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From: tobyf@world.std.com
Subject: Text Adventure Review
Message-ID: <E0oErt.M7o@world.std.com>
Sender: tobyf@world.std.com (Toby Franklin)
Organization: The World, Public Access Internet, Brookline, MA
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 1996 22:35:53 GMT
Lines: 59



I was recently skimming through the latest publication of a magazine called MacAddict and I came across this review. The reviewer obviously held text adventures in high regard (although the sample transcript was obviously a copy of LGOP :) .)



"Infocom Text Adventures
Publisher: Activision
Price: $13.95 (srp)
Contact: 800-477-3650

Text adventures were the predecessors of today's graphical
adventures. In these, you have a window and a cursor. You
explore a world based on the description that the game
gives you. A typical interaction goes something like this:

     Seedy Bar
     You are in a seedy bar sitting on a stool. To the
north the bartender is drying glasses. To the east you see
a hallway. You feel an urge.

     (Type "e" for east and hit the return key.)

     Hallway
     Farther east is a door marked "gulls." To the north is
a door marked "buoys." You feel an urge.

In a text adventure, you have to
rely heavily on both your imagination and the author's
witty writing. Infocom was the prime purveyor of text
adventures in the '80s, although there are shareware text
adventures available, and even the tools to make your own.
The best of delving into an Infocom game was the packaging
inside--from the 3D glasses for the Leather Goddesses comic
book, to the origami instructions in Trinity--each game was
a joy to open. What a far cry from today's publisher's, who
either have one measly CD-ROM in a huge empty box (yeah,
yeah, shelf space, yada, yada), or a ton of marketing
material that has nothing to do with the game. This year's
lone exception was the packaging for The Secrets of the
Luxor which includes an ad for a tour package that doesn't
really exist. In addition to great packaging, Infocom's
games made you think and laugh with both shallow and
serious subject matter. You're in luck, because Activision
(who bought Infocom) is selling EVERY single Infocom game
on one CD for fourteen bucks. This is the best deal you
will ever find. (The original packaging comes in PDF format
though.)
Memorable Moment: The road runner.
Tip: Type "verbose" if you get stuck."
               

(MacAddict. p 42. Kathy Tafel. Issue 4)



--Toby Franklin
(tobyf@world.std.com)

