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From: ceforma@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Christopher E. Forman)
Subject: Re: Meretzky's weakest game?
Message-ID: <1995Aug27.221442.115123@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu>
Date: Sun, 27 Aug 1995 22:14:42 GMT
References: <c4c_9508271301@ima.infomail.com>
Organization: Illinois State University
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Graeme Cree (Graeme.Cree@108.ima.infomail.com) wrote:
:      So what do you think was Meretzky's weakest TEXT game (LGOP2 was
: obviously his weakest overall game)?

That's a really tough call.  Lemme see...

: Planetfall (1983)
: Stationfall (1987)

These have always held a certain charm for me, and the characters have
considerable depth (especially Floyd), so I can't pick them as the weakest.

: A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985)

Some may disagree, but I've always found this to be Meretzky's masterpiece.
Although it's not as interactive as some of his others (due to the fixed
storyline), I've always found the scenario very intriguing.  (BTW, I believe
this is the game for which Meretzky was admitted to the Science Fiction
Writers of America.)

: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1984)

A decent adaption, but I always thought it was too linear.  It's also really
easy to get stuck.  Since Meretzky didn't write a great deal of the text
(most of it's from Douglas Adams' novel), I don't know if I'd consider this
game when answering your question.  I always thought of HHGG as a joint
effort, and not the sole work of one author.  Hafta pass on this one.

: Leather Goddesses of Phobos (1986)

For players who don't enjoy sex farce games, this one would probably appear
weakest.  There's not much of a storyline to string the puzzles together,
although the writing is quite good in a lot of places.  I'd say this one's
probably his second weakest.

: Zork Zero (1988)

Zork Zero is a teriffic adventure.  Not only does it tie together the Trilogy
(very nicely), it's also got so many incredibly complex puzzles that I can't
understand why ANYONE would call it weak.  Meretzky's writing really shines
here, especially with the Jester and Dimwit's castle.

: Sorcerer (1984)

By default, I may have to go with this one.  While it's certainly a decent
game, it seems to take the do-or-die approach, and to me it appears poorly
layed out in some places, like a bunch of random puzzles were thrown together
into one game (which is partially true, since much of "Sorcerer" comes from
the parts of the original mainframe Zork that were cut from the Trilogy).

Further, it's got those few opening rooms in the forest that mean certain
death for the player if he stays there too long, and not more than three
locations away is an amusement part that's supposed to attract thousands of
people.  Ridiculous.

Admittedly, the puzzles are very good (especially the coal mine), but
"Sorcerer" seems to lack the continuity of most Infocom games, and it also
suffers from Meretzky's writing, which is far less clever and witty than
in his other games.  It's definitely the weakest of the "Enchanter" trilogy.

I notice that you've left out his "Spellcasting" series and "Superhero League
of Hoboken."  Both of these were strong adventures (although they blended
graphics with the text.)
-- 
C.E. Forman                                      ceforma@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu
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