Infocom Fact Sheet
Volker Blasius
------------------ 4.1 - Nov 30, 1992
Infocom Fact Sheet
------------------
Compiled by Paul David Doherty
This file includes some information about Infocom's games and related
subjects. Maybe it is useful as a reference. Thanks to the many people
who made contributions. For suggestions and corrections, please mail me
at <h014...@rz.hu-berlin.de>.
List of contents:
I Infocom Games
II Versions
III Infocom Authors
IV Infocom Newsletters
V History of Infocom
I Infocom Games
================
This table lists all software products sold under the Infocom label. The
information is given in the form "PrC R Yr Title_of_program (Author)",
where PrC is the Product Code, R is the difficulty rating and Yr the year
of publication.
Every Infocom product had a specific Order Code which consisted of the
Product Code (to identify the program) and a System Code which identified
the platform for which this product was produced. For example, the Order
Code IM3-CO4 identifies the game "Suspect" (IM3) for the Commodore Amiga
(CO4). The Order Code was printed on the program disk as well as on the
box.
The following System Codes have been used:
AC1 Apricot IB1 IBM & 100% Compatibles
AP1 Apple II series (48 K 18-sec.) IB2 IBM & MS-DOS Compatibles
AP2 Apple Macintosh KA1 Kaypro II (CP/M)
AT1 Atari XL/XE (48 K, 810/1050) MS1 MS-DOS 2.0
AT2 Atari ST NE1 NEC PC-8000 (56 K, CP/M)
CO1 Commodore 64/128 (1541) NE2 NEC APC (CP/M-86)
CO2 ? OS1 Osborne (CP/M)
CO3 ? TA1 TRS-80 Model I (48 K, disk)
CO4 Commodore Amiga TA2 ?
CO5 Commodore 128 ONLY TA3 TRS-80 Model III (48 K, disk)
CP1 CP/M (2.0+, 48 K, 8") TA4 TRS-80 Color Computer (48 K, disk)
DE1 PDP-11 (RT-11) TI1 TI Professional
DE2 DEC Rainbow (CP/M) TI2 TI 99/4 A (48 K, disk)
EP1 Epson QX-10
Other supported platforms (probably without Product Codes): Commodore
Plus/4 and Schneider CPC (Amstrad).
There have been 4 difficulty ratings:
i - Introductory (Junior)
s - Standard
a - Advanced
e - Expert
I.1 Interactive Fiction (IF)
----------------------------
Fantasy
IZ0 i 85 Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams (Brian Moriarty)
IZ1 s 80 Zork I: The Great Underground Empire (Marc Blank/Dave Lebling)
IZ2 a 81 Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz (Marc Blank/Dave Lebling)
IZ3 a 82 Zork III: The Dungeon Master (Marc Blank/Dave Lebling)
IZ4 s 83 Enchanter (Marc Blank/Dave Lebling)
IZ5 a 84 Sorcerer (Steve Meretzky)
IZ6 e 85 Spellbreaker (Dave Lebling)
IZ7 s 86 Trinity (Brian Moriarty)
IZ8 - 87 Beyond Zork (Brian Moriarty)
IZ9 - 88 Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz (Steve Meretzky)
Science Fiction
IS1 e 82 Starcross (Dave Lebling)
IS2 e 83 Suspended (Mike Berlyn)
IS3 s 83 Planetfall (Steve Meretzky)
IS4 s 84 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams/Steve Meretzky)
IS5 a 85 A Mind Forever Voyaging (Steve Meretzky)
IS6 - 87 Stationfall (Steve Meretzky)
Mystery
IM1 e 82 Deadline (Marc Blank)
IM2 s 83 The Witness (Stu Galley)
IM3 a 84 Suspect (Dave Lebling)
IM4 s 85 Ballyhoo (Jeff O'Neill)
IM5 i 86 Moonmist (Stu Galley/Jim Lawrence)
Tales of Adventure
IA1 a 83 Infidel (Mike Berlyn/Patricia Fogleman)
IA2 i 84 Seastalker (Stu Galley/Jim Lawrence) *** first released as IK1
IA3 s 84 Cutthroats (Mike Berlyn/Jerry Wolper)
IA4 s 86 Hollywood Hijinx (Dave Anderson/Liz Cyr-Jones)
IA5 - 89 James Clavell's Shogun (Dave Lebling)
Comedy
IC1 s 86 Leather Goddesses of Phobos (Steve Meretzky)
IC2 - 87 Bureaucracy (Douglas Adams/Chris Reeve)
IC3 - 87 Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It (Jeff O'Neill)
Horror
IH1 - 87 The Lurking Horror (Dave Lebling)
Romance
IR1 - 87 Plundered Hearts (Amy Briggs)
Espionage
IE1 - 87 Border Zone (Marc Blank)
Immortal Legends
CS1 - 87 Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels (Bob Bates)
Chronicles
IJ1 - 89 Journey (Marc Blank)
Living Literature
IL1 - 89 Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur (Bob Bates/Duane Beck)
I.2 Samplers and Compilations
-----------------------------
The Four-In-One Sampler(s)
ID1 - ?? ?
