es2j+@andrew.cmu.edu (Edward John Sabol) (07/24/90)
What's the status of Infocom? Has it just disappeared or what? They haven't released any new games since Journey and Arthur: Quest for Excalibur (I recommend the latter). I hear it's pretty hard to buy/find their old games as well. I also haven't gotten any newsletter from them in over a year. (The best newsletter from a computer company *ever*!) I just *knew* they shouldn't have sold out to Activision... +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | Edward J. Sabol | Arpa: es2j+@andrew.cmu.edu | | Carnegie Mellon University | Bitnet: R746ES2J@CMCCVB | +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | "The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean and Balboa | | was drowning." - August Wilson | +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
adam@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Adam Glass) (07/25/90)
es2j+@andrew.cmu.edu (Edward John Sabol) writes: > What's the status of Infocom? Has it just disappeared or what? Yes and no. So far as I know, I'm the only Infocommie who reads this group, so I guess I'll take it. I can't go into too much gory detail, as I'm not interested in getting a call from Mediagenic's lawyers. I should also mention that this may not be 100% true, it's just what I saw and what I was told by friends who stayed at Infocom longer than I. Anyway, as you know, Infocom was bought out by Activision a few years ago. Well, things were fine for a while. To make a long story short, they fired the head of testing (my boss.) They then replaced her with someone else. Mediagenic was demanding all sorts of deadlines, and marketing was interefering with testing (and you wonder why Quarterstaff is so buggy!). Well, the atmosphere got very unfriendly, and people started leaving. More people were hired, but then a few of them left too. Finally, everyone got fired (including the implementors.) Mediagenic moved the name "Infocom" out to California. I believe some of the founders of Infocom, along with Meretzky, started a new company in the Cambridge area. There was a message about a year ago on mit.bboard looking for C programmers. I think Stu Galley is doing a little teaching at MIT, but I'm not sure. > I just *knew* they shouldn't have sold out to Activision... You couldn't have said it better. Adam
es2j+@andrew.cmu.edu (Edward John Sabol) (07/25/90)
Adam, Thanks for the disheartening info about Infocom. Do you know if one can still purchase their products? Neither MacConnection or MacWarehouse or any of my local software stores carry anything but a few old copies of Zork Zero and Arthur. Anything older than that is impossible to find (at least on the Mac). I wonder if I any future games will be released by this "new" Infocom. Without the founders and company though, it would be doubtful whether the games would be any good or have any of the same magic (thoughtful and clever packaging, touches of humor, detailed atmosphere described with maximum verbosity). As a long and faithful user from the Apple II+ days, I *own* over ten Infocom games and played considerably more. About half of which are still in Apple II format unfortunately. I would have liked to get at least some more of them in Mac format just for the fun of it since I no longer own my Apple IIe. When I got the issue of New Zork Times (I refuse to call it The Status Line!) that announced the Activision takeover, I remember calling a friend of mine and saying, "It's the beginning of the end for Infocom." I'm quasi-surprised that it lasted as long as it did. +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | Edward J. Sabol | Arpa: es2j+@andrew.cmu.edu | | Carnegie Mellon University | Bitnet: R746ES2J@CMCCVB | +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | "The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean and Balboa | | was drowning." - August Wilson | +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
adam@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Adam Glass) (07/25/90)
es2j+@andrew.cmu.edu (Edward John Sabol) writes: > Thanks for the disheartening info about Infocom. Do you know if one > can still purchase their products? There's a company called Triton, Inc. They sold all of Mediagenic's companies' software... I believe they had an 800 number, so if you call 800 information, you might be able to get more info there. > Neither MacConnection or MacWarehouse or any of my local software > stores carry anything but a few old copies of Zork Zero and Arthur. > Anything older than that is impossible to find (at least on the Mac). Yep. About two years ago, Infocom sold off all their current stock to bookstores like Waldenbooks. The rest of their stuff went to Triton. > I wonder if I any future games will be released by this "new" Infocom. I doubt it. Not only do I think they have more respect than that, but I think their games would be compared to Infocom's earlier works, and the comparison would greatly dampen the new releases. > it would be doubtful whether the games would be any good or have any > of the same magic ... Exactly. > I *own* over ten Infocom games I own every release they made for the Mac... except for Plundered Hearts. Being a tester has it's advantages... ;) Adam
