4.5 - September 17, 1993 ------------------ Infocom Fact Sheet - Part 2 ------------------ Compiled by Paul David Doherty First published on CompuServe/Internet Supplied by both Graham Cluley and Richard Hunt II. Packaging Details ===================== All sizes (width x height x depth) are given in mm. II.1 Very Old Packaging ----------------------- The Personal Software version of "Zork I" was simply called "Zork". It came in a 226x320x5 plastic zip-lock bag containing the disk and a 36-page booklet. II.2 Old Packagings (first twelve games) ------------------- Zork I-III blister pack [i.e. card with plastic tray] 158x249 for 5.25" disks, 238x256 for 8" disks [nothing except piece of paper with instructions] Deadline police folder in 302x256x3 pouch 1. Inspector's Casebook 2. plastic bag with 3 white pills 3. interview notes (5 pages) 4. Corpus Delicti (coroner's note) 5. letter from Coates to Chief of Police 6. Police Dept. official memo 7. Lab report 8. photo of murder scene Starcross 304x306x45 flying saucer 1. space map 2. instruction booklet Suspended 240x317x70 box with recessed white face mask 1. instruction booklet with congratulatory letter 2. 606x228 cardboard map of the Underground Complex (folded once) 3. robot tracking devices (6 black rubber chips) 4. plastic mask [Lottery Card as well?] The Witness police folder in 302x256x3 pouch 1. February 1938 issue of "Nat'l Detective Gazette" 2. Virginia Linder's suicide note 3. Western Union telegram from Freeman Linder 4. matchbook of "The Brass Lantern" 5. February 1, 1938 issue of Santa Ana's "The Register" Planetfall 240x304x8 folder 1. "Today's Stellar Patrol" - recruitment brochure 2. Special Assignment Task Force I.D. card 3. three postcards (Ramos II, Nebulon, Accardi-3) 4. personal diary (4 pages, 1 of them empty) Enchanter 308x239x12 box, containing pouch with 1. Guild directory [Guild instructions, large!] 2. ancient scroll with "wax" (rubber) seal Infidel 235x304x8 folder in form of writing case 1. True tales of adventure 2. letter to Rose Ellingsworth (5 pages) 3. envelope addressed to Rose Ellingsworth 4. pergament map of excavation site 5. pergament with stone rubbing of hieroglyphs and hieroglyph translations Sorcerer 308x239x12 box, containing pouch with 1. "Popular Enchanting" magazine 2. Infotater Seastalker 238x300x7 folder 1. "Scimitar Logbook" 2. nautical chart of Frobton Bay (integrated in folder) 3. sticker "The Discovery Squad * Dive Deep * Dive Far" 4. eight clue cards and 1 instruction card 5. Infocard decoder (integrated in folder) II.3 Standard Box Format ------------------------ For all games released from Summer 1984 onwards, and for the re-releases of the old games, a consistent format (a 229x189x25 grey box with colored horizontal stripes) was employed. It opened like a book to reveal a booklet ("browsie") and the Instruction Manual. (The browsie is always listed as first item.) A re-closable tray contained all the other package elements. a) Re-releases: Zork I B. "The GUE: A History" by Froboz Munbar 1. a map Zork II B. "G.U.E. on nine zorkmids a day" - a traveller's guide 1. travel brochure "Bozbarland" 2. travel brochure "Grayslopes" Deadline B. Documentary evidence, file #H657/SJ43.1 1. plastic bag with 3 white pills 2. Corpus Delicti (coroner's note) 3. letter from Coates to Chief of Police 4. photo of murder scene Zork III B. "FrobozzCo International Annual Report 778 GUE" 1. stock certificate (100 shares a 1 zm) 2. letter from Chairman of the Board of FrobozzCo Starcross B. "Log of the M.C.S. STARCROSS" 1. space map 2. "Bureau of Extra-Solar Intelligence" instructions for alien encounters Suspended B. "Briefing for the Contra Central Mentality" 1. cardboard map of the Underground Complex [playing board] 2. robot tracking devices (6 black rubber chips) [markers] 3. Contra Central Mentality Lottery Card 4. congratulatory letter from Lottery Commision HQ The Witness B. February 1938 issue of "Nat'l Detective Gazette" 1. Virginia Linder's suicide note 2. Western Union telegram from Freeman Linder 3. matchbook of "The Brass Lantern" 4. February 1, 1938 issue of Santa Ana's "The Register" Planetfall B. "Today's Stellar Patrol" - recruitment brochure 1. Special Assignment Task Force I.D. card 2. three postcards (Ramos II, Nebulon, Accardi-3) 3. personal diary (4 pages, 1 of them empty) Enchanter B. "A Brief History Of Magic" by Gustar Woomax 1. ancient scroll with "wax" (rubber) seal Infidel B. "Expedition Log, Ellingsworth Pyramid Search" 1. letter to Rose Ellingsworth (2 pages) 2. envelope addressed to Rose Ellingsworth 3. pergament map of excavation site 4. pergament with stone rubbing of hieroglyphs Sorcerer B. "Popular Enchanting" magazine 1. "Field Guide to the Creatures of Frobozz" (replaced Infotater) Seastalker B. "Scimitar Logbook" 1. nautical chart of Frobton Bay 2. sticker "The Discovery Squad * Dive Deep * Dive Far" 3. five hint cards (4 "Infocards", 1 instruction card) 4. Infocard decoder b) New Games: Cutthroats B. "True Tales of Adventure" 1. "Four Shipwrecks off Hardscrabble Island" booklet 2. Outfitters Int'l Price List (with tide table) HHGG B. "How Many Times has This Happened to you?"