Infocom: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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(creatortropes, examples template, tropenamer, tropelist)
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In 1986, struggling with competition from video games with fancy graphics and badly damaged by an ill-fated foray into the business software market, Infocom was bought by Activision. Shortly after the acquisition, Infocom's champion on the Activision board left the company, and his successor [[Executive Meddling|spent three years "improving" Infocom]] before pulling the plug in 1989.
In 1986, struggling with competition from video games with fancy graphics and badly damaged by an ill-fated foray into the business software market, Infocom was bought by Activision. Shortly after the acquisition, Infocom's champion on the Activision board left the company, and his successor [[Executive Meddling|spent three years "improving" Infocom]] before pulling the plug in 1989.
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=== Notable Infocom games include: ===


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{{examples|Notable Infocom games include:}}
* ''[[Zork]]'' and its many, many sequels
* ''[[Zork]]'' and its many, many sequels
* ''[[BattleTech]]: The Crescent Hawk's Inception'' and its sequel ''The Crescent Hawk's Revenge''
* ''[[BattleTech]]: The Crescent Hawk's Inception'' and its sequel ''The Crescent Hawk's Revenge''
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* ''Wishbringer''
* ''Wishbringer''
* ''The Lurking Horror''
* ''The Lurking Horror''

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{{examples|Infocom games with their own trope pages include:}}
=== Infocom was the [[Trope Namer]] for: ===
* ''[[Zork]]'' series (including the ''Enchanter'' trilogy)
* ''[[Planetfall]]'' (and ''Stationfall'')
* ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (video game)|The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy]]''
* ''[[A Mind Forever Voyaging]]''
* ''[[Suspended]]''

{{tropenamer}}
* [[Feelies]]
* [[Feelies]]
* [[Interactive Fiction]]
* [[Interactive Fiction]]
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=== Recurring tropes in Infocom games: ===


{{creatortropes}}
* [[Arc Number]]: 69,105
* [[Arc Number]]: 69,105
* [[Easter Egg]]
* [[Easter Egg]]
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* [[Second Person Narration]]
* [[Second Person Narration]]
* [[Unwinnable by Design]]
* [[Unwinnable by Design]]
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=== Infocom games with their own trope pages include: ===

* ''[[Zork]]'' series (including the ''Enchanter'' trilogy)
* ''[[Planetfall]]'' (and ''Stationfall'')
* ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (video game)|The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy]]''
* ''[[A Mind Forever Voyaging]]''
* ''[[Suspended]]''

=== Tropes relating to individual games that don't have their own pages: ===


{{tropelist|Tropes relating to individual games that don't have their own pages:}}
* [[Big Dumb Object]]: Forms most of the plot of ''Starcross''
* [[Big Dumb Object]]: Forms most of the plot of ''Starcross''
* [[Brown Note]]: ''Hollywood Hijinks'' features a film that kills everyone who watches it.
* [[Brown Note]]: ''Hollywood Hijinks'' features a film that kills everyone who watches it.

Revision as of 14:00, 17 July 2016

/wiki/Infocomcreator

Infocom, founded in 1979, is the shining light in the history of commercially-released Interactive Fiction games. Beginning with Zork in 1980, the company released over thirty games, many of which are still played.

The company's strengths included technical innovation (their Text Parser was one of the best in the business, and the z-code data format Infocom created is a popular choice for distributing new IF games to this day), rich storytelling, and creative packaging (most Infocom games shipped with "Feelies", thematically-related props which might form part of the Copy Protection system, constitute clues, give extra background information, or just be included for the lulz).

In 1986, struggling with competition from video games with fancy graphics and badly damaged by an ill-fated foray into the business software market, Infocom was bought by Activision. Shortly after the acquisition, Infocom's champion on the Activision board left the company, and his successor spent three years "improving" Infocom before pulling the plug in 1989.


Notable Infocom games include:
Infocom games with their own trope pages include:
Infocom is the Trope Namer for:
Infocom provides examples of the following tropes:
Tropes relating to individual games that don't have their own pages: