Description of The Infocom Collection. Here is the video game “The Infocom Collection”! Released in 1992 on DOS, it's still available and playable with some tinkering. It's an adventure game, set in an interactive fiction and compilation / shovelware themes. Return to Zork is a 1993 graphic adventure game in the Zork series. It was developed by Activision and was the final Zork game to be published under the Infocom label. Topics: zork, adventure, infocom, adventure, dos.
(Note: This is an extremely rough draft and probably contains several errors and omissions. My information is far more sketchy than I'd like, and there's some contradictions. But someone's gotta take the first step on this page -- David Welbourn 11:43, 6 Jul 2005 (Central Daylight Time))
- 2Infocom
Pre-Infocom
The following game is not an official Infocom game, but is the game where much of the material of the Zork trilogy came from.
- Zork a.k.a. Dungeon (Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, Dave Lebling; 1979).
Infocom
Interactive Fiction
The following games were published by Infocom. This listing should be in chronological order. (If it's wrong, please fix it or note what's wrong on the discussion page. -- David Welbourn)
- Zork: The Great Underground Empire a.k.a. Zork I (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling; 1980; Z-code).
- Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling; 1981; Z-code).
- Deadline (Marc Blank; 1982; Z-code).
- Zork III: The Dungeon Master (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling; 1982; Z-code).
- Starcross (Dave Lebling; 1982; Z-code).
- Suspended (Michael Berlyn; 1983; Z-code).
- The Witness (Stu Galley; 1983; Z-code).
- Planetfall (Steve Meretzky; 1983; Z-code).
- Enchanter (Marc Blank and Dave Lebling; 1983; Z-code).
- Infidel (Michael Berlyn and Patricia Fogleman; 1983; Z-code).
- Sorcerer (Steve Meretzky; 1984; Z-code).
- Seastalker: [Your Name] and the Ultramarine Bioceptor (Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence; 1984; Z-code).
- Cutthroats (Michael Berlyn and Jerry Wolper; 1984; Z-code).
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky; 1984; Z-code).
- Suspect (Dave Lebling; 1984; Z-code).
- Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams (Brian Moriarty; 1985; Z-code).
- A Mind Forever Voyaging (Steve Meretzky; 1985; Z-code).
- Spellbreaker (Dave Lebling; 1985; Z-code).
- Ballyhoo (Jeff O'Neill; 1986; Z-code).
- Trinity (Brian Moriarty; 1986; Z-code).
- Leather Goddesses of Phobos (Steve Meretzky; 1986; Z-code).
- Moonmist (Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence; 1986; Z-code).
- Hollywood Hijinx (Dave Anderson and Liz Cyr-Jones; 1986; Z-code).
- Bureaucracy (Douglas Adams et al.; 1987; Z-code).
- Stationfall (Steve Meretzky; 1987; Z-code).
- The Lurking Horror (Dave Lebling; 1987; Z-code).
- Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It (Jeff O'Neill; 1987; Z-code).
- Plundered Hearts (Amy Briggs; 1987; Z-code).
- Beyond Zork (Brian Moriarty; 1987; Z-code).
- Border Zone (Marc Blank; 1987; Z-code).
- Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels (Bob Bates; 1987? 1988?; Z-code). Developed by Challenge, Inc.
- Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz (Steve Meretzky; 1988).
- James Clavell's Shogun (Dave Lebling; 1989).
- Journey: The Quest Begins (1988).
- Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur (Bob Bates; 1989; Z-code). Developed by Challenge, Inc.
Other Infocom Software
- Cornerstone (1985). [D1Hazel: This is the one that got Infocom killed.]
- Fooblitzky (1986).
- the Infocomics (1988). (details to come)
- Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth (1988).
- BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception (1988).
Infocom or Activision?
The following games were published by Activision (I think), but released under the Infocom label. But I'm not really sure about some of these. If it belongs in the Infocom section, move it there. If it belongs in the Activision section, move it there. If there are errors or omissions, please let us know!
Infocom Games Ios
- Mines of Titan (1989). [Isn't there another name for this one?][D1Hazel: Isn't this deved by Westwood and published by Infocom? Also, it doesn't have another name, but your close; this is an improved version of another game. Geez, I miss Westwood. (It's my favorite company, Infocom being my second favorite. Boy, I sure was surprised that the two companies both worked together AND died in the same way.)]
