XYZZYnews
September/October 1995 Issue #5
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HOLLOW VOICE
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One of the new hats I'm wearing these days is as an online volunteer in
America Online's Mac Games Forum. In that role I'll be expanding my
horizons beyond IF games, but I certainly hope to add to the IF games in
those file libraries and encourage related discussion on AOL's message
boards (oops, my hidden agenda is showing :) ). Well, I've also
discovered from poring over your responses to my reader survey (from the
July/August issue; survey results are below) that collectively you all
play a lot of non-IF games too; you can find the highlights of the
survey below). So if you're ever on America Online and are an avid Mac
user, please be sure to drop me a line at my new address there, AFC Bran
(
[email protected]) or visit the weekly online games chat (keyword: MGM)
on Fridays at 10 p.m. EST.
--------------------------
Slightly less geeky
--------------------------
Something else I like to do, whenever I get a chance, is check out who
on the Web has a hyperlink from their site to the XYZZYnews home page.
(I have a little 'referers' script that lets me do that.) Every time I
run it I'm surprised to find new links from people I don't even know.
Some of these mentions just list the name of the 'zine on a list of
"cool sites"; others give a little blurb or write-up about the 'zine's
function.
One of my favorites -- and I assume that page has been changed now,
because it doesn't show up any more on my searches -- was on a page
reviewing online 'zines. As I remember, immediately above the XYZZYnews
review was an analysis of another computer gaming magazine described
quite derisively as appealing only to real nerds/geeks (substitute your
appropriate local slang term here). The review for XYZZYnews immediately
followed, and consisted of only three words: "Slightly less geeky." :)
This review makes me laugh every time I think of it -- but I didn't save
the URL, so if anyone else remembers this page I'd really appreciate
hearing from you!
Until next issue, happy gaming!
Eileen Mullin
[email protected]
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Contents:
Sneak Previews
Letters
The Infocom Trivia Quiz
The First Annual IF Competition Results
News Briefs:
Survey Results
Top 10 IF Sites
Game Reviews:
Christminster
Theatre
TimeSquared
Guess What? Another Update to the Infocom Bugs List
Answers to Trivia Quiz
What's on the Disk
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LEGALESE
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XYZZYnews is published bimonthly by Bran Muffin Communications, 160 West
24th Street, # 7C, New York, NY 10011, USA. Email:
[email protected].
Send all inquiries, letters, and submissions to the address above.
Contents (c) 1995 XYZZYnews.
All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America.
Electronic versions: There are currently two versions of XYZZYnews made
available online. One is in ASCII and can be viewed with any text
reader. You can also download a .PDF file that mirrors the layout of the
print version. Use the Adobe Acrobat Reader (available for Windows, Mac,
DOS and UNIX) to view the .PDF file; no special fonts or linked graphics
are needed. You can obtain Acrobat Reader from ftp.adobe.com in the
pub/adobe/applications/Acrobat folder, or
http://www.adobe.com/Software.html. You can also read this issue of
XYZZYnews on the World Wide Web at
http://www.interport.net/~eileen/
xyzzy.5.html
Subscriptions: Both electronic versions are available at no cost. You
can obtain either one by FTPing to ftp.gmd.de. To be added to the
mailing list, please write to
[email protected] and specify text-only
or .PDF version. The print version includes a 3.5" Mac or PC disk and is
$21 (U.S.) for one year (6 issues) or $3.50 for a sample issue. For
print subscriptions outside the U.S. or Canada, please email or write
for rates.
All products, names, and services are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
Editorial deadline for Issue #6 is October 31, 1995.
Editor:
Eileen Mullin
Contributors to this issue:
Graeme Cree
C.E. Forman
Greg Soultanis
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SNEAK PREVIEWS
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This issue's "Sneak Previews" looks at two games in development by folks
who've contributed to the pages of XYZZYnews. Way to go, guys!
"The Path to Fortune," by Jeff Cassidy and C.E. Forman, is the opening
chapter in a fantasy epic known as "The Windhall Chronicles." Written in
Inform, this intermediate adventure puts players in the shoes of the
acrophobic young hero Aerin, a blacksmith's apprentice turned
adventurer, who has been awarded the task of uncovering the long-lost
treasure of the dragon Kirizith in order to pay off the debts of the
town of Windhall. Along the way, Aerin learns the arts of swordsmanship
and magic, and discovers what it really means to be an adventurer.
A cast of 14 NPCs help and hinder Aerin during the course of his journey
through the Mendeval Empire, from the ever-rhyming Mire Cat to the
mysterious grand wizard Nostrophidius to Sir Gunther IX, whose sheer
incompetence as a knight is surpassed only by his complete inability to
speak fluently in the noble tongue. "The Path to Fortune" is slated for
release by early October.
"Lost New York" is a TADS game by Neil deMause (the creator of
MacWesleyan/PC University) that will include dozens of puzzles, over 90
rooms, and several surprising figures from New York history. They say
you can't get to know the real New York as a tourist -- but this will
turn out to be unlike any vacation you've ever experienced. At first it
looked like just a trip to yet another tourist trap, until a mysterious
discovery sent you catapulting through time to a New York that you only
knew through history books. And now, it looks like you will have to
change the course of that history in order to return home...
"Lost New York" is currently about to begin beta-testing, and is
expected to be released to the public in December 1995. There will be a
fully playable freeware version, as well as a registered version
(pricing is not yet final) that will add on-screen hints and a full
manual.
Note: If you're writing a new text adventure game and would like to see
it announced in the 'zine, please send an e-mail to Eileen Mullin at
[email protected] and include the words "Sneak Preview" in the
subject header. Please include as much information as you can about the
basic story line, how many characters are in the game, what gaming
language was used, and the game's cost (if any).
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LETTERS
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To XYZZYnews:
Wow! Love your publication (how about going monthly?). I've played most
of the commercial graphic adventures and I always come back to text
based games. They are by far and away my favorites. This often baffles
friends and acquaintances who see my Pentium 90 with 16MB RAM and
Windows 95 and ask "how's DOOM?" and instead I show them a TEXT-BASED
GAME!??
Ah, if they only knew what they were missing...
It seems so unfortunate to me that one can no longer type any commands
in commercial adventures. Just point and click. Very limiting. Perhaps,
in time, as every home gets a computer and more people learn to actually
type, and as people notice the increasingly good quality of several IF
games lately, there will be a resurgence in interest in text games.
Let's hope.
One suggestion: how about including a few biographies of game writers?
I've always been curious about how people like Steve Meretsky, Dave
Lebling , Gareth Rees, etc. got into game writing.
Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Michael Abley
[email protected]
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Eileen:
I just wanted to write and commend you on the first three issues of
XYZZYnews. Browsing through these issues brought back many fond
memories. The first computer game I ever played was Zork, which I first
encountered on a friend's TSR-80 in 1982. The following year I bought my
own C-64, and Zork was the first title I bought for it. I spent many
months exploring the GUE. Like so many others, however, I was seduced by
graphics and lost touch with IF for some time. Then a couple of years
ago I bought The Lost Treasures of Infocom, and set about to reacquaint
myself with the genre. Unfortunately, I didn't finish a single game in
the collection, always losing interest along the way. Now, thanks to
you, I'm going to go back and try again. Your newsletter has convinced
me that IF is not a lost art form... that many others also enjoy it.
