tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post3294556214497017079..comments2024-03-28T18:43:06.423+11:00Comments on The Adventurers Guild: Missed Classic: Bureaucracy - Won! And Final RatingThe Tricksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-32047723349750375182021-02-27T02:12:02.590+11:002021-02-27T02:12:02.590+11:00Joel X Slartibartfast is a nod to Joel Berez?Joel X Slartibartfast is a nod to Joel Berez?Leo Vellésnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-34364364015030079122021-02-25T20:28:12.503+11:002021-02-25T20:28:12.503+11:00"he didn’t care who he inconvenienced, even h..."he didn’t care who he inconvenienced, even himself, as long as he was hacking"<br /><br />Sounds a lot like like the writers of viruses.<br /><br />The whole plot is very much like something Adams would write, though admittedly lacking his writing skills. That said it did get something done Adams apparently could only do under sordid threat of death- get finished and released.ShaddamIVthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024540172370536692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-87837660519967856152021-02-25T09:35:45.706+11:002021-02-25T09:35:45.706+11:00I was a proud owner of a Mac "luggable",...I was a proud owner of a Mac "luggable", their first portable computer. It was a beast! I loved it. I also have a hand-me-down Mac IIcx in my basement that I refuse to get rid of. (Stupid Joe trivia: the IIcx in my basement is the first ever IIcx to run Linux and one of the first ~12 or so 68k Macs to do so. I used to be one of the admins of the Linux-for-68k-Mac project around 1997 or so.)<br /><br />That said, I just don't think the computer in the game is well-defined. I'm sure that is in part deliberate and in part because they realized there would be no power plugs inside of an iron stewpot in the jungle so let's just run with it. I'm not sure how I would have perceived it in 1987.<br /><br />I'm glad that everyone has a better explanation for Random Q. Hacker than I did. I didn't consider the "John Q. Public" possibility, or the "J Random" one. I'm more annoyed honestly that they expected us to guess his username and password. <br /><br />I also completely forgot about the turtle in Enchanter!Joe Pranevichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12997014242774219758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-64030098736074484412021-02-25T09:05:41.377+11:002021-02-25T09:05:41.377+11:00Based on popular demand, I have swapped the TOS gr...Based on popular demand, I have swapped the TOS graphic out for a TNG one. :)Joe Pranevichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12997014242774219758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-41193811118766021402021-02-25T07:02:46.392+11:002021-02-25T07:02:46.392+11:00At the start of the game, we have a Boysenberry co...<em>At the start of the game, we have a Boysenberry computer in our house. This is 1987 when laptops might fit in a backpack if you are lucky ... At one point, I noticed that I could pick it up, carry it around, and even use it without it being plugged in.</em><br /><br />I can see why one might assume it was a desktop computer (afterall one is likely to be playing the game itself on something not exactly portable), but I don't think it's implausible it could be a "luggable" computer that works on battery power. We had a 286 similar to the picture you posted the top of this article. Another possibility, since "Boysenberry" is meant to parody Apple and Douglas Adams was known to be keen on his Mac, is that the Boysenberry is something like a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Plus" rel="nofollow">Macintosh Plus</a>- yes, needs to be plugged in, but plausibly portable enough for adventure game logic compared to an IBM-type PC.<br /><br />Rowan already griped about showing a picture of TOS when your caption refers to TNG (did they call that thing a PADD in TOS?), so I'll just add that PADD themes exist for today's real tablets.<br /><br /><em>While Adams fans may assume this is a reference to Random Dent</em><br /><br />Hm, I don't think I ever thought this. Besides what Rowan said, "Random Q. [occupation]" can be considered in the mold of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Q._Public" rel="nofollow">John Q. Public</a>" (for some reason Q is the canonical middle initial here).<br /><br /><em>the correct order is (somehow?) related to the order of the lettered stamps that we received at the beginning of the game.</em><br /><br />I am not sure from your recounting whether or not it clicked for you that it is supposed to be the same order as you found the pieces of mail. <em>Why</em> this should have any causal connection is not clear; probably "a conspiracy" given the theme of the game...<br /><br /><em>The password was the name of his street, “RAINBOW-TURTLE”.</em><br /><br />Presumably a reference to the rainbow turtle in Enchanterarcanetriviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02033767865654085177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-31498460604097672152021-02-24T12:53:46.311+11:002021-02-24T12:53:46.311+11:00And then of course "looking through the curta...And then of course "looking through the curtain" (using the x-ray glasses) in Quest for Glory II. But I was also reminded of the final scene in the extended version of ADVENT.Corey Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772474266362396768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-52086227420649488532021-02-24T12:51:26.002+11:002021-02-24T12:51:26.002+11:00That's really interesting. In the late 1970...That's really interesting. In the late 1970's, I played the Warlock RPG system at CalTech. People there used the term "J Random" for any poorly-defined NPC. When I asked, I was told that another game system had tables for various things, and that Table J allowed random generation of NPC's.