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the PRISM interface

INFOCOM CLASSICS

- ZORK
- PLANETFALL
> A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING
- TRINITY
- HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE
__GALAXY
- LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS
- THE LURKING HORROR
- SHOGUN
- ARTHUR

"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." (Home Of The Underdogs)

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