I've also acquired a copy of the Adventure Game Toolkit, and plan to
begin fooling around with some of my own game ideas, which had been
forgotten for so long. Thanks again for the inspiration, and keep up the
good work!
Robert Goodwin
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
I stumbled across XYZZYnews during September and boy am I happy!! I
thought I was one of the few people in the '90s that enjoyed making and
playing adventure games.
I am 15 and seem to be the only one my age fascinated with text
adventure games. I probably acquired this taste from my father, who used
to love the ol' Zork games. Today though I have a taste for making
adventure games rather than playing them. I always loved to BE the
person who would baffle others with my games.
So when I stumbled on this mag I was enthralled! I enjoyed the #4 issue
and look forward to #5 when it comes out.
Keep up the good work! Text adventure games are still alive out there
and will continue to thrive!
Mark Fleschler
[email protected]
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Eileen,
Many thanks for picking our unofficial home page as one of the Top Ten
Interactive Fiction sites for March/April! I only found out because out
of curiosity I did a Lycos search on Legend.
We're planning on opening a new second Web page (also unofficial, the
admins of the system don't have time to do such things! :P) very soon
now which will have much more information on it, and link back to the
current one. It will be at
http://alcuin.plymouth.edu/~ed/legend.html,
and is currently very much under construction.
Again, thanks for the honor!
Ptah@LegendMUD
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To XYZZYnews:
My daughter and I are absolutely addicted to the Zork type text
adventure games. We've bought every Infocom game, and played most of
them, and are always on the lookout for more of that type.
Imagine my surprise when I came across your newsletter! What a wonderful
find. I'm delighted to find at least one other person who seems to share
this passion.
Barbara Lord
[email protected]
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Dear Eileen:
I downloaded the text version of XYZZYnews today and was very happy to
find it. I recently downloaded Curses on the advice of a Mac Home
Journal review of the game. Having Curses as my first text based game
proved to be a very frustrating experience at times.
Could you recommend any games for a beginner?
One of the things I like most about this type of game is that it isn't
hardware intensive. I mainly use my PowerBook 150.
Shawn Hoffman
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
Hello there, I came across the XYZZYnews page today.
A couple of people you might want to talk to are Jon Thackray and David
Seal [who] wrote an adventure language on the Cambridge University
mainframe many many years ago, and J.R. Partington (the latter) and a
few others wrote a number (more than 10) of games using the language.
These games formed part of Graham Nelson's adventuring background --
though as far as I recall he didn't play the C.U. games very much.
A lot of the C.U. stuff was made available commercially one way or
another -- some of it for the BBC Micro back in the early 80s and a lot
more of it for PC, Atari, Archimedes and so on in the late 80s and early
90s via a company called Topologika. I have no idea if any of it is
still available, or what will happen to the games now that the C.U.
mainframe is being decommissioned. I suspect partington and co will
still have the source files somewhere.
I am, of course, an Infocom/Colossal cave sort of person but I still
think that one or two of the Partington/Thackray/et al. games rank with
the best IF has ever produced. Acheton is probably the most amazing
adventuring experience I have ever had. Apart from anything else, they
were very large since, running on a mainframe in the mid-to-late '80s
they could afford to be. People who finished Acheton were given a copy
of the source code, and I still have mine somewhere... it's vast.
Several hundred rooms, and an awful lot going on. (There was at least
one bigger game, Hezarin, but I never finished it.)
I've never quite played Curses, though I hope to do so fairly soon.
Re women and IF: whilst women are under-represented in computer gaming
generally it's always been my impression that they were less so in IF
than in some other fields. Perhaps not by much, though.
Adam Atkinson
[email protected]
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Hi sis!
I want to thank you for your review of my adventure game for OS/2 Warp.
Things have undergone a major revision, though, so I thought I'd bring
you up to date with the goings-on.
1. I decided to bring all aspects of my planned trilogy into one game.
Hence, it is now called "Trollogy" to reflect that change.
2. The original game, "Troll: The Stealer Of Souls" never quite fit in
with the above-mentioned trilogy, so I had hoped to spin it into a
"Troll Zero" type of "prequel." Alas, that idea sagged when I merged the
trilogy. My new goal is to turn it into a Jethro Tull adventure (my
musical tastes have no bounds). Imagine, if you will:
You are sitting on a park bench. Suddenly, a cross-eyed girl approaches.
She gives you a dirty look, then kicks you in the shin. You pass out
from the pain.
Time passes...
When you awaken, you discover that your wallet is missing! [Money is a
good "soul substitute"] You look around feverishly, but the girl is
nowhere to be found.
> LOOK BENCH
'Tis an ordinary park bench, one you were seated upon, before your
unfortunate encounter. There is a newspaper here.
> GET PAPER
Taken.
> LOOK PAPER
It is the _St. Cleve Chronicle_
>READ PAPER
There are four pages to read.
Your mission, obviously, is to recover your stolen property (after all,
you placed a Jethro Tull ticket in your wallet, and would be quite upset
if you missed it; the concert is due to start later that same evening,
so you'd better hurry!).
--W.
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THE INFOCOM TRIVIA QUIZ By Graeme Cree
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This Infocom Trivia Quiz contains questions with a wide range in
difficulty level. Although this quiz primarily deals with Infocom's 35
text games, there are some questions dealing with other Infocom
products, and almost anything is fair game. The only Infocom-related
topics specifically excluded are questions dealing with Infocom label
software released after Activision closed the Infocom offices in 1989
(i.e. Mines of Titan, Circuit's Edge, Battletech: The Crescent Hawk's
Revenge, Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2, Return to Zork, Simon the
Sorcerer, and possibly Planetfall 2, Zork: Nemesis, or Simon the
Sorcerer 2.) Answers are at the end of the issue.
I. Identify the following:
1. B-19-7
2. Old Lingolf House
3. EBCDIC
4. IC Cola Company
5. San Francisco Gazelles
6. Agra Treasure
7. The Bearded Oracle of Yonkers
8. Liquid Gorzium
9. Bivotar and Juranda
10. Brogmoidism
11. Vilstu
12. Commandment #12592
13. El-Menhir
14. Tasmania
15. Sal Sapit Omnia
16. Bunker Hill Garage
17. Dr. Edward Tellhim
18. George Bonnard
19. The Horse 'n Groom
20. Lord Feepness
21. Eolene
22. Dickory Wood
23. Cabeza Plana
24. Amy Sue Grue
25. Gurthark
26. Lieutenant Measle
27. Riothamus
28. Dimsford House
29. SPS Flathead
30. Sneffle, Hoobly, Gzornenplatz, and Ardis
31. Red Boar Inn
32. Eddie Smaldone
33. Don Donald
34. Frobton Bay
35. Stella and Brad
36. Teapot Cafe
37. Temporizer
38. Rodney Quick
39. Random Q. Hacker
40. Dum-Kof Cough Suppressant
41. Desert Island Decameron
42. Moscow Alligators
43. Father Sebastio
44. Pacific Trade Associates
45. Muddle, Massachusetts
46. A Corpse Line
47. Ellron
48. Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster
49. Astrix
50. Froon
51. Coconut Deflector
52. Frobzance
53. The Chance Man
54. Bozberries
55. Leckbandi
56. Zorky Park
57. Amino-Hydrophase Molecule
58. Ramses II
59. Lurking Grue
60. Bacteriophage
61. "Me and the Jester"
62. 69,105
63. Wabewalker
64. Gregory Franklin
65. Zorkle
66. Joshua Rankin
67. Funny Bones
68. Aseejh Randu
69. M. Agrippa
70. Tansey
71. "Frotz Ozmoo"
72. Grueslayer
73. Boysenberry Business Engines Corporation
74. Digitalis Leaf
75. Deep Six beer
II. General questions:
76. Name the four games that mention the Leather Goddesses of
Phobos.
