Infocom: The Documentary

Infocom (1979-1989) is recognized as the all-time leader in Interactive Fiction, releasing top-selling games and products that dominated the sales charts and still extend considerable influence and memory on the gaming industry. At times they were half of the top ten games being sold and were considered a flagship of the game industry. And then they were gone.
As part of the 2010 documentary GET LAMP, director Jason Scott talked to creators, management, fans and academics about the Infocom story, and produced this 45 minute overview of this unique and wonderful company.
Patreon for Jason Scott's podcast: / textfiles
Visit WWW.GETLAMP.COM for more information about the documentary.
RIP Stu Galley (1944-2018)
RIP Michael Berlyn (1948-2023)

[@thejohnsaye]

Any Infocom people who may read this: You are my heroes

[@TheLinorox]

I was born in 89, so I didnt have the chance to live the text adventure era. However, I felt in love with 90s graphic adventures and just now found the text based ones. The way this guys talk about it is so passionate, and the nostalgic atmosphere gives it a sad tone that really cativated me. Thanks for the great documentary, and for keeping history alive!

[@Oruzinho]

I am 20 years old and have started computer science degree last year. Seeing all those people working together and having fun while putting their hearts and souls into something they love shows exactly why I choose to follow this path. I want to do Things that people love, and I won't give up this path. This documentary was truly inspiring, and I Hope that it can inspire a whole generation of new proggramers. We should never stop seeing what we do as works of art, whatever it is.

[@ernestsimons5982]

try to get in with a company doing some cutting edge stuff .. might take 100 attempts to get in but it'll be very rewarding

[@timschmitt2296]

I watch this and I think "these are my kind of people". Which makes sense. They wrote software that affected me profoundly. My first major program (written in Basic) was inspired in particular by the Infocom game "Sorcerer". I am still writing code today. You could say I have them to thank for my career. Thank you so much Jason for this and Get Lamp!

[@kenkobra]

I'm right there with you. I remember playing these games when I was only 8 or 9 and just loved them. I feel they still hold up today.

[@craigh5236]

First major program I wrote after all the basic learning stuff was to try to make a text adventure.

[@nerfytheclown]

Hahaha...I dig your stories! Mine is; eight years old, my uncle leaves his VIC-20; the booklet full of games and ideas, cartridges for *impossible mission* *pirate island* and the attachable cassette reader. Before I knew it, I was in grade school programming (like a clown) on a 🍎 IIGS. That stuff burned into my memory better than any cartridge system of the eighties, excepting maybe *munch man* on the TI and *SMB on NES*, both of which came later.

[@MarxKosmos1024]

Jason Scott, Thank you so much for making this documentary. I played Cutthroats & Hitchhikers as a teen back in the 80s. Last year I acquired an original copies of Deadline & Cutthroats. I think it's a great time to play them again while waiting out the COVID19 pandemic. Take care.

[@michaelmaxwell8226]

I had the pleasure to work for Marc Blanc and Mike Berlyn , amazing people

[@BananaTV1978]

Michael Maxwell Tell us more!

[@michaelmaxwell8226]

Marc Blanc , was intense genius with a high IQ, listened to all ideas and then began thinking about the suggestion from all angles before giving it a green light. Surprise one day you would be in a meeting he would mention your name as the idea guy. Felt good, to see an idea become implemented and get recognized. He was the One of the owners of Eidetic, Exec Producer and head of programming at that time.

[@michaelmaxwell8226]

Mike Berlyn the other partner in Eidetic was the passion of the creativity of the look , the feel and the game play being right. SO he had his hands in everything. He would push back when he needed to and listen to whats involved understanding what we can and cannot do with the technology at the time. A write, game designer, strategist he had his brain in everything. We had cigars outside during brainstorm meetings. lol

[@michaelmaxwell8226]

They are still active out there today , find them on linked in

[@chicken5038]

Both my grandparents worked at infocom my grandfather did the art for a few of their games. My mom and aunt basically grew up in the room where they had a bunch of consoles which is where they spent basically every day. Zork is one of my favorite games of all time ever since I was a kid because my mom used to play it with me instead of a bedtime story. We even have a few sealed original box Infocom games. Its a really weird fact about my family but its something I have always cherished.

