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Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction,rec.games.int-fiction From: blasius@gmd.de (Volker Blasius) Subject: Infocom Fact Sheet - updated version 4.2 Message-ID: <blasius.128.726351126@gmd.de> Keywords: Infocom Fact Facts History Organization: GMD, Sankt Augustin, Germany Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 20:12:06 GMT Lines: 840

Hello Infocom lovers,

David Doherty asked me to post this updated version of his Infocom Fact Sheet. Please send thanks and other friendly comments directly to him, because I only did the posting. His email addresses are in the 1st paragraph.

Enjoy

Volker

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------------------ 4.2 - Jan 3, 1992 Infocom Fact Sheet ------------------ Compiled by Paul David Doherty

This file includes some information about Infocom's games and related subjects. Maybe it is useful as a reference. Thanks to the many people who made contributions. For suggestions and corrections, please mail me at <h0142kdd@rz.hu-berlin.de> or <d.doherty@bamp.berlinet.in-berlin.de>. You can obtain the most recent version of this file via FTP from ftp.gmd.de (129.26.8.90), directory /if-archive/infocom.

List of contents:

I Infocom Games II Versions III Infocom Authors IV Infocom Newsletters V Infocom Chronology

I Infocom Games ================

This table lists all software products sold under the Infocom label. The information is given in the form "PrC R Yr Title_of_program (Author)", where PrC is the Product Code, R is the difficulty rating and Yr the year of publication.

Every Infocom product had a specific Order Code which consisted of the Product Code (to identify the program) and a System Code which identified the platform for which this product was produced. For example, the Order Code IM3-CO4 identifies the game "Suspect" (IM3) for the Commodore Amiga (CO4). The Order Code was printed on the program disk as well as on the box.

The following System Codes have been used: AC1 Apricot IB1 IBM & 100% Compatibles AP1 Apple II series (48 K 18-sec.) IB2 IBM & MS-DOS Compatibles AP2 Apple Macintosh KA1 Kaypro II (CP/M) AT1 Atari XL/XE (48 K, 810/1050) MS1 MS-DOS 2.0 AT2 Atari ST NE1 NEC PC-8000 (56 K, CP/M) CO1 Commodore 64/128 (1541) NE2 NEC APC (CP/M-86) CO2 ? OS1 Osborne (CP/M) CO3 ? TA1 TRS-80 Model I (48 K, disk) CO4 Commodore Amiga TA2 ? CO5 Commodore 128 ONLY TA3 TRS-80 Model III (48 K, disk) CP1 CP/M (2.0+, 48 K, 8") TA4 TRS-80 Color Computer (48 K, disk) DE1 PDP-11 (RT-11) TI1 TI Professional DE2 DEC Rainbow (CP/M) TI2 TI 99/4 A (48 K, disk) EP1 Epson QX-10 Other supported platforms (probably without Product Codes): Commodore Plus/4 and Schneider CPC (Amstrad).

There have been 4 difficulty ratings: i - Introductory (Junior) s - Standard a - Advanced e - Expert

I.1 Interactive Fiction (IF) ----------------------------

Fantasy IZ0 i 85 Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams (Brian Moriarty) IZ1 s 80 Zork I: The Great Underground Empire (Marc Blank/Dave Lebling) IZ2 a 81 Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz (Marc Blank/Dave Lebling) IZ3 a 82 Zork III: The Dungeon Master (Marc Blank/Dave Lebling) IZ4 s 83 Enchanter (Marc Blank/Dave Lebling) IZ5 a 84 Sorcerer (Steve Meretzky) IZ6 e 85 Spellbreaker (Dave Lebling) IZ7 s 86 Trinity (Brian Moriarty) IZ8 - 87 Beyond Zork (Brian Moriarty) IZ9 - 88 Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz (Steve Meretzky)

Science Fiction IS1 e 82 Starcross (Dave Lebling) IS2 e 83 Suspended (Mike Berlyn) IS3 s 83 Planetfall (Steve Meretzky) IS4 s 84 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams/Steve Meretzky) IS5 a 85 A Mind Forever Voyaging (Steve Meretzky) IS6 - 87 Stationfall (Steve Meretzky)

Mystery IM1 e 82 Deadline (Marc Blank) IM2 s 83 The Witness (Stu Galley) IM3 a 84 Suspect (Dave Lebling) IM4 s 85 Ballyhoo (Jeff O'Neill) IM5 i 86 Moonmist (Stu Galley/Jim Lawrence)

