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{{Short description|1985 video game}}
{{Lead too short|date=August 2024}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox video game
{{Infobox video game
|title=A Mind Forever Voyaging
|title = A Mind Forever Voyaging
|image=A Mind Forever Voyaging Coverart.png
|image = A Mind Forever Voyaging Coverart.png
|caption=Cover art
|caption =
|developer=[[Infocom]]
|developer=[[Infocom]]
|publisher=Infocom
|publisher=Infocom
|designer=[[Steve Meretzky]]
|designer=[[Steve Meretzky]]
|engine=[[Z-machine|ZIL]]
|engine=[[Z-machine]]
|released=Release 77: August 14, 1985
|released=Release 77: August 14, 1985
Release 79: November 22, 1985
Release 79: November 22, 1985
|genre=[[Interactive fiction]]
|genre=[[Adventure]], [[Interactive fiction]]
|modes=[[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
|modes=[[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
|platforms=[[Apple II series|Apple II]], [[Atari ST]], [[Commodore 128]], [[MS-DOS]], [[Macintosh]], [[Amiga]]
|platforms=[[Amiga]], [[Apple II]], [[Atari ST]], [[Commodore 128]], [[MS-DOS]], [[Mac (computer)|Mac]]
}}
}}


'''''A Mind Forever Voyaging''''' (''AMFV'') is a 1985 [[interactive fiction]] game designed and implemented by [[Steve Meretzky]] and published by [[Infocom]]. It is Infocom's seventeenth game.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} The game was intended as a polemical critique of [[Ronald Reagan]]'s politics.<ref name="GetLamp">{{cite interview
'''''A Mind Forever Voyaging''''' (''AMFV'') is an [[interactive fiction]] game designed and implemented by [[Steve Meretzky]] and published in 1985 by [[Infocom]]. The game was intended as a [[polemic]]al critique of [[Ronald Reagan]]'s politics.<ref name="GetLamp">{{cite interview
|last=Scott
|last=Scott
|first=J.
|first=J.
Line 25: Line 27:
==Plot==
==Plot==
[[File:A Mind Forever Voyaging screenshot.jpg|thumb|right|The start of the game]]
[[File:A Mind Forever Voyaging screenshot.jpg|thumb|right|The start of the game]]
[[File:Mind-forever-voyaging-map.jpg|thumb|A map of ''A Mind Forever Voyaging'' world by Aaron A. Reed from ''50 Years of Text Games'' project]]
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2020}}
The story is set in the United States of North America, which is similar to the real-world [[US]], in the year 2031. The player controls PRISM, the world's first [[artificial general intelligence|sentient computer]].
The story is set in the United States of North America, which is similar to the real-world [[United States]], in the year 2031. The player controls PRISM, the world's first [[artificial general intelligence|sentient computer]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.filfre.net/2014/04/a-mind-forever-voyaging-part-1-steve-meretzkys-interiors/ | title=A Mind Forever Voyaging, Part 1: Steve Meretzky's Interiors | publisher=Filfre.net | accessdate=2022-09-02}}</ref>


PRISM is instructed by its creator, Dr. Abraham Perelman, to run a simulation of senator Richard Ryder's "Plan for Renewed National Purpose". This plan is intended to address the nation's failing economy, the high teenage suicide rate, and to strengthen the nation's position in a nuclear [[arms race]].
PRISM is instructed by its creator, Dr. Abraham Perelman, to run a simulation of Senator Richard Ryder's "Plan for Renewed National Purpose". This plan is intended to address the nation's failing economy, the high [[Teenage suicide in the United States|teenage suicide]] rate, and to strengthen the nation's position in a [[nuclear arms race]].


PRISM simulates the life of a man called Perry Simm, ten years after the plan has gone into place. The player experiences some time in Perry's life. The plan appears to have had positive effects. Based on this simulation, the plan is deemed viable and preparations are set in motion.
PRISM simulates the life of a man called Perry Simm, ten years after the plan has gone into effect. The player experiences some time in Perry's life. The plan appears to have had positive effects. Based on this simulation, the plan is deemed viable and preparations are set in motion.


