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	Title: (Dimmer Dungeons) The Lost Treasures of Infocom
	Author: Marci Rogers
	Source: Enchanted Realms #11
	Date: May-June 1992
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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<img class="float-right-half" src="/public/img/articles/enrealms-review-ltoi/dimmer-dungeons.png" alt="Dimmer Dungeons">

<p class="article-dropcap italic">
You gaze at yourself in the mirror, turning side to
side, and then twisting yourself at an angle to get
a glimpse of the back. You think about changing,
then change your mind, reconsider, and then
finally decide that you look just fine. Besides,
apparel, no matter how luxurious or how
homespun, is bound to make no difference to
Morggon. He is, after all, a dwarf, and a royal dwarf at that,
although Maeve has told you never to mention that in his presence
as there is a tragic story in his past. Unfortunately, she has never
told you that story, and Morggon is hardly the talkative sort. He is,
however, a fearless warrior and a steadfast friend, and everyone at
the <strong>RealmsHead</strong> is devoted to him, so you would like to be on
his good side.
</p>

*Maybe the present you selected for his birthday will help.
Anxiously, you glance once more at the sealed chest in the corner. 1t
isn't overly large, but it weighs a great deal.*

*"Small but muscular," the salesman at the Shailan Bazaar told
you, "just like your dwarven friend. You've got a real bargain there,
that's for sure. Oh, by the way, don't open it yourself. You might
let its secret out, and that would ruin the surprise. See ya!"*

*You might feel better, if the salesman hadn't vanished in a puff
of smoke two seconds later. Still, the chest is compelling.... If only
your magic skills were a bit better, you could test it for traps. Your
hand reaches out, touches the lock, then draws back at the sound of
footsteps in the hall. They are light steps, almost airy, the sound of
elven boots. On an impulse, you throw open the door and confront
the walker.*

*Lariel fails to look even mildly surprised. She simply smiles at
you, an action which leaves most mortals breathless. You are no
exception, as you still haven't grown used to her beauty.*

*"You look worried," she continues, "and Maeve is already
downstairs. Could I help?"*

*"Yeeeesss," you stammer as you point toward the chest. While
she moves closer to it, you recover enough to explain your concern.
"From the bazaars of Shaila?" she says, stretching her tapering
fingers along both sides of tire leather bindings. "Morggon should
be most flattered that you traveled that far for his sake. Be at ease.
There are 110 traps here, and I sense all inner light that gleams truly
golden. I would hurry down with it, for I believe it is a treasure fit
for any Dwarven Prince."*

Later that evening, you reflect on how right she was as
you and Maeve sit comfortably watching Morggon decide
which adventure he will begin first.

"Wherever did you find that wonderful package?" she
asks. "You couldn't have pleased Morggon more. He's
always complaining that so many adventurers assume that
great dwarf strength means tiny dwarf brain, and he is a great
lover of puzzles. Oh, to think we thought Infocom might
have died forever.

"Silly, I suppose, to assume that glitz and speed would
completely drown out the voices of all those who love a good
story, but we did so worry that the software companies' need
for such large profits to meet escalating production costs
would create more and more products that sought to please
only the most common denominators. When Lucasfilm
boldly advertised, a bit sarcastically, the 'illiteracy driven
parser,' many of us who are long-time adventurers felt so old
and tired that we thought to vanish into the mists. I imagine
that avid readers felt the same when proponents of television
announced that books would be dead in two or three years.
Certainly, there has been a marked drop in literacy in some
parts of the mundane world, such as the Westland called
America, but many of the inhabitants there still read, and
there are those among them who prefer to view *Masterpiece
Theatre* instead of *The Simpsons*, so I suppose all is not lost."

She smiles toward Morggon. "Not lost at all. Just look at
the wealth of that documentation alone; a manual of nearly
300 pages, and an accompanying hint book which is even
larger! But of course, it would have to be to properly support
the full twenty adventures contained in the oversized box.
Before Morggon opened it, I would never have guessed it
contained software!

"A great many favorites lay within, all the excursions into
the world of *Zork*, the *Enchanter* trilogy (which Marco and
Lariel are fairly itching to try), mysteries from *Moonmist* to
*Deadline*, some of the most compelling space epics, and such
offbeat charmers as *Infidel*, *Ballyhoo* and *Lurking Horror*.

"Yet, despite the quantity, the whole set will take up very
little of anyone's hard drive, and as much or as little can be
installed as you would like. That is one feature of the beauty
of text games, although *Beyond Zork* has a few graphic
elements, and *Zork Zero* does feature some very nice
illustrations. Most of the pictures, however, must exist in the
players' minds, the greatest canvases of all. Fortunately, the
inclusion of all those wonderful map sheets eliminates the
need for having to create those in our heads, and they're such
fun to read!"

