A Mind Forever Voyaging?
Joonas Linkola,Lappeenranta
Could somebody please tell me about the game A Mind Forever Voyaging?
Everytime somebody asks for the best games people have played somebody
tells it's A Mind Forever Voyaging.
What's this game about?
Why is it so damn good?
Who has made it?
It is available somewhere?
And any other things you can tell about it!
Thanks in advance!
Joonas Linkola
lin...@kareltek.fi
Look, behind you! A three-headed monkey!
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Admiral Jota
link...@mail.freenet.hut.fi (Joonas Linkola,Lappeenranta) writes:
>Could somebody please tell me about the game A Mind Forever Voyaging?
>Everytime somebody asks for the best games people have played somebody
>tells it's A Mind Forever Voyaging.
I agree that it is one of the very best adventure games I've played, and
I'd be glad to answer your questions.
>What's this game about?
You have lived for the last twenty years as a normal human being, not
realizing that there might have been anything different about you. Then
you're told the truth about yourself: you're actually an artificial
intelligence, and the world you know and grew up in is just a computer
simulation.
>Why is it so damn good?
For a start, the game is very open, and non-controlling (it's not puzzle
oriented). Your options at any point in time are very open-ended, and
you're encouraged to look around and observe. The game doesn't tell you
what you should do or how you should feel, but the more you explore, the
more you learn about your world, and your place in it.
>Who has made it?
Infocom produced it: it's one of their classic text adventure games, like
the Zorks, Trinity, Planetfall, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and
many others.
>It is available somewhere?
Yes. It can currently be purchased from Activision, in a collection know
as the 'Masterpieces of Infocom'. If you can't find this collection in
your local software store, then look at Activision's webpages (I think
they're at http://www.activision.com) for information on ordering it via
telephone.
>And any other things you can tell about it!
I definitely advise you to get the Masterpieces collection! It was only
about $20 when I ordered it, and it contains about thirty fantastic games.
It's a great deal, IMHO.
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Susan
>Could somebody please tell me about the game A Mind Forever Voyaging?
>tells it's A Mind Forever Voyaging.
I find it strange somewhat that whenever the best is discussed a
very old pure text adventure comes out on top too. It sort of renews
my faith that the genre isn't quite dead because graphic adventures
cannot exceed this classic anymore then they can exceed a great
adventure you read.
>What's this game about?
I don't remember all the details. I'm sure others will fill in.
It is the story of a very sentient computer from the computers point
of view. You are drawn into his world (which is as real as our own)
and as dangerous. At other times you are drawn into his predicaments
of interfacing with the real world outside and the "evil force of man"
trying to destroy him. But on the outside there is good too and in
the end... That would be telling. Go play the adventure and dream.
>Why is it so damn good?
I don't know? Probably the story. Duh! Probably because you
realize from time to time that this is just a machine experiencing a
real world like our own inside his "head" that may be happier and just
as real as the world that created him.
>Who has made it?
Infocom -- who else? I'm not sure who the author(s) at Infocom
were now. Back in its hay days.
>It is available somewhere?
Yes. It's in one of the "Lost Treasures" or "Masterpieces" CDs.
>And any other things you can tell about it!
AMFV is one of those text adventures that no one thinks graphics
can ever touch as successfully. When I think of AMFV now, some 10+
years after I played it, I remember little feelings and glimpses of
something that was real. There are scenes, voices, sounds, and
feelings in my head that are as real now in a sense as many real
things that happened that long ago.
Did you ever hear of Planetfall? Play that one too.
* Susan * <Sus...@concentric.net>
Matthew Murray
On 22 May 1997 link...@mail.freenet.hut.fi wrote:
> Could somebody please tell me about the game A Mind Forever Voyaging?
> Everytime somebody asks for the best games people have played somebody
> tells it's A Mind Forever Voyaging.
I know that a lot of people have already given you responses to
the questions below, but I >love< this game, and want to give it as much
exposure as it can possibly get. If any game deserves tons and tons of
accolades, it's AMFV, so I'll just add to the pile. :)
> What's this game about?
