Re: Infocom and the Test of Time

[marsh@nettally.com (Steven Marsh)]

On Mon, 15 Feb 1999 11:57:26 GMT, savaric55@hotmail.com wrote:

>Recently I bought the Masterpieces of Infocom collection, in order to get
>the few Infocom games I didn't have in my collection. I've now played through
>a few of the games, that I have never played before, and in fact...I'm a bit
>disappointed.
>
>The games I've played are these:
>AMFV
>Nord & Bert
>Seastalker
>Bureaucracy
>Sherlock
>Plundered Hearts
>Border Zone
>
	<snip>

I feel obliged to point out that, with the exception of Seastalker,
these games are from the later period of Infocom games.  (I personally
mark "A Mind Forever Voyaging" as the "mid-point", being roughly the
middle of their production schedule -and-  the first of the new
Z-Machine format.)  So it's not unlike seeing Godfather III,
Texasville, and Return of the Jedi, and not understanding what the
appeal of these moving picture-thingees is like. :b

By this midway point, I think most of the "established" genres had
been covered (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Magickal Fantasy), and they were trying
to enter others, since, for example, (I imagine) they felt that they
couldn't create a fantasy game that -wasn't- a Zork game without being
compared to Zork.

As a result, these games use genres that have been shown to be...
challenging to program effectively.

	<snip>
>
>Well, anyone that agrees or disagrees? What is it you think that makes the
>old Infocoms good/bad?

First, I point out that, in the earlier Infocom games, you could do
just about anything.  Many of these games had a begin-game and an
endgame, and then the middle was whatever you wanted to make it.  That
was certainly an appeal behind Zork I & II; go, have fun, do things in
whatever order, etc.  Think of Suspended.  "You are here.  Much must
be done.  What do you do?"  This appeal reached its logical extreme in
Deadline, where you could do bloody-well ANYTHING (or nothing); the
plot would begin or end with or without you.

This is, IMO, the most important part of many IF experiences; knowing
that you're -not- just in a linear story, trying to guess what the
author intended for you to do next.  That was certainly the appeal
behind, say, AMFV.

But towards the end of the beginning period (ugh), games were coming
out that were more linear.  This is, I suspect, inevitable, given the
nature of fiction; the demand for more story than "wander, get stuff"
or "wander, get stuff, kill bad guy" means the story can't possibly
branch to include every intricacy -and- still maintain the illusion of
a determanistic story.  Usually, then, they try to "fudge" it with
non-linear portions of a linear game (ala Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy).  At its worst, this technique results in things like Sherlock
and (to a lesser extent) Once & Future:  "The complex, intricate,
weaved story will progress once you accumulate the four beakers of
Foozle!"

You also mention a couple of times that, if you know what you're
doing, the games are quite short.  Well, that's true... but I don't
think they were really meant to be replayed.  Now, if you're a psychic
playing Seastalker, you're in for a short experience. :)  But
otherwise, it'll take you a while (and Seastalker -was- meant to be
solved and solvable by younger players).

Also notice (especially in the earlier games) exactly how much of a
simulation (rather than game) these titles were.  Almost any logical
action had a response to let you know what happened.  Bugs were sooooo
rare that most of them have been catalogued now, and it's a big deal
when one's found.  And their packaging was all designed to enhance the
simulation (with Ballyhoo and Bureaucracy being particular favorites
in this regard).  You weren't playing a circus game... you were at the
circus, trying to figure out what happened.

Finally, I'd point out that I bloody-well hope IF games would evolve.
Anyone who released a "wander around a dungeon looking for treasures"
game that didn't live up to Zork would hopefully get ostricized.  But
in the world of fiction writing there's a saying: These stories need
to be written (if for no other reason than so they aren't written
again).  Thus stories that end, "I shall name you Eve, and this place
shall be called... EARTH!" or "At last he was alone.  He slowly opened
his third eye." don't need to be written, since they've been written
already (and often, as any fiction editor can attest).  So now that we
have our Zork series, our Nord and Bert, we don't need to write them
anymore!

(As a final final, I also point out that modern IF has the advantage
of being either free or quite inexpensive.  As an example, I loved
Spider & Web, but if I'd spent $30 or more on it, I'd be angry.  "Why
won't the game let me do that?  Why won't it recognize that command?
What the hell does it want me to do?  Where's my receipt?" etc. )

 --
Steven Marsh
marsh@nettally.com
Keeper of the Unofficial Legend Text Adventure Page
www.waitingforgo.com/legend