''Murder on the Zinderneuf'' is a 1983 video game designed by Jon Freeman and Paul Reiche III and one of the first six games published by Electronic Arts ( Ariolasoft in Europe). It was developed for the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

, and the

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

(as a

self-booting disk A self-booting disk is a floppy disk for home or personal computers that loads directly into a standalone application when the system is turned on, bypassing the operating system. This was common, even standard, on some computers in the late 1970 ...

). The Apple II version was programmed by Alan Pavlish of Designer Software. All other versions were programmed by Robert Leyland. The Commodore 64 version states it was by Mission Accomplished, but also gives credit to Leyland for programming.

Plot

The game is set in 1936. The player is a

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

traveling across the Atlantic aboard the world's most luxurious

dirigible An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

, the ''Zinderneuf''. The craft is full of high-profile personalities from all walks of life. A murder takes place aboard the ''Zinderneuf'', and it is up to the player to identify the culprit before the ship lands.

Gameplay

The player is given a choice of eight detectives to play; former policeman turned private detective Harry Hacksaw (based on Dirty Harry), French police inspector Emile Klutzeau (based on Inspector Clouseau), amateur sleuth Agatha Marbles (based on Miss Marple), German-British detective Humbolt Hause (based on

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

), NYPD Lieutenant Cincinnato (based on

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

), mysterious adventurer Charity Flaire (based on Modesty Blaise), Swiss detective Achille Merlot (based on Hercule Poirot), and gentleman thief Jethro Knight (based on Simon Templar). Each has a distinct personality as well as strengths and weaknesses. They must then search the rooms of the dirigible for possible clues, as well as interview passengers to identify the killer. The detective must carefully choose his or her method of questioning suspects. Choosing the right approach means that a character is more likely to offer useful clues. Once they are satisfied that they have a culprit, the detective has the option of accusing them directly, or waiting until enough clues are found to prove their hunch. If they are wrong, the person they have accused will not speak to them for the remainder of the game. A denial does not always mean the detective is wrong, only that more proof is required for the murderer to confess. If the detective is correct, the killer will explain the motives behind their crime, and the detective is given one of six ratings based on the effectiveness of their investigation. ''Murder on the Zinderneuf'' randomly generates stories. The player is presented with a different murderer and victim each time the game is played. This, combined with the depth of narrative detail in the stories and characters, makes the game highly replayable. Each real-time game finishes in 36 minutes to encourage many replays.

Development

Designer Jon Freeman stated in the December 1980 '' BYTE'' that "a game like Adventure is really a puzzle that, once solved, is without further interest"; by contrast, he wrote,

computer role-playing game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

s like his Dunjonquest series offer unpredictable play and replay opportunities. Freeman said that the game was a homage to Cluedo, but there are obvious influences from books and movies in the mystery genre, ranging from

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot books, to

and the films of

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

. A number of famous personalities from the 1930s may also have inspired the creation of the passengers aboard the Zinderneuf, such as Veronica Lake (Veronica Marlowe), Johnny Weissmuller (Buck Battle), and Hedda Hopper (Margaret Vandergilt).

Reception

The Atari 8-bit version of ''Murder on the Zinderneuf'' was reviewed by '' Video'' magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column. Reviewers called it, "as entertaining as it is innovative", and described it as "one of the most distinctive titles to be published

n 1983 N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

. Specific praise was given the game's replay option which offers a different fact pattern for each playthrough. Allen Doum of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' stated that "''Murder on the Zinderneuf'' is a mystery game for those people who don't have time for a twelve-hour deadline". The magazine's David and Diana Stone were impressed with ''Murder on the Zinderneuf''s 1930s characters, each with colorful, easily distinguished graphics. They liked the attention to particular details, such as the engine noise increasing as the player moves towards the back of the zeppelin. In addition to the game being fair and winnable, the reviewers reported playing it 20 times and only seeing two repeat "confessions". '' Softline'' stated that Free Fall "came up with a game that's every bit as delightful as ''

Archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

''". '' Ahoy!'' called ''Murder on the Zinderneuf'' "the most intriguing mystery game I have ever played ... for a mystery fan it is a dream come true". ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...

'' gave the game 15 points out of 18, noting the importance of acting in accordance with the chosen detective character's personality when questioning suspects.

Reviews

* ''

Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

'' #24 (Feb 1985) *''

Jeux & Stratégie ''Jeux'' (''Games'') is a ballet written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé" (literally a "danced poem"), it was written for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the ...

'' #30 *''

'' HS #3

References

External links

''Murder on the Zinderneuf''
at Atari Mania * *{{Internet Archive game, id=msdos_Murder_on_the_Zinderneuf_1984
A partial transcription of the booklet that came with the game
1983 video games Fiction about airships Apple II games Atari 8-bit family games Commodore 64 games Detective video games Electronic Arts games Ariolasoft games Puzzle video games Video games about police officers Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in 1936 Video games developed in the United States Single-player video games Free Fall Associates games