[@UliTroyo]

What an excellent documentary! I was born in '84 and the first time I heard of Infocom was a few hours ago through a brief mention in a GDC video. I know I'd heard of Zork, but I didn't own a PC until 2007, so I missed out on decades of computer games. I love discovering stuff like this. I wouldn't know anything about id, Cyan, Sierra On-Line, Lucasarts, or indeed Infocom if it wasn't for GDC mentions.

[@zorkonice1960]

My reading and problem solving skills jumped leaps and bounds playing with these games back in the 80s. 🤗

Contrived and convoluted problems solving…

[@pdiz]

It didn't matter if you solved them... It was always about the journey, not the destination.

[@TheCandiRose]

There's a lamp hidden in every shot, clever. Love your docs btw, I could watch them over and over. Thank you for helping to preserve computing history.

[@snfaulkner]

When floyd died in planetfall, that was the first time i cried from any media. No books no movies, no nothing has ever hit me as hard as that. Granted i was only like 8 yrs old. Scarred me for life, but it a great way. Thak you, infocom.

[@Gunbudder]

My mom bought the lost treasures of info infocom at Costco in like 1995 and it's one of our prized possessions. It has all the maps and feelies for almost every infocom game! I remember reading that it was sold as a bundle in some kind of last ditch effort to make some money before the company went tits up.

According to WP, they were bought by (and they sold the company to) Activision in '86.

[@craigh5236]

@ And now Microsoft bought Activision maybe something will be done with the IP

[@mr_indie_fan]

@@craigh5236 if microsoft wont do anything with any rareware ip, blinx, etc what makes you think their going to bring back text based adventure games? You ask to much of a greedy corporation.

[@jamesbradford8574]

Zork II on the Commodore 64... Good memories. Thanks for putting this out there, JS.

[@jozefnava8588]

this is gold my friend! Thanks for share this!

[@pinballsupernova]

Great documentary. I remember owning and playing most Infocom games when I was a kid. Loved the packaging and the whole experience while playing. Sharing hints and tips with my friends for all the games was part of the great experience. I remember going to the mall and seeing these games on the shelves of Electronic Boutique and Software Etc. Couldn't wait until a new Infocom game was released. Nice little hidden easter egg in this documentary where the gold lantern is in every shot of all the interviews. Thanks for creating and sharing with all the old time fans of these games. These games created by Infocom will always be classics in my eyes.

[@novapokerplayer207]

The memories of my youth are flooding back watching this. Even getting the latest copy of "The New Zork Times" in the mail would bring me such enjoyment as a kid. The cleverness and wit of everything these guys did was truly something!

[@JohnnyEvilsVids]

I recently purchased a large big box PC game collection. Included in the collection are more than 20 Infocom games(including 3 Infocomics games). When I saw the boxes and started going through the various titles, I knew there was something special and different about them. I fully understand why people would have collected these games, if even just to put them on a shelf and look at them from time to time. The amount of content and the care and detail in everyone of the physical boxes and included paraphernalia is incredible. This documentary has made me melancholy and nostalgic. Which is funny because I really wasn't exposed to these games back then. I guess I just remember....something.

[@brentbagshaw3270]

I loved Infocom games on my Commodore 64. I wish it was still making interactive fiction.

[@pdiz]

Same, played 99% of them on my Commodore 64 and then 128. Now in 2021 I'm trying to find the best interpreter to play these old ROMs on my Mac. Nothing like an 80-column fixed display, non-emulated, with a mechanical keyboard. Sigh... Hopefully the C64 Maxi will come to fruition in the United States and we can play the ROMs there as well. Anyway, thank you Infocom for turning a 12-y/o into a professional typist, IT engineer and author. I can't thank you enough, there's NOTHING I'd rather do with my life and I think about your games often.

[@bholenathvalsan8531]

@@pdiz Did you try Zoom, Gargoyle or Spatterlight? Can't vouch for the first or the third of this short list (since I'm mostly on PC) but Gargoyle (there's a mac version too) works like a charm.

[@mcd3379]

Great video, really inspirational. Sad ending. The good news is that their games, like great books will live forever and be played for a long, long time.

[@KL-bi2un]

What an amazing documentary. As a 12 year old (that never finished a single infocom game); I was nevertheless always infatuated with it. I had no idea about the gaming industry at the time and this is an amazing nostalgia piece. Thanks to all the interviewees for their candor and bringing us all up to date. Cheers.

