🧭 THE ARCHIVES

Quote of the day

You climb into the bed. It is soft and comfortable. After a few moments, a previously unseen panel opens, and a diagnostic robot comes wheeling out. It is very rusty and sways unsteadily, bumping into several pieces of infirmary equipment as it crosses the room. As the robot straps you to the bed, you notice some smoke curling from its cracks. Beeping happily, the robot injects you with all 347 serums and medicines it carries. The last thing you notice before you pass out is the robot preparing to saw your legs off.

-- Planetfall

Factoid of the day

One of the main characters in the Infocomic ZorkQuest: Assault on Egreth Castle is named Gurthark, an apparent reference to the spider-like alien creature from Starcross: "The spider tells you his name is 'Gurthark-tun-Besnap,' (or something more-or-less that)."

*Many are the doors that lead to the underground.*
Jun 1982

Analog Computing, #58

~3 minute read

Oct 1987

Panak strikes!

The Lurking Horror

Steve Panak

The Lurking Horror
by Dave Lebling
INFOCOM
125 Cambridge Park Drive
Cambridge, MA 02140
48K Disk $34.95<

In the years since they began the interactive fiction biz, Infocom has introduced works in such diverse genres as adventure, mystery, science fiction, fantasy and comedy. But somehow, one of the most popular of all types of fiction got left out: the kind of story that you dare not read with the lights turned low, the stories populated with creatures and incidents of unspeakable terror. Well, much to our nightmarish dismay, they have rectified that oversight.

The Lurking Horror is one of the latest releases from Infocom, and the first to boldly barge into the world dominated by the dread poetic ravings of Edgar Allen Poe and the shudder-inducing tales of Stephen King. And, while its sales might not surpass those of either of these authors' works, it is destined to become yet another jewel in the Infocom crown. As the main character, if you're not careful, it could prove to be the nail in your coffin.

A procrastinating student at good old George Underwood Edwards Institute of Technology (GUE Tech), you find yourself battling with a terminal, trying to pound out that twenty-page term paper that's suddenly due tomorrow. It would not have been quite so bad if the cursed computer hadn't corrupted all your files, filling them with unintelligible and disconcerting gobbledy-gook, hinting at spooks and spirits and horrors beyond belief.

And that was before you fell asleep (passed out?) and had that dream... about the pit and finding the stone, and the hoards of people chanting and crushing in on you, and then there's the horrible creature that shocked you back into consciousness. Of course, can you really call it a dream, since, when you awoke, the small stone was still in your hand? The strangely inscribed (clawed?) rock is the least of your troubles, though, as you muster up your courage and begin to explore the vast network of old, underground tunnels connecting the various buildings of GUE. You see, they've been closed for a reason. Rumor has it, a not-so-pleasant reason.

So, as the wind blows up a winter blizzard, sealing you into the university's science complex, you find yourself drawn to the old tunnels, confronting supernatural beings of all descriptions. Just don't forget to carry your common sense with you -- as well as that fire axe in the hallway.

The puzzles in this game are logical and well designed (I hoped I'd find a reason to use the forklift), the prose horrific and seasoned with dashes of patented Infocom humor. For instance, I've been waiting for the kind of response I got when I used one of my favorite commands, "kill man with axe," on the maintenance man. The outcome: The fire axe chops into his chest, where it sticks. Ed Ames would be proud. He looks down at the axe with a certain perplexity, then pulls it free, the wound making a sickening sucking sound.

While this is a peculiar response, it's nowhere near as surprising as the feel of his icy hands as they strangle you to death. Fortunately, there's always a rebirth, thanks to the save and restore commands. The standard Infocom program is superb and features a large vocabulary, as well as allowing abbreviations of the most often used commands, such as X for examine and I for inventory.

In addition to assaulting a new genre, in a major shift in strategy, Infocom has also adopted a new packaging design. Continuing the evolution of their always-creative containers (remember the original Starcross plastic spacecraft?), they have refined their book-shaped box, eliminating the page-filled cover and substituting a removable inner box, which slides in opposite the spine. This narrow box contains a technical manual (that tells how to run the program, and is supplemented with a machine-specific reference card), a student I.D., and a creepy creature. Also included is a freshman guide to the University, chock-full of background and hints. As always, you'll have to pay attention to all these details to get through the chilling, thrilling adventure.

The Lurking Horror is a fine addition to your Infocom library, and a must for horror fans. While it probably won't scare you out of a night's sleep, its entertaining prose and challenging puzzles will provide you with many sleepless hours. With The Lurking Horror, the masters at Infocom have laid waste to yet another genre.

This article appeared in
Analog Computing
Oct 1987

These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.