<!--
	Title: Quarterstaff: Our first role-playing fantasy
	Author: Infocom staff
	Source: The Status Line, v7(3)
	Date: Fall 1988
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

Three months ago, a peaceful colony of druids vanished without a trace. As
their crops lie overgrown and abandoned, a crossfire of rumors has descended
upon the land, laying blame on everything from epidemic to mass
homicide to demon worship. Scouting parties have been frantically assembled
and sent forth to bring an end to all the hearsay, but none has returned.
Now the local kingdoms, restless for news of the missing sect, have called
upon you to venture into the depths of the lost Tree Druid colony, buried
deep beneath a great oak tree. You must discover whatever foul secret
lies within.

## Graphics and sound

*Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setnoth* -— our first entry into the fantasy
role-playing (FRP) genre and the first in our RPG series -— is role-playing
adventure as you’ve never seen it before on a computer. You’ll read rich
text descriptions of the places, objects, and creatures you come across.
High-resolution graphics and digitized sounds reinforce the text, and your
moves are tracked by a detailed onscreen map which your characters
"draw" as they go.

<figure class="float-right">
	<img src="/public/img/articles/sl-quarterstaff-our-first-role-playing-fantasy/quarterstaff-screen-shot-1.jpg" alt="Quaterstaff Screen Shot">
	<figcaption>Quarterstaff <em>features Apple’s hierarchical menus
		for the ultimate Macintosh interface, making your adventuring
		even easier. Your quest is also aided with the convenience of
		on-screen mapping.</em></figcaption>
</figure>

You issue commands to your characters in full English sentences. And
as in any FRP, the characters in your party develop and mature in a variety
of specific skills, and fight according to a comprehensive combat system.
Pervading the *Quarterstaff* universe at all levels is close attention to
detail -— apparent in everything from the weight and bulk of objects they're
carrying to the complex timetable by which hunger and fatigue affect the
characters in the game. All these elements weave together into a game
which is more akin to a "pen and paper" adventure environment than anything
previously released on a computer.

## Monsters learn from mistakes

As the game opens, you stand at the entrance to the Tree Druids' colony,
ready to begin your underearth quest. As you progress, you meet many a
curious creature. In Quarterstaff, monsters are not merely "deathbots,"
whose only purpose in life is to maim and destroy, but ordinary living things
whose actions are guided by real life drives such as hunger, anger, and the
need for friendship.

Monsters even learn from their mistakes and accomplishments
through an artificial-intelligence learning system. Some creatures will
react negatively to your party, resorting to combat and force. Others, however,
will try to help your party, or even join forces with you; and so,
though you begin the adventure with only one character, you're
sure to quickly acquire a formidable band of adventurers.

<figure class="float-right">
	<img src="/public/img/articles/sl-quarterstaff-our-first-role-playing-fantasy/quarterstaff-screen-shot-2.jpg" alt="Another Quaterstaff Screen Shot">
	<figcaption><em>In</em> Quarterstaff <em>we’ve included on-screen
		room-by-room mapping as well as a map of the surrounding
		geography (shown in the picture above). Digitized sounds
		and high-resolution graphics enhance the mood.</em></figcaption>
</figure>
*Quarterstaff* provides a number of innovations for manipulating
your party. Your characters can move about independently,
or as part of a central group that moves as a unit. You can even divide
your party into two or more groups that explore different parts of the geography
on their own. This gives you unlimited freedom to control your
party: you could, for instance, allow some of your group to
sleep, while two characters stand watch, and a scouting party
probes the nearby rooms for action.

*Quarterstaff* was originally designed, written and implemented
for the Macintosh by Simulated Environment Systems, which released the
game in 1987. The game immediately received rave reviews —- *MacUser*
gave it a near-perfect rating of four mice, while *Dragon* gave it a perfect
five stars, saying ‘Quarterstaff... is, in our opinion, among the finest fantasy
role-playing games available for any computer system.” Despite reviews
like these. which reflected impressive design and development. Quarterstaff
ran into marketing trouble, and its distribution was limited. We recognized
the game’s potential, and bought the rights to the product.

## Includes hierarchical menus

We’ve spent months in collaboration with the game’s authors, Scott
Schmitz and Ken Updike, and a slew of talented artists, writers and programmers
in order to perfect the game. The first improvement was the
implementation of a new Macintosh interface — one that allows the user to
play the game entirely with the mouse, or to play entirely using the
keyboard. Pull-down menus allow you to easily point and click your way
through even complex sentences. We’ve included Apple’s hierarchical
menus, usually found only in top-notch business products, to allow you
easy access to your inventory. Of course, any command can be typed in
via the keyboard.

Next, InfoImplementor Amy Briggs (author of *Plundered Hearts*)
reworked and rewrote most of the game’s text to provide a greater sense
of plot and continuity within the story. We also corrected a few grammatical
errors as well. Computer artists were brought in to touch up the highresolution
graphics and to design a special set of gorgeous color graphics
which the game uses when running on a color Mac II.

## New package and manual

<img class="float-left-narrow" src="/public/img/articles/sl-quarterstaff-our-first-role-playing-fantasy/quarterstaff-packaging.jpg" alt="Quaterstaff Packaging">

Our infamous testing staff (which had recently been genetically altered
so as to not require sleep) was unleashed on the program to perform
exhaustive bug-whacking. After several dozen cases of Jolt cola were consumed
over the course of a few months, the finished game emerged.
Finally, a new package was conceived and produced featuring beautiful
cover art by artist Ken Barr. Inside we put a brand new user’s manual and, as
is our style, an assortment of mood setting pieces: a mystical parchment
titled "The Path to Enlightenment," a wooden druidic coin and a dazzling
color poster featuring the cover art.

The Macintosh version of *Quarterstaff* will be available in October, and
will include the special color graphics for the Mac II. Versions for the Apple
II GS and IBM will be available in spring of 1989. Watch upcoming issues
for further information. All versions will retail for $49.95.
