• Tag Archives Infocom

  • The Enchanter Trilogy (Infocom)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/647990022093586432


    nfocom was a software company formed by former students and staff from M.I.T. in 1979. They were primarily known for games, or more specifically, text adventure games or Interactive Fiction. Zork was bought by Activision in 1986 and they technically shut down the division in 1989 though the name would be used on occasion in the 1990s.

    Infocom became famous for Zork, which was originally released in 1980, and its sequels. Part of the success of Zork was due to the fact that it was released on a huge number of platforms over the years. Wikipedia lists 17 platforms for the original Zork. This was made possible by the way Zork was implemented. Zork as well as its sequels and most other Infocom games were written in Z-Code for the Z-Machine virtual machine that Infocom created. The ‘Z’ standing for ‘Zork’. Once the Z-Machine was ported to a platform, any of Infocom’s games could be made to run on that platform with little or no effort. Game play was pretty straightforward. A textual description of your location and what was happening is presented to the player. The player can then type in words and simple phrases to do things. For example, “open door” might open a door, “Take sword” would let you pick up the sword, etc.

    Enchanter was released in 1983 and was the next game Infocom published after the Zork trilogy was finished, starting a new trilogy. In it, the player plays the role of a novice Enchanter sent to stop a powerful evil warlock. It is thought by the Circle of Enchanters that you are so weak that the warlock won’t notice or pay attention to you thereby giving you an opportunity to defeat him. Other than adding a spell system, the game played pretty much the same way as the Zork games. However, if you were a fan then you couldn’t get enough.

    Sorcerer was the second game in the Enchanter Trilogy and was released the following year in 1984. In this game you have progressed from being an apprentice to being a member of the Circle of Enchanters. The head of the circle starts acting strangely and then disappears leaving a mystery for you to solve. Sorcerer added potions to the mix but otherwise plays similarly to Enchanter.

    Finally, Spellbreaker was released in 1985 to close out the trilogy. This one is considered to be somewhat harder than the others. Spellbreaker is set 10 years after the previous game. Magic itself seems to be failing and in a meeting on the topic, the leaders of all the guilds have gathered. All suddenly turn into newts or frogs or other creatures except for yourself and another mysterious person you see running away. Another mystery for you to solve. In this game you will learn new and powerful spells that must be used in unique ways. Unfortunately , since magic is failing, they won’t always work.

    While text adventures are not as popular as they once were (or at all) these days, everybody should give one a try. Zork is a great entry point but then so is Enchanter. Once upon a time, these games were hugely popular. Fortunately, the Z-Machine has been ported to a variety of modern platforms so it is possible to play these games today without too much difficulty. Of course, if you want the full effect, find some original floppies for the Commodore 64 or your vintage platform of choice so that you have the anticipation created by disk loading times.


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Infocom)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/188864691640/retrocgads-usa-1985



    Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an interactive fiction game based on the book of the same name. This was Infocom’s 14th release and it followed the general pattern of other similar games that they produced. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was released initially for the Commodore 64, Apple II, Macintosh, CP/M, DOS, Amiga, Atari 8-bit and Atari ST. Since Infocom’s games were based on a parser that was ported to many platforms, this game eventually found its way to other systems, including modern ones.

    Since this game is based on the book, if you have read the book than it kind of gives some of it away. On the other hand, there are certain thing that you must do in the game that would probably make no sense unless you have read the book. At any rate, it is a harder game if you have not read the book. Still, having said that, for those that like interactive fiction (a.k.a. text adventures) then this is an excellent example. It was one of the best selling games of its time.

    Web based versions of the game were released for both the 20th and 30th anniversaries. These were enhanced with graphics though commands still had to be typed. There is also a Java version on Douglas Adams’ website. There are also various Z-Machine interpreters than can be used with the data files to play the game. Fortunately, there is no shortage of ways to play this game.

    Screen shots above are from the Commodore 64 version of the game and the ad is from 1985.


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Zork III: The Dungeon Master

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    3 PART ZORK FEATURETTE: PART 3

    The final installment in the original Zork Trilogy, Zork III: The Dungeon Master sees you return as the nameless Adventurer, this time to become the next Dungeon Master and rule over the Great Underground Empire. With a somewhat darker and more isolated tone than the first two games, it helps set the mood for this being the end of the trilogy.

    This story once again received glowing reviews from a number of critics, just like its predecessors, despite a significant bug present in the game: having the Elvish sword in your inventory at the endgame makes it unwinnable. This flaw aside, Zork III had all the charm, wit, humor and cleverness that made the entire series a smash hit, and remains one of the most loved game series today because of it.

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/182210127368/c64screengrabs-3-part-zork-featurette-part-3

    Once upon a time, computer games that consisted only of text were a common thing. Sometimes called text adventures and sometimes referred to as interactive fiction, these games were truly more like interactive novels. While text adventures were never my favorite genre, they did have a way of sparking your imagination like no other type of game really could.

    The Zork series is probably the best known of this genre. Infocom got famous for creating a variety of “Interactive Fiction” and Zork was their flagship series. Eventually, Infocom moved on to graphical adventures and other types of games before vanishing in the mists of time but they will probably always be best known for Zork.

    In Zork, you play the role of an adventurer who discovers “The Great Underground Empire”. Ultimately, your goal is to collect and return with a variety of treasures. Collecting all of the treasures will result in the highest possible score. There were sequels to Zork, including this game, Zork III: The Dungeon Master. Zork III was slightly less straightforward than the stricly treasure hunt nature of the first two games in the series as you had to prove your worthiness to become “The Dungeon Master”. However, like the previous two Zork games, Zork III was very well done. If you liked Zork I and Zork II, there’s little doubt that you would like Zork III as well.

    Because Infocom’s games were built on on a custom virtual machine known as the Z-machine, Zork III, like its predecessors, was available on a huge number of platforms relative to most games. These include the PDP-10, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, CP/M, TRS-80, PC (DOS), Apple II, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Macintosh, Atari ST, NEC PC-9801, MSX, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and the TI-99/4A among others. The screenshots above will be recognizable to anyone who ever owned a Commodore 64.

    Fortunately, there are a number of ways to play all of Infocom’s Z-machine based text adventures, including Zork III. From what I can tell, Zork IIIlast appeared officially in 1996 on a text adventure compilation. However, in additional to emulating the various computers that Zork III is available on to play the game, you can also find Z-Machine implementations for modern platforms. If you are interested in text adventures and have never played, I highly recommend the Zork series. You might as well start with Zork I but it isn’t strictly necessary. You won’t be hindered much if you decide to start with Zork III instead.



    📂This entry was posted in Commodore 64 Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged