Softalk, v4(3)

~2 minute read

Nov 1983

MARKETALK: Reviews

Infidel

Margot Comstock Tommervik

Infidel. By Michael Berlyn. Fiction writers enjoy developing all kinds of characters, not just heroes. Kids, when they're playing make-believe, enjoy pretending to be all kinds of people, not just heroes. So why shouldn't computer game players enjoy playing roles that aren't heroes?

The protagonist of Infidel is not a very nice guy — in fact, he's the heavy. As the story opens, his generally obnoxious behavior toward others has just begun to catch up with him. Without proper planning and provision, he has bullied a crew into an archaeological expedition he has no right to make, all for stolen glory and wealth. Now the crew has abandoned him in the desert and taken all the provisions with them. Ironically, a crucial navigational tool arrives by plane-drop just after our nonhero discovers the mutiny. Angry and alone, he can use the device to fmd the buried pyramid they were seeking and explore it for its treasures and secrets.

And, of course, that is the meat of the game. Now the player takes control of this rather Machiavellian person. Since you probably aren't mean, unscrupulous, and greedy, and since you're probably a lot more interested in solving the puzzles than in whether the imaginary pyramid is sacred, this is where you pretty much forget about the character of your character.

The puzzles are excellent. Although losing sight of the unique portrayal leaves you playing a relatively standard, single-protagonist-in-the-world adventure, that standard adventure is among the best of its kind. And a twistingly clever ending returns your antihero to himself.

It's a terrific concept — that of creating games in which we can play roles very different from ourselves — and Berlyn is a fine enough writer to achieve it. Perhaps if there were puzzles that required behaving dishonorably for solution . . . beyond greed, that is. All adventurers have learned to accept as a given the idea of gathering up all the treasure as if they had a right to it without any reference to reality. So characterizing greed is temporarily ineffective.

But there are all sorts of possibilities. . . .

Other than providing a fascinating, well-written background and setting, the alter-characterization doesn't work in Infidel. However, the adventure remains one of the best and certainly one of the most literary games available. So play it and relish its puzzles and, when you're through, sit back and enjoy contemplating the gaming future it suggests.

Infidel, by Michael Berlyn, Infocom (55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; 617-492-1031). $49.95.

This article appeared in
Softalk
Nov 1983

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