- Circuit's Edge (1990).
Activision
- Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvienence from Planet X (Steve Meretzky; 1992).
- Return to Zork
- Simon the Sorcerer
- Zork: Nemesis
- Zork Grand Inquisitor
Collections
Ideally, this list should be in chronological order, include the publisher, the release year, and note which of the above games were included in these collections.
- Zork Trilogy (1986).
- The Lost Treasures of Infocom (1991).
- Tombs & Treasures (1991).
- The Infocom Collection (1992).
- The Lost Treasures of Infocom II (1992).
- The Zork Anthology (1994).
- Activision Game Vault Volume 1 (1995).
- Zork Special Edition (1995).
- Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces (1996).
- Zork Classics: Interactive Fiction (2000).
[Weren't there also Enchanter and Mystery collections? -- David Welbourn][D1Hazel: Mystery, yeah; Enchanter, dunno.]
A venerable old trophy case stands in a corner. You curiously open the lid and peek inside.
Infocom's history
Infocom was the company that came out with some of the first and dearest adventures. Remember the Zork and Enchanter trilogies, Trinity, A Mind Forever Voyaging? Unfortunately, after the company was bought by Activision in 1986, the games soon went out of stock. If you are lucky enough to find them, that's a great option, as they come with really beautiful boxes and goodies, which greatly enhance the games' atmosphere. Be prepared, however, to pay collector's prices, and don't rely on the floppies still being playable after 20 years' time. They have become mostly collectors' items, and non-playability is not the sellers' fault.
Copyright issues
A collection of Infocom games, 'The Lost Treasures of Infocom', was republished by Activision in 2012 as an app for IPhone and IPad. Edius 8 serial number keygen free download. Sadly, it appears to have been discontinued. If you were lucky enough to grab it, hold onto it by all means, as the games come with so many goodies, from feelies to Invisiclues for all games.
For the rest of us, it's back to the old issues. As far as I know, Activision have still not declared the games abandonware. But I do not believe that it is in the spirit of copyright law that works of art drift into oblivion by unavailability. The day the games are republished in their old glory, I will gladly remove the files from this site. Until then, I hope they will be allowed to remain here so you can have fun downloading and playing. Chances are that after playing, you will want to buy the original games, with all the beautiful fluff that comes with them.
Please note: I took down Zork Beyond, Zork Zero and Planetfall since they are available as a package on GOG.com. Grab them, by all means, and let's hope for more.
How to play (technical issues)
You can play the games either in DOS or - much more comfortably - with the Frotz Z-machine (find a version for your platform on the left hand side). It was originally designed for playing Infocom files and can interpret the .DAT or .ZIP game file (which in some cases is in the 'Data' directory).
If your Frotz interpreter refuses to open a .DAT or .ZIP file included in some of the games below, try starting Frotz first and opening the file from there. (Don't forget to tell Frotz it can open any file, not only z*-files.) That should work.
The games
So, here are the game files. Copy protection material is added where necessary. Recover my files 3 98 crack serial. Mind that this is only what you absolutely need for playing. You should by all means pay a visit to The Infocom Gallery for fine replicas of the original Infocom game packages and gimmicks.
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
Ballyhoo
BattleTech: Crescent Hawk's Inception
Beyond Zork
Border Zone
Bureaucracy
Cutthroats
Deadline
Enchanter
Fooblitzky
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Hollywood Hijinx
Infidel
Journey
Leather Goddesses of Phobos
Moonmist
Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of it
Planetfall is available on GOG.com.
Plundered Hearts
Seastalker
Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels
James Clavell's Shogun
Sorcerer
Spellbreaker
Starcross
Stationfall
Suspect
Suspended
The Lurking Horror
Trinity
Wishbringer
Witness
Zork 1 (freeware)
Zork 2 (freeware)
Zork 3 (freeware)
Zork 1-3 and Zork Zero are available on GOG.com.
Zork: The Undiscovered Underground
Related links
Infocom Games For Mac
Background material
The Infocom Documentation Project by Roger Long and Gunter Schmidl
The Infocom Gallery. David and Julian have beautiful scans of the original Infocom material that came with the games. Their site is what they call it: a 'digital museum'. Go and enjoy.
Shops
If you want to buy Infocom material in Europe, this is the place.
Ye Olde Infocomme Shoppe
And this is the one for the US.
Fun Background Info
The Chronology of Quendor
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