ID2 - ?? [Excerpts from Zork I, Infidel, The Witness, Planetfall]
ID3 - 87 [Excerpts from Zork I, Leather Goddesses, Trinity and a
Wishbringer tutorial]
Trilogies
IT1 - 87 Zork Trilogy [IF1, IF2, IF3]
IT2 - 87 Enchanter Trilogy [IF4, IF5, IF6]
IT3 - 87 Classic Mystery Library [IM2, IM3, IM5]
IT4 - 87 Science Fiction Classics [IS4, IS3, IS5]
I.3 Non-IF
----------
Infocomics
SL1 - 88 Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen (Steve Meretzky)
SG1 - 88 Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams (Amy Briggs)
SZ1 - 88 ZorkQuest: Assault on Egreth Castle (Elizabeth Langosy)
SZ2 - 88 ZorkQuest II: The Crystal of Doom (Elizabeth Langosy)
Others
BC1 - 85 Cornerstone (Brian Berkowitz)
GS1 - 85 Fooblitzky
??? - 88 Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth (Scott Schmitz/Ken Updike)
IF2 - 88 Battletech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception (Westwood Ass.)
I.4 "Infocom" releases after Infocom closed down
------------------------------------------------
--- - 89 Mines of Titan (Westwood Ass.)
??? - 90 Circuit's Edge (Westwood Ass.)
??? - 91 Battletech 2: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge (Westwood Ass.)
--- - 91 The Lost Treasures of Infocom
--- - 92 Leather Goddesses of Phobos II (Steve Meretzky)
--- - 92 The Lost Treasures of Infocom II
--- - 92 Return to Zork
II Versions
============
This table lists all versions of Infocom IF that I know of.
II.1 Legend
-----------
Game : This is the name of the game. "Solid Gold" releases (which have
the same Product Codes as normal ones) are marked "SG".
? : Versions marked with an "*" are the ones I have only heard of
but never actually seen.
V.A : Version number (a.k.a. "Release") and assembly date (a.k.a.
"Serial number"). Typing VERSION in a game usually gives you
this information. [Assembly dates in "<>" could be fakes!]
Z-C : The Z-Code version (1...6) of the data file. An "s" marks a data
file that requires an interpreter with sound (not only beep)
capabilities.
Length : The "real" length of the data file, as indicated in the "game
length" field of the data file header. Usually, data files are
slightly longer because they have been padded to a page size of
256 or 512 Bytes. Older data files (Z-code 1, 2 and early 3) have
been marked with "---"; these files have no game length field in
the header, and they also lack the $VERIFY command.
II.2 Versions
-------------
Game ? V.A Z-C Length
----------------------------------------------------
A Mind Forever Voyaging 77.850814 4 262016
79.851122 4 262036
Arthur 54.890606 6 270848
74.890714 6 269200
Ballyhoo 97.851218 3 128556
Beyond Zork 47.870915 5 261952 1)
49.870917 5 261900
* 51.870923 5 ?
57.871221 5 261388
Border Zone 9.871008 5 178372
Bureaucracy 86.870212 4 243144
116.870602 4 243340
Cutthroats 23.840809 3 112558
Deadline 26.821108 3 108372
27.831005 3 108454
Enchanter 10.830810 3 109126
16.831118 3 109234
24.851118 3 108638
29.860820 3 111126
Four-In-One Sampler ID2 * 26.840731 ? ?