77. Which kind of Orcs prefer interactive fiction to graphic
adventures?
78. What was Infocom's early (trademarked) name for its
interactive fiction?
79. Inside the story of which Infocom game can you find a copy of
BALLYHOO?
80. It is possible to render the game ENCHANTER impossible to win
on the very first move. What command will accomplish this?
81. Whose face is on the Zorkmid coin?
82. Which game mentions a "maze of twisty streets"?
83. How many of Infocom's 35 text games take place in "The Zork
Universe"?
84. Where's Waldo?
85. Where's the beef?
III. Locations: Which game takes place in the following locations?
86. Maryland
87. Los Angeles
88. Egypt
89. Connecticut
90. Ohio
91. South Dakota
92. New Mexico
93. United Kingdom outside London (must name 3 games)
94. London (must name 2 games)
95. Japan
IV. First sentences: What games are these the first lines of?
96. "Our doom is sealed."
97. "Important!"
98. "You wake up."
99. "As night falls the black limousine pulls off the highway."
100. "You've waited until the last minute again."
101. "Trembling, you fire the heavy arquebus."
102. "You are in a strange location, but you cannot remember how
you got here."
103. "It's Halloween night."
104. "FC ALERT!"
105. "Somewhere near Los Angeles."
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THE FIRST ANNUAL IF COMPETITION
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Over the course of a few short summer months, some fairly casual
planning and discussion of launching a yearly competition for new text
adventure games took place on a small Usenet newsgroup
(rec.arts.int-fiction). The results -- 12 brief but brand-new text
adventures. Below are sketches of each game and its plot summary,
followed by my "Tales from the Code Front" litmus test, namely, how
does each game handle the XYZZY command? Enjoy! -- E.M.
========================================================
Inform category
All Quiet on the Library Front, An Interactive Vignette by Michael S.
Phillips
Detective, An Interactive MiSTing (Mystery Science Theater 3000) of Matt
Barringer's AGT game "Detective," by Christopher E. Forman
The Magic Toyshop by Gareth Rees
The Mind Electric, An Interactive Vision by Jason Dyer
Tube Trouble, A Mini-Adventure by Richard Tucker
A Change in the Weather, An Interactive Short Story by Andrew Plotkin
TADS category
A Night at the Museum Forever by Chris Angelini
The One That Got Away by Lee Lin
Toonesia, A Mini Text-Adventure Game, by Jacob Weinstein
Undertow v1.00, by Stephen Granade
Undo by Neil deMause
Uncle Zebulon's Will, an Interactive Inheritance by Magnus Olsson
========================================================
-----------------------------------------
All Quiet on the Library Front
Parser: Inform Author: Michael S. Phillips
-----------------------------------------
You're a college student enrolled in an interactive fiction course --
sounds great, doesn't it? Unfortunately, you've goofed off all semester
and you're caught short at finals time. The only way for you to make a
passing grade is by writing a term paper about Inform creator Graham
Nelson. To do so you'll need to sneak a biography of Nelson out of the
library without detection. The game gives you two hours to locate the
book, interact with several other characters, and smuggle the book out
of the building without being caught.
The game includes hints, which are gentle proddings rather than
direct spoilers. The game is scored up to 30 points, although you can
win with less. The game's action takes place entirely within the library
in (by my count) seven locations. The NPCs you meet up with -- a
librarian, circulation desk attendant, and computer technician -- can
supply you with information/objects you need as well as stop you from
making your escape.
"All Quiet on the Library Front" makes reference to many games and
participants in the current-day IF community. How thrilling it was to
see a mention of XYZZYnews! :) The IF allusions dress up many of the
room descriptions and make the game more fun for players who follow the
r.a.i-f and r.g.i-f Usenet newsgroups.
Almost as much fun as winning was reading the less-than-ideal
ending for the game: "You are kicked out of the library without the
needed biography, and so you flunk the course, drop out of college in
disgrace, and spend the rest of your days as the peon who sorts the hate
mail in Microsoft's mail room. Life sucks, doesn't it?"
-----------------------------------------
Detective, an Interactive MiSTing
Parser: Inform Author: Christopher E. Forman
-----------------------------------------
"Detective, an Interactive MiSTing" utilizes a device that has served
the television show "Mystery Science Theater 3000" so well -- namely,
embellishing a poorly executed work with apt criticisms, private jokes,
and highly amusing asides. The lead characters from the Comedy Central
cable series -- Mike and the 'bots Crow and Tom Servo -- provide the
running patter, and the show's other characters make appearances as
well.
This text adventure spoof features running commentary that's more
entertaining to follow than the action or descriptions in the game
proper, which is a port of Matt Barringer's AGT murder mystery
"Detective." The MiSTed version pokes fun at everything from the game's
design (featuring many one-way passageways and an excessive number of
rooms described as a hallway) to the bare-bones plot (you discover the
killer's hideout, favorite watering-hole, and job locale simply by
entering a certain location).
Like the other television-inspired game in the competition
collection ("Toonesia"), the game may be initially confusing to players
unfamiliar with the original TV show. The gimmick has such wide appeal
though, that hopefully even those who haven't had the pleasure of
watching MST3K (as it's often abbreviated) will appreciate the author's
purpose here.
-----------------------------------------
The Magic Toyshop
Parser: Inform Author: Gareth Rees
-----------------------------------------
In search of a birthday present for your young niece, you decide to stop
in at a particularly intriguing-looking toyshop to see what you can
find. There you'll meet Catharine, the proprietor's daughter, who
presents you with a number of unusual gadgets and brainteaser puzzles
for you to solve.
The puzzles presented are fairly linear logic problems, some of
which may be familiar to players in a paper-and-pencil version. Even the
first brainteasers will have players scratching their heads in confusion
until they look at the puzzle in just the right way. Catherine's
comments offer clues, but no overt spoilers. "The Magic Toyshop"
includes allusions to Graham Nelson's Curses, so strategies employable
in that game will prove useful here. Brainiacs who enjoy mind games will
fare well, even if they need to stop and mull over the situation for
awhile. The rest of us, well, will just have to troll the rec.games.int-
fiction newsgroup for tips.
There are some very nice ASCII graphics for several puzzles, such
as the game of noughts-and-crosses (tic-tac-toe), dots and boxes, or the
showdown between the robot cat and mouse inside the wall.
-----------------------------------------
The Mind Electric, An Interactive Vision
Parser: Inform Author: Jason Dyer
-----------------------------------------
As gameplay in "The Mind Electric" begins, your mind has been captured
as a pawn in the otherworldly war between two factions known as the
Kaden and the Souden. You are aided in exploring and manipulating the
confines of your prison base by a rotating cube with a human face on
each side. Luckily there are outside forces who are also working to free
you; when you do escape and have your mind restored to your physical
body, you can take a moment to reflect upon the ludicrousness of war and
the sacrifice of an individual's spirit for some arbitrary, often
meaningless cause.
