Gold Machine Project Update #1

An infocom ad that shows two hands holding an old-fashioned spherical bomb with a sparking fuse. The heading reads: "WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IS UP TO YOU."
Infocom “bomb” ad. Retrieved from The Dot Eaters.

>blorple gold machine

Hello, reader! Seven posts later, and we’ve gotten through two games. Not all inquiries will be so large in terms of text, but the Zork games are so thematically rich as to demand these sorts of deep and narrow discourse.

In other words: there has been a lot to say. I doubt I will have 8k words to write about Seastalker, for instance.

There will be a lot to say about Deadline, though, and I will hopefully have the first of a series up today or tomorrow.

Andrew Plotkin kindly mentioned this project at the Interactive Fiction Community Forum, which has led some people here. It’s a great place to find discussions of IF, affording many opportunities to get involved with IF today. Gold Machine was also mentioned at Critical Distance in “This Week in Videogame Blogging.” I’m a fan of CD from way back. Thanks to Andrew Plotkin and Chris Lawrence, who both made my day (week).

>examine enhancements

I’ve added a “contact” page to the top-level menu with forms to receive notifications when a new post is published. Additionally, there is an email contact form. Feel free to reach out; I love talking about Infocom and lit crit/digital humanities.

>vezza [what an unfortunate name for a spell]

As promised, Deadline is up next. I’ll be setting aside the post-colonial lens to talk about the political realities of the 80s, which themselves reflect a nostalgia for the past. If you want to view the chronological release order for all Infocom games, you can find it here. You can play along or find out when your favorite game will be covered.

>rezrov social media

While I have many legitimate complaints about Facebook, Gold Machine is getting a surprising number of referrals from there. I feel I should have a way to reach people and be reached there. I’ll probably have a page up within the week. If you know where those referrals are coming from, please let me know so I can reach out.

I hope to see you all in Connecticut!

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