Infocom
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Infocom was one of the best known software companies for creating
interactive fiction, also known as text adventures. It was rather like
a computerised version of a novel, but where you, the user played a key
part in the unfolding story and hopefully succeed in discovering the
end of the story. Highly successful and popular Infocom games released, were Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and the Zork series. Some Infocom games also had the added distinction of being packaged with comprehensive documentation and other material, to help heighten the atmosphere during play and were required to complete a game. |
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Although other software companies were developing text based adventures they tended to be extremely limited, with primitive verb/noun style parsers. The advanced nature and technical superiority of Infocom's parser meant that you could type in sentences, or simple words and the game engine would be able to understand and 'parse' your text correctly. Because there were no graphics, the text of the story was of a very high quality and due to the depth and quantity of the text it made for a very engrossing game, which also happened to fire your imagination, trying to visualise situations during a game. Many years after of Infocom's initial success, other companies tried to replicate Infocom's parser, one of the best was Magnetic Scrolls, who released games, like the Pawn and Corruption, and also Interplay who released Mindshadow and Borrowed Time. These games featured the addition of well drawn graphics. They were known as illustrated text adventures. However, nothing could really beat Infocom's parser or story telling abilities, and they certainly will be remembered as the 'king' of this genre. Please find below the complete INFOCOM collection for the Commodore 64. This collection was compiled by Dimitris Kiminas for the original Commodore Zone. The C64 emulators available, like CCS64 or Vice, will allow you to play any Infocom game and due to fast disk loading routines that these emulators now employ, the games will load almost instantly. You will also notice no delay when loading new text during a game, unlike on a real C64, making the game play, much more enjoyable! |
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A Mind Forever Voyaging
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/10/2006
- Infocom
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Rating:
A Mind Forever Voyaging was Infocom's 17th game. It was written by
Steve Meretzky, author of Planetfall, Sorcerer, and co-author of the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Ballyhoo
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
-
Rating:
Ballyhoo was Infocom's 19th game (and the 4th mystery story). It was written by Jeff O'Neil.
Battletech
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
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Rating:
This RPG was the the last Infocom game to grace the C64. It was programmed for Infocom by Westwood Associates in 1989.
Beyond Zork
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
- Unrated
Infocom's 30th game was BEYOND ZORK by Brian Moriarty.
Border Zone
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
- Unrated
Border Zone was Infocom's 31st game (and the only game of intrigue). It was written by Marc Blank, the co-author of the ZORK series, Enchanter, and sole-author of Deadline.
Bureaucracy
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
- Unrated
Infocom's 25th game was BUREAUCRACY by Douglas Adams.
Cutthroats
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
- Unrated
Cutthroats was Infocom's 13th game and was written by Michael Berlin (the author of Suspended and Infidel), and Jerry Wolper.
Deadline
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
- Unrated
Deadline was Infocom's 3rd game after ZORK I and II (and before ZORK III!), and was written by Marc Blank, the co-author of the ZORK trilogy.
Enchanter
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
- Unrated
Enchanter was Infocom's 9th game (and the 4th fantasy game after the three ZORKs.
Gamma Force
- By TCZ webmaster
- Published 12/12/2006
- Infocom
- Unrated
Gamma Force was written by Amy Briggs, the author of Plundered Hearts, and was released in March 1988 (along with Lane Mastodon).