Hitchhiker's Guide 47.840914 3 112622
56.841221 3 113444
58.851002 3 113332
59.851108 3 113334
Hitchhiker's Guide SG 31.871119 5 158412
Hollywood Hijinx 37.861215 3 109650
Infidel 22.830916 3 93556
Journey 30.890322 6 280472
83.890706 6 282312
Leather Goddesses * 118.860325 3 ?
* 50.860711 3 ?
59.860730 3 129022
Leather Goddesses SG 4.880405 5 159928
Lurking Horror 203.870506 3 128986
* 219.870912 3s ?
221.870918 3s 129944
Moonmist 4.860918 3 129002
9.861022 3 128866
Nord and Bert 19.870722 4 170284
Planetfall 20.830708 3 107958
29.840118 3 109052
37.851003 3 109398
Planetfall SG 10.880531 5 136560
Plundered Hearts 26.870730 3 128962
Seastalker 15.840501 3 117738
15.840522 3 117728
16.850515 3 117752
16.850603 3 117762
Sherlock 21.871214 5 188444
26.880127 5s 190180
Shogun 295.890321 6 341912
322.890706 6 344816
Sorcerer 4.840131 3 109734
6.840508 3 109482
13.851021 3 108692
15.851108 3 108682
18.860904 3 111052
Spellbreaker 63.850916 3 128480
87.860904 3 128916
Starcross 15.820901 3 84984
17.821021 3 83792
Stationfall 107.870430 3 128934
Suspect 14.841005 3 118692
Suspended * 5.830222 3 ?
7.830419 3 105500
8.830521 3 105492
8.840521 3 105584
Trinity 11.860509 4 262016
12.860926 4 262064
Wishbringer 68.850501 3 128952
69.850920 3 128904
Wishbringer SG 23.880706 5 164712
Witness 13.830524 3 102608
20.831119 3 104740
21.831208 3 104704
22.840924 3 104664
Zork I * 5.< > 1 ---
25.820515 3 (75808) 2)
28.821013 3 76018
30.830330 3 76324
75.830929 3 84868
76.840509 3 84874
88.840726 3 84876
Zork I SG 52.871125 5 105264
Zork II * 7.<UG3AU5> 2 ---
18.820517 3 ---
22.830331 3 82920
48.840904 3 89912
Zork III 10.820818 3 82334
15.830331 3 82558
15.840518 3 82642
16.<823242> 3 81626 3)
17.840727 3 82714
Zork Zero 296.881019 6 295536
366.890323 6 296376
393.890714 6 299968
II.3 Footnotes
--------------
1) The IBM version is longer because the character definitions (used for
the runes and similar things) are simply appended to the data file. On
other platforms (e.g. Amiga and Atari ST), the definitions are in a
separate font file.
2) I have seen ZorkI.025 with and without a game length field in the
header. I don't know how it was originally released by Infocom.
3) Either a beta test version or a fake.
II.4 Graphics Files
-------------------
At the moment I only have information about the IBM graphics files. (And
I'm not even sure whether those "version numbers" are really version
numbers.)
Arthur - Pix 27
MG1: 292279 (89-07-14 11:32) [CRC-16: f9d5]
Arthur - Pix 15
CG1: 209359 (89-07-13 18:50) [CRC-16: 106b]
Journey - Pix 2
MG1: 465920 (?) [CRC-16: 4b17]
Shogun - Pix 9
MG1: 213504 (?) [CRC-16: a3ff]
Zork0 - Pix 29
EG1: 333654 (89-07-13 17:48) [CRC-16: c5aa]
CG1: 244507 (89-07-14 16:42) [CRC-16: 3c7e]
Zork0 - Pix 14
MG1: 226816 (?) [CRC-16: 384a]
III Infocom Authors
====================
This table lists the 10 most famous Infocom authors and all the games
each one of them has written.
A "#" after a year means that the game has not been finished or not (yet?)
been released.
III.1 "Hollywood" Dave Anderson
-------------------------------
Hollywood Hijinx <+ L.Cyr-Jones> 86 (Infocom)
III.2 Bob Bates
---------------
Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels 87 (Infocom)
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur <+ D.Beck> 89 (Infocom)
Robin Hood 89# (Infocom)
Timequest 91 (Legend)
Gateway <+ G.Dahlgren/M.Lindner/M.Verdu/D.Beck> 92 (Legend)
III.3 Michael Berlyn
--------------------
Oo-Topos <+ Muffy Berlyn> 81 (Penguin)
Cyborg ~82 ?