-HHGG sales brochure 1. two "Orders for Destruction" (yellow and silver) 2. black cardboard sunglasses 3. "Don't Panic!" button 4. fluff (in plastic bag) 5. "microscopic space fleet" (empty plastic bag) Suspect B. "Murder and Modern Manners" by Jane Darling Worthington 1. invitation to Veronica's Halloween Ball 2. note from editor of "The Washington Representative" newspaper 3. page from "The Maryland Countryside" magazine 4. William Cochrane's business card (with message to Veronica) 5. receipt from "Costumes Unlimited" Wishbringer B. "The Legend of Wishbringer" 1. Wishbringer (glow-in-the-dark stone) 2. postal map of Festeron and Antharia 3. sealed envelope (contains letter) AMFV B. hardcopy of "Dakota Online Magazine" (April 2031) 1. map of Rockvil, South Dakota 2. yellow plastic pen ("Quad Mutual Insurance") 3. "Class One Security Mode Access Decoder" Spellbreaker B. "Frobozz Magic Magic Equipment Catalog" (Fall 966) 1. six enchanter trading cards 2. Enchanter's Guild pin Ballyhoo B. "The Traveling Circus That Time Forgot, Inc." souvenir program 1. "Dr. Nostrum's Extract" trade card 2. blue balloon 3. circus ticket (August, 21) with punch-out holes Trinity B. comic "The Illustrated History of the Atom Bomb" 1. map of Trinity site 2. cardboard DIY sundial 3. instructions for folding origami crane LGOP B. "The Adventures of Lane Mastodon #91" (3-D comic) 1. 3-D glasses 2. map of catacombs 3. Scratch N Sniff card Moonmist B. "Legendary Ghosts of Cornwall" 1. two letters from Tamara (3 pages) 2. visitor's guide "Welcome to Tresyllian Castle" 3. MOONMIST iron-on logo Enchanter Trilogy [Contains standard boxes of Enchanter, Sorcerer, and Spellbreaker] Zork Trilogy B. "The GUE: A History" by Froboz Munbar 1. metal coin (1 zorkmid) - "In Frobs We Trust" 2. a map 3. travel brochure "Bozbarland" 4. travel brochure "Grayslopes" 5. stock certificate (100 shares a 1 zm) 6. letter from Chairman of the Board of FrobozzCo Hollywood Hijinx B. "Tinsel World" magazine (vol. 35 no. 27) 1. Aunt Hildegarde's will 2. photo of Uncle Buddy (with poem on flip side) 3. "Lucky Palm Tree Swizzle Stick" (green plastic) Bureaucracy B. "You're ready to move!" (bank brochure) 1. letter from your boss 2. membership flyer for "Popular Paranoia" 3. red pencil 4. Beezer card application form (in triplicate) II.4 New Standard Box Format ---------------------------- It had the same size as the old (booklike) standard box but was a slipcase containing a cardboard tray. All package elements were put into that tray. A "Technical Manual" came with every game. Stationfall 1. space station blueprints(envelope, 9 blueprints, 1 legend page) 2. three forms (QX-17-T, JZ-59-G, HB-56-V) 3. Stellar Patrol patch (Lieutenant First Class) The Lurking Horror 1. "G.U.E. at a Glance" (G.U.E. Tech guide) 2. G.U.E. Tech student ID card 3. red rubber centipede between 2 sheets of clear plastic Nord and Bert 1. "Home on the range" (12 page booklet with Kevin Pope cartoons) Plundered Hearts 1. "elegant velvet reticule" (blue pouch), containing 2. 50 guinea note and 3. letter from Jean Lafond Beyond Zork 1. "The Lore and Legends of Quendor" 2. map of "Southland of Quendor" Border Zone 1. "I am Frobnia" tourist guide and phrasebook 2. business card from "Riznik's Antiques" 3. Frobnia National Railway matchbook 4. map of the border Sherlock 1. tourist map of London 2. copy of June 17, 1887 "The Thames" 3. black rubber key fob (Holmes and Watson) Zork Zero 1. The Flathead Calendar (883 GUE) 2. folded map - blueprints of Rockville Estates, with 3. yellow Post-It attached to it 4. scrap of parchment Shogun 1. folded map "The Known World 1600" 2. "The Soul of the Samurai" paper II.5 The Last Two Games...came in non-standard software cartons. ----------------------- Journey 202x202x27 box 1. red velvet sack (contains piece of crystal) 2. map Arthur 178x228x25 box 1. "Book of Hours" II.6 Commodore Packagings ------------------------- The Commodore 64 versions of 8 games (Zork I, Zork II, Zork III, Deadline, Starcross, Suspended, Cutthroats, Suspect) were exclusively distributed by CBM from 1983 to 1985. They came in the usual blue-and-grey Commodore packaging without most of Infocom's packaging elements. II.7 Solid Gold Packagings -------------------------- The five Solid Gold releases in 1987/88 came in thin folders (229x189x6) containing only disks and an instruction manual. II.8 Miscellaneous ------------------ Samplers 161x252 blister packs Fooblitzky 298x223x36 box Cornerstone [?] II.9 Product Brochures ---------------------- One of these catalogues was put in each and every game package. 1983: "Our Worlds, and Welcome to Them" 1983: "Infocom Games and Accessories" 1983: "Our Circuits Ourselves!" 1984/85: "The Incomplete Works Of Infocom, Inc." 1986: "Passport to the United Products of Infocom" 1986: "Infocom Transports You to Six New Worlds in 1986" 1987: "The Master Storytellers" 1988: "Infocom's New Graphics will blow you out of the water..." - o -