Amazon - The Bridge of Reloading (Request for Assistance)

Jason Roberts Journal Entry #2: I've made it to Rio Blanco – it's taken a bit of effort – getting past one homicidal pilot and more than one deadly piranha. But for some reason I feel I need some cigarettes - and I don't even smoke! (Boy those things must really be addictive.) I have $1000 in my wallet - should I go to a shop and buy them like a normal person... nah, I have a better idea...


Flashback: Chapter 4

Well, after my last gameplay post, I was politely informed in encoded comments that I had dead-ended myself. Thanks to Voltgloss (and some confirmation from Alex Romanov) I was informed that I'd missed something important in Chapter 4. So I reloaded back to that chapter and tried to find what I'd missed.

First I tried other dialogue items with the ticket seller and barman and see if there was anything I could do with Alberto the Rayon salesman, but had no luck.

Then I furiously looked at every section of every item outside, and I found that the TRUCK and TRUCK DOOR were two separate items – it's a good time to note that this game has no mouseover tooltips or any way to differentiate which parts of items are separate without actually LOOKing at all parts.

Now that I knew the truck had a door, I opened the door, but there was nothing inside. Fortunately I was paying particular attention as I knew I'd missed something, and I noticed a white pixel that was somewhat out of place.

That while pixel below my feet wasn't there until I moved (opened) the truck door.

The white pixel turned out to be a pack of cigarettes. I've never been a fan of puzzles that make me take things that any normal person would buy at a store, and it's not like Jason had no money at this point, so I'm not a fan of this puzzle at all.

Anyway, that's it for our flashback. Let's get on with the next Chapter.

Infocom Marathon: Cornerstone (1985)

Written by Joe Pranevich

One of the sad truths about our beloved genre is that nothing is forever. Some of the greatest names in adventure games-- Sierra, Adventure International, and even LucasArts-- saw their day in the sun only to fall leaving behind unfinished games and frustrated fans. By 1992, where we are in the main-line reviews, many of our big players are still in their heyday. But for the rollercoaster that is the “Zork Marathon” and Infocom, we are approaching the top of the hill. You can argue when the descent started, but there is no doubt that the story of Cornerstone is the story of the beginning of the end for Infocom. There are more games ahead of us than behind, but we cannot continue on to Wishbringer without looking at the product that would change everything.

This post is dedicated to the memory of Stu Galley who passed away in August. You can read his obituary here. Stu was many things to Infocom: one of the founders, designer of three games (The Witness, Seastalker, and Moonmist), and jack-of-all-trades around the office. Perhaps most importantly, he was the writer of the “Implementors Creed”, the mission statement that guided Infocom in its later years. I used to have a copy of this printed out on my desk. In his memory, let’s recount it in full:

I create fictional worlds. I create experiences. 

I am exploring a new medium for telling stories.

My readers should become immersed in the story and forget where they are. They should forget about the keyboard and the screen, forget everything but the experience. My goal is to make the computer invisible.

I want as many people as possible to share these experiences. I want a broad range of fictional worlds, and a broad range of "reading levels". I can categorize our past works and discover where the range needs filling in. I should also seek to expand the categories to reach every popular taste.

In each of my works, I share a vision with the reader. Only I know exactly what the vision is, so only I can make the final decisions about content and style. But I must seriously consider comments and suggestions from any source, in the hope that they will make the sharing better.

I know what an artist means by saying, "I hope I can finish this work before I ruin it." Each work-in-progress reaches a point of diminishing returns, where any change is as likely to make it worse as to make it better. My goal is to nurture each work to that point. And to make my best estimate of when it will reach that point.

I can't create quality work by myself. I rely on other implementors to help me both with technical wizardry and with overcoming the limitations of the medium. I rely on testers to tell me both how to communicate my vision better and where the rough edges of the work need polishing. I rely on marketers and salespeople to help me share my vision with more readers. I rely on others to handle administrative details so I can concentrate on the vision.

None of my goals is easy. But all are worth hard work. Let no one doubt my dedication to my art.

Stuart was one of the men at Infocom that I have most come to admire since starting this project. I had hoped to interview him someday and maybe even meet him-- he lived just one town over from me. Realizing that he is gone is a big blow. He will be missed. His family has asked for donations to be made in his name to Mass Audubon. I’ve made one already and I hope you will consider one as well.

I’ll have a lot more to say about Stu when I come to Moonmist in a few months. For now, let me wipe away the tear running down my cheek and get back to your regularly scheduled business software review.

Amazon - Fight or Flight

Jason Roberts Journal Entry 1: My brother is missing so I've decided to trick my workmates in order to get what I need to follow him to the jungle. I've already deceived Darlene Fitch and Male Guard, and tricked Female Guard by proxy. Now I need to try to deceive the librarian - but first, I have to deal with a heavy metal monster.

Chapter 3

Despite Chapter 2's cliffhanger of the robot telling me I'll be terminated, at the start of this chapter the robot simply paces back and forth, not bothering Jason at all. Looking at B.O.B. Tells me that he's waiting for his replacement to arrive so he can finish his shift!

Missed Classic: The Worm in Paradise - Won! (With Final Rating)

By Ilmari

The main problem throughout the whole game has been a lack of clear goals. I had to finally go to the well of the official clue sheet to get some idea what I was supposed to do here. It turned out there was a whole area of game, the existence of which I hadn’t been aware of. You see, my bed was usually hidden within the wall of my home, and with the command SAY BED I could make it appear. Now, if I lied on my bed and again used the command SAY BED, I was whisked away to somewhere else.

Where am I?

Spellcasting 301 - Wet T-Shirt Nite

By Deimar

Ernie Eaglebeak's Journal #4: This contest is never going to end. It is contest on contest on contest to battle for the right of coming to Fort Naughtytail for the next five years. Our opponents, the cow wizards from the GLY fraternity, are stronger, more handsome, and frankly better at all of the test, but they are not as keen as us on cheating. I mean, they are not as wise as we are. Or I am. It is not as if any of my brothers were doing anything to help. But here we are now, having beaten them at weight-lifting, partying, sand castle building, belly flop jumping, drinking contests, bull fighting and even on an improvised bar brawl. I am starting to feel like Hercules, being tasked with my own naughty version of the twelve tests.

Oh, almost forgot. I think I have made a new friend. The sheriff and I are becoming quite intimate and I think he is getting more and more fond of me. Only time will tell.

Last time I was complaining about finances when I was just about to tackle two contest, the belly flop and the drinking one. Spoiler: I’ve beaten them and two more contest.s However, some of the challenges ahead have been a pain in the ass. So allow me to tell you how much I hate casinos in adventure games or a not very intuitive puzzle. 

Solving my financial crisis

After hitting my head against the wall for a while and realizing that I was going to be very money constrained or plan very well how I had to buy and sell every item available, I decided to read Ilmari’s suggestions about how to ease my financial problems. The clue that got me the solution was that I had to “uncrook” the casino. Oh boy did I feel stupid after reading that sentence. You can UPPSSY (spell of opposites) the casino from the plaza to make it straight. Simple. Efficient.

Perfectly balanced as all things should be