Zarf Updates

August brings us Suspended, Michael Berlyn's cryogenic nightmare.

As usual, the source code repository is also live, licensed with the open-source MIT license.

---

Suspended surely had the most inspired package concept of Infocom's early years. The Starcross flying saucer was more eye-catching; the Witness newspaper was more detailed. But Suspended's serene cryo-death-mask was a genuine shock when you brought it home and eagerly tore off the shrink-wrap.

The gameplay was a shock as well. No bold explorer or diligent detective this time! You play a silent corpsicle controlling six quirky repair robots in a devastated underground complex. No single robot is capable of much. You have to coordinate their movements to get a handle on the problems facing you.

Or, I should say, facing the entire planet. The Complex is the nerve center for Contra's weather control, transit system, and other vital functions. Your "score" measures thousands of deaths on the surface as conditions deteriorate. Better get those repairs queued up, or an irate delegation will swap you out for a clone.

---

The game is a mix of Infocom's usual story-world with a simulationist time-management challenge. First, figure out how to complete the repairs. Then figure out how to do that and monitor and minimize the surface death total. Once you've got that nailed down, there's an ADVANCED mode which worsens the initial damage to the Complex.

(Then there's IMPOSSIBLE mode, which is a joke. My game The Dreamhold has an IMPOSSIBLE mode which was directly inspired by Suspended.)

The package included a map and tokens to help you track your bots' locations. I loved fantasy maps as a kid; I can still reach that sense of awe when I look at the bold, colorful layout. Naturally, I've integrated the original map and robot markers into Visible Suspended. No boxes and lines this month...

The in-game map is arranged slightly differently but it's the same art. Bonus feature: if a robot is moving, you can see its current destination (grey marker) as well as its current location (black marker).

If you want to see photographs of the original map and packaging, visit the Museum of Computer Adventure Game History or my high-resolution scans at the Internet Archive.

More readings on Suspended:

• The Digital Antiquarian
• Drew Cook
• Jason Dyer
• Aaron Reed

---

Other goodies:

I've been on a scanning binge. New high-res scans now available at the Internet Archive:

• Planetfall (folio edition)
• Infidel (folio edition)
• Sorcerer (folio edition) (includes Infotator!)

Planetfall is my original copy that I played when I was a kid. The Infidel and Sorcerer feelies were scrounged off Ebay, but they're in good condition.

However, I kept my original copy of the Sorcerer manual. Which means I now have two copies. Guess what? They're slightly different. Yes, they're both folio-edition, but at some point Infocom changed the color treatment of the pages.

As for the Infotator, this may be the first 600dpi scan that shows all twelve monsters. Although someone uploaded a nice interactive version a few years ago.

---

Upcoming work:

The Visible Witness will be the next public release on September 1st. Enjoy your visit to 1938.

Patreon supporters got access to The Visible Witness a month ago, and Visible Planetfall today. Please remember that the Visible Zorker is a Patreon-supported project! Your donation is immensely appreciated. (And credited in each game's "About" page, of course.)