galley@think.com (Stu Galley) (07/31/90)
Here's an excerpt from Mediagenic's annual report for the year ended March 31, 1990: "Fiscal 1990 was a difficult year. We entered the year with a plan to improve profits by reducing our dependence on affiliated publishers and by consolidating Infocom with our West Coast operations.... Late in the year ... we discontinued Infocom's remaining operations...." Sic transit gloria frobbi! -- Stu Galley, Infocom fovnder
jholt@adobe.COM (Joe Holt) (07/31/90)
I grew up on the ingenuity and cleverness of Infocom. Zork I on an Apple II was my first introduction to adventure gaming. I still love it. I hate Mediagenocide for what they did. Just had to get that off my chest. Thanks, I feel better. -- joe
forbes@sp11.csrd.uiuc.edu (Michael Scott Forbes) (08/01/90)
In article <4824@adobe.UUCP> jholt@adobe.UUCP (Joe Holt) writes: >I grew up on the ingenuity and cleverness of Infocom. Zork I on an Apple II >was my first introduction to adventure gaming. I still love it. I hate >Mediagenocide for what they did. > >Just had to get that off my chest. Thanks, I feel better. > >-- joe I'll second that; I'm *still* trying to solve Spellbreaker, the third game in a series I began playing on my TRS-80 way back when. The games and puzzles were (and are) among the best of any computer games ever written; they gave credibility to the term "interactive fiction" at a time when most other games were still in the "TAKE LANTERN" stage. I would have mailed money to Infocom if I had known that Mediagenics was planning to dismantle them... -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Forbes University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign forbes@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu Center for Supercomputing Research & Development Disclaimer: This job doesn't pay much, but it does wonders for my .signature
es2j+@andrew.cmu.edu (Edward John Sabol) (08/01/90)
>I'll second that; I'm *still* trying to solve Spellbreaker, the third game >in a series I began playing on my TRS-80 way back when. This is my all-time favorite Infocom game. It is, IMHO, the best adventure game ever written. If you need any help, post. After Spellbreaker would come Zork Zero, Zork III, the original Colossal Cave Adventure, Zork I, and Hitchhiker's Guide (not necessarily in that order). Might as well throw Bureaucracy in there somewhere, too. I always felt Infocom should have licensed Colossal Cave Adventure and put their wonderful parser on top of it and put it in a nice package. It would have rivaled Zork I! You can't find CCA on the Mac, can you? +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | Edward J. Sabol | Arpa: es2j+@andrew.cmu.edu | | Carnegie Mellon University | Bitnet: R746ES2J@CMCCVB | +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+ | "The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean and Balboa | | was drowning." - August Wilson | +-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
homey@portia.Stanford.EDU (John Lilly) (08/15/90)
Help! Would somebody please send me help on Quaterstaff and Beauracracy? In particular, I need help in Quaterstaff to get into the secret room just North of the L-hall. I have tried everything, including banging my head against the wall. Oh that was in my house, not the game. I would appreciate any and all help for Beauracracy. Also, would somebody please explain to me how to post? I only know how to reply--not to initiate my own postings. Thanks very much, John Lilly homey@portia.stanford.edu OR lilly@sscvx1.ssc.gov
unx20397@unx2.ucc.okstate.edu (Sean Brannon) (04/22/91)
Does anyone know what the deal is with Infocom? A few years ago I read that they had gone to developing all their software on the Mac II. If so, where are the Mac versions of their more recent software? Sean
minidis@urz.unibas.ch (05/13/91)
In article <1991Apr22.065706.26275@unx2.ucc.okstate.edu>, unx20397@unx2.ucc.okstate.edu (Sean Brannon) writes: > Does anyone know what the deal is with Infocom? A few years ago I read > that they had gone to developing all their software on the Mac II. If > so, where are the Mac versions of their more recent software? > > Sean Hailing Frequencies open! As far as I know Infocom always had their special-super-computer [what kind ? Dunno!. They developed their adventures, using a special selfcreated adventureprogram, and then converted them on the computer they wanted to publish it on [this was especially genius for small computers as the C-64,etc]. But honestly I can't tell what happended to the MAC-Versions. ------------ live long and prosper ------------ Alexander
eoliver@hcunix.haverford.edu (Erik Oliver) (05/14/91)
I don't know if Infocom has started to make mac only adventure games, but the game King Arthur's Quest (or some such title) is a VERY MAC game with graphics and icons and clickable controls. This may be the result of their work. Erik (it also has a great built in clue system so you won't have to by hint books)