The game's puzzles range from discovering the necessary passwords for
getting past a locked door to engaging the human-faced but initially
voiceless cube in a "Mastermind"-type game to identify a certain four-
digit number.
The extensive online hints provide the solutions to every puzzle in the
game, and can be followed in the order presented as a kind of
walkthrough. These hints are really a guide to help the player to
navigate the game and know which issues to attend to at the correct
time. There are several ways to be killed in "The Mind Electric," such
as being tracked and discovered trying to escape from the containment
field.
-----------------------------------------
Tube Trouble
Parser: Inform Author: Richard Tucker
-----------------------------------------
"Tube Trouble" centers on two of life's frustrating little moments --
the experience of just missing a subway train and watching it speed off
without you, and trying to coax a candy bar out of a temperamental
vending machine. Eating in the station is prohibited, so once you've
managed to obtain your candy bar, your mission is to board the train to
eat it -- and thereby win the game.
You're both aided and hampered in your attempts by a tramp, the
game's only major NPC. The tramp possesses several items that will prove
most useful to you, and observing his actions is especially helpful. The
tramp also has the means of creating a public disturbance, which will
delay the trains... if only there was some way you could stop anyone
who'd prevent him from disturbing the peace. You have only a very
limited ability to interact with the tramp; there are a couple of other
NPCs who appear at most for only one turn.
Although the game is small in size, with barely half a dozen
locations and a total scoring of 1 point, I played it for several long
sessions without being able to get anywhere. Then, some weeks later, I
loaded it up on my laptop to mull over during my morning commute, and
figured it all out before the train even made it to the next stop (11
minutes away). It was very fitting, actually, to experience two of
life's small pleasures right then -- just barely catching one's train as
it's about to pull out of the station, and playing a text adventure
through to completion in one short session. :)
-----------------------------------------
A Change in the Weather
Parser: Inform Author: Andrew Plotkin
-----------------------------------------
The summer picnic was fun, but your curious nature compels you to wander
off for a bit... to the other side of a nearby bridge, where you're
swept up in a confusing cacophony of events, foreshadowed by a terrible
storm that drives you into a cave for shelter. When you emerge, you're
filled with a strong sense of foreboding, and must act quickly before
harm befalls you.
Several puzzles in this game are of the getting-past-a-locked-door-
or-barrier variety. No online hints are available, but most interesting
about the game's administration is the complete lack of scoring. If you
issue the SCORE command you're told "Life doesn't work that way." What a
refreshing perspective!
-----------------------------------------
A Night at the Museum Forever
Parser: TADS Author: Chris Angelini
-----------------------------------------
Set in the echoing halls of a mystifying museum, "A Night in the Museum
Forever" presents the player with a single challenge: travel through
several time periods to meet various conditions and retrieve a diamond
ring. The strange museum contains artifacts from your time period as
well as 1,000 years in the past and 1,000 years into the future. Since
your actions in one time period could affect a later one, you must take
care in the moves you make.
Your role is that of a professional troubleshooter, retained by
companies to resolve conundrums like this one. You are alone on your
quest, and must also pay attention to detail in order to obtain the
items you'll need to win. Victory is yours when you've obtained the ring
and walk out of the museum.
Scored out of 50 points, the game includes several small puzzles
that lead to the solution of the game's main puzzle. There are but a few
game locations, but it is interesting to see each specific location at
three points in time. Players will need to use their intuition and learn
the syntax for operating a couple of pieces of machinery in the game,
including the time travel machine. A complete walkthrough for solving
the game is also included.
-----------------------------------------
The One That Got Away
Parser: TADS Author: Lee Lin
-----------------------------------------
This highly engrossing story is about your quest to catch an enormous
fish known as The Old One, legendary for its size and ability to
outsmart even the best fishermen around. The game's action is packed
into a mere five locations, but most of the story's depth comes from the
long descriptions and narratives told to you by Bob the bait seller.
Even if fishing isn't on your list of favorite activities (and it's
not on mine), it's easy to get drawn into the game's scenario. The
procedure for weighting your line, baiting your hook, and casting your
line is delineated directly and entertainingly in the game. There are a
variety of objects you might reel in, from undersized fish to an old
rubber boot; each tug on the line succeeds in creating a real atmosphere
of suspense.
The game gains a great deal of depth by relating the tragic story
of Bob and his lost love. Players gather much of this background
material as they collect clues by asking Bob about the photos on his
wall. A walkthrough for solving the game is included, as well as a list
of suggestions of commands to try that have amusing results.
-----------------------------------------
Toonesia
Parser: TADS Author: Jacob Weinstein
-----------------------------------------
Nostalgic for Warner Bros. cartoons? You've come to the right game. As
the stuttering, gun-toting Elmo Fuld, you're out to plug a few holes in
a certain rascally rabbit. The scenarios you enter are straight from a
Saturday morning cartoon -- walking off cliffs, confronting a certain
duck (more effective during duck season than rabbit season), and facing
a Tasmanian devil.
My guess is that the game's theme and characters would be initially
baffling to anyone unfamiliar with the Warner Bros. cartoons, but the
game does contain an extensive set of progressive hints to walk players
through most puzzles. Sure, there's no character development, but hey,
they're cartoons -- they're supposed to be one-dimensional! Scored out
of 10 points, "Toonesia" offers a wide variety of game locations and
several potential not-so-happy endings.
-----------------------------------------
Undertow
Parser: TADS Author: Stephen Granade
-----------------------------------------
You're on board your friend Thom's yacht attending a most unpleasant
party with three other guests who're downright hostile to your host.
Before long, a gruesome discovery is made -- Thom's dead body is caught
up in one of the ship's lines, and the killer is obviously amongst your
group.
What are you to make of your fellow guests -- Bill, Thom's business
partner; Carl, another old friend of Thom's, and Ashleigh, Carl's
girlfriend (and Thom's ex)? Will you succeed in turning up clues to
compel the others to admit their secrets? Will you find damning evidence
with which to confront the killer before the ship is blown up?
"The Undertow" packs a great deal of intrigue and plot into a very
short game. Its brevity was probably a concession to the IF competition,
but a longer version would no doubt prove highly popular. I liked that
there were several possible outcomes to the game. Your inaction could
lead to the ship's destruction (and your untimely demise); your failure
to act decisively enough could lead to another character's death; and
you may or may not discover everyone's possible motives for murder.
The game's action takes place entirely aboard the yacht in about a
dozen locations. Character development is fairly skimpy, especially for
Ashleigh. This isn't surprising in a short game, but it would help flesh
out the murder mystery. The puzzles themselves are fairly
straightforward: opening locked containers, figuring out uses for found
objects, and hindering the murderer.
-----------------------------------------
Undo
Parser: TADS Author: Neil deMause
-----------------------------------------
This minimalist game begins in much the same manner as Dave Baggett's
mind-bending "+=3": You're ostensibly just a short ways away from
winning a long, harrowing game and have just one major challenge left to
face. In "Undo," that involves getting past a large hole. Beside the
hole are a frog and a duck; can they help you win the game?