The world of 2031 is a world on the brink of chaos. The
educational system is failing. Numerous countries all over the world are
at each others' throats. New, smaller weapons are being devised, and
pose a serious threat to national security. Illegal aliens, drug use,
and joybooth addiction are tearing society apart.
A group of political mucky-mucks led by Sen. Richard Ryder has
come up with the Plan for Renewed National Purpose, or The Plan. Through
its very strict regiment of USNA (United States of North America) first
policy, and other reforms, it is supposed to fix what's wrong with the
country. It is to be voted on later in the year, and as word spreads, it
looks more and more like it's going to go into action. But is the Plan a
good idea?
To answer these questions, Dr. Abraham Perelman, creator of the
world's first sentient computer, PRISM (whom you portray in the game),
comes up with a brilliant idea. He will use PRISM to test out the Plan's
effectiveness. He will program the variables into a simulation of the
future, and then let PRISM--who lived 20 years of simulated time
believing he was an actual human being--see if the plan will work as it
is supposed to. Perelman and his colleague, Aseejh Randu, have a lot
invested in this--the future of the PRISM Project. But, even more
important, the future of the world hangs in the balance. What PRISM
discovers in the simulation of the future will determine what happens to
the country--and the world--for decades to come.
And then, the game starts.
> Why is it so damn good?
Reread my plot synopsis if you're still not sure. ;)
Seriously, though, it's really difficult for me to narrow down
what makes it good. The story, first of all, is fantastic. (I just
provided a very watered-down description of it above.) The characters
are strong and believable. The worlds of 2031 and the future simulation
are tremendously detailed. The game is, for the most part, very
open-ended, and you can spend a lot of time exploring, discovering things
for yourself, and piecing together the elements of the puzzle. The game
evokes >fierce< emotions in you, just by virtue of its incredible
writing. (I honestly feel this is Steve Meretzky's masterwork.) There
are several different interfaces, allowing individual controls of PRISM's
systems--you can find information, watch news reports, explore the PRISM
complex, etc. And the ending is >fantastic<--I don't think there's a
better ending ever in a computer game.
And, of course, there's a lot more. But I don't want to give
anything away.
> Who has made it?
It was written by Steve Meretzky, for Infocom, in 1985.
> It is available somewhere?
Absolutely! It's available in the Infocom Masterpieces
collection--available from Activision (http://www.activision.com), or
probably your local software store or any number of mail order places.
If you can't find Infocom Masterpieces, you can also get it in
Activision's Sci-Fi Collection, or The Lost Treasures of Infocom II.
> And any other things you can tell about it!
It's fantastic! Whatever you do, >play< it. There is nothing
else to say. To not play it is not to know what you're missing, and
you'd be missing >a lot<.
===============================================================================
Matthew Murray - mmu...@cc.wwu.edu - http://www.wwu.edu/~mmurray
===============================================================================
The script calls for fusing and using our smarts,
And greatness can come of the sum of our parts.
From now on, I'm with you--and with you is where I belong!
-David Zippel, City of Angels
===============================================================================
Michael Straight
On 22 May 1997, Joonas Linkola,Lappeenranta wrote:
> Could somebody please tell me about the game A Mind Forever Voyaging?
> Everytime somebody asks for the best games people have played somebody
> tells it's A Mind Forever Voyaging.
>
> What's this game about?
AMFV is a text adventure game by Infocom in which you play the part of a
sentinent computer designed to simulate and model possible futures,
extrapolating from current socio-political-economic situations. So you
interact as a computer with people in the "present" and you also interact
as a "person" exploring possible futures to try to determine the likely
effects of a Plan proposed by the government.
> Why is it so damn good?
It doesn't rely so much on puzzle solving but on exploring and noticing
the details. The way the changes in the world unfold as you visit
different possible time periods in the future is extremely well-written.
AMFV is more like an excellent interactive science-fiction novella than a
typical game.
> Who has made it?
Infocom, back in the '80s.
> It is available somewhere?
