News 'n'
Reviews
Gamasutra (August 19,
2009)
GDC Europe:
Playdom's Meretzky on Making Social Games More Viral
Coverage of Steve's
talk about the design of social games
Players
Only (August 17, 2009)
Video
Games are Dead
Scott Steinberg interviewed Steve for the opening episode
of Season Two of his series about PC and video
gaming
Gamasutra (August 13,
2009)
Social
Gaming Draws Developers In
Steve in interviewed for this article about
industry vets joining social game companies
Gamasutra
(July 24,2009)
Top 12 Social
Gaming Trends
Coverage of Steve's panel on "The Year in Social
Gaming" at Casual Connect
You can also see
and listen to the panel on the Casual Connect website
Crispy
Gamer (July 20, 2009)
Social
Games: The Industry's New Wild West
Steve is interviewed for this article
about the state of games on social networks, and how social game companies are
drawing talent from the traditional side of the industry
Casual
Connect Magazine (Summer
2009)
Mini-Games, Maxi-Results (print article, not yet online)
An
article by Steve on the success of incorporating mini-games into Playdom's
social RPGs
Boston Herald (June 21,
2009)
Casual
Games' big play in Bay State
An article about the growing role of casual
games in MA-based game development, including quotes from
Steve
Post Mortem, the Boston IGDA Chapter
Meeting (April 2009)
Bring Back the
Fun
A video of Steve's talk, plus ceremonies regarding
Steve's upcoming departure from MA to CA
Edge (April 14, 2009)
Edge Issue #201
Steve
is interviewed about his latest game, Mobsters: Overdrive on Facebook
and MySpace
Technology Review (March/April 2009)
Author of Play
An
interview about the history of Infocom
Gamasutra (April 24, 2009)
Game Design
Legends: Meretzky On The Evolution Of The Medium
A wide-ranging
interview
Coverage of Steve's participation in "The Dating Game" (March 27, 2009)
Malvasia Bianca gdc 2009:
friday (scroll down to 12:00pm)
A panel about designing a game that a
couple could play, on a first date, as an alternative to a movie
Coverage
of the Game Design Challenge (March 25,
2009)
CNN: Tough
task: Designing a game about your 'first time'
G4TV: Game
Design Challenge With Kelly, Haro, And Meretzky
Bytica:
GDC 09 Game Design Challenge: "My First
Time"
Tech Worlds: Game Designers
and Sex
Coverage of Steve's intro lecture at the Casual Games Summit
(March 23, 2009)
Gamasutra: GDC: Meretzky
Talks Casual Game Design Principals
The
Escapist (August 19, 2008)
Sign
of the Crab
Steve is interviewed for the magazine's "Iconoclasts"
issue
Coverage of Steve's lecture at the GCDC in Leipzig, Germany (August 18, 2008)
Gamasutra: Meretzky Lets
Loose on Stagnant Creativity
Heise Online: Games
Convention 2008 Special (in German)
GameIndustry.biz: GD
Developers Conference 2008
Forbes.com (March 14, 2008)
Take-Two Takeover: The Game!
Steve is interviewed about EA's hostile takeover of Take-Two, and whether
it would make a good game
Coverage of the Game Design Challenge (February 21,
2008)
Wired.com: Design Challenge: Expanding the Audience to Include
Fido
Forbes.com: Weird Videogames You Might Play
GameSpot: GDC '08: Of Porpoises, Puppies, and
Prokaryotes
Gamasutra: GDC: The Inter-Species Game Design
Challenge
DX Gaming (February 20,
2008)
GDC 08: Stories Best Played -- Deconstructing the Best
Interactive Storytelling
Coverage of
this panel, about interactive storytelling, which Steve was on at the
2008 GDC.
Roanoke Times (December 18, 2007)
Tech Trio Seeks Market
for New Game
Steve was interviewed for this article about the commercial
possibilites of text-based games.
Next Generation (May 31, 2007)
Rock 'n' Role-Playing
Steve wrote this article,
comparing and contrasting electronic games with rock &
roll.
Technology Review (May/June
2007)
Games
and Their MIT Makers
An article about MIT as a spawning ground for
game developers, including Steve.
