Infocom was a software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone. Infocom was founded on June 22, 1979 by MIT staff and students led by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank, Albert Vezza, and Joel. Free online version of classic Infocom text adventure released. The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy 30th Anniversary edition is a free online version of the classic Infocom text adventure originally released back in 1983. Notoriously difficult to complete, but great fun nevertheless (if you like old school text adventuring), this is a welcome. List of Infocom games, including any Infocom made games for any platform and console. This Infocom games list features photos or box covers, and the release date of each game when available. This Infocom video games library is sorted by popularity, so the most well-known releases are at the top of.

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(Note: This is an extremely rough draft and probably contains several errors and omissions. My information is far more sketchy than I'd like, and there's some contradictions. But someone's gotta take the first step on this page -- David Welbourn 11:43, 6 Jul 2005 (Central Daylight Time))

• 2Infocom

Pre-Infocom

The following game is not an official Infocom game, but is the game where much of the material of the Zork trilogy came from.

• Zork a.k.a. Dungeon (Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, Dave Lebling; 1979).

Infocom

Interactive Fiction

The following games were published by Infocom. This listing should be in chronological order. (If it's wrong, please fix it or note what's wrong on the discussion page. -- David Welbourn)

• Zork: The Great Underground Empire a.k.a. Zork I (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling; 1980; Z-code).
• Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling; 1981; Z-code).
• Deadline (Marc Blank; 1982; Z-code).
• Zork III: The Dungeon Master (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling; 1982; Z-code).
• Starcross (Dave Lebling; 1982; Z-code).
• Suspended (Michael Berlyn; 1983; Z-code).
• The Witness (Stu Galley; 1983; Z-code).
• Planetfall (Steve Meretzky; 1983; Z-code).
• Enchanter (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling; 1983; Z-code).
• Infidel (Michael Berlyn and Patricia Fogleman; 1983; Z-code).
• Sorcerer (Steve Meretzky; 1984; Z-code).
• Seastalker: [Your Name] and the Ultramarine Bioceptor (Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence; 1984; Z-code).
• Cutthroats (Michael Berlyn and Jerry Wolper; 1984; Z-code).
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky; 1984; Z-code).
• Suspect (Dave Lebling; 1984; Z-code).
• Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams (Brian Moriarty; 1985; Z-code).
• A Mind Forever Voyaging (Steve Meretzky; 1985; Z-code).
• Spellbreaker (Dave Lebling; 1985; Z-code).
• Ballyhoo (Jeff O'Neill; 1986; Z-code).
• Trinity (Brian Moriarty; 1986; Z-code).
• Leather Goddesses of Phobos (Steve Meretzky; 1986; Z-code).
• Moonmist (Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence; 1986; Z-code).
• Hollywood Hijinx (Dave Anderson and Liz Cyr-Jones; 1986; Z-code).
• Bureaucracy (Douglas Adams et al.; 1987; Z-code).
• Stationfall (Steve Meretzky; 1987; Z-code).
• The Lurking Horror (Dave Lebling; 1987; Z-code).
• Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It (Jeff O'Neill; 1987; Z-code).
• Plundered Hearts (Amy Briggs; 1987; Z-code).
• Beyond Zork (Brian Moriarty; 1987; Z-code).
• Border Zone (Marc Blank; 1987; Z-code).
• Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels (Bob Bates; 1987? 1988?; Z-code). Developed by Challenge, Inc.
• Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz (Steve Meretzky; 1988).
• James Clavell's Shogun (Dave Lebling; 1989).
• Journey: The Quest Begins (1988).
• Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur (Bob Bates; 1989; Z-code). Developed by Challenge, Inc.

Other Infocom Software

• Cornerstone (1985). [D1Hazel: This is the one that got Infocom killed.]
• Fooblitzky (1986).
• the Infocomics (1988). (details to come)
• Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth (1988).
• BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception (1988).

Infocom or Activision?

The following games were published by Activision (I think), but released under the Infocom label. But I'm not really sure about some of these. If it belongs in the Infocom section, move it there. If it belongs in the Activision section, move it there. If there are errors or omissions, please let us know!

Infocom Games Download

• Mines of Titan (1989). [Isn't there another name for this one?][D1Hazel: Isn't this deved by Westwood and published by Infocom? Also, it doesn't have another name, but your close; this is an improved version of another game. Geez, I miss Westwood. (It's my favorite company, Infocom being my second favorite. Boy, I sure was surprised that the two companies both worked together AND died in the same way.)]
• Circuit's Edge (1990).

Activision

• Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvienence from Planet X (Steve Meretzky; 1992).
• Return to Zork
• Simon the Sorcerer
• Zork: Nemesis
• Zork Grand Inquisitor

Collections

Ideally, this list should be in chronological order, include the publisher, the release year, and note which of the above games were included in these collections.

• Zork Trilogy (1986).
• The Lost Treasures of Infocom (1991).
• Tombs & Treasures (1991).
• The Infocom Collection (1992).
• The Lost Treasures of Infocom II (1992).
• The Zork Anthology (1994).
• Activision Game Vault Volume 1 (1995).
• Zork Special Edition (1995).
• Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces (1996).
• Zork Classics: Interactive Fiction (2000).

[Weren't there also Enchanter and Mystery collections? -- David Welbourn][D1Hazel: Mystery, yeah; Enchanter, dunno.]

Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces of Infocom is a collection of 33 computer games from interactive fiction pioneer Infocom, and the top 6 winners of the 1995 Interactive Fiction Competition, released in 1996. All 39 games are combined on a single cross-platform CD-ROM, which also includes PDFs of all the Infocom games' instructions, maps, and hint booklets.^[1]

Infocom was closed in 1989 by its then-parent company Activision. Still holding the copyright to nearly all the past Infocom titles, Activision bundled them together in this collection, following up the earlier Lost Treasures of Infocom series. The Infocom games included are:

The Interactive Fiction Competition winners included are:

The collection includes all the contents of the two Lost Treasures of Infocom collections except for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and James Clavell's Shōgun. The rights to these two games, based on novels by Douglas Adams and James Clavell, respectively, had reverted to the novels' authors. Unlike the Lost Treasures collections, though, Masterpieces included the adult game Leather Goddesses of Phobos.

Infocom Games

Reception[edit]

Infocom Games Android

Infocom Games Online

A reviewer for Next Generation scored the compilation a perfect five out of five stars. He praised the 'functionally comprehensive' selection of Infocom games and the six Interactive Fiction Competition games, estimated the total playtime at 1,200 hours minimum, and said the gameplay 'represents the pinnacle of well written, interactive fiction.'^[1]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'Infocom Masterpieces'. Next Generation. No. 24. Imagine Media. December 1996. p. 272.

External links[edit]

Infocom Games Emulator

• Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces of Infocom at MobyGames