~3 minute readAward Winners
Infocom Sweeps Text Adventure Category
We gave a lot of thought to awarding medals in the category of text adventure. A viable category, with respectable entries and respectable adherents. It seemed a natural thing to do, except for one interesting fact —- all three medals would without question end up going to one company.
Not to imply that this in itself would in any way influence our decision vis à vis a text adventure medal category, mind you. If the U.S. can sweep in a few competitions in the real Olympics, that will be fine with us. The problem was that while we were unanimous in our praise for Infocom, acknowledged master creators of the text adventure, we could not achieve a clear decision as to which package should win which award. Infocom was simply too good —- they screwed up our system. Some among us felt a strong desire to give them more than three medals. But how can you give more than three medals without running out of metals?
The situation tested our mettle.
Hence a compromise. We will award no medals formally in this category; however, we shall present Infocom with a plaque made of inlaid gold and silver on a bronze pedestal. We dare not pick one Infocom package over another. However we will allow the best of them to take a victory lap around the track, and give you a wave.
Enchanter casts you as a rookie wizard bent on deposing the foul and beastly warlock terrorizing the countryside. You have a beginner's book of spells, a mysterious scroll, and not much more than a lot of enthusiasm with which to complete your quest. If fantasy is your kind of game, Enchanter, along with the now classic Zork series of adventures, are the names to remember.
Infidel welcomes you to the sunny Sahara, where your archaeological expedition has deteriorated into a sandy fracas. Your bearers are getting surly, needed equipment has failed to arrive, and you’re feeling slightly delerious. Maybe you shouldn’t have intercepted the phone call to the real archaelogist and set out with no experience. Will you find your way to the pyramid and the possible riches that await you? Or will you end up running home to mummy?
Planetfall has the best sense of humor of any text adventure we have ever looked at and has an extremely original plot line. The mystery of this one is enhanced by the fact that the adventurer is not quite sure just what the objective of the game is. Intergalactic postcards packed with the game dare you to mail them out.
Starcross leaves you floating in the depths of space without even a pod to pass in. If you are lucky, you may find your way into a derelict space station the size of an asteroid. Make some repairs to the ship or perish. Live, and treasures await you—perhaps something even greater than material riches. And remember, when in Wease, do as the weasels do.
Suspended gives you the dubious honor of serving as the “central mentality” of Contra, a planet with some real problems. Using six rather moody robots, your job is to repair the damage done by your predecessor, which has all but doomed the planet. Suspended is the only Infocom adventure that comes with its own game board and pieces, so you may keep track of your droids at all times. A tough game, but a rewarding one.
Witness gets you to feeling as if you have been dropped right into a Raymond Chandler movie from the mid 1940’s. Phong the butler knows more than he’s letting on, and Monica is a desperate woman. Did Linder’s wife feign suicide, then murder him? Perhaps that matchbook with a scribbled phone number on the inside cover you found on the lawn holds the key to an answer.
See what we were up against? Get them all, and decide for yourself which gets the platinum medal, and which gold, silver, bronze, magnesium, and aluminum
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