You can get it on Activition's "Masterpieces of Infocom" CD along with 30
other Infocom text adventures (many of which are also excellent: the Zork
trilogy, the Enchanter trilogy, Trinity, Leather Godesses of Phobos, etc.)
for $20 or less.
Michael Straight thinks the CD is a great value if you like adventure games.
FLEOEVDETYHOEUPROEONREWMEILECSOFMOERSGTIRVAENRGEEARDSTVHIESBIITBTLHEEPSRIACYK
Ethical Mirth Gas/"I'm chaste alright."/Magic Hitler Hats/"Hath grace limits?"
"Tight Camel Hairs!"/Chili Hamster Tag/The Gilt Charisma/"I gather this calm."
Kay-Yut Chen
> AMFV is one of those text adventures that no one thinks graphics
>can ever touch as successfully. When I think of AMFV now, some 10+
>years after I played it, I remember little feelings and glimpses of
>something that was real. There are scenes, voices, sounds, and
>feelings in my head that are as real now in a sense as many real
>things that happened that long ago.
>
> Did you ever hear of Planetfall? Play that one too.
>
> * Susan * <Sus...@concentric.net>
Yeah, I fondly remember these two. AMFV is always my favorite.
=====================================================================
| A Traveler between dimensions | |
+ ------------------------------+ |
| |
| In the Kingdom of Drakkar, I am known as <Narius the Mentalist> |
| To the denizens of Britainnia, my name is <Seldon the Avatar> |
| The Terran Confederation pilots call me <One the Cat Slayer> |
| |
| Seldon Dragon |
| #UDIC# |
| |
| <<Kay-Yut Chen>> |
| |
=====================================================================
Brian Albers
On 22 May 1997 08:57:10 GMT, link...@mail.freenet.hut.fi (Joonas
Linkola,Lappeenranta) wrote:
>Why is it so damn good?
Other people (Matt Murray in particular) have described the plot
premise very well.
I'd like to add that the game is also dark, features some killer plot
twists and suspense moments later on, and features an ending that
isn't sappy, but still very satisfying.
AMFV is one of the few games (only game?) that really raised some
philosophical issues with me. An adventure masterpiece.
-B
Andy Klein
It's really nice to hear this is so good. I venerated Steve Meretzky's
work for Infocom: I really think it was brilliant. He's the one who
took the text form exactly where it should go. It breaks my heart
that these games essentially died as a form when graphics came in.
Somehow I never got around to AMFV. It's great to think that I still
have a classic Meretsky game to play for the first time.
Michael Straight
(stra...@email.unc.edu) wrote:
: On 22 May 1997, Joonas Linkola,Lappeenranta wrote:
: > Could somebody please tell me about the game A Mind Forever Voyaging?
: > Everytime somebody asks for the best games people have played somebody
: > tells it's A Mind Forever Voyaging.
: >
: > What's this game about?
: AMFV is a text adventure game by Infocom in which you play the part of a
: sentinent computer designed to simulate and model possible futures,
: extrapolating from current socio-political-economic situations. So you
: interact as a computer with people in the "present" and you also interact
: as a "person" exploring possible futures to try to determine the likely
: effects of a Plan proposed by the government.
: > Why is it so damn good?
: It doesn't rely so much on puzzle solving but on exploring and noticing
Stephen Granade
On 26 May 1997, Andy Klein wrote:
> It's really nice to hear this is so good. I venerated Steve Meretzky's
> work for Infocom: I really think it was brilliant. He's the one who
> took the text form exactly where it should go. It breaks my heart
> that these games essentially died as a form when graphics came in.
Not true! :) They may have died commercially, but there are plenty of
high-quality text adventures still being produced as shareware or
freeware. Check out the newsgroups rec.arts.int-fiction and
rec.games.int-fiction for more information, or browse the text adventure
archive at ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive
Stephen
--
Stephen Granade | "It takes character to withstand the
sgra...@phy.duke.edu | rigors of indolence."
Duke University, Physics Dept | -- from _The Madness of King George_