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Planetfall
 

Planetfall is a science fiction interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1983. Like most Infocom games, because of its portable Z-machine, it was released for several platforms simultaneously. The original release included versions for the PC (as a booter and DOS) and Apple II. The Atari ST and Commodore 64 versions were released in 1985. Although Planetfall was Meretzky's first title, it proved one of his most popular works and a best-seller for Infocom; it was one of five top-selling titles to be re-released in Solid Gold versions including in-game hints. Planetfall utilizes the Z-machine originally developed for the Zork franchise and was added as a bonus to the "Zork Anthology".

The name Planetfall is a portmanteau of planet and landfall.

Plot

The game starts with the user assuming the role of a lowly Ensign Seventh Class on the S.P.S. Feinstein, a starship of the Stellar Patrol. Overbearing superior Ensign First Class Blather assigns the player to mop decks: not exactly the glorious adventures promised by the recruiters on Gallium. But a sudden series of explosions aboard the ship sends the player scrambling for an escape pod, which eventually crash-lands on a nearby planet. There are signs of civilization, but curiously no traces of the beings that once lived there. Eventually encountering a helpful but childlike robot named Floyd, the player must unravel the mysteries of the deserted sole structure on the planet, Resida, and find a way to get back home. As the fate of the planet's former inhabitants becomes clearer, a time limit also imposes itself.

The adventurer doesn't remain on S.P.S. Feinstein for long. Talking to the alien ambassador and performing the required task of scrubbing the floor don't accomplish much. Wandering to other parts of the ship merits demerits from Blather and an ultimately fatal run-in with the Brig unless the player returns to their post. Soon, an explosion occurs and an escape pod door opens. The pod safety netting breaks the player's fall and an escape kit is produced, which proves critical to survival. With great exertion, the adventurer swims out of the pod and climbs up to a deserted base.

The goal of the game is to repair the ProjCon computer and escape from the mutants. This requires solving several puzzles and obtaining several access cards. Floyd, the childish yet endearing robot, proves critical to this goal. He is needed to perform certain tasks in the game and ultimately sacrifices his life to get the Miniaturization Card from the Biolab, once he realizes that Achilles, the ProjCon repair robot, is dead and sees the diagnosis on the computer printout. Floyd is also a constant source of comic relief (e.g. "Oh, boy! Are we going to try something dangerous?" when a player saves the game in his presence). The adventurer then uses the Miniaturization Booth to access malfunctioning Relay Station #384 and removes the offending speck with the laser. After defeating a giant microbe, the adventurer is informed that the primary Miniaturization Booth is malfunctioning and is rerouted to the Auxiliary Booth, which unfortunately puts a room full of mutants between the player and the endgame.

With a biomask and the help of the Laboratory's poison gas system, the player makes it through the Biolab but emerges with the mutants on his tail. However, the adventurer makes it to the Cryo-Elevator which is hidden behind a mural. The elevator takes the adventurer to a secret room where the survivors of the infection were cryogenically frozen, just as the entire Facility Staff is reanimated by the antidote discovered by the ProjCon Computer. The adventurer is proclaimed a hero, Floyd is repaired, and Blather is demoted. All in all, it is a quite happy ending.

This can't all be accomplished in just one day. The adventurer must sleep in a Dormitory each night and eat when nature calls. Taking more than a few days causes the adventurer to succumb to the infection which apparently has ravaged the facility. To achieve the optimum ending, the adventurer also must repair the three Planetary systems: the Communications System, the Planetary Defense System, and the Course Control System.

Feelies

Beginning with 1982's Deadline, Infocom included extra novelty items with their packaged games called feelies. Included with Planetfall was:
  • A Stellar Patrol "Special Assignment Task Force" ID card (about the size and shape of a credit card)
  • 3 interstellar postcards
  • A Stellar Patrol recruiting manual, "Today's Stellar Patrol: Boldly Going Where Angels Fear to Tread"
  • A short diary kept by the player's character (in the Solid Gold release, an in-game object included in the player's starting inventory rather than the packaging)

The level of main character backstory contained in the feelies is a noted departure from the AFGNCAAP endemic to the other games in the Zork genre.

Notes

Planetfall was designated, in Infocom's rating system, a "Standard" difficulty game.

Whereas, in traditional Zork games, the battery power of the Lantern is the limiting factor, Planetfall replaced this element with the (somewhat more realistic) requirement that the player sleep and eat regularly. The requirement that the adventurer complete the puzzles while returning to the dormitory each night makes the game in a way more difficult than the infinite-day format of Zork. Inaccessible dark areas were added to taunt fans of the original Zork games. The only moveable light source, the famous Lantern, is in the Radiation Lab, and thus the adventurer dies before even having a chance to see if it works.

The concept of a NPC sidekick (Floyd) was also new for Infocom games. Floyd would follow the player from location to location and interaction with him was required in order to complete the game.

Reaction to Floyd's in-game death was hailed at the time as a telling sign of the emotional power of Infocom's games. Many players, it was widely reported, wept openly at the scene of Floyd's "death". Apparently, it was previously unthinkable that "a simple game" could move people to such a degree.

The success of this game inspired a novel of the same name and a sequel called Stationfall. The 1987 sequel once again incorporated a revived Floyd, but in a slightly less prominent role. Stationfall was much more grim in tone than Planetfall, and did not sell as well as the more light-hearted original.

Easter Eggs

The locked door in the Rec Area can be opened with the combination found in the lab uniform. This area can also be accessed by the teleportation Booth. However, the item in this room is not critical to completing the game. Many players speculated that the room contained a paddleball set, but this item does not exist outside of the victory scene, when the adventurer is presented with such a set.

External links

1983 computer and video games | Apple II games | Amiga games | Atari 8-bit family games | Atari ST games | Commodore 64 games | TI-99/4A games | DOS games | Mac OS games | Interactive fiction | Infocom

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Planetfall".

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