The New York Times
(March 12, 2007)
Is That Just Some Game? No, It's a Cultural
Artifact
Coverage of the "10 Games You Have to Play
Panel" which Steve was on at the 2007 GDC.
GameDaily
(February 23, 2007)
What We Could Learn From Board Games
Steve wrote this article about the creative bankruptcy in big-budget
electronic games.
Boston Business Journal (February 16, 2007)
Steve Meretzky: Game Plan
A
profile of Steve upon his joining the Blue Fang
team.
Gamasutra (January 8,
2007)
Steve Meretzky Joins Blue Fang Games
An article about Blue Fang's hiring of Steve, including an
interview with Steve.
Wired (November 2006)
Very Short Stories
Wired magazine asked some of their favorite authors, including Steve, to
write 6-word stories. The online version includes many additional 6-word stories
written by many of the the authors.
Plus some additional blogging about this on
Wired.com
The Wall Street Journal
Online (November 15, 2005)
Keeping a Genre Alive
The
WSJ interviewed Steve about hobbyist interactive
fiction
Gamasutra (October 31,
2005)
Playing
Catch-Up: Infocom's Steve Meretzky
A regular Gamasutra feature
that talks to "notable video game industry figures about their celebrated
pasts and promising futures".
Christian Science Monitor
(June 3, 2005)
Video-Game Industry Mulls Over the Future Beyond
Shoot-'Em-Ups
Steve was interviewed as part of this feature on the
future of electronic games.
Dice2Mice
(May/June 2005)
Hitchhiker's Special -- Interview
While in England for the BAFTA Awards, Steve was interviewed by this
games-related British publication.
BBC (March 1, 2005)
Interview with Steve Meretzky, Co-author of the Game
An extensive interview about the making of Hitchhiker's Guide,
on the BBC website as part of their hosting of the online 20th Anniversarry
edition of the game.
The Boston Globe (December 15, 2003)
Email Cards Just Don't Cut It at
Christmas
Steve was interviewed by the Globe's
technology columnist, Scott Kirsner, about email greeting cards and party
invitations.
CNET (March 24, 2002)
Game
Creators Tackle Ethical Issues
CNET interviewed
Steve about his "Addiction and Games" roundtable at the 2002
GDC.
Gamasutra (November 19,
2001)
Building Character: An Analysis of Character
Creation
Steve turned his GDC lecture on creating
characters into an article for Gamasutra.
L'avventura è
l'avventura (May 22,
2001)
From the Dining Room to the Galaxy
A very thorough
interview with Steve in an Italian publication
(translated).
Adventure Classic Gaming (May 3, 2001)
Steve Meretzky Interview
An extensive interview
covering Steve's entire career.
PC Gamer (September 1999)
Game Gods: Steve Meretzky
The section about Steve
from PC Gamer's famous "Game Gods" article.
The New York
Times (January 28, 1987)
While the Boss is Away...
Steve
was interviewed by America's newspaper of record on the subject of "boss
keys".
Newsweek (December 23,
1985)
Zorked Again
A full-page article in Newsweek about
Infocom and A Mind Forever Voyaging.
TIME (December 5, 1983)
Putting Fiction on a Floppy
A full-page article in
TIME about Infocom and its authors.
Game review excerpts through the years...?>
Planetfall
"Planetfall is just about worth the
purchase of a computer. No fooling. The reason: you know that if someone can
come up with something as intriguing and beguiling as Planetfall, then computers really are
more than expensive paperweights."
-
"One of the finest adventure games ever created."
- Strategy Plus,
March 1995 (Steve Bauman)
"Planetfall
remains to this day one of my most favorite IF games, and has a special place in
my heart for being the first game ever to make me cry... With its excellent
writing, fun plot, logical puzzles, and most importantly, a genuinely charming
NPC you will grow attached to, Planetfall is a masterpiece of
interactive storytelling you simply must play."
-
Home of the Underdogs (www.the-underdogs.info), 2003
“Text adventures were like interactive books, where you, the protagonist,
could shape the story with your choices. Narrative was king (and, indeed,
everything), and some of those early games – A Mind Forever Voyaging, Trinity, Planetfall – still rank among the best
games ever written."