[@GandaMelgao]

Superb video! I loved Infocom games, back in the day. I played a lot of text adventures on the ZX Spectrum. Some were good. When I bought a Commodore Amiga I bought a couple of Infocom Adventures. I remember playing Ballyhoo and thinking 'Man, I died and went to Heaven'. Anyway, thank you so much for this video 😊😊

[@BingoBabyO]

Excellent flash back to a different day… thank you for this.

[@zurlocker1]

I bought Get Lamp when it was first announced and I love it. So glad the infocom documentary has been posted on youtube. Jason, thanks for all you do.

[@freemanaccount5146]

Awesomd documentary. Its sad to think these people are fading into obscurity. Someone more savvy than me, please start a go fund me or whatever it is people do, please. The world needs a new Infocom text adventure in a shiny new box.

[@kevinbarber2795]

freeman account This^

[@mikecarter8880]

I think it would only be for nostalgia, I don't think the avg gamer would have the patience these days to play those games. I grew up on them, but at 47, I tried to play one recently and I just don't have the patience anymore. Nor do I have graph paper to map things out. heh.

[@fgoggle4682]

disturbing to see the digital dementia (or amnesia... acc to some folks) that fondle tablets have given people in just the last ten years or so, i cringe to see kids in strollers even playing tablets and ruining their focus.

[@thesarahmasters]

@@fgoggle4682 yep, sad. My 9 year old and I enjoy playing some of these together.

[@nightside100]

@@sunset-inn a IF game maker I was looking into did that I believe. I think it was called quest? Can't remember off the top of my head.

[@chroniclesofbap6170]

Thank you so much for this. When I was a kid Infocom and Level 9 were mythical institutions to me EDIT: 18:24 The frustration tht the journalist is having with the parser is relatable. And hilarious

[@darrenrobinson9041]

My first purchased text adventure was Dungeon Adventure by Level 9. Loved it.

[@mystaofthemoon]

thanks for sharing, wasnt my era but i know of these inspirational games, good to hear of the behind the scenes and business aspects of what happened

[@gamhuin]

Excellent documentary. Thank you!

[@DangarMarine]

Nice work on the documentary! If there is anywhere I wish I had been able to work it is Infocom.

[@chrisestep9100]

Zork was my life when I was a kid.

[@jeremycarroll451]

What a fantastic documentary!

[@RJMc819]

Great stuff. I've watched Get Lamp four or five times, so this is a great companion to that. Cheers!

[@baron_orm]

So is that the reason for all that lamps behind pretty much every person in this video?

[@RJMc819]

Haha, yup.

[@artao5]

Part of watching Get Lamp is looking for the brass lamp in all the scenes. It's often a bit hidden. ;)

[@deceiver444]

Wow. That was an amazing watch. Thanks a ton !

[@vespasian606]

I had goosebumps watching this. The nature of the games meant you could find them on just about any platform yet the experience would be the same. I still remember the nightingales.

[@PaulKostrzewa]

How are these guys not still rock stars?

[@BedWords_]

They are to me ❤

[@jorgmuller3110]

Thanks for the work that went into the documentary!

[@3StitchesInParadise]

The Zork Trilogy is my ALL OUT FAVORITE!!

[@jrlauer69]

I have 14 of these games... the early games. I have Starcross in the UFO package and Suspended with death mask... and I finished all 14 of them.

[@greensleevez]

Respect for featuring MC Frontalot's work as part of the intro.

[@MisterApomixis]

Yet another Infocom fanboy here. It all started for me on our family’s TRS-80 model III, lol. (And IIRC Radio Shack tossed in a copy of Zork “free” with the purchase of said computer.) Anyway, thanks so much for a great documentary. I don’t feel the years have been overly kind to the first 3 Zorks, but the moment this 10-year-old finally found the trapdoor (after a few hours…but hey, I was an IF novice) was truly one of the highlights of my childhood. That might actually be a little sad, but I know I can’t be the only one… It was nice to see “Hollywood” appear here, as Hollywood Hijinx is one of my very favourites. (Along with about 10 others :) >THANK THE IMPLEMENTORS FOR EVERYTHING AND THANK JASON SCOTT AGAIN >Such politeness! You’re most welcome.

[@old_geeky_Michael]

So brilliant, many thanks to the creator for making and uploading this. All my heroes there in that video! I love everything about it (...except for the intro music, I confess :-) )

[@JasonTurner]

Amazing documentary! This brings back so many great memories!

[@deaddropholiday]

Damn, Steve don't look much older than in the photos from way back in the eighties. Spoke to him a couple of weeks back and told him he was a massive influence on my teenage brain.

[@Sabot119]

Definitely time to get the team back together :) People still enjoy reading novels. Imagine a new Infocom game today. The technology is so much better, it would be such a rich full interactive experience. Nuclear powered Interactive Novels!

[@justintrilletadventures]

Thank you so very much for this documentary. I love infocom. I beat Planetfall as a kid in the 90s 🙂

[@mikecarter8880]

Activision and EA know how to kill game franchises. Sad really, I remember their games on my Atari 2600 and PC, now I see their name and avoid anything they put out.

[@codeoptimizationware2803]

@Mike Carter : It's true in both cases how Activision and Electronic Arts (AKA, EA) used to be good guys, even doing no small part in actually constructing the home video-game industry from the ground floor in those days (else we wouldn't have had what we had, nor have what we have now, it's totally true). But since then, "new management" (fuckin' piece of shit n00bs!) has changed those companies for the worse.* ---- * For a recent-day example of how EA ain't what they used to be, check out the story of how they screwed up _Dead Space 3_ AND in the same motion did in the software house that made the _Dead Space_ games, Visceral Games. It's a bit upsetting the courses of action EA takes/has taken nowadays in (home) video-game publishing.

[@allenhuffman]

Thank you for this. Hearing these stories was great, after having only experience Infocom from the other side.

[@LivermoreTelCo]

Great job on this - well done and a great story that in my opinion is little-known and contains some great nuggets of wisdom about things to do and things not to do - as any good story does!

[@markbrooks8623]

I remember Infocom games, though I only played a few since I didn't have regular access to the kind of computers they ran on. It is kind of heartbreaking to see how things went wrong -- there's a warning there about sticking to what you know I guess. What made the games special wasn't so much the text adventures themselves, though they had fun stories, but everything that came in the box. That's completely lost now in the age of downloadable "content". No physical game manuals. No code wheels. No scratch 'n sniff. The tangible has gone out of computer gaming.

[@tricatfilms6136]

You guys made my life that much better.... DEADLINE and WITNESS were my favorites :)

[@jcabassi]

Just saw this for the first time. So great! There's a special place in my heart for Infocom ever since I played and loved Planetfall as a 12-year-old, and it's really good to see these amazing developers getting some focus and appreciation directed their way.

[@mattaki]

Infocom dominated my pre-teen years.

[@theretrogamer4071]

Wonderful documentary!

[@NightfallFilmsUK]

Excellent work as always Jason!

[@marksaidso]

THIS WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!

[@olivertv6175]

Thanks for this!

[@LOBOIV]

The 1980s was the best time for gamers. Video arcades everywhere to play pinball and video games. The Commodore 64, ColecoVision, Atari 2600, and the NES consoles to play video games at home. Favorite Infocom game was Planetfall.

[@craigh5236]

In my city growing up there was this movie theater that converted all their lobby to a huge huge arcade....something like a 100 machines. And the best part is on saturdays you could pay something like 5 dollars and free play any all machines all you want all day. It was glorious. My favorite Infocom came was Sorcerer.

[@grumpyoldwizard]

I loved these text adventures and played almost all of them. Those were the good old days!

[@Tmhjr_Baskar]

Have all the Atari 8bit Infocom games available..boxes and all, though Zork was never my favorite(s). Moonmist, Deadline, and Witness were my faves. And for the record, I was never allowed to go anywhere near Phobos... HHGTG and Zork (series) were my father's faves. I'll take the book over the game (HHGTG) anytime....Dad went nuts on Zork with the Amiga..me, I got stuck on Afterburner and Sierra games. I remember CompuServe. Man, that brings back memories! That's going back to the Balloon Works. BW and CompuServe were around right before my father's BBS showed up....Closer To Home BBS. I'm hearing some familiar names. Welp, I think I'll go boot up Starcross. Haven't played that a while. Anyone else still have Working original hardware?

