Planetfall is a science fiction interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky, and the eighth title published by Infocom in 1983. Like most Infocom games, thanks to the portable Z-machine, it was released for several platforms simultaneously. The original release included versions for the PC (both as a booter and for DOS) and Apple II. The Atari ST and Commodore 64 versions were released in 1985. A version for CP/M was also released. 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". A review in Computer Gaming World considered the game a good place to start for those new to interactive fiction.^[2] It has been described as "still lovingly remembered".^[3]

The word planetfall is a portmanteau of planet and landfall, and occasionally used in science fiction to that effect.

Taglines [link]

• Stellar Patrol: It's not just a job; it's an adventure!

• Risk your life - on Stellar Patrol!

• STELLAR PATROL: SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT FORCE - But even your expert technical training won't save you now.

Plot [link]

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 single deserted 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 does not 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 work. 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 mysterious deserted base.

By putting together various clues, slowly the player realizes that the nearly uninhabited island is in fact one of the last remaining landmasses on a planet on the verge of destruction. A deadly plague for which no cure existed threatened to kill off all inhabitants of the world. The inhabitants initiated a planetwide project to place everyone under suspended animation while automated systems of robots and computers worked towards finding a cure. Once the cure was found, the inhabitants could be revived.

By the time the player arrives, it is clear that the project is on the edge of success, but the planet itself is on the verge of destruction. The planetary orbit has decayed, leading to massive global warming and an enormous rise in the oceanic levels. Meteorites bombard the planet with ferocious intensity, and the project to find a cure for the plague is itself threatened by the failure of the main computer and repair systems.

Early on in the game, the player finds what at first appears to be the only remaining inhabitant of the island: Floyd, a childish yet endearing robot. He is both a constant source of comic relief (e.g. "Oh, boy! Are we going to try something dangerous?" when the player saves the game in his presence), and also critical in advancing the plotline. Once Floyd realizes that the aptly named ProjCon repair robot Achilles is non-functional, and that the Project is close to completion, he performs the ultimate sacrifice and gives his life to retrieve the vital Miniaturization Card from the Bio-lab. As Floyd lies dying, the player sings the "Ballad of the Starcrossed Miner" to him (itself an allusion to the earlier Infocom game Starcross).

The adventurer then uses the Miniaturization Booth to access malfunctioning Relay Station #384 and repairs the main computer by removing an offending speck of dust with a laser. After defeating a giant microbe, the adventurer is informed that the primary Miniaturization Booth is malfunctioning and is rerouted to the Auxiliary Booth. Unfortunately, this 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 Bio-lab 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.

This cannot 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 unless the antidote is obtained at the underground site. But even taking the antidote only buys a little time as the planet's water level is rising. 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.

Reaction [link]

The death of Floyd has been discussed numerous times. Meretzky claims that "numerous players" have told him that they cried over the death of Floyd.^[4] A game developers round table on GEnie concluded that Floyd's death was a sad moment that could make someone cry.^[5] Floyd's death has been described as directly evoking the player's emotions because the story and gameplay are aligned.^[6] The death of Floyd has been described as changing the game to an "evocative theatrical experience" after which "the player feels lonely and bereaved." ^[7] The memory of Floyd's death remains with players for years and is remembered as a direct experience.^[8] Floyd's death "convey[ed] a sense of wonder at the unexpected and touching quality of the gesture."^[9] The scene has been described as a minor milestone toward video games as an expressive narrative art. ^[10] Game designer Raph Koster feels that Floyd's death is "cheating" because it occurs in a cut scene.^[11]

Notes [link]

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

• If a player saves the game in Floyd’s presence, he will say, "Oh, boy! Are we gonna try something dangerous now?" ^[12]

• 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 (previously done in the fourth Zork game, Enchanter). In addition, unless the player takes steps to counteract its course, he will become progressively sicker, requiring sleep more often, and eventually die from the plague which infects the previous inhabitants of the planet. The requirement that the adventurer complete the puzzles while returning to the dormitory each night makes the game more difficult, in a way, 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.^[12]

• 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.^[12]

• The success of this game inspired 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.^[12]

• Both Planetfall and Stationfall were novelized by Arthur Byron Cover.

• There are some striking similarities between the concepts of Planetfall (1983) and Space Quest (1986): The protagonist is a space janitor; his ship is destroyed/disabled and he must escape; he crash lands on an alien world and must find a way to escape; and the tone of the game is more humorous than serious.

• On Resida, the language is English, but spelled with a reformed orthography somewhat resembling that for Dutch.

• In the mid-1990s, Activision (which purchased Infocom), had planned on making a graphical sequel called Planetfall: The Search for Floyd^[12][13] or Planetfall 2: Floyd's Next Thing,^[14] but it was canceled. It promised "a refined story line by Star Trek: The Next Generation screenwriters." A non-interactive demo for Planetfall 2 was included on the Activision CD compilation Power Hits: BattleTech.^[15]

• The protagonist wears an ID badge with ID number 6172-531-541. This series of digits (617-253-1541) is reported to have been at one time the telephone number for Noam Chomsky in the Department of Linguistics at MIT.

Red herrings [link]

Planetfall was Infocom's first game to make extensive use of red herrings. Unlike previous titles, it contains a number of useless items, inaccessible locations, and other false clues.

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 booths. 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.

In violation of established conventions of interactive fiction, it is unnecessary—and, in fact, impossible—to bring a light source to light up the dark areas of the map. The game dangles a lamp in the player's face, but it is absolutely impossible to retrieve the lamp and explore the darkened areas; the character dies first from a lethal dose of radiation. Only modifying the game file can allow the player to get the lamp safely. This reveals that all dark locations include such messages as, "You should not be here.", and, "You have just found a major bug."

Feelies [link]

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). The ID number printed on the card is the telephone number of MIT's student newspaper, The Tech, which was in the way of a prank by Meretzky.
• 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.

Book [link]

The book Planetfall written by Arthur Byron Cover, uses the game image on the cover, and is marketed "In the bestselling tradition of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.^[16]

Notes [link]

References [link]

• Murray, Janet H. (1998-08-27). Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 0-262-63187-3 

External links [link]

• Planetfall at MobyGames has screenshots of Planetfall on a variety of systems and credits for the game.
• Planetfall at Infocom-if.org
• Planetfall at the unofficial Infocom Homepage
• The Infocom Bugs List entry for Planetfall