<!--
	Title: (Titans of the Computer Gaming World) Ardai on Infocom
	Subtitle: Part IV of V
	Author: Charles Ardai
	Source: Computer Gaming World, v7(6)
	Date: Aug-Sep 1987
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-ardai-on-infocom/titans-logo.png" alt="Titans of the Computer Gaming World logo">

## Chapter One

*With a tip of the hat to those who have gone
before, the author plunges determinedly into a
study of Infocom, the source for text adventures.*

Surprise!

You thought you knew Infocom like the back
of your hand. Whether that hand held a glowing
sword of Elvish antiquity, a Stellar Patrol
scrub brush, or no tea, you knew what to expect:
the best text adventures on the market,
each written in a unique prose style which you
either love or loathe; a consistency of subject
matter and tone; and a degree of craftsmanship
and pride in developing quality material which
has won virtually all the most highly coveted awards
in the industry for Infocom.

Recently, however, things have begun to change. The
change is not in quality because, except for *Seastalker*,
Infocom has never released a notably disappointing
game (and that was years ago). Stylistic
changes have abounded, though, and if they
have not all been positive, they are, at least,
well-intentioned. From programming to packaging,
Infocom has been "pushing back the envelope"
of the interactive fiction field. More
"pushing" is on its way.

There is no way to tell if Infocom's new ventures
will be successful and, despite their miles-long
track record, one is tempted to point to
the lukewarm receptions received by experiments
such as *A Mind Forever Voyaging*,
*Fooblitzky*, and their database, *Cornerstone*. Successful
or not, however, one thing is certain --
the nature of Infocom's software can no longer
be taken for granted.

Some suggest that most of the alterations one
sees in Infocom's characteristic style and
development philosophy are the direct result of
ownership by Activision. Though the two companies
remain largely autonomous, it would be
difficult to deny that Activision has an influence
on the directions that Infocom pursues. Furthermore,
the changes reflect decisions which seem
typical of Activision (e.g. adding sound effects
to certain versions of *The Lurking Horror* or
releasing nine new products this year as compared
to as few as three in previous years.

Still, one should not rob credit for the company's
new directions from the decision makers
at Infocom. The Infocom philosophy is, and has
always been, a curious blend of risk-taking and
reliance on past success. Thus, one has the increased
interactivity of *Ballyhoo* at the same
time as *Spellbreaker*, a.k.a. *Enchanter III* (a.k.a.
*Zork VI*), or one is confronted with the expanded
memory requirements of *A Mind
Forever Voyaging* and *Trinity*, while one may
also relax comfortably in the highly traditional
puzzle solving of *Hollywood Hijinx* or *Stationfall*.

While this strategy could be potentially over-cautious,
it has always been successful for Infocom.
Since it has been so successful, gamers
have become less and less wary when Infocom
announces new developments. In this past, they
have almost all been improvements. Why
should that change now?

Indeed, the situation shows no sign of changing.
Though Infocom currently plans a more
thorough overhaul of their systems than has previously
taken place, their timing is ideal. The
market seems just about ready for Infocom
games which feature sound, graphics and new
formats of play. If this is not so, however, and
profits are not doubled as a result of players
hearing Floyd's [*Ed. - the inimitable Floyd the
Droid!*] joints creak, Infocom is prepared, as
usual. Another *Zork* spinoff is in the works, as
is one or more absolutely traditional adventure
games.

Several years ago, I was chatting with someone
at Infocom and he revealed to me that a
voice-controlled *Zork* had been developed,
but was not going to be released until the
market was ready to support it. Since then,
many games have been released, each one
heralding some new feature: the first of the
now standardized packages (*Cutthroats*), the
first licensed title (*Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy*), and others. Yet, somewhere in the offices
of this real-world equivalent of the Great
Underground Empire lies a version of *Zork*
which responds to voice commands. Somewhere
near that gem, no doubt, is a game with
unfathomable graphic capabilities undergoing
development. A few doors down, Infocom's
prophets must be looking even further into
the future and gleaning ideas for ever newer
ways to "expand the methods," as Infocom representative
Cindy Weiss says, "of exploiting
the multimedia aspects of interactive storytelling."
With material, talent, and ambition like
this on tap, a brighter-than-ever future for Infocom
is virtually assured.

## Chapter Two

*The author recounts his own experiences with
an uncontrollable passion for Infocom's
peculiar brand of interactive fiction.*

I have some friends who simply cannot understand
why I and so many others adore text
adventures. Most of them admit that if I have
to adore them, Infocom's are the ones to
adore, but they still cannot comprehend the allure
of a screen filled solely with text or of a
simulation of life so terribly restricted. One,
the manager of the neighborhood "Software
City" that has appeared in prior installments
of this series, gave up on Infocom after encountering
the first signpost in *Enchanter*.

Another, a noted gaming columnist and budding
novelist, admitted recently that he hates
text adventures. Further, the terrible thing is,
I can't even answer their objections.
Ever since I played my first Infocom game --
*Planetfall*, as I recall -- I was hooked, tolerating
even the abominably slow Commodore
1541 disk drive in my zeal for the genre. To
those who just shake their heads in pity, I
offer no defense. The puzzles are frequently
silly, the situations are contrived, and the
choices to be made are limited, but I play
every single game Infocom makes, and I enjoy
them. Some I enjoy more, some less, but I always
enjoy them on some fundamental level.

