| "All the Gnus That Fit, We Print" |
The New Zork® Times | Weather: State of the atmosphere |
| VOL. IV. . . . No. 4 | -- FALL 1985 -- | INTERFLUVIAL EDITION |
In a world founded on magic, sorcerers rule the land, creating the spells needed to do everything from making bread to taming wild animals. Your position as a leader of the Circle of Enchanters has earned you respect from all others in the kingdom.
But now a crisis has fallen. Magic itself seems to be failing. Spells go strangely awry or cease to work altogether. The populace is becoming restive, and rumblings are heard concerning Enchanters.
A great conclave is held, convening all the guildmasters in the land. One by one, they step forward, describing the devastating effects of the diminished magic. Beer tastes like grue bathwater, pastries are thick and greasy, huntsmen are unable to control wild beasts.
Suddenly, in the midst of a discourse on the difficulty of writing poetry without magical help on the rhymes, the Guildmaster of the Poets undergoes a bizarre transformation. Looking in shock around the room, you find that each and every guildmaster has been turned into an amphibian! All, that is, but yourself...and a shadowy cloaked figure who slips quietly out the door.
Thus begins Spellbreaker, the riveting conclusion to Infocom's Enchanter series (including Enchanter and Sorcerer™) and the final chapter in the story of a magician's rise from novice to mage.
Spellbreaker was written by Dave Lebling, co-author of the Zork® trilogy and Enchanter and author of Starcross® and Suspect™. According to Lebling, "You don't have to have played the other games in our fantasy series in order to enjoy this one, although that makes it more fun. People who have played Enchanter and Sorcerer will find familiar moments, and lots of things you found in the Zork series are in here."
There are more characters than in Enchanter and Sorcerer, each with a distinct personality. Spellbreaker also contains technical innovations, such as allowing you to add some words to the already large vocabulary.
Although Spellbreaker is an expert-level game, it's very non-linear, giving you plenty of geography and paraphernalia to enjoy without having to actually solve all the puzzles. Less-experienced players can still have fun exploring the environment, while crackerjacks will find their skills tested by the most challenging puzzles ever concocted by Infocom.
Each Spellbreaker package includes a copy of the Frobozz Magic Magic Equipment Catalog (Special Crisis Edition), a mystical Enchanter's Guild pin, and a set of Enchanter trading cards. It will retail for $49.95 for most systems.
When the May 16th issue of The Register (a small newspaper serving a few towns on Cape Cop) landed on my desk, I learned who the disgruntled customer was. Jan Leary was, in fact, not a customer at all. She was a parent who was very concerned about the subject matter of a book by Steve called Zork: The Malifestro Quest. The book, loosely based on the Zork empire, has two heroes trying to save the empire from the greedy wizard Malifestro. The book is vaguely interactive in the sense that the reader is given options which will affect the outcome of the story -- it's a "pick-a-path" book. As with Zork I, the reader (player?) runs the risk of having his or her throat cut with a stiletto. What Ms. Leary missed is that just like the games, you can restart the book and come up with a better decision on your second pass.
In the words of The Register, "She sees the relationship between violence in the book and violence coming from kids as fact, not just a possibility." Her son had purchased the book at a school fair; Leary has since approached the school to ban the book from its library and future fairs, purporting that "such reading promotes demonic worship and glorifies violence for school children." (Don't panic yet ... Infocom has a smaller following than Jim Jones, the Hari Krishnas, or Reverend Moon! O.K., scratch Reverend Moon, but definitely smaller than either of the other two.)
When asked to comment on the proposed ban, Meretzky said that at least Leary, who calls herself a "kamikaze for Jesus," is not so fanatical about removing Darwin from the schools. Leary, in kamikaze-like fashion, said, "I will fight this book with my dying breath." Meretzky is quick to deny the rumor that upon uttering these words, Leary was enveloped in a cloud of sinister black fog... Leary, however, mysteriously couldn't be reached for comment. (She probably has since discovered Zork I and is having trouble getting into the house!)
Note of warning: if you haven't finished one of the games below, you might not want to read the associated paragraphs.
If you guncho the magic rope that protects the jewelled box, the rope disappears and the box opens. However, the box is empty, and if you LOOK, you can still see the box coiled by the rope. How's that for an optical illusion?
If you move the lighted portrait in the gallery, then LOOK, the portrait has disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The last Enchanter bug we'll mention has to do with keeping your water jug filled. As long as you have some water in it, you can refill it to the brim by saying TAKE WATER, no matter where you are. That's a pretty neat variation on the decanter of endless water.