There are three additional experimental areas you can visit in the
game; the logic of those areas' objects and descriptions is perhaps
meant to inform your strategy for getting past the hole. Especially fun
are the self-referential room (be sure to examine it) and the dark area
you've come from, where you're likely to be eaten by a syntax error (you
gotta love those error messages).
If this game had a subtitle, it ought to be "Now you see it, now
you don't." The theme comes up when you use the inside-out eraser (you
can erase nothing with it but the eraser itself) and the objects in the
Binary Room (you can pick up a 0 and a 1, but all the other objects in
your inventory seemingly disappear when you pick up the 0 because "you
have nothing.")
Although the game states it's scored up to 86 points, there are no
actions that'll earn you points during the game. As you play, you may
find that a specific word that the game (or an NPC) chooses not to
recognize will earn you the response "What [specific word]?" Similarly,
your winning move nets only the response "What game won?"
-----------------------------------------
Uncle Zebulon's Will
Parser: TADS Author: Magnus Olsson
-----------------------------------------
Bless his soul, your uncle Zebulon was always considered something of an
eccentric by the rest of the family -- but now that he's passed away
they're squabbling over the meager inheritance he's left. Since Zebulon
dabbled in alchemy it was rumored he had hidden riches stashed away, but
when you arrive home you find the house and grounds mostly stripped by
the rest of your disappointed family.
As you discover, it turns out that you're Zebulon's favorite
nephew, and if you can use your wits you'll be able to open the portals
to the magical, exquisite lands that Zebulon wanted to share with you.
There are no direct hints, but if you're stuck you can gain ideas for
possible actions by looking into a crystal ball you find in Zebulon's
study. The main puzzles have to do with getting past barriers or
discovering hidden entrances, and discovering how to circumvent the
stipulation in Uncle Zebulon's will that you leave the house carrying no
more than one object from within. The game is scored out of 75 points
with 12 locations.
========================================================
The Effects of 'XYZZY' in the Competition Games
game title What "XYZZY" does
A Night at the Museum Forever N/A [not applicable -- game
doesn't recognize the command]
The One That Got Away You speak the ancient word of
power. When you realize that it
does jack diddly, you slap your
hand to your forehead and exclaim,
"D'OH!"
All Quiet on the Library Front You invoke an ancient word of
power, and a hollow voice whispers
in your ear, "Quiet, please. No
talking in the library." [Your
score has just gone up by one
point.]
The Magic Toyshop N/A
The Mind Electric A hollow voice says, "Trying to get
a cute response, are we?"
Detective, An Interactive MiSTing N/A
Toonesia You have a sudden vision of a small
white house with a mailbox in
front. [among others -- a variety
of responses are possible]
Undertow N/A
Tube Trouble [prints the game's info, including
its authors' names and distribution
data.]
Undo A hollow voice ignores you.
A Change in the Weather N/A
Uncle Zebulon's Will N/A
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NEWSBRIEFS
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-----------------------------------------
Reader Survey Results:
IF Fans Mostly Male and American,
But Play Diverse Bunch of Games
-----------------------------------------
The reader survey in our July/August issue drew 186 responses from
readers in 14 countries.
* What is your gender?
Male: 90.7%
Female: 9.3%
Only 18 of the survey respondents were women. While not much of a
statistically significant sample, the women respondents (median age: 29
years old) were somewhat older than the men (median age: 24 years old).
* What country do you live in?
USA: 73.7%
UK: 11.9%
Germany: 3.3%
Canada: 3.3%
Sweden: 2.7%
All others: 5.1%
The U.S. drew the biggest response (137 of those surveyed), followed by
the United Kingdom (22); Germany and Canada (6 apiece); and Sweden (5).
The following countries drew one or two responses each: Australia;
Brazil; Norway; New Zealand; Denmark; Poland; Finland; Singapore; and
Austria.
* What is your occupation?
Academic/student 45.1%
Professional/technical 29.0%
Manager/executive 6.5%
Government/military 6.5%
Homemaker 3.2%
* On which platform(s) do you play computer games?
DOS: 54.8%
Macintosh OS 38.7%
Windows 25.8%
Unix 22.6%
Others 16.1%
Respondents were encouraged to name as many platforms as applicable, so
totals do not add up to 100 percent. The "Other" category includes
Acorn, OS/2, and Amiga computers, as well as the Sinclair ZX-Spectrum
and the Psion 3a Organizer.
* What is your favorite Infocom game of all time?
Ranking Game % Responding
1. Zork series 26.8%
2. Trinity 22.6%
3. Planetfall 17.2%
4. Wishbringer 12.4%
5. Bureaucracy 9.1%
6. AMFV 5.9%
7. Hitchhiker's 3.7%
* What is your favorite non-Infocom adventure of all time?
Readers suggested several dozen games, but there were really only two
that drew significant responses -- Adventure/Colossal Cave (28.4%) and
Curses (12.9%). Christminster was a distant third (2.6%).
* What would you say was the worst text adventure game you ever played?
This question also drew dozens of responses -- most with quite elaborate
explanations why! Although they weren't picked in any significant
percentages, the top three frequently named "worst" games were: Space
Aliens Laughed at My Cardigan; The Babysitter; and Detective.
* What text adventure games are you currently playing?
Ranking Game % Responding
1. competition games 29.6%
2. Christminster 19.3%
3. Curses 17.2%
4. Theatre 10.2%
Another frequent response was "None." (13.4%)
* What computer game(s) aside from text adventures are you currently
playing?
Ranking Game % Responding
1. Myst 13.9%
2. Kyrandia 9.1%
3. Return to Zork 7.0%
4. DOOM 6.4%
Actually, the most frequent response in this category was "None right
now" (20.4%)
* Assorted additional comments
"By the by -- one of the features I rather like in magazines is the
'Where are they now?', which report on what actually happened to ol'
whatshisname. Does anyone have any info on Messrs Crowther and/or Woods?
Two names destined for the Hall of Fame, eh? For that matter, do we have
any information on Dave Lebling, Steve Meretzky or Marc Blanc? It's not
a big deal -- and I'm not one for gossip columns -- but I thought it
might be of interest."
"I would like to see someone collect a list of helpful people who
are happy to be e-mailed for clues on various games. This would be great
for stuck players, it would keep boring traffic out of rec.games.if.
I've also noticed that rec.games.if doesn't seem very good for hints.
Lots of people ask for hints and don't get answers. Well not via news
anyway."
"I really like your magazine. Perhaps articles about the history of
IF would be interesting. I would also appreciate articles on IF on other
Systems, especially on old 8-bitters. Are there any new programs coming
out? "
"The computer technology keeps pulling me away from text
adventures. This presents a dilemma for me that remains unresolved. I
love and cherish my old memories of Adventure, Scott Adams' games, and
Infocom but Myst, Under A Killing Moon, and Phantasmagoria are so
powerful in their own ways. I don't compare the two. But the latter
takes up most of my time."