[@Slider2k]

Why no word on Legend Entertainment, that was founded by Bob Bates and Mike Verdu after the closure of Infocom? They kinda carried the IF torch further, for a little while.

[@hicknopunk]

I loved playing Infocom games on our Kaypro

[@ncf1]

great doco, well done.

[@olegushakov5074]

Why on the hell on earth there are 539 subscribers! Mr. Scott is me in 20 years! Why! He's great!

[@wmka]

Wow. Thank you and have a great day.

[@discript7701]

Gt interactive is what I searched, but what I got was so much more.

[@SamSmithsamek15]

Damn this brings back memories.

[@BlackoutsBox]

I have such a fond love of Infocom. There are few things I can remember being so excited for as a kid under ten. A BOOK THAT I CAN INTERACT WITH!!!?!?!?! I only knew he choose your own adventure stories which offered limited choice but on the computer it seemed something magical.

[@mr_indie_fan]

Fun fact: I just played zork for the first time the other day, through my copy of cod black ops 1

[@paulmuaddib451]

This was just...a marvel and really wonderfully done. Infocom was better at what it did than it had any right to be and it's absolute *murder* is tragic.

[@PauloConstantino167]

Jason this is beautiful.

[@D.RossRedgoatcomicbooks]

Thank you for this film. I was kid when lot games came out. Yes I have finished all of those games. Right I want get my text adventure video games out to The world. I have lot of ideas to make some kick ass text adventure games. So thanks you for this documentary it show me in my life right now to make video games.

All Infocom employees are unique. Steve was more unique than the others. (Any similarities to a famous quote from Animal Farm is purely intentional but not malicious. My lawyers told me to write that.)

[@sslaxx]

Bob Bates owns the Infocom trademark now. Presumably to use it with his Kickstarter project.

[@lucifer2b666]

Did anything come of that?

[@kenkobra]

@@lucifer2b666 Yeah, I too would like to know.

[@MichaelChanning]

Great work. My first Infocom game was Zork I. Got it from a Radio Shack catalog for my TRS-80 CoCo. I found The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game the same way then read the book to help with the game. That didn't work, but I became a lifelong fan of Douglas Adams, and of Infocom. By the way, I beat H2G2, WITH NO HINTS.

[@MichaelChanning]

I'd like to see a documentary on just the making of the H2G2 game itself. The friction between Adams and Meretsky must have been epic.

[@MichaelChanning]

Sorry you feel that way. It bring me much happiness. But to each their own.

[@MichaelChanning]

No, possessive. I just chose a gender-neutral pronoun. Interesting you called me out on that but not the obvious error in verb tense in my second sentence.

[@MichaelChanning]

No more bisecting hairs. How about this: What's your favorite Infocom game?

[@MichaelChanning]

@alysdexia Zork is great. It was my first, and it got me hooked on Infocom.

[@JustMe99999]

I just loved these games as a kid... brings back memories. I ate the "pill" that came in the Deadline box (thankfully it was just sugar).

[@singletona082]

Considering I've been for somereason i can't figure out twisting between upset, annoyed, bleh, fucking pissed, and just all 'round 'why am I out of my mind? Nothing's 'wrong' so wtf?' This is a nice thing to end the day in a good mood. Thank you Jason.

[@idjster]

I was relatively older when I started with computers, but this was still in around 1980-81. I wasn't much interested in the usual type games, but text games were another thing. I played Infocom games almost endlessly. A part of history I look back on fondly.

[@koaasst]

In 7th grade English we had to write a short story. I basically just wrote the Enchanter story. I wish i could read it now. I was so hooked on those games back in the 80's.

[@KBzDvSt]

Jack Kerouac wrote On The Road and inspired the Beatniks, leading to Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey being inspired and inspiring the Hippie movement, and here we have Mike Berlyn helping to inspire video games. More proof that Gen X forum culture, Millennial blog culture, and Gen Z shitposting culture all come from the same tree.

[@KBzDvSt]

RIP Mike Berlyn

[@Gunbudder]

One day the two Johns will reunite and release the greatest VR game ever.

[@Leeyore1]

Now watch it again to count all the brass lanterns.

[@kenkobra]

Great Documentary. I would have loved to see what the founders are doing today as part of the end credits. I remember playing Planetfall when it first came out and years later buying the "Lost Treasures" at Babagges.