Morggon is juggling the two sets of disks now, mumbling
to himself and staring intently at both monitor screens. He
gives a decisive nod, pulls on his dark beard, and begins
loading the Amiga disks on to his hard drive. Lariel and
Marco pounce on the MS-DOS version and boot up
*Spellbreaker*.

Maeve laughs. "I also think it was so sweet of that
salesman to include both formats in your package, although
others will not have that luxury and will have to decide when
they buy. The day I freed my 486 monster, I thought I should
own a rare combination indeed, but it seems the Amiga/MS-DOS
pairing is wending its way into many domiciles of
both nobles and merchants. In fact, several pilgrims passing
through the **Inn** have asked us to provide advice on format
selection. It does seem as if Morggon has made the prudent
choice in this case. The Amiga format allows text and
background to be rendered in any color combination by
tailoring the Workbench. This is a welcome relief from the
harshness of the MS-DOS white text on black. Also, if you
own a larger machine with a faster processor, you will need to
install ANSI.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS file, which will make the
Infocom adventures run quite smoothly, but may wreak
unexpected havoc with other denizens on your hard drive,
particularly if NANSI.SYS is also present. For example, the
graphics in Civilization became quite uncivilized, and the
sound effects of Shanghai II turned dragon's snorts until one
tester removed the ANSI.SYS from the start up. Naturally,
there are ways around this difficulty, but if you have your
choice of both formats, why bother? In both cases,
installations to hard drives is simple, and there is no copy
protection anywhere, although you will need that
wonderfully lavish documentation in many cases.

"Enough of this technical prattle, young one. Tell me how
you managed to acquire the King's ransom it must have taken
to purchase such a find."

You tell her honestly that it cost you nowhere near what
she might guess, that the price on its placard was only $69.95,
and that you were able to haggle the salesman down to under
$55.00.

She laughs at that. "No wonder he disappeared in a
cloud of smoke. Let us hope Shaila's bazaars teem with such
chests, for I believe that there will be a rush of travelers
headed that way on the morrow, and well worth the trip, for
they will discover the endless vistas of intrigue and
imagination open only to those, who, in spite of profiteers
and marketeering, hold on to their ability to read, reason and
rejoice."

*The cursor on the Amiga monitor blinks eagerly, but Morggon
pauses, rises and crosses the room to stand before you.*

*"For many reasons," he says in his gruff yet kind voice, "I never
entered the original lands of* Zork. *Since you are new to
adventuring, I thought the same might be true in your case."
You nod agreement, afraid that speech might cause him to stop
talking.*

*"Then, since it is my birthday, and I am told I am to be
indulged, might I have the pleasure of your company on this
excursion? There is much to find and do, and two great minds are
surely better than one."*

*You see the twinkle in his eyes, and realize that he is not as grim
a character as you thought. Maeve squeezes your hand and pushes
you forward. As you head off to the Great Underground Empire,
you can feel her pleasure. There are all sorts of treasures in these
Realms, some visible, some hidden, some bought in the Shailan
Bazaars and some, those most worth having, beyond them all.*

[Reviewer's Note: It was impossible for me to rate this
package under the current system, as there is no sound, and
no actual "graphics." However, these truly are treasures, and I
believe every adventurer, new or old, should own this
package in the format of his or her choice (Amiga, MS-DOS or
Mac). It is an incredible bargain not to be missed, and it has
my HIGHEST recommendation! Even though the
**Distinctive Adventure Award** has become fairly
commonplace, I think this is one adventure package that truly
deserves it.

Also, for those interested, the package contains: *Zork*, *Zork
II*, *Zork III*, *Beyond Zork*, *Zork Zero*, *Enchanter*, *Sorcerer*,
*Spellbreaker*, *Deadline*, *Witness*, *Suspect*, *Lurking Horror*, *Ballyhoo*,
*Infidel*, *Moonmist*, *Planetfall*, *Stationfall*, *Suspended*, *Starcross* and
*Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*.

Yes, this does mean that some of my personal favorites,
such as *Wishbringer*, *Border Zone* and *Hollywood Hijinx* are
missing, along with the rest of the Infocoms that also deserve
notice. Okay, we can forget about *Nord & Bert* — a painful
memory at best. I hope that this means that we can look
forward to a second Infocom collection. Register your
support now — buy this one!!

<img style="max-width: 85%; display: block; margin: auto;" src="/public/img/articles/enrealms-review-ltoi/ltoi-box-score.png" alt="Lost Treasures of Infocom rating 95/100">
