Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced a business application, a relational database called Cornerstone.
Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the form of Interactive narratives or Interactive narrations. These works can also be understood as a form of video game, either in the form of an adventure game or role-playing game. In common usage, the term refers to text adventures, a type of adventure game where the entire interface can be "text-only", however, graphical text adventure games, where the text is accompanied by graphics still fall under the text adventure category if the main way to interact with the game is by typing text. Some users of the term distinguish between interactive fiction, known as "Puzzle-free", that focuses on narrative, and "text adventures" that focus on puzzles.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an interactive fiction video game based on the comedic science fiction series of the same name. It was designed by series creator Douglas Adams and Infocom's Steve Meretzky, and it was first released in 1984 for the Apple II, Mac, Commodore 64, CP/M, MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari 8-bit computers, and Atari ST. It is Infocom's fourteenth game.
Magnetic Scrolls was a British video game developer active between 1984 and 1990. A pioneer of audiovisually elaborate text adventure games, it was one of the largest and most acclaimed interactive fiction developers of the 1980s, and one of the "Big Two" with Infocom according to some.
Enchanter is an interactive fiction game written by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling and published by Infocom in 1983. The first fantasy game published by Infocom after the Zork trilogy, it was originally intended to be Zork IV. The game has a parser that understands over 700 words, making it the most advanced interactive fiction game of its time. It was Infocom's ninth game.
The Pawn is an interactive fiction game for the Sinclair QL written by Rob Steggles of Magnetic Scrolls and published by Sinclair Research in 1985. In 1986, graphics were added and the game was released for additional home computers by Rainbird.
Fooblitzky is a board game-style video game published by Infocom in 1985 and designed by a team which included interactive fiction authors Marc Blank and Michael Berlyn. It is unique among Infocom titles for not being interactive fiction and for being the first to incorporate graphics beyond ASCII characters. Unlike most Infocom games, it was only released for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, and IBM PC compatibles.
A text game or text-based game is an electronic game that uses a text-based user interface, that is, the user interface employs a set of encodable characters, such as ASCII, instead of bitmap or vector graphics.
Fahrenheit 451 is an interactive fiction game released in 1984 and based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury. Originally released by software company Trillium, it was re-released in 1985 under the company's new name Telarium.
Emerald Isle is an interactive fiction game by Level 9 Computing released in 1984. A plane has crashed after being struck by a storm over the Bermuda Triangle. The sole occupant has escaped by parachute and finds himself on an unknown island inhabited by strange peoples and creatures.
Bored of the Rings is a text adventure game released by Delta 4 in 1985 for several computer systems written using The Quill. It was also released by CRL Group. The game is inspired by, but not based on, the Bored of the Rings parody novel published by Harvard Lampoon. The earlier game The Hobbit is also parodied. It was followed by a prequel in the same spirit, The Boggit.
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, such as literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of genres. Most adventure games are designed for a single player, since the emphasis on story and character makes multiplayer design difficult. Colossal Cave Adventure is identified by Rick Adams as the first such adventure game, first released in 1976, while other notable adventure game series include Zork, King's Quest, Monkey Island, Syberia, and Myst.
Amazon is an interactive fiction graphic adventure game. The game was published by Telarium in 1984 and written by Michael Crichton.
Rendezvous with Rama is an interactive fiction game with graphics published by Telarium, a subsidiary of Spinnaker Software, in 1984. It was developed in cooperation with Arthur C. Clarke and based upon his 1973 science fiction novel Rendezvous with Rama.
Nine Princes in Amber is an interactive fiction video game with graphics. The game was published by Telarium, a subsidiary of Spinnaker Software, in 1985. The game is based upon the fantasy novels Nine Princes in Amber and The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny.
Telarium Corporation was a brand owned by Spinnaker Software. The brand was launched in 1984 and Spinnaker was sold in 1994. The headquarters were located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The President of Telarium was C. David Seuss, the founder and CEO of Spinnaker Software.
Borrowed Time is an interactive fiction game about a detective, who tries to rescue his kidnapped wife. The game was developed by Interplay and published by Activision in 1985. Mastertronic republished it as a budget title as Time to Die.
The Serpent's Star is an interactive fiction game with graphics. It was developed by Ultrasoft and published by Broderbund for the Apple II in 1983 as the sequel to The Mask of the Sun. Ports followed for the Atari 8-bit computers (1984) and Commodore 64 (1985).
Windham Classics Corporation was a subsidiary of Spinnaker Software. The corporation was founded in 1984 and went defunct circa 1985/86 or later. The headquarters were in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Empire of the Over-Mind is an interactive fiction game written by Gary Bedrosian and published by Avalon Hill for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, and TRS-80 in 1981. A version with an enhanced display for IBM PC compatibles by Bedrosian was published in 1986.