[@Gersberms]

12:50 What's interesting here is that some have derided the notion that games can be thought of as "X hours of fun". Here's one of the greatest adventure games and that's precisely how those were developed! I think it's a sensible way to think of it myself. It's the same with fiction, is it not? A thick book is going to take longer and if it's good, you'll spend more time enjoying the story. Short stories are bundled together. The Stand was a great deal for that reason, an excellent story that was very long!

"snail mail". Love the unexplained use. (In case you *are* wondering, but I suspect not a lot of people who come here would be :D, that's classic postal mail. You know, a "letter" on "paper" put in an "envelope" (also made out of this "paper") on which you put a "stamp" (made out of, you guessed it, "paper") and put that in a "drop box" (or "mailbox").

[@craigh5236]

Infocom inspired me to be a programmer. Their games seemed like so much like magic at the time, you could talk to the game and it talked back! Would love to see a modern version of Infogames running a system like AI Dungeon...that would be epic!

[@hrnekbezucha]

It's not like people get the games and don't finish them just because they want to own them. It's because people are bashing their heads against a wall for weeks on some of the puzzles! Some finally give up and get another game hoping that in the new one they'll get just a little further. But of course, once you start a new brainmelting puzzle, there's no chance figuring out the first one.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

Sad story to be perfectly honest. They had the opportunity to continue flourishing and in the end got nothing.

[@qboycorvi]

Steve Meretzky actually looks like that other famous Steve

[@BananaTV1978]

I often think that, lol, maybe that's how smart Steve's look? 🙂

[@mgrimes-N6SEE]

Hell yes these times!!! Never forget Leather Goddess of Phobos as a kid! And those scratch n sniff stickers ❤️

[@corygiesbrecht5423]

I LOVED Hollywood Hijinks! Took a long time to figure it out but I did it!

[@AlphasysNl]

Another story about a great company with an excellent work environment, that gets ruined by a big company that wants deadlines, and sales, sales, sales. This happens so awfully often, you'd think big companies would revise their strategies in this. It's always the small studio's that come up with the best things, which then, after acquisition by a bigger company, get perverted, milked, watered down, and trashed. People doing these things for fun, not just profit, are the true makers. You don't put these people in cubicles, to die a corporate death by necktie. You cherish and free those people, so they can get the brightest, fun ideas. Loading up a creative mind with corporate ideas, will never end in a fun, sellable product.

[@AFCManUk]

Make 'Planetfall' and 'Stationfall' into movies!!!

[@TigerClawTV]

They were both novels. Pretty good ones too.

[@AFCManUk]

I did manage to get hold of a copy of the 'Stationfall' novel, by Arthur Byron Cover...but after reading one chapter,,,I stopped. Completely rubbish and nothing like the actual Infocom game. I absolutely Loved Stationfall the game, and thought the novel would at least follow the plot of the game.

[@XalphYT]

Everyone has a favorite Infocom game, and for me it has to be Planetfall.

[@SonataFanatica]

28:19 - oh my god!! A 20,000 Zorkmid pyramid!! :O Just imagine selling these at today's collector's prices...

[@Frank_42]

I liked Enchanter better than Zork....but the intro to Zork Inquisitor was priceless.

[@hannessmulfsson1484]

14:24 Bolitho - Is that where the name of the Butler in Moonmist came from?

[@jasonscott526]

Sadly, Jim Lawrence and Stu Galley are both gone, but that would be a reasonable guess.

[@OldSchoolGamer731]

Best ganre, much better than any new fps crap👀 any problem? 😎

[@cjanquart]

Was able to finish Zork I and II but had to result to a guide (cheat) book fro Zork III (damn that maze!). Also playing DragonRealms (a text-based game) while I'm listening to this!

[@PeterTrapasso]

Chris Janquart fro = frobozz?

[@michaelsasylum]

I would have liked to work with these guys.

[@dBREZ]

Who is here because they stood in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. Next to you was a small mailbox?

[@alysdexia]

“is..they”

[@mj011n1r]

business history is filled with stories of acquisitions that 'didn't deliver the intended value'. companies confuse products with the 'culture' of the company which is the engine of value creation and crush it out of existence. over and over again. don't get me started about Commodore Business Machines