Tales of Adventure IA1 a 83 Infidel (Mike Berlyn/Patricia Fogleman) IA2 i 84 Seastalker (Stu Galley/Jim Lawrence) *** first released as IK1 IA3 s 84 Cutthroats (Mike Berlyn/Jerry Wolper) IA4 s 86 Hollywood Hijinx (Dave Anderson/Liz Cyr-Jones) IA5 - 89 James Clavell's Shogun (Dave Lebling)

Comedy IC1 s 86 Leather Goddesses of Phobos (Steve Meretzky) IC2 - 87 Bureaucracy (Douglas Adams et al.) IC3 - 87 Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It (Jeff O'Neill)

Horror IH1 - 87 The Lurking Horror (Dave Lebling)

Romance IR1 - 87 Plundered Hearts (Amy Briggs)

Espionage IE1 - 87 Border Zone (Marc Blank)

Immortal Legends CS1 - 87 Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels (Bob Bates)

Chronicles IJ1 - 89 Journey (Marc Blank)

Living Literature IL1 - 89 Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur (Bob Bates/Duane Beck)

I.2 Samplers and Compilations -----------------------------

The Four-In-One Sampler(s) ID1 - ?? ? ID2 - 84 [Excerpts from Zork I, Infidel, The Witness, Planetfall] ID3 - 87 [Excerpts from Zork I, Leather Goddesses, Trinity and a Wishbringer tutorial]

Trilogies IT1 - 87 Zork Trilogy [IF1, IF2, IF3] IT2 - 87 Enchanter Trilogy [IF4, IF5, IF6] IT3 - 87 Classic Mystery Library [IM2, IM3, IM5] IT4 - 87 Science Fiction Classics [IS4, IS3, IS5]

I.3 Non-IF ----------

Infocomics SL1 - 88 Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen (Steve Meretzky) SG1 - 88 Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams (Amy Briggs) SZ1 - 88 ZorkQuest: Assault on Egreth Castle (Elizabeth Langosy) SZ2 - 88 ZorkQuest II: The Crystal of Doom (Elizabeth Langosy)

Others BC1 - 85 Cornerstone (Brian Berkowitz/Rich Ilson et al.) GS1 - 86 Fooblitzky (Mike Berlyn et al.) ??? - 88 Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth (Scott Schmitz/Ken Updike & Amy Briggs) IF2 - 88 BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception (Westwood Ass.)

I.4 "Infocom" releases after Infocom closed down ------------------------------------------------

224 - 89 Mines of Titan (Westwood Ass.) ??? - 90 Circuit's Edge (Westwood Ass.) ??? - 91 BattleTech 2: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge (Westwood Ass.) --- - 91 The Lost Treasures of Infocom --- - 92 Leather Goddesses of Phobos II (Steve Meretzky) --- - 92 The Lost Treasures of Infocom II --- - 92 Return to Zork

II Versions ============

This table lists all versions of Infocom IF that I know of.

II.1 Legend -----------

Game : This is the name of the game. "Solid Gold" releases (which have the same Product Codes as normal ones) are marked "SG".

? : Versions marked with an "*" are the ones I have only heard of but never actually seen.

V.A : Version number (a.k.a. "Release") and assembly date (a.k.a. "Serial number"). Typing VERSION in a game usually gives you this information. [Assembly dates in "<>" could be fakes!]

Z-C : The Z-Code version (1...6) of the data file. An "s" marks a data file that requires an interpreter with sound (not only beep) capabilities. The Z-Code versions correspond with the development stages of ZIP ("Zork Interpretive Program", the virtual interpreter) in the following way: ZIP Z-Code --------------- ZIP 1-3 EZIP (LZIP) 4 ("extended") XZIP 5 ("experimental") YZIP 6

Length : The "real" length of the data file, as indicated in the "game length" field of the data file header. Usually, data files are slightly longer because they have been padded to a page size of 256 or 512 Bytes. Older data files (Z-code 1, 2 and early 3) have been marked with "---"; these files have no game length field in the header, and they also lack the command.

II.2 Versions -------------

Game ? V.A Z-C Length ---------------------------------------------------- A Mind Forever Voyaging 77.850814 4 262016 79.851122 4 262036

Arthur 54.890606 6 270848 74.890714 6 269200

Ballyhoo 97.851218 3 128556

Beyond Zork 47.870915 5 261952 1) 49.870917 5 261900 * 51.870923 5 ? 57.871221 5 261388

Border Zone 9.871008 5 178372

Bureaucracy 86.870212 4 243144 116.870602 4 243340

Cutthroats 23.840809 3 112558

Deadline 26.821108 3 108372 27.831005 3 108454

Enchanter 10.830810 3 109126 16.831118 3 109234 24.851118 3 108638 29.860820 3 111126

Four-In-One Sampler ID2 * 26.840731 ? ?

Hitchhiker's Guide 47.840914 3 112622 56.841221 3 113444 58.851002 3 113332 59.851108 3 113334

Hitchhiker's Guide SG 31.871119 5 158412

Hollywood Hijinx 37.861215 3 109650

Infidel 22.830916 3 93556

Journey 30.890322 6 280472 83.890706 6 282312

Leather Goddesses * 118.860325 3 ? * 50.860711 3 ? 59.860730 3 129022

Leather Goddesses SG 4.880405 5 159928

Lurking Horror 203.870506 3 128986 * 219.870912 3s ? 221.870918 3s 129944

Moonmist 4.860918 3 129002 9.861022 3 128866

Nord and Bert 19.870722 4 170284

Planetfall 20.830708 3 107958 29.840118 3 109052 37.851003 3 109398

Planetfall SG 10.880531 5 136560

Plundered Hearts 26.870730 3 128962

Seastalker 15.840501 3 117738 15.840522 3 117728 16.850515 3 117752 16.850603 3 117762

Sherlock 21.871214 5 188444 26.880127 5s 190180

Shogun 295.890321 6 341912 322.890706 6 344816

Sorcerer 4.840131 3 109734 6.840508 3 109482 13.851021 3 108692 15.851108 3 108682 18.860904 3 111052

Spellbreaker 63.850916 3 128480 87.860904 3 128916

Starcross 15.820901 3 84984 17.821021 3 83792

Stationfall 107.870430 3 128934

Suspect 14.841005 3 118692

Suspended * 5.830222 3 ? 7.830419 3 105500 8.830521 3 105492 8.840521 3 105584

Trinity 11.860509 4 262016 12.860926 4 262064

Wishbringer 68.850501 3 128952 69.850920 3 128904

Wishbringer SG 23.880706 5 164712

Witness 13.830524 3 102608 20.831119 3 104740 21.831208 3 104704 22.840924 3 104664

Zork I * 5.< > 1 --- 25.820515 3 (75808) 2) 28.821013 3 76018 30.830330 3 76324 75.830929 3 84868 76.840509 3 84874 88.840726 3 84876

Zork I SG 52.871125 5 105264

Zork II * 7.<UG3AU5> 2 --- 18.820517 3 --- 22.830331 3 82920 48.840904 3 89912

Zork III 10.820818 3 82334 15.830331 3 82558 15.840518 3 82642 16.<823242> 3 81626 3) 17.840727 3 82714

Zork Zero 296.881019 6 295536 366.890323 6 296376 393.890714 6 299968

II.3 Footnotes --------------

1) The IBM version is longer because the character definitions (used for the runes and similar things) are simply appended to the data file. On other platforms (e.g. Amiga and Atari ST), the definitions are in a separate font file.

2) I have seen ZorkI.025 with and without a game length field in the header. I don't know how it was originally released by Infocom.

3) Either a beta test version or a fake.

II.4 Graphics Files -------------------

At the moment I only have information about the IBM graphics files. I don't know whether the "version numbers" shown by the VERSION command (byte 0x1b of the graphic file) are really version numbers.

The MS-DOS versions of the YZIP games came with 3 graphics files: for MCGA/VGA graphics cards (*.MG1), for EGA (*.EG1) and for CGA (*.CG1). You could chose the graphics file via command line options; the syntax was "YZIP /D[M,E,C]". EGA support was the default.

Arthur (Darrell Myers/Tanya Isaacson/Sophie Green/Donna Dennison/Jim Sullivan) Pix 27 MG1: 292279 (89-07-14 11:32) [CRC-16: f9d5] Pix 15 CG1: 209359 (89-07-13 18:50) [CRC-16: 106b]

Journey (Donald Langosy) Pix 2 MG1: 465920 (?) [CRC-16: 4b17]

Shogun (Donald Langosy) Pix 9 MG1: 213504 (?) [CRC-16: a3ff]

Zork0 (James Shook & Tanya Allan/Denise Audette/Andy Briggs/Rob Dunlavey/ Sophia Green/Joy Pulver/Charlie Voner) Pix 29 EG1: 333654 (89-07-13 17:48) [CRC-16: c5aa] CG1: 244507 (89-07-14 16:42) [CRC-16: 3c7e] Pix 14 MG1: 226816 (?) [CRC-16: 384a]

II.5 Title Pictures -------------------

The 4 YZIP games had title pictures which were incorporated in the graphics files. The only other game with a title picture was the Atari ST version of "Beyond Zork".

II.6 Font Files ---------------

It seems that the only game that needed special character definitions was "Beyond Zork". Infocom put these special characters in a separate font file (called "Graphic.Data" on the Amiga and "FONT3.DAT" on the Atari ST). In the MS-DOS version, the font file was appended to the game's data file.

The Amiga versions of "Journey" and "Arthur" also came with font files (called "Char.Data"), but it seems like the games do not use them. (The "special characters" for "Arthur" are just the usual ASCII characters, while the "Journey" font file is identical with the one from "Beyond Zork".)

II.7 Boss Keys --------------

The (original) MS-DOS version of "Leather Goddesses of Phobos" came with a boss key picture ("LEATHER.DAT") displayed by the Z-Machine (version 3 N).

III Infocom Authors ====================

This table lists the 10 most famous Infocom implementors and all the games each one of them has written. A "#" after a year means that the game has not been finished or not (yet?) been released.

III.1 "Hollywood" Dave Anderson ------------------------------- Hollywood Hijinx <+ L.Cyr-Jones> 86 (Infocom)

III.2 Bob Bates --------------- Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels 87 (Infocom) Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur <+ D.Beck> 89 (Infocom) Robin Hood 89# (Infocom) Timequest 91 (Legend) Gateway <+ G.Dahlgren/M.Lindner/M.Verdu/D.Beck> 92 (Legend)

III.3 Michael Berlyn -------------------- Oo-Topos <+ Muffy Berlyn> 81 (Penguin) Cyborg ~82 (Salient ?) Suspended 83 (Infocom) Infidel <+ P.Fogleman> 83 (Infocom) Cutthroats <+ J.Wolper> 84 (Infocom) Fooblitzky 85/6 (Infocom) Tass Times In Tonetown <+ Muffy Berlyn> 86 (Interplay) Dr. Dumont's Wild P.A.R.T.I. ?? (First Row) Altered Destiny 90 (Accolade)

III.4 Marc S. Blank ------------------- Zork <+ P.D.Lebling/T.A.Anderson/B.K.Daniels> 77-9 (MIT) Zork I: The Great Underground Empire <+ P.D.Lebling> 80 (Infocom) Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz <+ P.D.Lebling> 81 (Infocom) Zork III: The Dungeon Master <+ P.D.Lebling> 81 (Infocom) Deadline 82 (Infocom) Enchanter <+ P.D.Lebling> 83 (Infocom) Border Zone 87 (Infocom) Journey 88 (Infocom)

III.5 Amy Briggs ---------------- Plundered Hearts 87 (Infocom) Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams 88 (Infocom/TSP) Quarterstaff <+ S.Schmitz/K.Updike> 88 (Infocom)

III.6 Stuart W. Galley ---------------------- The Witness 83 (Infocom) Seastalker <+ J.Lawrence> 84 (Infocom) Moonmist <+ J.Lawrence> 86 (Infocom) The Restaurant at the End of the Universe 87# (Infocom)

III.7 P. David Lebling ---------------------- Zork <+ M.S.Blank/T.A.Anderson/B.K.Daniels> 77-9 (MIT) Zork I: The Great Underground Empire <+ M.S.Blank> 80 (Infocom) Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz <+ M.S.Blank> 81 (Infocom) Zork III: The Dungeon Master <+ M.S.Blank> 81 (Infocom) Starcross 82 (Infocom) Enchanter <+ M.S.Blank> 83 (Infocom) Suspect 84 (Infocom) Spellbreaker 85 (Infocom) The Lurking Horror 87 (Infocom) James Clavell's Shogun 88 (Infocom)

III.8 Steven Eric Meretzky -------------------------- Planetfall 83 (Infocom) Sorcerer 84 (Infocom) The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy <+ D.N.Adams> 84 (Infocom) A Mind Forever Voyaging 85 (Infocom) Leather Goddesses Of Phobos 86 (Infocom) Stationfall 87 (Infocom) Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen 88 (Infocom/TSP) Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz 88 (Infocom) Titanic 89# (Infocom) Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls 90 (Legend) Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance 91 (Legend) Leather Goddesses Of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X 92 (Infocom) Spellcasting 301: Spring Break 92 (Legend)

[Meretzky also wrote 4 "Zork" interactive novels in 1983: 1 The Forces of Krill 2 The Malifestro Quest 3 The Cavern of Doom 4 Conquest at Quendor]

III.9 "Professor" Brian Moriarty -------------------------------- Adventure in the Fifth Dimension ~83 (Analog Comp.) Crash Dive! ~83 (Analog Comp.) Trinity 84-6 (Infocom) Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams 85 (Infocom) Beyond Zork 87 (Infocom) Loom 90 (Lucasfilm)

III.10 Jeff O'Neill ------------------- Ballyhoo 85 (Infocom) Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of it 87 (Infocom) Zork I (German Version) 88# (Infocom)

IV Infocom Newsletters =======================

There have been 24 issues of Infocom's official newsletter.

IV.1 Newsletter of the "Zork User's Group" ------------------------------------------

1: 2: 3: 4:

IV.2 "The New Zork Times" -------------------------

5: 6: 7: 8: 9: Vol III, No 4 Fall 84 10: Vol IV, No 1 Winter 85 11: Vol IV, No 2 Spring 85 12: Vol IV, No 2[sic] Summer 85 13: Vol IV, No 4 Fall 85 14: Vol V, No 1 Winter 86

IV.3 "* * * *" (12 pages) --------------

15: Vol V, No 4[sic] Spring 86 Trinity

IV.4 "The Status Line" (12 pages except where indicated) ----------------------

16: Vol V, No 3 Summer 86 Moonmist/LGOP 17: Vol V, No 4 (8p) Fall 86 Hollywood Hijinx/Enchanter Tril. 18: Vol VI, No 1 Winter/Spring 87 Bureaucracy/Zork Trilogy 19: Vol VI, No 2 Summer 87 Lurking Horror/Stationfall 20: Vol VI, No 3 Fall 87 Plundered Hearts/Nord and Bert 21: Vol VI, No 4 Winter 87 Beyond Zork/Border Zone 22: Vol VII, No 1 Winter/Spring 88 Sherlock/Infocomics 1-3 23: Vol VII, No 2 (8p) Summer 88 Infocomics 4 24: Vol VII, No 3 (8p) Fall 88 BattleTech/Zork Zero/Quarterstaff

The Status Line's successor, "Escape", was never published.

IV.5 "InfoDope" --------------- [For internal circulation only]

V Infocom Chronology =====================

69-70: Programming language Muddle (later called MDL) developed by several people affiliated with the MIT's Dynamic Modelling (DM) Group (Gerald Sussman, Carl Hewitt, Dave Cressey, Chris Reeve, Bruce K. Daniels). The MDL development system runs on a DEC PDP-10 under ITS.

Dec 76: First preliminary meeting of future Infocom founders.

Jun 77: "Zork" created by Marc Blank, Bruce K. Daniels, Tim Anderson, and Dave Lebling. Written in MDL.

Feb 79: Last puzzles added to the mainframe "Zork".

Apr 79: First article about "Zork" published.

6/22/79: Infocom founded by ~10 DM Group members (Tim Anderson, Joel Berez, Brian Berkowitz, Marc Blank, Scott Cutler, Stu Galley, Dave Lebling, Al Vezza et al.).

Aug 79: Marc Blank becomes Infocom's first Director.

Nov 79: Joel Berez elected Infocom's President.

Mar 80: Infocom gets own P.O. box.

Jun 80: Agreement with Personal Software Inc. to publish "Zork I".

Nov 80: "Zork I". First sold copy: PDP-11 version.

Dec 80: ZIP for TRS-80 Model I (written by Scott Cutler). Until 9/81, PS sells ~1500 copies of this "Zork I" version.

Feb 81: Apple II version of "Zork I". Over 6000 copies sold in 8 months. (ZIP by Bruce K. Daniels)

Mar 81: Chris Reeve becomes Director.

May 81: TRS-80 Model II version (never sold).

Jun 81: First 2 employees (Joel Berez among them). Zork II agreement with Personal Software.

Sep 81: Infocom moved to 6 Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston. Mort Rosenthal becomes Manager of Marketing.

Oct 81: End of the sales agreement with PS. (Infocom buys all Apple II versions of "Zork I" back from PS.)

Nov 81: "Zork II". Repackaging of "Zork I".

end-81: ZORK User's Group (P-O-Box 20923, Milwaukee, WI 53220-0923) founded by Mike Dornbrook to handle requests for hints and merchandise. In 1983, it has 20000 members.

1/1/82: Infocom moves to 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Marc Blank becomes vice-president (VP) for product development.

