Infocom facts for kids
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| Industry | Entertainment/Business software |
|---|---|
| Founded | June 22, 1979 by MIT |
| Defunct | May 5, 1989 |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
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Key people
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Dave Lebling Marc Blank Albert Vezza Joel Berez Steve Meretzky |
| Products | Zork series Planetfall series Leather Goddesses of Phobos series Deadline Z-machine Cornerstone Computer game version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy See products listing |
| Parent | Activision |
Infocom was a software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were best known for making many "interactive fiction" games. These were like digital storybooks where you typed commands to control the adventure. Infocom also created a business program called Cornerstone. This was a special type of database for businesses. The company was bought by Activision in 1986.
Infocom was started on June 22, 1979, by people from the MIT. They became famous for their Zork game series. This series helped define what text adventure games could be. Infocom stopped making new games on May 5, 1989.
Contents
Infocom's Interactive Fiction Games
Infocom was a leader in text adventure games. These games let players explore worlds and solve puzzles using only words. You would read descriptions and type commands like "go north" or "take sword."
The Zork Series: A Grand Adventure
The Zork series was Infocom's most popular creation. It took players into a huge underground empire.
- The original Zork games were:
- There was also an Enchanter Trilogy, which continued the Zork story:
- Enchanter (1983)
- Sorcerer (1984)
- Spellbreaker (1985)
- Later Zork games included:
- Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor (1987)
- Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz (1988)
Other Popular Interactive Stories
Infocom made many other exciting text adventures. Each game had a unique story and world.
- Planetfall (1983) and Stationfall (1987) were science fiction adventures. They featured a funny robot sidekick named Floyd.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1984) was a game based on the famous book. It was co-written by the book's author, Douglas Adams.
- Deadline (1982) was a detective mystery game. Players had to solve a murder.
- Suspended: A Cryogenic Nightmare (1983) put players in control of robots. They had to save a planet.
- A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985) was a deep science fiction story. It explored ideas about the future.
- Trinity (1986) was a historical adventure. It dealt with the first atomic bomb.
- Leather Goddesses of Phobos (1986) was a humorous and silly science fiction game.
Beyond Text Adventures
While famous for text games, Infocom also explored other types of software.
Graphic Adventures and Other Games
After the main text adventure era, Infocom and its parent company, Activision, released games with graphics.
- Return to Zork (1993) brought the Zork world to life with pictures.
- Zork: Nemesis (1996) and Zork Grand Inquisitor (1997) continued the graphic Zork series.
- Infocom also developed or published other games. These included Fooblitzky (1985), a board game style computer game. They also made BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception (1988).
Infocomics: Stories with Pictures
Infocom also tried a new idea called "Infocomics" in 1988. These were like interactive comic books. They combined text, simple graphics, and choices.
- Lane Mastodon vs. the Blubbermen (1988)
- Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams (1988)
- ZorkQuest: Assault on Egreth Castle (1988)
Collections of Infocom Games
Over the years, many of Infocom's classic games were released together in collections. This allowed new players to experience their famous adventures.
- The Zork Trilogy (1986) combined the first three Zork games.
- The Lost Treasures of Infocom (1991) was a big collection. It included 20 of their interactive fiction games.
- The Zork Anthology (1994) brought together several Zork titles.
- Later collections grouped games by genre, like The Mystery Collection (1995) or The Science Fiction Collection (1995).
- Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces of Infocom (1996) was a very large collection. It had 33 Infocom games.
Images for kids
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Zork I was Infocom's first product. This image shows how players interacted with Infocom's text games. You typed commands to play the story.
See also
In Spanish: Infocom para niños
