Games, v7(12)

~1 minute read

Dec 1983

Computers at Play: Mystery

Deadline

Mary Ellen Salte

Deadline players become involved —- even obsessed. When they meet, their conversation might begin like this: "Did you find the pieces of the teacup?" "No, but I caught the gardener with the ladder."

This all-text game looks deceptively simple. Marshall Robner has been found dead of a drug overdose, and you're given copies of interviews with the suspects, a photo of the crime scene, lab and other reports. You enter the Robner mansion and go from room to room, talking to people, eavesdropping, finding objects, having them analyzed, and, if appropriate, pocketing them. What you do or fail to do affects the subsequent behavior of the suspects, whose responses to your questions change depending on such variables as whether you show them a clue, and what room you're in and when.

For those who manage to solve this very tough puzzle and want another, Infocom has just come out with Witness.

Deadline, by Marc Blank. Infocom, Cambridge, MA; on disk for Apple II/II+/IIe, Atari 800/1200, Commodore 64, CP/M, DEC Rainbow, IBM PC, TI Professional, TRS-80 Model III; $50-$60.

This article appeared in
Games
Dec 1983

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