However, Perelman feels that the ten-year simulation isn't enough, and makes PRISM do a simulation of the situation 20 years after the plan started, and then 30 years. Perelman is concerned by the simulations, but he needs more evidence to discredit the plan, as there are powerful people behind it. PRISM does a 40-year simulation, and with that still not quite satisfying Perelman, a 50-year simulation. The simulations show the situation becoming worse and worse with time.
However, Perelman feels that the ten-year simulation isn't enough, and makes PRISM do a simulation of the situation 20 years after the plan started, and then 30 years. Perelman is concerned by the simulations, but he needs more evidence to discredit the plan, as there are powerful people behind it. PRISM does a 40-year simulation, and with that still not quite satisfying Perelman, a 50-year simulation. The simulations show the situation becoming worse and worse with time.
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== Development ==
== Development ==
Meretzky, the author, said in an interview that his intent with the game was to convey a negative view of Reagan's policies.<ref name="GetLamp"/> In another interview, he said that he had hoped for ''AMFV'' to cause controversy with its political content, expressing disappointment at the lack of hate mail.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.resonant.org/games/infocom/Articles/NZT/lgop.html | title=Leather Goddesses of Phobos: Hitchhiker's Guide with Sex | publisher=The Status Line | volume=5 | issue=3 | date=Summer 1986 | page=1 | access-date=6 March 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041227113701/http://www.resonant.org/games/infocom/Articles/NZT/lgop.html | archive-date=27 December 2004 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Meretzky, the author, said in an interview that his intent with the game was to convey a negative view of Reagan's policies.<ref name="GetLamp"/> In another interview, he said that he had hoped for ''AMFV'' to cause controversy with its political content, expressing disappointment at the lack of hate mail.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.resonant.org/games/infocom/Articles/NZT/lgop.html | title=Leather Goddesses of Phobos: Hitchhiker's Guide with Sex | journal=The Status Line | volume=5 | issue=3 | date=Summer 1986 | page=1 | access-date=6 March 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041227113701/http://www.resonant.org/games/infocom/Articles/NZT/lgop.html | archive-date=27 December 2004 | url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Reception==
==Reception==
''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' states that parts of ''AMFV'' are "transcendent".<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Ardai, Charles | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_39.pdf | title=Titans of the Computer Gaming World / Part IV of V: Ardai on Infocom | magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] | issue=39 | date=Aug–Sep 1987 | pages=38–39, 46–47 | access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> In a 1998 retrospective review, [[AllGame]] gives the Macintosh version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the game provides fun exploration, but has hardly any [[replay value]].<ref>{{cite web | author=Savignano, Lisa Karen | url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15118&tab=review | title=A Mind Forever Voyaging (Mac) - Review | publisher=[[AllGame]] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115060945/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15118&tab=review | archive-date=15 November 2014 | url-status=dead | access-date=4 April 2017}}</ref> In 2014, [[Adventure Gamers]] gave the game four stars out of five in its retrospective review, calling it "bold" and "innovative", but saying that it does not quite reach its goals.<ref>{{cite web | author=Watson, Steven | url=http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/26877 | title=A Mind Forever Voyaging flashback review | publisher=[[Adventure Gamers]] | date=15 August 2014 | access-date=4 April 2017}}</ref>
''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' stated that parts of ''AMFV'' are "transcendent".<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Ardai, Charles | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_39.pdf | title=Titans of the Computer Gaming World / Part IV of V: Ardai on Infocom | magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] | issue=39 | date=Aug–Sep 1987 | pages=38–39, 46–47 | access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> In a 1998 retrospective review, [[AllGame]] gave the Macintosh version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the game provides fun exploration, but has hardly any [[replay value]].<ref>{{cite web | author=Savignano, Lisa Karen | url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15118&tab=review | title=A Mind Forever Voyaging (Mac) - Review | publisher=[[AllGame]] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115060945/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15118&tab=review | archive-date=15 November 2014 | url-status=dead | access-date=4 April 2017}}</ref> In 2014, ''[[Adventure Gamers]]'' gave the game four stars out of five in its retrospective review, calling it "bold" and "innovative", but saying that it does not quite reach its goals.<ref>{{cite web|author-link1=Steven Watson (author) | author=Watson, Steven | url=http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/26877 | title=A Mind Forever Voyaging flashback review | publisher=[[Adventure Gamers]] | date=15 August 2014 | access-date=4 April 2017}}</ref>


''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' lists it as number 66 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time" in 1996, commending the game for trying to be more "deep" than most other games.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Top 100 Games of All Time |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=21 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=September 1996|page=47}}</ref>
''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' listed it as number 66 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time" in 1996, commenting that "This Steve Meretzky triumph is one of the few games ... to attempt something more deep in the interactive entertainment medium than killing or humor. It presents a grim view of a dark future not by telling you about it, but rather by letting you experience it and do things for yourself."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Top 100 Games of All Time |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=21 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=September 1996|page=47}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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*[[Simulated reality]]
*[[Simulated reality]]
*[[Societal collapse]]
*[[Societal collapse]]
*''[[Earth 2100]]''