------------------------------------------------------------------
September/October Top 10 Picks for IF on the World Wide Web
------------------------------------------------------------------
Adventure Game History List (Hans Persson)
http://www.lysator.liu.se/~unicorn/adv/agh-index.html
Adventure Zine
http://www.gameworld.com/
L -- A Mathemagical Adventure
http://acorn.educ.nottingham.ac.uk/ShellCent/ITech/lt.html
The Doomsday Brunette
http://zeb.nysaes.cornell.edu/CGI/ddb/demo.cgi
Adventure Game Companies
http://www.lysator.liu.se/~unicorn/adv/
agh-index.html
maddog's Studio
http://www.maddog.com/ (13K)
MUD Area building software and links
http://www.goodnet.com/~esnible/mudinfo.htm
Return to Zork -- Complete Walkthrough
http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain/walkthru/rtz.html
The search for some hypertext fiction
http://is.rice.edu/~riddle/hyperfiction.html
Text in CyberSpace
http://lydia.bradley.edu/las/soc/syl/391/papers/text_cyb.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
GAME REVIEWS
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-----------------------------
Christminster
Parser: Inform
Author: Gareth Rees
Availability: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/inform/christm.z5
Requires: ZIP interpreter
-----------------------------
Christminster is the home of Biblioll College, where your brother
Malcolm teaches. When he sends you a telegram urging you to come visit
and learn about his big discovery, you waste no time in heading out that
way. But the mystery is only compounded once you arrive -- Malcolm is
nowhere to be found, his room is ransacked, and there are two sinister
professors who seem to be hatching a pretty evil scheme. Can you unravel
the mystery of what's become of Malcolm, what's with all this talk of
alchemy and elixirs, and what are the no-goodnik professors up to?
The NPCs in this game must be pretty extensively coded, because
they all seemed especially realistic and lifelike. Edward, the student
whose pet parrot you inadvertently set loose, will make you feel
incredibly, horribly guilty as you witness the depths of his despair and
sense of loss. You'll also feel waves of pity and tenderness for him as
he's chewed out by his professor. I think he's the most likable NPC I've
seen since Floyd in "Planetfall." If Edward is a new kind of sensitive
NPC for the '90s, then I say lets have lots of Edwards! There are quite
a few other NPCs who have a good many things to say to you, including
the busker, the cop, the porter, and a number of Biblioll professors.
Your point of view in this game is from a female perspective, as
Malcolm's sister Christabel. While there are some socially gender-
specific features and accoutrements (you carry a purse, instead of a
more generic bag or knapsack, and you worry about getting fat if you
consider eating a toffee), the game should be readily enjoyable to both
men and women, and hopefully it won't be much of a stretch for a man to
play the role of "Christabel" as he progresses through it. I was
interested in the number of comments made by NPCs that remind you of
your gender -- for example, you're called a silly girl if you need to be
rescued by the kitchen staff after you're locked in the wine cellar, and
Professors Jarboe and Bungay speculate crudely about what you're doing
in Malcolm's bedroom before they realize that you must be his sister.
The sibling dynamic punches a couple of holes in the problems you need
to solve -- for instance, you may be delayed in figuring out how to look
up Malcolm's room number or mailbox until you discover his last name ...
but as his sister, surely that's something you should be expected to
know already!
The range of puzzles in "Christminster" is enormous -- there are a
few that are more like the brainteaser puzzles in Gareth's earlier game
"Magic Toyshop," such as breaking the code for Malcolm's encrypted
note, and others that are more typical of those found in IF games, like
locked-door puzzles. A great deal of your insight into Biblioll College
and its history comes from looking up names in books and a library
index, much like the device used in Graham Nelson's "Curses."
I overlooked the game's hints for solving the cryptogram puzzle
since I like to solve those kinds of word games by brute force, but it
would have been nice to have some more explicit hints (there's no online
help at all) for solving or approaching other problems. The number of
names to look up in reference works grew too large for me to handle --
normally I like to play and replay sections of an IF game so much that I
don't need the map I drew up originally, and this time after I discarded
the map I realized I still needed to write down all the names of the
"men of Biblioll" and various book authors because there were way too
many for me to remember. I was also pretty stumped by the problem of how
to eavesdrop on Jarboe and Bungay's telephone call. I had figured out
how to identify which color socket corresponded to which telephone line
and how to change the line a specific telephone was connected to, but I
just couldn't make the leap to how to tap into the phone call; I
eventually had to make use of spoilers posted to the rec.games.int-
fiction newsgroup to figure that problem out.
While not a timed game, there are events in the game that take
place at certain times of day, and the clock advances a half-hour
whenever you accomplish certain tasks in the game. This is similar to
games such as "Gabriel Knight," where night didn't fall until you'd
solved that day's puzzles, but "Christminster" didn't seem quite so
linear as "Gabriel Knight."
There's much to like about "Christminster," from the clever puzzles
to the highly interactive NPCs. "Christminster" joins the crowded field
of IF games with a collegiate setting, but this one comes in at or near
the head of the class.
-- Eileen Mullin
-----------------------------
Theatre
Parser: Inform
Author: Brendan Wyber
Availability: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/inform/theatre.z5
Requires: ZIP interpreter
-----------------------------
You're a real estate agent who's spent a busy afternoon showing an
abandoned, run-down theater to a potential buyer. You're about to dash
off to an evening at the opera, when you remember you've left your pager
behind in the theater's basement. Exasperated, you return to the theater
and -- after a scripted series of mishaps in which your car is stolen
and a roving thug threatens your life -- begin to discover its
horrifying past.
Once you've played through this obligatory opening scene -- which
may be confusing or tiresome for those who might want to explore other
parts of the game which don't have an impact upon this opening sequence
-- you're at liberty to traverse the theater's eerie confines. The room
descriptions are richly detailed and add a great deal of atmosphere as
well as possible clues. There are several secret passages and many areas
of the game that aren't accessible until you learn how to sidestep
certain barriers.
As you search for a way to exit the theater, you quickly realize
that you're trapped by a far more ominous power than the thug standing
outside. By collecting and reading the scattered pages of a journal
(dated 1898) that belonged to architect Eric Morris, the designer of the
theater, you learn how he came to fall in love with the owner's
daughter, Elizabeth, who had a nefarious hidden agenda in convincing
Eric to change the designs in hideous ways. Not unlike the device used
in Myst, the pages of Eric Morris's diary prove more and more useful as
you discover additional ones in your progressive explorations though the
theater.
The NPCs in "Theatre" are all quite creative, including the ghost
of an usher who initially blocks your entrance into the auditorium, and
the heartbreaking goblin-creature who is key in instructing you about
the evil that resides in the theater and the sources of its power.
You'll also encounter a couple of animals that can be helpful to you,
but you must find ways to get them to another location first.
Many of the game's puzzles required thoughtful, logical puzzle-
solving but were not impossibly hard. If a puzzle's solution required an
object you hadn't yet found, however, it could be difficult to realize
that a missing object was the difficulty instead of a question of
syntax. There are some online hints, but these are of the gentle nudge
variety rather than outright spoilers.
Although uneven in spots, "Theatre" is an engrossing game for
anyone who's ever been intrigued by haunted houses or by the stories
their walls could tell, if only they could talk...
-- Eileen Mullin
-----------------------------
TimeSquared
Parser: Adventure Game Toolkit
Author: Bert Lee
Availability: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/pc/tsquared.zip
Supports: AGT ports
-----------------------------
"TimeSquared" casts the player as Nicholas MacGear, a Chronos cadet
about to graduate from the Academy. The story opens in the year 2098,
when you awaken in your spartan apartment on the day of your graduation.
