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	Title: (DESIGNER PROFILES) Brian Moriarty
	Author: Scorpia
	Source: Computer Gaming World, v6(8)
	Date: Nov 1986
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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In mid-July, our Adventure Game Editor, Scorpia
had the opportunity to interview Brian Moriarty,
author of "Wishbringer" and "Trinity". Here is
her report.

Brian and I met for lunch and had a really fascinating
conversation. Mostly the talk was about
"Trinity", but we also talked a little about
"Wishbringer" and some of Infocom's plans for the
future.

CGW: Let's start with a little background. How
did you come to be a game designer with Infocom?

Brian: Originally, I worked as technical writer
for Analog Computing. Then in the spring of '84, I
went to Infocom as a microcomputer engineer, to
work on the interpreters for various micros. I got to
be friends with Mike Berlyn, Dave Lebling, Stu
Galley and all those people, and I convinced them
that I was going to hold my breath until they made
me a designer. I also had two adventure games that
had been published in Analog, and they were pretty
well received, so that helped, too.

CGW: Ok, now for the usual question: where did
you get the idea for "Wishbringer"?

Brian: Actually, the first game I did was
"Trinity". When I became a games designer, Infocom
asked me for a synopsis of a game I wanted to
do, so I wrote the synopsis for "Trinity". They
looked at it and they all liked it, but they said it
was too ambitious. Of course, at the time we didn't
have the Plus system yet, and it would have been
very difficult to do that on a normal system. Then
the marketing people came over and said "Hey,
what we really want is an introductory game". So I
said "Ok, I'll do an introductory game. Let's try to
think of something neat to put in the box".

CGW: So "Wishbringer" was actually developed
from the packaging?

Brian: Right. I said: "We'll put a magic ring in
the box, and we'll do a story about a magic ring".
But then I said, "Magic rings have already been
done, and the ring would probably be a plastic one.
Why don't we put rocks in the box? We could get a
carload of rocks, they'd be cheap, and we'd just
put one in every box." Then a marketing person
asked, "Why don't we make the rocks glow in the
dark, since the rock in the game glows?". I said
"Ok, we'll paint the rocks with glow-in-the-dark
paint". But the marketing person said "No, the kids
will come along and suck the paint off". So someone
suggested we make rocks. Meanwhile, I started
to write a game around a glow-in-the-dark rock.
And that's where "Wishbringer" came from; it came
from the plastic rock.

CGW: Did you enjoy doing "Wishbringer"?

Brian: Oh yes, very much. It was nice, and it
sold really well. It was '85's biggest seller for Infocom,
by far.

CGW: Will Infocom do a follow-up to
"Wishbringer"?

Brian: Yes. Not right away, but it's on the list.

<img class="float-left" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-designer-profiles-brian-moriarity/wishbringer-cover.jpg" alt="Wishbringer cover">

CGW: Ok, let's move on to "Trinity". Where did
that idea come from?

Brian: Actually, I had the idea in '83, when I
was working at Analog and writing adventures
there. It's an idea that I'd had in my head for a
long time. When the chance came to do it, I took
the plunge.

CGW: Was there anything that set of the specific
train of thought that brought you to "Trinity" and
what would happen in the game?

Brian: I've read a lot about that in the past, and
I've always been interested in that subject. When I
started working on the game, I amassed a pretty
substantial library on the history atomic bomb and
nuclear weaponry in general. In the course of
writing the game, I also did some original research.
I went to the Trinity site myself, visited Los
Alamos and a lot of museums, and I talked to a
couple of people who were actually there. So a lot
of the stuff that happens in "Trinity" is pretty accurate.
I think it's the first interactive fiction that
attempts to re-create a real place and not just simulate
a made-up place.

CGW: And that's all in the New Mexico section
of the game?

Brian: The Kensington Gardens are relatively
accurate, too, except for the location called "The
Wabe". Every other location there is correct and in
the right place. I hadn't seen it before I wrote
about it, but I have seen it since. That part was
written based on maps and photographs.

CGW: How long did it take you to do "Trinity"?
Brian: It was started in May of last year ('85)
and finished in June of this year. A little over a
year.

CGW: How much of that time went into the design,
and how much went into the programming of
it?

Brian: As usual, most of it was programming.
That's usually the case. I'd say that 90% of the time
is programming, and the other 10% is creative. Our
development system is still very programming intensive.
It doesn't do a lot for you. It does some
things, but there's still a lot you have to do for
yourself. It's Quite a bit of drudgery.

CGW: What was the most difficult part of the
game to write?

Brian: The hardest part was in the fantasy world:
the giant sundial, and the shadow moving across.
There's all sorts of factors involved there in moving
that shadow and having it in different rooms, and
the doors opening and closing, and then having you
be able to control it. That was very tricky do.

CGW: Did you map everything out before you
started the coding?

Brian: I usually do, although not all the designers
do. When you're making it all up, it's easier to
do that. The first thing I did was sit down and
make a map of Trinity site. It was changed about
50 times trying to simplify it and get it down from
over 100 rooms to the 40 or so rooms that now
comprise it. It was a lot more accurate and very
detailed, but a lot of that detail was totally useless.
So I tried to boil it down to what was absolutely
needed. That map that comes in the package is
made from geologic surveys and blueprints and is
completely accurate.

CGW: Why did you want to write a game as depressing
as "Trinity"?

Brian: Well, it wasn't a pleasant experience, I
can tell you that. It's not easy to sit down and write
that stuff. As I said, I've talked to some people
who were there, and I've read a lot of books by
people who were there, and the one thing they all
say about it, the one common theme, is that it was
inevitable. That if we hadn't done it, someone else
might have. And they also say that that's not the
only thing that's inevitable. History has a lot to
teach us. And that's the point of the game. Because
when you're the Wabewalker, and going through
the game, you're very literally creating the Book of
Hours, you're writing your own history.

CGW: So what statements are you making with
"Trinity"? Do you have a personal statement to
make?

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-designer-profiles-brian-moriarity/young-brian-moriarity.jpg" alt="Brian Moriarty">

Brian: I wanted people, when playing the game,
to feel their helplessness. Because that's what I felt
when I was reading and talking to these people and
seeing these places. You could just feel the weight
of history on you. Going to Trinity site and being
there and realizing what this place means. I just
wanted people to feel that weight on them when
playing the game. Have it crush them in the end,
because that's what I got out of my studies and research.

CGW: There are a couple of spots in the game
where you have to do some unpleasant things. Why
did you put that in?

Brian: That was deliberate. I was amazed to see
how many people were really bothered by the scene
with the lizard, because it was them doing it. It's
nice to know interactive fiction could do that,
make you uncomfortable about killing things. In no
other media could I make you feel bad about
killing something. Because there's only one medium
where I can make YOU do it, and make you feel
empathy for a thing that doesn't exist. It's only
with interactive fiction that you can explore those
emotions.

CGW: When the game was finished, how did you
feel about it?

Brian: Relieved. As usual. We usually feel that
way when a game is finished, but I felt especially
relieved. It was hard to live with that game for a
year. But I don't want people to be scared away
from this game. A lot of people look at the cover
and say "Oh God, a gloomy game". It isn't a gloomy
game, but it does have a dark undertone to it. It's
not like it's the end of the world. But I'm glad I
did "Trinity". It's nice to know that interactive fiction
can do things besides give you puzzles and
make you laugh. It can also make you think. And it
can deal with big issues.

CGW: Moving on to perhaps a lighter subject,
can you tell us what you're working on now?

Brian: I can't say very much, it's too early yet,
but my next game will be something light. I don't
need to do another one like "Trinity", that was a
hard game to work on. It's a collaboration, with
someone from outside Infocom. The new one will
be a fantasy, and should be out in February.

CGW: (Excitement!) Is this the follow-up to
Hitchhiker (hope hope)?

Brian: No.

CGW: Awwwwwww. Will Infocom be doing one
eventually?

Brian: We hope to. Douglas Adams would like
to, but he's very busy right now.

CGW: How long have you been working on your
current project?

Brian: I just started it less than a month ago. It's
a quickie, it has to be done very quickly. It's
something that had already been developed, but was
put on the back burner for awhile.

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-designer-profiles-brian-moriarity/trinity-cover.jpg" alt="Trinity cover">

CGW: So this will be a beginner or standard
level game?

We're trying to get away from genres and levels,
I think we're going to try to make the games two
levels, Introductory and Other. It's very difficult to
assign a level to a game. Who can say what is standard
or what is advanced? Hitchhiker's was labelled
"Standard", but a lot of people thought it was
"Expert" level. We haven't abandoned levels yet, but
I think we're going to.

CGW: And the same for genres?

Brian: We have thrown out the genres. How do
you classify "Trinity"? is it a fantasy? Is it science-fiction?
We had trouble classifying that. The game
I'm working on now is completely unclassifiable.
And a couple of other games we have in the works
just don't fit in. We didn't like calling "Ballyhoo" a
mystery because it's not like our other mysteries.
People saw "mystery" on the box and thought "Oh,
it's another of those games where you have to talk
to characters". But it's not, it's a puzzle-oriented
game. So we're getting away from trying to pin it
down. We're just saying, "this is the game, read the
description on the back to get an idea of what it's
about".

CGW: Brian, it's been a pleasure talking with
you. Before you go, do you have any closing remarks?

Brian: No, except to say what I've been saying
to everyone about "Trinity". That it's not a funeral,
and not to be afraid of it. It's kind of a dark game,
but it's also, I like to think, kind of a fun game,
too. I don't want people to be put off by the subject.
But I do want people to think about what they
see. And to write lots of letters if they're mad at
the ending and think it should be something else. I
love to hear from people. I hope I do.