Suspended 83 (Infocom)
Infidel <+ P.Fogleman> 83 (Infocom)
Cutthroats <+ J.Wolper> 84 (Infocom)
Tass Times In Tonetown <+ Muffy Berlyn> 86 (Interplay)
Dr. Dumont's Wild P.A.R.T.I. ?? (First Row)
Altered Destiny 90 (Accolade)
III.4 Marc S. Blank
-------------------
Zork <+ P.D.Lebling/T.A.Anderson/B.K.Daniels> 77-9 (MIT)
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire <+ P.D.Lebling> 80 (Infocom)
Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz <+ P.D.Lebling> 81 (Infocom)
Zork III: The Dungeon Master <+ P.D.Lebling> 81 (Infocom)
Deadline 82 (Infocom)
Enchanter <+ P.D.Lebling> 83 (Infocom)
Border Zone 87 (Infocom)
Journey 88 (Infocom)
III.5 Amy Briggs
----------------
Plundered Hearts 87 (Infocom)
Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams 88 (Infocom/TSP)
III.6 Stuart W. Galley
----------------------
The Witness 83 (Infocom)
Seastalker <+ J.Lawrence> 84 (Infocom)
Moonmist <+ J.Lawrence> 86 (Infocom)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe 87# (Infocom)
III.7 P. David Lebling
----------------------
Zork <+ M.S.Blank/T.A.Anderson/B.K.Daniels> 77-9 (MIT)
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire <+ M.S.Blank> 80 (Infocom)
Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz <+ M.S.Blank> 81 (Infocom)
Zork III: The Dungeon Master <+ M.S.Blank> 81 (Infocom)
Starcross 82 (Infocom)
Enchanter <+ M.S.Blank> 83 (Infocom)
Suspect 84 (Infocom)
Spellbreaker 85 (Infocom)
The Lurking Horror 87 (Infocom)
Shogun <+ J.Clavell> 88 (Infocom)
III.8 Steven Eric Meretzky
--------------------------
Planetfall 83 (Infocom)
Sorcerer 84 (Infocom)
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy <+ D.N.Adams> 84 (Infocom)
A Mind Forever Voyaging 85 (Infocom)
Leather Goddesses Of Phobos 86 (Infocom)
Stationfall 87 (Infocom)
Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen 88 (Infocom/TSP)
Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz 88 (Infocom)
Titanic 89# (Infocom)
Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls 90 (Legend)
Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance 91 (Legend)
Leather Goddesses Of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the
Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X 92 (Infocom)
Spellcasting 301: Spring Break 92 (Legend)
[Meretzky also wrote 4 Zork books in 1983:
1 The Forces of Krill
2 The Malifestro Quest
3 The Cavern of Doom
4 Conquest at Quendor]
III.9 "Professor" Brian Moriarty
--------------------------------
Trinity 84-6 (Infocom)
Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams 85 (Infocom)
Beyond Zork 87 (Infocom)
Loom 90 (Lucasfilm)
III.10 Jeff O'Neill
-------------------
Ballyhoo 85 (Infocom)
Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of it 87 (Infocom)
Zork I (German Version) 88# (Infocom)
IV Infocom Newsletters
=======================
There have been ~23 issues of Infocom's official newsletter. Each issue
featured 1 or 2 soon-to-be-released games.
IV.1 "The New Zork Times"
-------------------------
Vol III, No 4 Fall 84
Vol IV, No 1 Winter 85
Vol IV, No 2 Spring 85
Vol IV, No 2[sic] Summer 85
Vol IV, No 4 Fall 85
Vol V, No 1 Winter 86
IV.2 "* * * *"
--------------
Vol V, No 4[sic] Spring 86 Trinity
IV.3 "The Status Line"
----------------------
Vol V, No 3 Summer 86 Moonmist & LGOP
Vol V, No 4 Fall 86 Hollywood Hijinx & Enchanter Trilogy
Vol VI, No 1 Winter/Spring 87 Bureaucracy & Zork Trilogy
Vol VI, No 2 Summer 87 Lurking Horror & Stationfall
Vol VI, No 3 Fall 87 Plundered Hearts & Nord and Bert
Vol VI, No 4 Winter 87 Beyond Zork & Border Zone
Vol VII, No 1 Winter/Spring 88 Sherlock & Infocomics 1-3
Vol VII, No 2 Summer 88 Infocomic 4
Vol VII, No 3 Zork Zero & Battletech
IV.4 "InfoDope"
---------------
[For internal circulation only]
V History of Infocom
=====================
V.1 Chronology
--------------
Jun 77: "Zork" created at the MIT (Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, Tim
Anderson, Dave Lebling). Written in MDL.