<br /><br />As the wikipedia article attributes the term to the 1960's at MIT, it's quite possible that game chose Table J for that purpose as an obscure tech culture reference. Or the people that told me about it were unaware of the older attribution.<br /><br />CalTech was the first place I heard the term, but I later noticed it being used at D&D conventions such as DunDraCon.Corey Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772474266362396768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-55598057495013713722021-02-24T08:09:55.098+11:002021-02-24T08:09:55.098+11:00You are probably thinking either Larry 1 death sce...You are probably thinking either Larry 1 death scene, where Larry's body is dropped into a factory where all the Sierra characters are created, or the end of Larry 3, where Larry and Patti end up in Sierra studios. And speaking of moments like these, let's not forget Space Quest 3, with Roger Wilco saving his creators and dropping them at Sierra facilities.Ilmari Jauhiainenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01655841880034965950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-7957098759615422182021-02-24T04:11:15.330+11:002021-02-24T04:11:15.330+11:00Yeah. I see how that reference didn't play the...Yeah. I see how that reference didn't play the way I hoped.<br /><br />I was trying to show that TOS had basic pen-computers but that the more pop-culture portable computing that was in TNG hadn't actually been in TNG yet. (The game came out only a few months before "Encounter at Farpoint.) There are other sci-fi series that had portable computers of course (I think Asimov gets credit for the first?), but nothing that would have made me immediately believe that the Boysenberry was a "portable" computer.Joe Pranevichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12997014242774219758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-12952928145361210922021-02-24T04:07:05.528+11:002021-02-24T04:07:05.528+11:00Actually, and I may not have mentioned this often ...Actually, and I may not have mentioned this often enough, there are more than a smattering of Adams/Hitchhiker's Guide references in the game, but usually in the background.<br /><br />The most "direct" homage that I can recall is that Arthur's aunt is on the flight with you to Zalagasa and is holding the thing that his aunt will (very soon) give Arthur. (I suppose that makes Bureaucracy a prequel!?) There are other bits here and there such as the airport announcements and that sort of thing. I have half a mind to run through and see how many Guide references I can find for the wrap-up post.<br /><br />(Most of the references feel "shallow" rather than something that I expect Adams would have included if he had a larger role in the game.)Joe Pranevichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12997014242774219758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-90509294245715178472021-02-24T03:38:20.153+11:002021-02-24T03:38:20.153+11:00(I spoke too soon, I see the uniquely Adams charac...(I spoke too soon, I see the uniquely Adams character name "Slartibartfast" in one of your closing screenshots!)Rowan Lipkovitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08691096685515251681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-72578065050975524682021-02-24T03:33:18.965+11:002021-02-24T03:33:18.965+11:00"the “peering behind the curtain” reminds me ..."the “peering behind the curtain” reminds me of the ending to Colossal Cave and the original Zork games"<br /><br />I recall there's a similar easter egg in a Sierra game (one of the early Larrys?) showing a "behind the scenes" glimpse of props etc from other games in the Sierra play factory. Fun postmodernism!Rowan Lipkovitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08691096685515251681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-66399560630158453812021-02-24T03:21:43.441+11:002021-02-24T03:21:43.441+11:00"I have been trying to get MobyGames to accep..."I have been trying to get MobyGames to accept the more complete credit list given there for Bureaucracy, but they haven’t accepted them yet. I always correct or submit credits for the games that I play for this blog."<br /><br />The arc of Mobygames bends towards comprehensive accuracy, but sometimes it takes literally years. Your commitment is appreciated and will be celebrated by posterity!Rowan Lipkovitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08691096685515251681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-3101447405449937322021-02-24T03:20:16.150+11:002021-02-24T03:20:16.150+11:00"While Adams fans may assume this is a refere..."While Adams fans may assume this is a reference to Random Dent"<br /><br />And of course I think that the more perceptive Adams fans will long since have thrown up their hands in despair of ever finding or even expecting any trace of their beloved auteur's genius here beyond its very opening premise and his lucrative name on the box.Rowan Lipkovitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08691096685515251681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-63399275368871003142021-02-24T03:18:43.323+11:002021-02-24T03:18:43.323+11:00"His name is “Random Q. Hacker”-- a bit on th..."His name is “Random Q. Hacker”-- a bit on the nose perhaps, but it was the 80s."<br /><br />Seems to be a riff on the old placeholder computing name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Random_HackerRowan Lipkovitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08691096685515251681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-3735904178680349352021-02-24T03:16:31.329+11:002021-02-24T03:16:31.329+11:00"Bureaucracy even predates the PADDs of Star ..."Bureaucracy even predates the PADDs of Star Trek: The Next Generation."<br /><br />It's a little tricky to use a photo from a TOS episode to illustrate an STTNG concept, but perhaps that there demonstrates the contorting, convoluting depths of our bureaucratic nightmare.Rowan Lipkovitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08691096685515251681noreply@blogger.com