''The Lost Treasures of Infocom'' is a 1991

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

of 20 previously-released interactive fiction games developed by Infocom. It was published by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...

, Amiga, and Apple IIGS versions. It was later re-released on CD-ROM, and in 2012 on

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

Gameplay

''The Lost Treasures of Infocom'' compiles 20 interactive fiction titles, with which the player interacts via

text parser {{Refimprove, date=August 2007 In adventure games, a text parser takes typed input (a command) from the player and simplifies it to something the game can understand. Usually, words with the same meaning are turned into the same word (e.g. "take" ...

. The compilation includes ''

Zork I ''Zork'' is a text-based adventure game first released in 1977 by developers Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. The original developers and others, as the company Infocom, expande ...

'', '' II'' and '' III'', along with the ''Zork''-connected games ''

Beyond Zork ''Beyond Zork'' (full title: ''Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor'') is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and released by Infocom in 1987. It was one of the last games in the Zork series developed by Infocom (titles s ...

'', ''

Zork Zero ''Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz'' is an interactive fiction computer game, written by Steve Meretzky over nearly 18 months and published by Infocom in 1988. Although it is the ninth and last ''Zork'' game released by Infocom before the company ...

'', '' Enchanter'', '' Sorcerer'' and '' Spellbreaker''. The other titles included are ''

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...

'', '' The Witness'', '' Suspect'', '' The Lurking Horror'', ''

Ballyhoo The ballyhoo halfbeak or ballyhoo (''Hemiramphus brasiliensis'') is a baitfish of the halfbeak family (Hemiramphidae). It is similar to the Balao halfbeak (''H. balao'') in most features. Ballyhoo are frequently used as cut bait and for trollin ...

'', '' Infidel'', ''

Moonmist ''Moonmist'' is an interactive fiction computer game written by Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence and published by Infocom in 1986. The game was released simultaneously for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, Commodor ...

'', ''

Starcross Starcross is a village with a 2011 census recorded population of 1,737 situated on the west shore of the Exe Estuary in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon. The village is popular in summer with leisure craft, and is home to one of t ...

'', '' Suspended'', ''

Planetfall ''Planetfall'' is a science fiction themed interactive fiction video game written by Steve Meretzky, and the eighth title published by Infocom in 1983. The original release included versions for Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, TRS-80, and IBM PC ...

'', '' Stationfall'' and ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...

''. The package contains all the instructions (bound in one volume) and maps for each game as well as all the

InvisiClues InvisiClues were hint booklets sold by Infocom to help players solve puzzles in their interactive fiction computer games.

, printed normally instead of using "invisible" ink. The package also features a launch menu which lets the user select which one of the 20 games they wish to play. Some significant omissions from the package were the "

feelies 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''. Infocom was founded on ...

" for which Infocom had become known. The package merely contained photocopies or pictures of these items, such as the sunglasses from ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' and the Stellar Patrol ID card from ''Planetfall''.

Development

Discussing the announcement of ''The Lost Treasures of Infocom'', Scorpia of '' Computer Gaming World'' noted that

was "rising like a phoenix ... from the bankrupt ashes of Mediagenic" with the release. After the company's restructuring during bankruptcy, it began to lean on its back catalog of licenses, including ''Zork''. Activision CEO

Bobby Kotick Robert A. Kotick (born 1963) is an American businessman who serves as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Activision Blizzard. He became CEO of Activision in 1991 after purchasing a company stake the previous year. Kotick engineered a merger ...

later said that "''Zork'' on a brick would sell 100,000 copies". Infocom had been closed by Activision in 1989; the publisher held the

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

to nearly all the past Infocom titles. An additional bonus was the updated version of ''Hitchhiker's Guide''. The game was repackaged using a later version of the

Z-machine The Z-machine is a virtual machine that was developed by Joel Berez and Marc Blank in 1979 and used by Infocom for its text adventure games. Infocom compiled game code to files containing Z-machine instructions (called story files or Z-code ...

than the original, and now featured a built-in hint system.

Reception

''The Lost Treasures of Infocom'' was a commercial hit. Peter Doctorow of Activision reported in 1992 that ''The Lost Treasures of Infocom'' was "selling extremely well". Jeremy Reimer of '' Ars Technica'' wrote, "Retailing for $99, it sold over 100,000 copies and was almost pure profit. The ashes of Infocom saved Activision from bankruptcy." Brian Walker of ''

Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' declared ''The Lost Treasures of Infocom'' Activision's best game of 1992. Reviewing the

version of the game in 2017, ''

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'' gave it a strongly positive review.

Sequel

The success of the original ''Lost Treasures of Infocom'' prompted a follow-up collection published in 1992 titled ''The Lost Treasures of Infocom II''. This package contained 11 more classic Infocom titles. The games included in ''Lost Treasures II'' were: * ''

Border Zone Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

'' * '' A Mind Forever Voyaging'' * '' Plundered Hearts'' * '' Bureaucracy'' * '' Cutthroats'' * '' Hollywood Hijinx'' * ''

Seastalker ''Seastalker'' is an interactive fiction game written by Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence and published by Infocom in 1984. It was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the Commodore 64, Apple II, and IB ...

'' * '' Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels'' * ''

Wishbringer ''Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams'' is an interactive fiction video game written by Brian Moriarty and published by Infocom in 1985. It was intended to be an easier game to solve than the typical Infocom release and provide a good intro ...

'' * '' Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It'' * ''

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

'' ''

Leather Goddesses of Phobos ''Leather Goddesses of Phobos'' is an interactive fiction video game written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1986. It was released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Macintosh, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, Commodore 6 ...

'' was not included, but could be ordered for $9.95 via an enclosed coupon. The games'

InvisiClues InvisiClues were hint booklets sold by Infocom to help players solve puzzles in their interactive fiction computer games.

were not included as before; instead, a card advertising a pay-per-minute hint line was included in the package. In addition to being dual-format (

and

Apple Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

), the CD-ROM version included three extra games: * ''

James Clavell's Shōgun ''James Clavell's Shōgun'' is an interactive fiction video game written by Dave Lebling and published by Infocom in 1989. It was released for the Amiga, Apple II, DOS, and Macintosh. The game is based on the 1975 novel ''Shōgun'' by James ...

'' * '' Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur'' * ''

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

'' The ''Soul of the Samurai'' and Known World maps from Shogun and the map from Journey were included separately; an added instruction manual included the ''Book of Hours'' from Arthur as well as instructions for all three added games.

References

External links