- Games for Windows,
April/May 2008 (Laura Crigger)
Sorcerer
"90 percent of this game is
like a bonus; the altered-time puzzle is just about worth the price of admission
all by itself. Keep it up, Steve, and we'll be looking for you to precipitate a
Pulitzer Prize for interactive computer adventures."
- Softalk, June 1984 (Margot Tommervik)
"Steve Meretzky may be on
his way to becoming the Steven Speilberg of adventure games... Sorcerer
is a choice you won't regret."
- Compute's PC
& PCjr, October 1984 (Scott Miller)
"Before I had even entered
the game, Infocom was controlling my heartbeat."
-
PC Magazine, August 21, 1984 (Phil Wiswell)
"The story line is
brilliantly conceived."
- Games, December
1984 (Randy Hacker)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy
"A masterpiece.
Hilarious."
-
Punch, January 2, 1985
"Don't panic: the interactive
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is every bit as outrageous and funny
as the novel."
- Popular Computing, March
1985 (Monte Schulz)
"Hitchhiker's Guide is the funniest text adventure
we've ever played. If you don't laugh, see a
doctor."
- Enter, April 1985 (Phil
Wiswell)
"Is The Hitchhiker's
Guide To The Galaxy the best game every produced by Infocom? It is
their most entertaining, funny, and devious. And that is no small
achievement."
-
InCider, May 1985 (Brian J. Murphy)
"It could be argued
that in all recorded history there has only been one truly successful
collaboration between an author and a computer game company. That project would
be The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy, designed in conjunction with Douglas Adams. The game quickly became
a bestseller and still remains a favorite six years after its
release."
- Computer Gaming
World, April 1991 (Charles Ardai)
A Mind Forever Voyaging
"In
AMFV, writer Steve Meretzky has used the expanded memory to
breathtaking effect, creating a richly imagined anti-Utopian futureworld. AMFV
isn't 1984, but in some ways it's even
scarier."
- Newsweek, December 23, 1985 (Bill
Barol)
"An ambitious departure from anything Infocom has done before and
a major event in software entertainment. For it's attention to detail,
incredibly smooth parser, crisply written prose, and intriguing story, this game
deserves the highest praise."
- Games,
January 1986 (Bert Hochberg)
"A Mind Forever Voyaging takes the
Infocom concept to the next logical step in its evolution – and takes you on a
voyage you'll never forget."
- Analog
Computing, March 1986 (Steve Panak)
"One of the most rewarding
computer game endings ever."
- GameSpot, December
1999 (GameSpot Staff)
"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 a sci-fi writer...
A Mind Forever Voyaging remains today 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."
- Home of the Underdogs (the-underdogs.info),
2003
“Text adventures were like interactive
books, where you, the protagonist, could shape the story with your choices.
Narrative was king (and, indeed, everything), and some of those early games –
A Mind Forever Voyaging, Trinity, Planetfall – still rank among the best
games ever written."
- Games for Windows,
April/May 2008 (Laura Crigger)
Leather
Goddess of Phobos
"Leather Goddesses is one of Infocom's finest achievements, pure pleasure from start to finish."
- GAMES, January 1987 (Bert Hochberg)
"Leather Goddesses continues the wacky tradition of the Steve Meretzky/Infocom comedy-adventures starting with the vastly underrated Planetfall and continuing with the wildly successful The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (with Douglas Adams). Leather Goddesses is a worthy successor to these wonderful games."
- MacUser,
February 1987 (Larry Husten)
"Pong and Pac-Man and the rest of the video-game industry aren't dead. They've just given way to Leather Goddesses Of Phobos."
- The Wall Street
Journal, June 11, 1987 (Hank Gilman)
"An
uproarious role-playing romp that heralds a new breed of computer games."
- Newsweek,
September 8, 1986 (John
Schwartz)
Stationfall
"Floyd, who thrilled thousands of
adventurers in Planetfall, makes a
welcome comeback in Steve Meretzky's sequel...I can honestly say that I don't
think I have ever become so totally absorbed in any adventure game
before!"