<figure class="float-right-narrow">
<img src="/public/img/articles/cgw-ardai-on-infocom/stationfall-cover.jpg" alt="Stationfall cover">
<img src="/public/img/articles/cgw-ardai-on-infocom/lurking-horror-cover.jpg" alt="The Lurking Horror cover">
</figure>

There is a certain satisfaction to be gained
from solving even the silliest of Infocom's puzzles,
a feeling whose existence is common
knowledge to the crossword puzzle enthusiast
or the mystery-story reader. If the situations
happen to be of limited scope, how much more so are the situations
depicted in a film or novel?

Of course, there is not a single Infocom game which can compare,
on any level, to a great novel. There are, needless to say,
different emotional and intellectual responses upon finishing *A
Passage to India* and completing *Leather Goddesses of Phobos*.
When you do finish *Leather Goddesses*, though, there is a pleasantly
euphoric sense of triumph to be had. This must be, I suppose, partially
a joy at triumphing over the machine and partially a satisfaction
at having beaten the game's author in a battle of wits. Is an adventure
game really more than a highly elaborate version of "Twenty
Questions?" Interactive fiction has less in common with modern
fiction than it does with the age-old pastime of riddling -- and perhaps,
it is this basic connection that accounts for the success of so
many fantasy games played out against medieval backdrops.

Therefore, it is fair to say that Infocom's games are, most of the
time, just entertaining puzzles, albeit very entertaining ones. Sometimes,
however, and not terribly infrequently, either, Infocom's
writers create a portion of a game which transcends its medium and
bridges the gap between interactivity and fiction, between activity
and art. When a game can make a character come alive,
establish a conflict whose resolution
can be separated from the resolution of
an individual puzzle or riddle, or when a passage
of prose or a sequence of events elicits a
response from the player which exists outside
the strict confines of the game, an adventure
game has become a transcendent work. This
is the case with parts of *Planetfall*,
*Spellbreaker*, and *A Mind Forever Voyaging*, to
name a few appropriate examples.

Even if none of these are *A Passage to India*,
or even *Lake Woebegon Days*, they are unquestionably
light years ahead of the text adventures
made by other companies. Synapse came close
with Mindwheel, but that game collapsed under
the weight of its poor operating system combined
with that of virtual cartloads of artistic
pretensions.

Infocom doesn't pretend to be anything other
than what it is. What makes Infocom games special
is not just their entertainment value as interactive
fiction, but also as interactive fiction.
Thus, it is this precarious balance which makes
Infocom games so good.

## Chapter Three

*In which the author not only highlights Infocom's
two newest games, but also previews
their next three, the latter being a matter of utmost
secrecy at press time.*

Interestingly, rather than pursue new directions
in fiction, Infocom is returning to many
traditional aspects of adventure gaming. Even
their newest ventures are more experiments
with new types of gameplay than they are experiments
in plot or characterization. Nevertheless,
don't be surprised if, as you play these
games, you see a greater finesse to the writing
or discover some strikingly memorable text. It
is, after all, what we have come to expect from
Infocom.

The first two games mentioned are already
available. The latter three are due to be
released this fall. Information concerning the
yet-to-be-released games comes directly from
Cindy Weiss or other Infocommies. So, if something
changes in the meantime, they are the
ones to yell at.

*The Lurking Horror* (Dave Lebling): This
seems to be Lebling's paen to his M.I.T. days,
with a bit of horror thrown in so that the title
makes sense. You are on a snowbound Massachusetts
college campus with a twenty page
essay to write and a word processor which
cheerfully transports you into a demon-ridden
pit at the drop of a Find-And-Replace.
Homages to the horror canon, from
*Ghostbusters* to *The Twilight Zone*, fill the story
(as do several moments of true terror).
Stephen King couldn't have done it better.

*Stationfall* (Steve Meretzky): I've been begging
Infocom for a sequel to *Planetfall* for
years. They finally came through. Floyd is
back, as is the cutting satire of the original,
and the story is every bit as fascinating as the
plague on Resida was. A trip to a space station
goes awry because of an alien artifact
that was brought on board. Some parts of the
story are disturbing, but on the whole, *Stationfall*
is a worthy successor. Now, how about
*Planetfall III*?

*Plundered Hearts* (Amy Briggs): As the title
suggests, this will be Infocom's first romance,
a bodice-ripper set on the high seas of the
17th Century. The genre is a bit unusual, but
if anyone can pull it off [*Ed. - the bodice?*], it's
Amy Briggs. Of course, if it weren't unusual, it
wouldn't be Infocom.

*Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Heads or Tail
of It* (Jeff O'Neill): Yes, that's "tail," singular.
Cindy promises that the package art will
make it all clear. More importantly, this game
contains eight separate short stories -- Infocom's
first short fiction -- and a "new style of
wordplay." O'Neill also wrote *Ballyhoo* and if
the wordplay is along the lines of the
mousetrap puzzle, players are in for a great
time.

And now for the biggie...
*Beyond Zork* (Brian Moriarty): This continuation
of the *Zork* series is set in the *Zork*
universe and contains elements of role-playing
games. That is, you will be able to make your
own character with distinct attributes and possessions
and send him through an all-new *Zork* adventure. No doubt this will
call upon *Wishbringer*-like multiple solutions to puzzles, extended to a
nearly inconceivable degree. Frankly, I can't wait to see it.

## Chapter Four

*An exceedingly short chapter in
which is presented the author's advice
to Infocom.*

1. Don't fall into the Activision trap of
decreasing quality in the wake of increased
productivity.
2. Don't make the openings in the new packages
so small that it is nearly impossible to
slide the manuals in.
3. Don't panic.