Apr 82: "Deadline". New ZIPs for Atari XL and CP/M.

May 82: Marc Blank meets Mike Berlyn.

Jun 82: ZIP for IBM-PC. Employees: 4.

Aug 82: ZIPs for TRS-80 Model III and NEC APC.

Sep 82: "Zork III". "Starcross".

Oct 82: Business Products division founded. "Cornerstone" development begins.

Dec 82: DECsystem-20 bought for development.

end-82: Sales: $1.65 million (net income: $335.000).

Mar 83: "Suspended". ZIP for DEC Rainbow.

Apr 83: ZIPs for Commodore 64 and TI Professional.

Jun 83: "The Witness". Employees: 20.

Aug 83: "Planetfall".

Sep 83: "Enchanter".

Nov 83: "Infidel". ZIP for DECmate.

Dec 83: ZIP for Tandy-2000. Ray Stata elected Director.

end-83: Sales: $6 million (net income: $526.000).

Jan 84: Al Vezza became Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Feb 84: ZIPs for Kaypro II and Osborne.

Mar 84: "Sorcerer". ZIPs for MS-DOS and TI 99/4 A. John Brackett new General Manager (GM).

May 84: Second DECsystem-20 bought.

Jun 84: "Seastalker". ZIP for Apple Macintosh. John O'Leary new GM. Employees: 50.

Sep 84: "Cutthroats".

Oct 84: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

Nov 84: "Suspect". Announcement of "Cornerstone".

Dec 84: Management restructured.

end-84: Sales: $10 million.

Jan 85: "Cornerstone". For promotion of "Suspect", Infocom rents a Las Vegas mansion and invites ~5000 people to become suspects to a murder.

Mar 85: ZIP for Epson QX-10.

Apr 85: Move to 125 Cambridge Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140. ZIP for Apricot.

Jun 85: "Wishbringer". Employees: 100.

Aug 85: ZIP for Atari ST.

Sep 85: "A Mind Forever Voyaging". First layoffs due to "Cornerstone"s commercial failure (despite hiring a separate sales and marketing team).

Oct 85: "Spellbreaker".

Dec 85: Business Products division laid off. ZIP for Amiga.

end-85: Sales: $11.5 million.

Jan 86: Marc Blank and CEO Al Vezza leave. Joel Berez new CEO. (He remains president.)

Feb 86: "Ballyhoo". Price cut for "Cornerstone" (from $495 to $99.95). Activision merger: Activision Inc. (Mountain View, CA) buys Infocom for a stock swap worth $7.5...9.0 million. Employees: 40.

Mar 86: "Fooblitzky".

Jun 86: "Trinity". EZIP for Commodore 128. GM John O'Leary leaves.

Sep 86: "Leather Goddesses of Phobos".

Oct 86: "Moonmist".

Nov 86: "Enchanter Trilogy".

87-89: Losses of ~$200.000 per fiscal quarter.

Jan 87: "Zork Trilogy".

Feb 87: "Hollywood Hijinx".

Mar 87: "Bureaucracy".

Jun 87: "Stationfall". "The Lurking Horror".

Sep 87: "Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It". "Plundered Hearts".

Oct 87: "Beyond Zork". Apple IIgs interpreter.

Nov 87: "Border Zone".

Jan 88: "Sherlock". Mike Dornbrook new VP.

Mar 88: "Lane Mastodon". "Gamma Force". Chris Reeve leaves.

Apr 88: "ZorkQuest I".

Jun 88: Employees: 30.

Jul 88: Joel Berez resigns. Joe Ybarra becomes new president.

Aug 88: "ZorkQuest II". Joel Berez leaves.

Sep 88: "Quarterstaff".

Oct 88: "Zork Zero" (Macintosh version).

Nov 88: "BattleTech" (IBM version).

Mar 89: "Shogun" (Amiga and Mac). "Journey" (Amiga and Mac). Amiga version of "Zork Zero". Commodore 64 version of "BattleTech".

May 89: Of the 26 employees, 15 are laid off. The 11 others are offered the chance to move to Silicon Valley, but only 5 accept, including President Joe Ybarra and GM Robert Sears.

Jun 89: Activision (now Mediagenic) moves Infocom from Cambridge, MA to Menlo Park, CA.

Jul 89: "Arthur". YZIPs for MS-DOS, Apple II and Apple II GS.

------- *** -------

--- Volker Blasius Senior Doorstop, Gesellschaft fuer Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung --- Origin: a maze of twisty little passages, all different (2:243/50.37)