- Commodore User (Keith
Campbell)
?>
"If you are looking to spend a few days of serious playing (and thinking) then this is definitely the game to buy. And if you haven't ever played Infocom games or have just passed them by then this is the one to pick up (along with Planetfall)."
- ST
X-PRESS, July 1987 (Rich Decowski)
"The plot of Stationfall has no holes and so many
sources of revelation that only a veteran designer like Meretzky could have
pulled it off. Instead of being just another adventure, Stationfall reads like a good novel and
is exemplary of what interactive fiction is all
about."
- Commodore Magazine, February 1988
(Russ Ceccola)
Zork
Zero
"A worthy addition to the Zork series and, by far, the best one to date... Frankly, Zork Zero is probably the best text adventure out there."
- Computer Gaming
World, January 1989 (Dave Arneson)
"The
most enjoyable game yet in the Zork
series."
- GAMES, April/May 1989 (Scott Marley)
"My first hands-on experience with a computer game was playing the original Zork. Since then, I've seen more software than I even like to contemplate without ever finding another title that held as much appeal. With Zork Zero, I've come full circle. All the wit, charm, and delight are back..."
- Info, May/June 1989 (Tom Malcolm)
"Steve Meretzky and Infocom should be proud of
Zork Zero. It's a masterful, aggressive game well worth the price of
admission. Bravo!"
- Electronic Gamer
(Barbara Baser)
The Spellcasting
Trilogy
"Spellcasting 101 is authored
by Steve Meretzky, whose game credits read like a ‘Best Of’ adventure gaming
list... It's a wild ride scattered with sophomoric humor, adolescent sexual
fantasy and sarcastic wit in true Meretzkian form."
- Computer Gaming World, November 1990 (Chris A. Lombardi)
"Spellcasting 101 is written with all the
inventiveness and off-beat humor that Meretzky put into his work for Infocom...
Steve Meretzky has a helluva reputation to live up to, and Spellcasting 101 is clearly cut from the
same cloth as his previous classics. This is a game that will keep you (ahem)
under its spell for hours, days, even weeks. It rates a full and unqualified
rave."
- The Electronic
Gamer, April 1991 (Steve Schechter)
"Steve
Meretzky proves he is still the funniest man in the
business."
- Zero, November 1991 (Tom
Schmidt)
"Spring Break is the third in a series by mainstream
software's bad boy, Steve Meretzky. It is hilarious, from the opening scene to
the fine print in the manual."
- Associated
Press, December 1992 (Larry Blasko)
"Everyone else who writes interactive fiction should take a good, hard look at what Meretzky is doing, because he is doing it right... There is more creativity and cleverness evident in a typical sequence of Spellcasting 301 than there is in some entire games; when you play this game, you are constantly aware that you are in the hands of a master.”
- Computer Gaming
World, January 1993 (Charles
Ardai)
Superhero League of
Hoboken
"Superhero League Of Hoboken is a unique
and clever blend of adventure and role-playing that makes it ideal for beginners
and veterans of both genres... It is colorful, silly, and challenging. It is
extremely well-written. It's a Steve Meretzky game!"
- Computer Gaming
World, August 1994 (Johnny L. Wilson)
"Fuses graphic role playing and adventure gaming and invigorates them with a gleefully demented cast of characters, a preposterous plot and an idiot-friendly interface."
- Washington
Post, November 1994 (Bill Frischling)
"Superhero League Of Hoboken has put ?>
- The New York Times, Sunday, January 29, 1995 (John Petrick)
"
- Strategy Plus,
February 1995 (Andy Backer)
"The latest
comedy-adventure from gaming auteur Steve Meretzky. If you were a fan of his
brilliant Leather Goddesses Of Phobos
or Spellcasting 101, you ought to
be on your way to the store by now -- because
- PC
World, February 1995 (Michael Goodwin)
"This zany melange is the first true comedy RPG ever, and that alone is worth the price of admission."
- Computer Gaming World, October 1994 (Scorpia)
"It's in the area of actual game design that Superhero League Of Hoboken really stands out. That alone makes it an almost unique product right now. Once the other multimedia miracles have done their job demoing the latest hot computer hardware and you want to get back to an actual game to play, this one's for you."
