From: BillK (bill@wkidston.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Sun Sep 29 2002 - 04:22:32 MDT
Has anybody encountered the old DOS Infocom title 'A Mind Forever
Voyaging' (1985) by Steve Meretzky? I just came across it and it gets
rave reviews from enthusiasts (see review below). It is an open-ended
'interactive fiction' text adventure. (Sorry, no flashy graphics). You
take the part of the first intelligent computer in 2031 and explore the
world. You can download it free from
http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=14
You will need to download the pdf manual as well. I had to put
nnansi.com in the same amfv directory and amend the amfv.bat file to get
it to run properly on my Win98 PC.
Note: You know you should ignore the hundreds of other games available
on this site - you've got work to do!
Enjoy - BillK
******
Review of A Mind Forever Voyaging
Often billed as Infocom's first serious science fiction (a fact that
probably explains its poor sales record), A Mind Forever Voyaging ranks
with Trinity as my most favorite Infocom games, and one of the best
games I ever played. The plot of the game is as unique as it gets, and
explains why Steve Meretzky is one of the very few computer game
designers to be officially honored as sci-fi writer. You are Perry Sim,
a hitherto normal person who wakes up one day to find that you are in
fact PRISM, the world's first sentient computer, and that the illusion
of your earlier life had been a necessary part of your programming
process. Your first mission: test the value of a controversial long-term
economic stimulus program. You do this by going into a virtual reality
computer simulation of the country ten years hence, and make recordings
of everyday activities that can evidence the plan's success or failure.
Unlike other Infocom classics, A Mind Forever Voyaging is meant to be
experienced rather than played. The first two parts of the game have
almost no puzzles, focusing instead on exploration and discovery as you
walk the streets of Rockville and observe the changes that take place
over time. And what a world it is to explore! Rockvil is a bustling city
that is brought to life by convincing and detailed descriptions.
Examining most objects and buildings often yields more detail and
historical anecdotes. Your identity as a computer is cleverly reinforced
by a computer-screen interface that allows you to go in and out of the
simulation at will; in Communications Mode, you can read up on world
news and research the library for information, while the Interface Mode
allows you direct control of subsidiary computers in the complex. Most
of the puzzles are in the third and last part of the game, where you
must fight for survival against those who are displeased with data you
uncovered in the simulation. Although there are only a few, they are
very clever indeed. In fact, Meretzky was so pleased with the puzzle at
the end of this section that he used virtually the identical one at the
end of Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2 (which is not even 1/1000th as good
as this game).
A Mind Forever Voyaging remains today as a major milestone in
interactive fiction-- a game that transcends its "game"-ness and becomes
a truly captivating interactive novel. Its richness of detail and level
of depth make the game enjoyable even when you're playing it for the
third time or more. Definitely a must play for all IF fans, and
especially fans of serious sci-fi.
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