In earlier versions, gaspar didn't work properly in the Coal Mine. Also, you could re-create any scroll by typing TAKE THE AIMFIZ SCROLL (for example). These bugs have been fixed.
For those careless few who got their spell books wet (a definite no-no with gnusto-sensitive paper), did you notice that the scrolls that got wet weren't ruined? If we can track down the formula for that batch of scroll paper, we could make a fortune in the spell book market.
Here's a sample of some of the bugs for those of you with earlier releases.
If you got the fused bedistor and then dropped it anywhere, you would have trouble getting it again because it thought it was still fused to its socket.
Floyd was so eager to please that he would get the shiny fromitz board for you over and over and over....
If you thought you had escaped the mutants and pressed the elevator button at the bottom of the shaft, you were probably surprised when the elevator door closed just as the mutants were about to reach it. (Mutants are almost as ubiquitous as grues ... or bugs.)
The Witness®
For those of you who like to drink, you can GET A DRINK anywhere, including outside the house.
An old bug that was fixed were places and objects you could get into but could not get back out of. If you got into the shower or the broken window and then tried to get out, the program just told you that you would do better to stand up (thinking you were in the wooden chair).
Here's an interesting series of responses:
>MAKE LOVE TO MONICA (Sorry, but English is my second language. Please rephrase that.) >ASK MONICA TO MAKE LOVE (Your request was incomplete. Next time, say what you want Monica to make the love from.) >MAKE LOVE FROM MONICA "Eat, drink, and make merry, for tomorrow we shall die!" >ASK MONICA ABOUT LOVE "That's between Mother and me."
If you put the beam in the niches and then go back to the barge and say GET BEAM, you fall into a pit of rats (oops). Those pesty rat pits seem to be everywhere.
For the mathematically inclined, try calculating the weight of the beam assuming a density equal to that of water. (See the end of the article for the answer, Hercules.)
For Wendy's fans, you can ask the question: WHERE'S THE BEEF? If you're lucky, you'll get the response "It's right here!" Take that, competitors!
Here's an embarrassing contradictory description. With the water in the silver chalice type: FILL SILVER CHALICE WITH WATER. The response is "The silver chalice is filled with water; the silver chalice is now empty." A little like tea and no tea.
Stay tuned for more bugs in future NZTs. If you find any bugs, remember to call the exterminator.
[Answer to the weight of beam problem: A beam 10 feet long and 12 inches in diameter is about 500 pounds.]
The Boston Museum of Science, along with Infocom, sponsored the First Annual Marathon of the Mind at ComputerPlace (part of the Boston Museum of Science). This event, organized by Sue Kur of ComputerPlace and Spencer Steere of Infocom, was a race between college teams to finish Spellbreaker -- Infocom's latest interactive fiction -- before it finished them. Included were teams from Wellesley, Boston University, University of Massachusetts at Boston, MIT, Boston College, and Harvard. The contest started at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 14th, and lasted 20 hours, straight throughout the night. The teams were allowed three hints each in order to be able to finish the expert-level game before having to return to classes on Monday. Winners of the contest were Sherene Aram and Robbin Evans of the Wellesley #1 team, the only team to finish. Only one other team came close to finishing, but they made a fatal mistake near the end and had to drop out. At the very end, all the other teams quit playing to watch the winning team solve the climactic final scene. The winners received a free Infocom game of their choice and a free party to be thrown at ComputerPlace.
After everyone left, I took to accosting different types of strange men in lonely bars hoping to find another Zork addict. Unfortunately or alas! I now know all the true addicts are home playing Suspended® or Enchanter!
The following is a sigh of frustration written during enforced withdrawal from Zork to tackle Sorcerer:
I found the Cyclops, I solved the dragon,So after 2½ years of being a purist, I'm now writing to your new supplier of hint books. Thank you for staying in touch so that I know where to send for them.
I robbed the bank with little flaggin'.
I climbed the falls and found the treasure.
I floated the balloon with greatest pleasure.
I gathered the spheres and summoned the demon,
So with the Wizard am more than even.Maze and puzzle room did not hinder,
Einstein and Oppenheimer were as kinder [German pronunciation],
I crossed the lake and got the key,
I've a score of seven from dear Zork III,
But try as I might in every year,
The crown jewels still have naught to fear.