- Strategy Plus, October 1994 (Steve Wartofsky)
"Superhero League Of Hoboken is one of the silliest and most delightful computer games on the current scene. Ignore it at your own peril."
- Computer Shopper, December 1994 (Barry Brenesal)
"For computer gamers who possess a warped sense of humor, seeing the words 'Steve Meretzky' on a game box is akin to seeing the words 'The Beatles' on an album. This imprimatur states that it's safe to purchase the item sight unseen. I am happy to report that once again this proclamation rings true... This one's a keeper."
- CompuServe OnLine
Reviews, 07.004 (Bill Holmes)
Hodj 'n'
Podj
"One of
those rare CD-ROMs that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults... You'll keep it
on your hard drive long after your other software has vanished. Grade:
A"
- Entertainment
Weekly, March 17, 1995 (Bob
Strauss)
"Hodj 'n' Podj is a true
delight."
- Electronic
Entertainment, January 1995 (Ann M.
Marcus)
"Boffo
has executed a master stroke here by not only getting back to the roots of what
makes computer gaming fun, but what makes gaming -- period -- a pleasurable
experience... It provides a showcase for how to do traditional gaming on a computer
which the rest of the industry could learn much from. Highly
recommended!"
- Strategy Plus,
March 1995 (Steve
Wartofsky)
"The
visuals are terrific, the mini-games are addictive as all get-out... Truly a
game for all ages, with a sense of humor similar to Jay Ward's Bullwinkle. The kids may not get all of
the jokes, but they'll be having such a good time that they won't care... It's
hard to imagine anyone being disappointed by Hodj ‘n’
Podj."
- Interactive
Entertainment, Episode 9
The Space
Bar
“A comedy CD-ROM that’s genuinely funny… The Space Bar has a great pedigree: Director Steve Meretzky created the top-selling 1984 computer game of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and visual designer Ron Cobb was the artist behind the creatures in Star Wars’ memorable cantina scene.”
- People, 6/30/97 (Samantha Miller)
“The Space Bar is a first-rate title that shows a master designer at the top of his game.”
- Computer Gaming World, December
1997
“If you’re a Meretzky fan, you should be scampering to your local software store. If you’re not a fan, you should be. [Overall Score: 93]”
- Computer Game
Entertainment, Issue #3 (Andy
Backer)
“Steve Meretzky has created some of the funniest, most memorable, and most challenging adventure games of all time. Now he’s back with a new adventure, The Space Bar, which retains the goofy spirit of his older games but takes a quantum leap forward in the graphics department… With Steve Meretzky, one of the genre’s masters, returning to the fold, it feels like we have a real renaissance on our hands.”
- Computer Gaming
World, May 1997 (Jeff Green)
“Meretzky has come
up with another in a long line of classic, humorous adventures. [Gameplay
Rating: 98%]”
- Digital
Gamescape, April 1997 (Dean
O'Donnell)
“A breath of fresh air… The Space Bar includes fascinating aliens, a well-drawn and animated setting, clever and frequently hilarious puzzles, and a marvelous sense of interactivity. It’s a combination that fans of the genre haven’t seen in a long time.”
- PC Gamer,
October 1997 (Allen Rausch)
“Steve Meretzky was one of the creative forces behind Infocom during its heyday. One could reasonably expect something of exceptional quality from someone who's been doing it for as long as he has. As far as I'm concerned, he's lived up to his reputation… A quit button was also included, although why you would want to use it is beyond me… The writing alone makes it worth playing, but when you combine all the elements in just the ways that the team at Boffo has done, then you have a real winner. [Rating: 94%]”
- Coming Soon Magazine, May 1997
“Give me an adventure with clever, off-the-wall humor, lots of unique interactive areas I can wander through, excellent visuals, and an intriguing story line. Fortunately, there’s one at hand – The Space Bar by veteran game designer Steve Meretzky… Some of the puzzles are nothing short of ingenious.”
- CNET, 6/25/97 (Barry Brenesal)
Last updated: 8-21-09. Contact boffo@boffo.us.