But something is odd...things seem incongruous and misplaced, as if they
don't belong here, and yet you get the impression that everything you do
has already happened before. And who was that mysterious figure who fled
your apartment just as you awakened? And why does your building
superintendent seem to be watching every move you make? All you know is
that in order to keep the timestream intact, you've got to get to the
Chronos Complex on time for your graduation ceremony.
The game was written using AGT, which means the parser leaves quite
a bit to be desired. Many common synonyms that should work simply don't.
On a number of occasions I knew exactly what I had to do -- the game's
puzzles, although often challenging, aren't unfairly obscure -- but I
was unable to phrase it in a way that the game would accept. Unlike some
AGT games, however, it does allow players to perform a variety of more
complex interactions involving indirect objects as well as a verb and
noun, so you players aren't limited to typing simple two-word commands.
The game's writing and plot overcome many of the parser's flaws.
Author Bert Lee manages to create a futuristic world that, although not
all that profound or thought-provoking, is quite vivid and populated
with an array of intriguing, albeit underdeveloped, characters. Among
the more significant are the quirky and ever-nameless superintendent;
the Bankjxes, a family of extraterrestrials who live in the same
apartment complex as you; and especially Gmurr, your Denebian companion,
who is brought to you at the start of the game in a larval state (just
add water!) by a mysterious delivery man. Curiously, another character
named Dr. Grace is briefly mentioned, but his holophone number isn't
recognized, leading me to believe he never made it to the final version
of the game, although not all traces of his prior existence were cleaned
up.
The game also has built-in ASCII maps for many areas, and general
hints that can be accessed by typing "HELP" at the prompt. While the
hints are generally helpful, there is only one (at most) hint for each
location, which means there's no more help coming for you if you're
still stuck. There are 500 points to be earned during the course of the
game, but scoring is difficult -- you're not rewarded at all for finding
items or solving small puzzles, only for the major ones that advance the
plot.
What impressed me most about TimeSquared is the game's
"hyperspatial flenzer," a device given to you by Gmurr which is capable
of storing a large number of items in another dimension. The player can
then "flenz" and "unflenz" various objects as s/he needs them. It's a
remarkable bit of programming for AGT.
Unfortunately when something in the game occurs due to the passage
of time, TimeSquared has the annoying habit of displaying a block of
text on the screen for a fixed period, then clearing the screen before
the player has even had a chance to read it. Granted, most of the text
isn't that critical to completion of the game, but it's irritating
nonetheless, especially since it would be quite easy to fix.
Furthermore, "TimeSquared" is yet another game that starts the
player's character out in a half-starved state. It's necessary to find
food fairly quickly, and repeatedly -- about every 10 minutes of game
time to be exact. The task of finding something edible isn't as obvious
as it first seems, as players aren't given a whole lot of time. This is
truly a shame, because many players are likely to lose interest trying
to overcome this first obstacle and will quit without ever catching a
glimpse of the story beyond it.
As a result, "TimeSquared" takes considerable time and effort to
really get into, but it's a lot of fun and definitely worth it once you
get past the initial setbacks. It's a well-written adventure that makes
effective use of the time-travel scenario, but one that doesn't seem to
have undergone final debugging.
"TimeSquared" is subtitled, "Chapter One: Centopolis," which
implies that the author originally intended this adventure as the first
in a series. The game is dated 1992, however, so it now seems unlikely
that any future episodes will come into being, which is a bit
disheartening. This could have been an interesting saga.
-- C.E. Forman
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Guess What? More Infocom Bugs...
by Graeme Cree (
[email protected])
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Will we ever run out? This month's update to our ever-growing list of
found bugs in Infocom text adventures comes from Graeme Cree in its
entirety.
-----------------------------------------
Enchanter
-----------------------------------------
* If the turtle dies from walking into a dark space, his death is
reported as though it were yours, like so:
>TURTLE, GO NORTH
The rainbow turtle, ever the good friend, leaves you. Oh, no!
Something slithered alongside you and feasted on your person!
*** The rainbow turtle has died ***
-----------------------------------------
Planetfall
-----------------------------------------
* This occurs in versions 10, 15, and 16, as well as the mysterious
first release. In Version 20, the game does not know the word
microbe! Thus when the microbe drops in front of you on the relay
strip, the command SHOOT MICROBE will not work. I managed to make
do with SHOOT MONSTER. I'm not sure what other words will work.
-----------------------------------------
Zork I
-----------------------------------------
* In all versions after Version 5, if you try to use a compass
direction while in the boat, the game will tell you that you can't
go that way in a magic boat. In Version 5, it will tell you that
you can't go that way in a tan label.
* In all versions after Version 5, when you reach the portion of the
river where the buoy is, the description will tell you that the buoy
is "(outside the magic boat)". Version 5, tells you that the buoy
is "(in the room)"!
* If you try to GET OUT OF THE BOAT while floating down the river, all
versions of the game tell you that you realize "just in time" that
such a course would be suicidal. In all Versions after Version 5,
the game prevents you from leaving the boat. In Version 5, it lets
you leave and kills you, despite having told you that you had
realized not to do it.
* Here's a minor glitch that appears in all versions except the Solid
Gold. Go to the temple, and enter the following commands. SOUTH,
BLOW OUT CANDLES, NORTH, SOUTH. The description will say "On the
two ends of the altar are burning candles.", when in fact they are
no longer burning.
-----------------------------------------
Zork II
-----------------------------------------
* The presence of the nicked swords in the Trophy Room is responsible
for a minor bug, if the Wizard steals your sword via a Filch spell,
and you try to filch it back (after acquiring his wand). The
command FILCH SWORD will generate the response "WHICH SWORD DO YOU
MEAN, THE SWORD OR THE NICKED SWORD?" Replying THE SWORD will start
the process over again. Fortunately this problem can be gotten
around if you have the sense to type THE ELVEN SWORD.
-----------------------------------------
Zork III
-----------------------------------------
* If you try to TAKE PEDESTAL in the Jewel Room, you always get the
response "YOU CAN'T REACH IT THROUGH THE CAGE," even if the cage is
not present (i.e. you travelled back to a time before it was
installed.)
* In Zork III, when you reach the Zork I area, go east and south. It
will say:
You have come to a dead end in the mine.
There is a small pile of coal here.
However, the coal is not really there and cannot be interacted with.
In fact the game doesn't even know the word "coal." This bug is
present in all versions, but is very hard to find because of the
difficulty in staying in the Zork I area long enough.
* In Zork III, if you use the bug in Version 10 that allows you to
leave the endgame area with the Dungeon Master, and go to the Zork
I area with him, you may occasionally (but not always) be able to
produce the following exchange:
>DUNGEON MASTER, GO EAST
"I prefer to stay where I am, thank you."
You suddenly find yourself back in the viewing room!
The dungeon master leaves the room.