Twice I've been down to the Dungeon Master,
And sent back, not wiser, even faster.
The carousel room only took a minute,
But the jewel cage STILL has everything in it!
Mrs. J.A. Lordi
Ocala, FL
Please send letters to: NZT, 125 CambridgePark Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140
Another key to Infocom's success is the advanced technology used to create our interactive novels. A recent article in Publisher's Weekly focused on Interactive Fiction Plus™, the latest addition to our unique development system. Interactive Fiction Plus allows Infocom game designers to double the size of their programs, resulting in longer, more complicated stories and more sophisticated user interfaces. The first story developed in Interactive Fiction Plus: Steve Meretzky's A Mind Forever Voyaging™, in which you journey into the future in the role of the world's first sentient computer.
Another key to Infocom's success is our network of dedicated fans, which extends around the globe! We've got an especially large number of them in England, and that's why the British Broadcasting Corporation came to Cambridge to do a special program on Infocom. The BBC spent a day wandering the halls, speaking with a variety of Infopeople, and even sitting in on an Implementors' Lunch (a legendary weekly event garnering all the Infocom game writers). The resulting program, which will air in November, profiles the company, focusing on the development of Spellbreaker.
Last but not least, this quote from Analog Computing: "Achieving the impossible is an Infocom exclusive."
Do these stories sound familiar? Do you have similar stories of your own to tell? Please write to us! We're anxious to recover as many of these gems as possible, and we're always interested in new "Infocom True Tales of Adventure." You could be quoted in The New Zork Times, or interviewed by a nationally-known reporter. Remember, what we're after is true tales; fiction writers need not apply.
Many people say that yaks have no sense of humor. This is untrue. Yaks have a highly sophisticated sense of humor, as the yak joke below proves. Gnus have no sense of humor.
Grunt. Grunt grunt grunt. Sniff! (Paw, paw, paw.)
Grunt? (pause) Grunt sniff!
Signed, YAK X
This letter from a disgruntled reader has prompted The New Zork Times editorial staff to launch a serious investigation of its own attitudes and prejudices toward yaks, resulting in a 105-page white paper that is now required reading for all staff writers.
But even this is not enough. Disgruntled readers demand that the sins of the past be rectified. (Gruntled readers demand nothing, as usual.) So, in the spirit of equal treatment for all bovine species, The New Zork Times now begins a series of public-service messages designed to enlighten its readership on the subject of gnus.
Did you know...
The reviews are just beginning to come in for Cornerstone and it appears that we have another smash hit.
"Cornerstone is the best program I have ever used. I found no flaws. It runs smoothly, is simple to set up, easy to learn, forgives mistakes. ...
Anticipation of the user's needs and ease of use make Cornerstone a gem. ...
Plain English is used throughout, making a review difficult because you needn't be told that to print a Cornerstone report you need only choose 'PRINT'. In other words, the program is so easy to use, explaining its use is almost redundant. If you need a relational database, buy Cornerstone."
--Kerry Leichtman,"Cornerstone successfully combines power and ease of use in one program. ... I'm sold on Cornerstone. Without any programming, the information I need is at my fingertips. Cornerstone operates the way most business people think. And it is so well designed that no extensive training is necessary. ... The program exceeds the user-friendliness of PFS:FILE and offers the power of a programmable database manager. Cornerstone could easily save months of dBASE II or dBASE III programming. If you don't want to program, but need all these capabilities and the ability to relate multiple files in your database applications, you want Cornerstone."
PC Week, May 7, 1985
--Ira H. Krakow,"The terms 'powerful' and 'easy to use' are pressed into service describing software so often that they're in danger of losing their punch.
Business Computer Systems, June 1985
Cornerstone, a relational database for the IBM PC, breathes new meaning into these two overworked adjectives and is one of the few programs that deserve both. ... Cornerstone is a newcomer, but its extensive menu structure, copious and innovative on-line help, and relational power make it worthy of serious consideration by businesses looking for a simple way to handle almost any kind of information managing task."
--Joel C. Don,"The cover of darkness surrounding database programs is partly because they are so difficult to handle. ... But a new program, Cornerstone, may well change the popular notions about database software. Billed as the sophisticated database system for the non-programmer, its contribution to the popularization of databases is its flexibility."
Popular Computing, June, 1985
--Erik Sandberg-Diment,Many large corporations are evaluating Cornerstone for their internal needs. The initial feedback from them has been extremely positive.
