Get paid to test things

Continuing our leisurely stroll through the pages of premier interactive fiction publisher Infocoms 1987 product catalog, we come upon a spinoff from a popular trilogy, and an experimental work that isnt as well-remembered as it probably ought to be.

Brian Moriarty created Infocoms Wishbringer and Lucasarts Loom, as well as some lesser-known type-in text adventures for magazines early in his career, but I had forgotten that he created Beyond Zork.  I havent played it, but the ad copy here indicates it was an attempt to incorporate role-playing gameplay into the Infocom style (there were some random combat elements in the original ZORK trilogy, but this one aims more explicitly for stat-building, combat and dungeon exploration.)  This may have been the first Infocom title to incorporate graphics of any kind, with an onscreen map.


On page 6 we find the experimental Nord and Bert Couldnt Make Head or Tail of It, a series of short interactive puzzles -- ostensibly stories, but focused primarily on wordplay and puns.  I havent played this one either, but its on my list and sounds like its intended to be a quick, friendly, and funny, experience for word game enthusiasts.  Unlike the more substantial Infocom titles, this one didnt come with any physical "feelies" as supplementary materials, but cartoonist Kevin Pope was engaged to provide a booklet of cartoons for added entertainment.


Next weekend, our journey continues, deeper downward into pages 7 and 8...

Were paging through Activisions catalog for the Atari 2600 -- circa 1989, at the tail end of the long-running platforms lifespan.  Not too shabby for a machine released in 1977!

Page 2 presents some more Activision classics, and another new game:


Chopper Command borrowed a bit from Defender, but played well and looked great on the 2600.  Robot Tank was Activisions take on Battlezone, beating Ataris own official cartridge to market.  And Kaboom! was a classic fast-paced paddle game that managed to make almost everyone forget it was inspired by Ataris Avalanche coin-op; adding a mad bomber and a sense of humor left the original concept looking bare and boring.

The big news on this page, of course, was Commando, an adaptation of Capcoms coin-op hit for the 2600 (again, also a game available on the competing NES.)  The graphics suffered in translation, and it was almost impossible to toss off a grenade using a joystick and single fire button.  But it was a reasonable translation that pushed the hardware quite a bit; visually it always reminded my of Imagics Riddle of the Sphinx, but theres a lot more action on offer here.

Page 3 gives the most prominent spot to a longtime Activision favorite, and also pushes some acquired Imagic properties:


Theres not much to say about Pitfall! -- it was and is a classic game, and none of the later sequels and remakes have managed to capture its simple charm.  Activision kept the brand name but repackaged Imagics titles for cost reduction purposes -- no more silver boxes, and the labels were reduced to simple blue backgrounds with white text.  But keeping Moonsweeper, Demon Attack and Atlantis on the market was a fine idea.  Imagic was really the only other third-party 2600 publisher that gave Activision serious competition, and these games, acquired by its rival during the crash era, have continued to show up in recent Activision packages.

Next weekend, well wrap up the remaining 4 pages of this late-era Atari 2600 artifact.