes, and fine puzzles. It also
makes a great companion piece for *The Lurking Horror*, which is set on (and under)
a college campus, where there are some scary things going on. The game pays
homage to H. P. Lovecraft and the horrors in it are horrible indeed.

Infocom text adventures fell out of fashion as computers became more graphically
oriented. They require constant typing and many people just plain hate to type.
(Although it is an entertaining way to improve typing skills.) The Infocom parser
was, and still is, the best text interpreter I've ever seen. The vocabulary of the
games and the range of things they can understand is a tribute to the skill of the
programmers and writers. *The Lost Treasures* isn't all of the Infocom games. I can
remember the titles of nine more that aren't included - *Wishbringer*, *Trinity*, *Bureaucracy*
(another wickedly funny Douglas Adams work), *Leather Goddesses of Phobos*,
*Border Zone*, *Seastalker*, *Cutthroats*, *Journey*, and *Shogun* - and I believe there
were 33 Infocom adventures in all. Activision doesn't have any immediate plans for
rereleasing the remaining 13, but I hope they will. I'm sure the fact that 10,000
copies of *Lost Treasures* were sold within 48 hours will help them in their decision.
(They're also planning on doing graphic versions of some of the Infocom titles, but I
believe I'll stick with the all-text ones.)

What makes these games so special is that they leave so much to the player's
imagination. The scenes, characters, locations, and objects are can be visualized as
you wish, not how a graphic artist renders them for you. The wit, cleverness, and storytelling
have never been equalled. *Lost Treasures* is a bargain at $69.95. Where
else can you get twenty games of this calibre for so little? The only thing I miss is the
original packaging; Infocom was known for all the trinkets, doodads, and paraphernalia
they included in the box. Kevin Cheung (remastering engineer), Kelly Zmak (manual
& hint book), and Pat Zmak (manual & hint book) have done an outstanding job in
recreating the flavor of it while making the whole package compact enough to be easily
manageable.

Thanks. Activision, for giving us this piece of history. And thanks even more,
Infocom, for giving us these legendary games