Feb 79: Last puzzles added to the mainframe "Zork".
Apr 79: First article about "Zork" published.
mid-79: Infocom founded by 10 members of MIT's DM Group, including Dave
Lebling, Tim Anderson, Stu Galley, Joel Berez, and Marc Blank.
end-79: Joel Berez elected as Infocom president.
mid-81: First employee (Joel Berez).
end-81: ZORK User's Group (P-O-Box 20923, Milwaukee, WI 53220-0923)
founded by Mike Dornbrook. In 1983, it has 20000 members.
Jan 82: Infocom moves to 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
mid-82: Work on "Cornerstone" starts.
end-82: Sales: $1.65 million (net income: $335.000).
mid-83: ~25 employees.
end-83: Sales: $6 million (net income: $526.000).
mid-84: 60 employees (incl. 15 in software development).
end-84: Sales: $10 million.
Jan 85: For promotion of "Suspect", Infocom rents a Las Vegas mansion
and invites ~5000 people to become suspects to a murder.
Apr 85: "Cornerstone" released.
mid-85: The company moves to 125 Cambridge Park Drive, Cambridge,
MA 02140.
mid-85: 110 employees.
end-85: Sales: $11.5 million.
Substantial losses due to "Cornerstone"s commercial failure
(despite hiring a separate sales and marketing team to sell to
corporations).
beg-86: Price cut for "Cornerstone" (from $495 to $99.95).
Feb 86: 45 employees.
Activision Inc. (Mountain View, CA) buys Infocom for a stock
swap worth $7.5...9.0 million.
Al Vezza (chairman and chief executive officer) leaves Infocom.
Joel Berez remains president.
87-89: Losses of ~$200.000 per fiscal quarter.
mid-88: Joel Berez resigns. Joe Ybarra becomes new president.
May 89: Activision (now Mediagenic) moves Infocom from Cambridge, MA to
Menlo Park, CA.
Of the 26 employees, 15 are laid off. The 11 others are offered
the chance to move to CA, but only 5 accept, including InfoPrez
Joe Ybarra and Robert Sears (general manager).
V.2 Approximated Release Dates
------------------------------
1 : Dec 80 Zork I
2 : Dec 81 Zork II
3 : 82 Deadline
4 : Aug 82 Zork III
5 : 82 Starcross
6 : 83 Suspended
7 : 83 The Witness
8 : 83 Planetfall
9 : 83 Enchanter
10 : 83 Infidel
11 : 84 Sorcerer
12 : 84 Seastalker
13 : 84 Cutthroats
14 : 84 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
15 : 84 Suspect
16 : Jun 85 Wishbringer
17 : 85 A Mind Forever Voyaging
18 : 85 Spellbreaker
19 : 85 Ballyhoo
20 : Jun 86 Trinity
21 : Sep 86 Leather Goddesses of Phobos
22 : Oct 86 Moonmist
23 : Feb 87 Hollywood Hijinx
24 : Mar 87 Bureaucracy
25 : Jun 87 Stationfall
26 : Jun 87 The Lurking Horror
27 : Sep 87 Plundered Hearts
28 : Sep 87 Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It
29 : Oct 87 Beyond Zork
30 : Nov 87 Border Zone
31 : Jan 88 Sherlock
Mar 88 Lane Mastodon (Infocomics)
Mar 88 Gamma Force (Infocomics)
Mar 88 ZorkQuest I (Infocomics)
Aug 88 ZorkQuest II (Infocomics)
32 : 88 Zork Zero
33 : 89 James Clavell's Shogun
34 : 89 Journey
35 : 89 Arthur
---
Volker Blasius
Senior Doorstop, Gesellschaft fuer Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung
---
Origin: a maze of twisty little passages, all different (2:243/50.37)