The New Zork Times, May 12, 1985
"Enclosed is a copy of the report sent to the Vatican and the Apostolic Nuncio about three weeks ago. You will note that Cornerstone -- even there -- was the preferred relational database manager and has so been recommended. I have had no written reply as yet -- but one phone call (from Fr. Goffney) asking how it compared to dBASE III. You need not feel slighted in the comparison. Evidently the University has just acquired a copy of dBASE III for evaluation. Frankly, it is my judgment that there IS no comparison, none worth the name. I have a copy of Microrim's Clout, and again, there's no real comparison. I have played with Ability, Framework, Lotus, Jazz, Symphony. I find all of them lacking. Too much that does too little too rarely for too much cost.
Cornerstone is the first software I've found that I've been willing to recommend for a price over $150. It's the first I've seen that's worth it.
Frankly, it's the best thing I've seen yet, and I have already recommended it as a standard item of purchase to both the American bishops and to the Vatican. The report of which I sent you a duplicate printout went directly to Rome via Apostolic Nuncio's diplomatic pouch, destined to land directly on the Pope's desk."
--Reverend H.R. Stockert,
KtB, KH, KCR, OAE.
The two lions standing sentry outside the New York Public Library, on 5th Avenue at 42nd Street, seem particularly lonely in this downpour; a couple of crocodiles would look more at home. You push your way into the marbled lobby of the library and shake yourself off. It's drier inside, but no cooler. You ask a guard where the Trustees' Room is, and he directs you to the third floor. You climb the stone steps and pull open a huge wooden door, so massive and intricately carved that you stop to admire it. You enter the Trustees' Room, feel the coolness, and close the door behind you.
Someone offers you some tea. Tea? In this weather? Yet the air here is bearable -- comfortable, even -- and the room exudes respectability and elegance. Persian tapestries adorn the oak-panelled walls, and the massive marble fireplace (significantly larger than your first apartment) seems as natural as the brass-and-crystal chandelier, the busts of Greek poets, and the Louis XIV tables. And it IS teatime. Cream, please; no sugar. Scones? Help yourself. You hope your breath doesn't smell like sauerkraut.
And so nearly 100 press personnel braved the heat and the rain to attend Infocom's press conference for A Mind Forever Voyaging. The conference began with a dramatic reading by silken-voiced Stu Galley, author of The Witness and co-author of Seastalker®. The audience was then subjected to nearly 30 minutes of blatantly self-serving propaganda by Infocom President Joel Berez, Manager of Product Development Jonathan Palace, and Product Manager Michael Dornbrook. (It was, by the way, the first time Berez had been seen in public since eating 71 chocolate donuts and a package of Twinkies during a midnight binge in June.)
And, of course, Steve Meretzky spoke. Tall, shamblin' Steve, author of A Mind Forever Voyaging, honest yet modest, talking with the charming drawl that comes from growing up in Yonkers. He spoke of "pushing back the envelope," not just technologically with Interactive Fiction Plus, but also creatively with a NON-puzzle-oriented story. More than anything else, the audience was left with the impression that interactive fiction can be more, much more, than puzzles.
You leave the Trustees' Room -- where does Infocom find these places? -- and journey homeward. You stay up half the night asking yourself questions. How did interactive fiction evolve from Zork into A Mind Forever Voyaging? If interactive fiction can do this, then what else can it do? What will Infocom do next? What will interactive fiction be like 5, or 10, or 50 years from now? Infocom also journeys homeward, to Cambridge, glad that others are asking the same questions it asks itself every day.
Send us your cartoons. All cartoons will be printed approximately 4¼ inches wide by 5 inches deep, so please draw your cartoons proportionally. Entries must be in black ink (no pencil or color illustrations will be considered) on white unlined paper. Do not fold your entries! All submissions become the property of Infocom, Inc. Send your cartoons to: NZT Cartoons, Infocom, Inc., 125 CambridgePark Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140. Don't forget to include a separate sheet that tells us who you are, what game you wish to win, your computer system, and where you live.
"I'm terrible at record keeping," admitted winning player Brian Berkowitz, one of the masterminds behind Infocom's sophisticated database, Cornerstone. Indeed, a post-game autopsy of Berkowitz's work-sheet showed squiggly lines and arrows, several question marks, some simple arithmetic, a tuna salad recipe, a favorite Berkowitz quote ("Nothing ventured, nothing lost") and little else.