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Apple II games]]
[[Category:Apple II games]]
[[Category:Atari ST games]]
[[Category:Atari ST games]]
⚫
[[Category:Commodore 128 games]]
[[Category:Classic Mac OS games]]
[[Category:Classic Mac OS games]]
⚫
[[Category:Commodore 128 games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:Infocom games]]
[[Category:Infocom games]]
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[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games set in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Video games set in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2030s]]
[[Category:Video games set in 2031]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2040s]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2040s]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2050s]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2050s]]
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[[Category:Video games set in the 2080s]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2080s]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2090s]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2090s]]
[[Category:Video games using code wheel copy protection]]

Latest revision as of 23:58, 7 October 2024

A Mind Forever Voyaging
Developer(s)Infocom
Publisher(s)Infocom
Designer(s)Steve Meretzky
EngineZ-machine
Platform(s)Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 128, MS-DOS, Mac
ReleaseRelease 77: August 14, 1985 Release 79: November 22, 1985
Genre(s)Adventure, Interactive fiction
Mode(s)Single-player

A Mind Forever Voyaging (AMFV) is an interactive fiction game designed and implemented by Steve Meretzky and published in 1985 by Infocom. The game was intended as a polemical critique of Ronald Reagan's politics.[1]

Plot

[edit]
The start of the game
A map of A Mind Forever Voyaging world by Aaron A. Reed from 50 Years of Text Games project

The story is set in the United States of North America, which is similar to the real-world United States, in the year 2031. The player controls PRISM, the world's first sentient computer.[2]

PRISM is instructed by its creator, Dr. Abraham Perelman, to run a simulation of Senator Richard Ryder's "Plan for Renewed National Purpose". This plan is intended to address the nation's failing economy, the high teenage suicide rate, and to strengthen the nation's position in a nuclear arms race.

PRISM simulates the life of a man called Perry Simm, ten years after the plan has gone into effect. The player experiences some time in Perry's life. The plan appears to have had positive effects. Based on this simulation, the plan is deemed viable and preparations are set in motion.

However, Perelman feels that the ten-year simulation isn't enough, and makes PRISM do a simulation of the situation 20 years after the plan started, and then 30 years. Perelman is concerned by the simulations, but he needs more evidence to discredit the plan, as there are powerful people behind it. PRISM does a 40-year simulation, and with that still not quite satisfying Perelman, a 50-year simulation. The simulations show the situation becoming worse and worse with time.

PRISM goes into sleep mode while Perelman is preparing to present the findings to the government. When it wakes up, the facility is locked down by the military. Senator Ryder comes into Perelman's office and starts shouting at him. PRISM starts recording his words. After Ryder has left, suspicious "maintenance workers" come to the facility and make their way to PRISM's core, but PRISM renders them harmless. Then a news interface becomes available, and PRISM broadcasts the recording of Ryder's intimidation. The plan is thoroughly discredited and Senator Ryder is publicly disgraced.

Development

[edit]

Meretzky, the author, said in an interview that his intent with the game was to convey a negative view of Reagan's policies.[1] In another interview, he said that he had hoped for AMFV to cause controversy with its political content, expressing disappointment at the lack of hate mail.[3]

Reception

[edit]

Computer Gaming World stated that parts of AMFV are "transcendent".[4] In a 1998 retrospective review, AllGame gave the Macintosh version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that the game provides fun exploration, but has hardly any replay value.[5] In 2014, Adventure Gamers gave the game four stars out of five in its retrospective review, calling it "bold" and "innovative", but saying that it does not quite reach its goals.[6]

Next Generation listed it as number 66 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time" in 1996, commenting that "This Steve Meretzky triumph is one of the few games ... to attempt something more deep in the interactive entertainment medium than killing or humor. It presents a grim view of a dark future not by telling you about it, but rather by letting you experience it and do things for yourself."[7]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Scott, J. (2010). "Get Lamp" (Interview). Meretzky: "So that was my mission with A Mind Forever Voyaging. I wanted to kind of to show people what a warmongering, Christian Right-pandering, environment-trashing, rights-trampling asshole Reagan was."
  2. ^ "A Mind Forever Voyaging, Part 1: Steve Meretzky's Interiors". Filfre.net. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Leather Goddesses of Phobos: Hitchhiker's Guide with Sex". The Status Line. 5 (3): 1. Summer 1986. Archived from the original on December 27, 2004. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Ardai, Charles (August–September 1987). "Titans of the Computer Gaming World / Part IV of V: Ardai on Infocom" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 39. pp. 38–39, 46–47. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  5. ^ Savignano, Lisa Karen. "A Mind Forever Voyaging (Mac) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  6. ^ Watson, Steven (August 15, 2014). "A Mind Forever Voyaging flashback review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  7. ^ "Top 100 Games of All Time". Next Generation. No. 21. Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 47.
[edit]
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