The Dungeon Master leaves the room after refusing to do so. Also,
not only are you not really back in the viewing room, you and the DM
will be stuck in the Zork I area permanently.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ANSWERS TO THE INFOCOM TRIVIA QUIZ
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I. Identify the following:
1. (Floyd's real "name" in PLANETFALL)
2. (Destroyed mansion in ENCHANTER)
3. (Language that the button instructions are written in in ZORK
II)
4. (Company that Topaz worked for as a cover in BORDER ZONE)
5. (Soccer team in A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING)
6. (Where the clue jewels came from in SHERLOCK)
7. (Steve Meretzky's moniker in PLANETFALL and SORCERER)
8. (What the Freezone explosive is made of in STATIONFALL)
9. (Main characters in all 4 of Meretzky's ZORK DECISION BOOKS)
10. (Ancient religion from ZORK 0)
11. (Orange potion in SORCERER that obviates need for breathing)
12. (Passage from the black book in ZORK 1)
13. (Starting point of your expedition in INFIDEL)
14. (Platypus princess in WISHBRINGER)
15. (Inscription on Jamison's ring in PLUNDERED HEARTS
16. (A business in the sample database in CORNERSTONE)
17. (Friendly scientist in BATTLETECH: THE CRESCENT HAWK'S
INCEPTION)
18. (Topaz's Frobnian cover identity in BORDER ZONE)
19. (English pub in THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY)
20. (One of Dimwit Flathead's counselors from ZORK ZERO)
21. (Female character in QUARTERSTAFF: THE TOMB OF SETMOTH)
22. (Wood from Venus used to build the Hickory Dickory Dock in
LGOP)
23. (L.A. suburb where THE WITNESS takes place)
24. (Character in Craig Shaw Gardner's WISHBRINGER novel)
25. (Giant Spider in STARCROSS, also the merchant in ZORKQUEST 1)
26. (Non-existent character mentioned in PLANETFALL InvisiClues
Book)
27. (Another name for King Arthur in ARTHUR: THE QUEST FOR
EXCALIBUR)
28. (Your London home in PLUNDERED HEARTS)
29. (The rescue ship in PLANETFALL)
30. (Guildmasters who speak at the beginning of SPELLBREAKER)
31. (Your hotel in CUTTHROATS)
32. (Real name of Chuckles, the kidnapper in BALLYHOO)
33. First resident of Mars in LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS
34. (Body of water near your lab in SEASTALKER)
35. (Characters in the cartoon on the back of all four
INFOCOMICS)
36. (Site of the "Eat Your Words" portion of NORD AND BERT)
37. (Name of the Gold Machine in ZORK III)
38. (Cookie's real name in Plundered Hearts)
39. (Villain in BUREAUCRACY)
40. (Cough medicine in cabinet in DEADLINE)
41. (Title of the paperback book in TRINITY)
42. (Winners of the Solar Series in LANE MASTODON VS. THE
BLUBBERMEN)
43. (A Portuguese Priest in SHOGUN)
44. (Freeman Linder's company in THE WITNESS)
45. (Home of Mr. Anderson, from the matchbook cover in ZORK 1)
46. (Buddy Burbank's lost film masterpiece in HOLLYWOOD HIJINX)
47. (Owner of Zork's white house in ZORK: THE FORCES OF KRILL
novel)
48. (A drink in THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY)
49. (Friendly wizard in JOURNEY)
50. (Oz-like land in BEYOND ZORK)
51. (Vital component of the Super-Duper-Anti-Leather Goddesses of
Phobos Attack machine in LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS)
52. (Site of the pet store in MOONMIST)
53. (Random wandering denizen in FOOBLITZKY)
54. (Favorite treat of night gaunts in ZORKQUEST I)
55. (Security Guards for the LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS)
56. (Nickname of Bozbarland in SORCERER's Encyclopedia
Frobozzica)
57. (Genetic component of the Snark in SEASTALKER)
58. (Owner of the gold coffin in ZORK 1)
59. (Veronica Ashcroft's horse show entry in SUSPECT)
60. (Biological metaphor for the pyramid's function in
STATIONFALL)
61. (A comic strip in Zork 0)
62. (Number of leaves in Zork I and Leather Goddesses of Phobos)
63. (Name on the crypt in TRINITY)
64. (Previous central brain in SUSPENDED)
65. (A silver coin worth less than 1 zm, in THE LOST CITY OF ZORK
novel)
66. (Craige's client in INFIDEL)
67. (Junk food in THE LURKING HORROR)
68. (Perelman's partner in A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING)
69. (Foreman of the Frobozz Magic Cave Company in ZORK II)
70. ("Predict weather w/50% accuracy" spell in Bailey's ENCHANTER
novel)
71. (Password to return to the endgame area in ZORK III)
72. (Legendary sword of Entharion from ZORK ZERO)
73. (Makers of the Boysenberry computer in BUREAUCRACY)
74. (Medicine used to treat accelerated heartbeat in SHERLOCK
75. (Brand of beer in the mayor's house in NORD AND BERT)
II. General questions:
76. LGOP, Starcross (documentation), Wishbringer (arcade game),
and LANE MASTODON VS. THE BLUBBERMEN
77. Orcs of Zork, according to SORCERER's infotater.
78. Interlogic games.
79. MOONMIST, Green Variation. On the computer in the office.
80. Frotz me. This will make it impossible to find the proper
portrait in the gallery.
81. Belwit the Flat, on the coin included with THE ZORK TRILOGY.
82. THE WITNESS.
83. Twelve. Zork 0, Zork 1, Zork 2, Zork 3, Beyond Zork,
Enchanter, Sorcerer, Spellbreaker, Wishbringer, Starcross,
Planetfall, and Stationfall. The last three are included
because they feature Grues, which ONLY appear in the Zork
Universe.
84. In SUSPENDED.
85. In INFIDEL.
III. Locations:
86. (SUSPECT)
87. (THE WITNESS)
88. (INFIDEL)
89. (DEADLINE)
90. (LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS)
91. (A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING)
92. (TRINITY)
93. (HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE, MOONMIST, and ARTHUR)
94. (TRINITY and SHERLOCK)
95. (SHOGUN)
IV. First sentences:
96. (BEYOND ZORK)
97. (BUREAUCRACY)
98. (HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE)
99. (HOLLYWOOD HIJINX)
100. (LURKING HORROR)
101. (PLUNDERED HEARTS)
102. (SORCERER)
103. (SUSPECT)
104. (SUSPENDED)
105. (THE WITNESS)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WHAT'S ON THE DISK
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The companion disk for XYZZYnews #5 contains the following game files.
It's a good deal for people who have slower modems - at 2400 bps, it'd
take heck of a long time to download the contents of the companion disk.
It's also a good deal for people with limited or no access to FTP sites
or online services as a source for new games. If you're reading an
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print copy of XYZZYnews #5 by enclosing $3.50 for postage and handling
with the coupon on the bottom of this page. If you play and enjoy these
games, please pay the shareware fees as applicable.
A Night at the Museum Forever -- by Chris Angelini.
All Quiet on the Library Front, An Interactive Vignette -- by Michael S.
Phillips.
Detective, An Interactive MiSTing (Mystery Science Theater 3000) of Matt
Barringer's AGT game "Detective" -- by Christopher E. Forman.
Undertow -- by Stephen Granade.
Tube Trouble, A Mini-Adventure -- by Richard Tucker.
Uncle Zebulon's Will, an Interactive Inheritance -- by Magnus Olsson.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
XYZZYnews Magazine/Disk Order Form
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