"I can't believe it," said a dumbfounded Jonathan Palace, who, in the process of losing big, also set the record for playing Fooblitzky more times and losing more times than anyone else in the universe. "My notes are great." Spectators disagreed, saying that they had seen traffic accidents neater than Palace's notes.
Berkowitz's partner, Tim Anderson, was later voted MLP (Most Lucky Player) by a small panel of New Zork Times editors. In an unusual move, the panel also voted Anderson MUP (Most Unlucky Player). "Fooblitzky brings out the weirdness in people," noted Anderson wryly.
Ironically, it was Palace's teammate, Dave Lebling, who seemed in control most of the game. He claimed to be the first player to know all 4 correct items (a claim impossible to substantiate but thoroughly in keeping with Lebling's personality). Lebling's clever attempt to confuse his opponents (by discarding a correct item) backfired when it totally baffled his partner (who, judges point out, was born baffled). "I thought we had it won," said Lebling, "until I saw the look on Palace's face."
The Business Product Development team advances, if it can be called that, in the Tournament, and is next slated to play a team from "Creative Marketing": Elizabeth Langosy from Creative Services and someone (to be determined) from Marketing. Marketing did not enter a team of its own in the Tournament because potential player Susan Sobel said she "would rather give birth" than play Fooblitzky.
The following hints will help you find the correct order. Warning: If you want to solve the puzzle on your own, don't read any further!
Zork I 1
Zork II 2
Zork III 3 _____ x _____ x _____ = _____
Enchanter 4 A B C
Sorcerer 5 +
Wishbringer 6
Deadline 7 _____ x _____ x _____ = _____
Witness 8 D E F
Suspect 9 +
Starcross 10
Suspended 11 _____ x _____ x _____ = _____
Planetfall 12 G H I
Hitchhiker's 13 +
Infidel 14
Seastalker 15 _____ x _____ x _____ = _____
Cutthroats 16 J K L
=
ANSWER _______
Above are 12 responses from our games. They occur when you try the wacky and unusual. Figure out which game the response comes from (they match exactly) and put the corresponding game number in the appropriate blank. Then multiply the numbers across and add the products for the answer. (Having the hint booklets and trying the "have you tried" sections isn't necessary, but it will certainly help.)
ANSWER: _________________________________________________ Name: ___________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ T-Shirt Size (S, M, L, XL): ______CONTEST RULES:
| RETURN TO: | Infocom NZT Puzzle 125 CambridgePark Drive Cambridge, MA 02140 |
|---|
In Puzzle #6, you were given 13 responses, allegedly from Zork I, and told to pick the two fake responses that don't actually appear in the game. The correct answer was 8 and 10. Here's a list of all 13 responses and where they appear in Infocom's first work of interactive fiction:
| Response # | Appearances | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 73 | 32.2% |
| 2 | 11 | 4.8% |
| 3 | 10 | 4.4% |
| 4 | 32 | 14.1% |
| 5 | 27 | 14.1% |
| 6 | 19 | 8.4% |
| 7 | 4 | 1.8% |
| 8 | 59 | 26.0% |
| 9 | 11 | 4.8% |
| 10 | 114 | 50.2% |
| 11 | 49 | 21.6% |
| 12 | 27 | 11.9% |
| 13 | 18 | 7.9% |
| Writers | Gary Brennan, Michael Dornbrook, Jennifer Fine, Stuart Galley, Paul Gross, Elizabeth Langosy, Steven Meretzky, Jeff O'Neil, Jonathan Palace |
|---|---|
| Production | Cynthia Curtis, Jonathan Palace, Michelle Simpson |
| Special thanks to | Alice, Barry, Brian, Dan, Donna, Ellen, Jen, Joanne, Ken, Lori, Nancy, Paula, Phil, and Tom |
© 1985 Infocom, Inc., 125 CambridgePark Drive,
Cambridge, MA 02140
Zork, Enchanter, Deadline, The Witness, Starcross, Suspended, Planetfall, Infidel, and Seastalker are registered trademarks of Infocom, Inc. Wishbringer, Sorcerer, Spellbreaker, Suspect, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Cutthroats, Fooblitzky, Cornerstone, Tales of Adventure, Interactive Fiction Plus, and InvisiClues are trademarks of Infocom, Inc. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a trademark of Douglas Adams. Diplomacy is a registered trademark of Avalon Hill, copyright 1976.
Thanks to André St-Aubin for transcribing and HTML-izing this issue.