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Steven Eric Meretzky (born May 1, 1957) is an American computer game designer, with dozens of titles to his credit. He has been involved in almost every aspect of game development, from design to production to quality assurance and box design. He is best known for creating some of the famous Infocom games in the early 1980s, including collaborating with celebrated author Douglas Adams on the interactive fiction version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, one of the few games to be certified "platinum" by the Software Publishing Association. Image File history File links SteveMeretzky. ...
Image File history File links SteveMeretzky. ...
May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ...
1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Game design is the process of designing the content, background and rules of a game. ...
Zork universe Zork games Zork Anthology Zork trilogy Zork I Zork II Zork III Beyond Zork Zork Zero Planetfall Enchanter trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Other games Wishbringer Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Topics in Zork Encyclopedia Frobozzica Characters Kings Creatures Timeline Magic Calendar...
Douglas Noël Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001) was a cult British comic radio dramatist, amateur musician and author, most notably of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series (HHGG or H2G2). ...
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is an interactive fiction computer game based on the seminal comic science fiction series of the same name. ...
The current version of the article or section reads like an advertisement. ...
His keen wit and competent writing made him one of the only two writers of interactive fiction ever admitted to the Science Fiction Writers of America, and in September 1999, PC Gamer magazine named Meretzky on their list of 25 "Game Gods" in the history of computer gaming. Zork, an early work of interactive fiction, running on a modern interpreter Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software containing simulated environments in which players use text commands to control characters. ...
Science Fiction Writers of America, or SFWA, (SFWA is pronounced seff-wah) was founded in 1965 by Damon Knight and James Blish. ...
1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...
PC Gamer US April 2005 cover PC Gamer is a computer games magazine founded in 1993. ...
Biography
Meretzky was raised in Yonkers, New York. His father was trained as an accountant, but spent a career of 25 years selling automotive hardware. Meretzky's mother was a bookkeeper. He graduated from Yonkers High School in 1975, and was accepted at MIT, where he at first decided he wanted to study architecture. MIT's Department of Architecture, however, convinced him that he should instead pursue a career in Construction Management. He received a Bachelor of Science degree, but two years and several construction firms later, by 1981 he was convinced that he should instead pursue a career as a game tester for Infocom. In 1983, he became a full-time writer, scripting Planetfall and creating the famous cult figure robot sidekick "Floyd". Yonkers is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind Rochester) and the largest city in Westchester County, with a population of 196,086 (according to the 2000 census). ...
Accountancy (British English) or accounting (American English) is the process of maintaining, auditing, and processing financial information for business purposes. ...
Mapúa Institute of Technology (MIT, MapúaTech or simply Mapúa) is a private, non-sectarian, Filipino tertiary institute located in Intramuros, Manila. ...
The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αÏχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αÏχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ...
The role of the game tester in game development primarily involves analyzing video and/or computer games to document software defects as part of a quality control process. ...
Zork universe Zork games Zork Anthology Zork trilogy Zork I Zork II Zork III Beyond Zork Zork Zero Planetfall Enchanter trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Other games Wishbringer Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Topics in Zork Encyclopedia Frobozzica Characters Kings Creatures Timeline Magic Calendar...
Planetfall is a 1983 science fiction text adventure by Steve Meretzky of Infocom. ...
 Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky, 1984, collaborators on the computer game The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy In 1984, he had his most famous collaboration, with Douglas Adams on the computer game version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which became one of the bestselling games of the era. Another popular game was Leather Goddesses of Phobos, whose risque writing pushed the boundaries of the art. In an interview, Meretzky said that he originally just wrote the name on a project board as a joke, but was later asked to actually develop a game to go along with the title. Image File history File links MeretzkyAndAdams. ...
Image File history File links MeretzkyAndAdams. ...
Douglas Noël Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001) was a cult British comic radio dramatist, amateur musician and author, most notably of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series (HHGG or H2G2). ...
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy originated as a 1978 radio comedy series written by Douglas Adams. ...
Cover of the Lane Mastodon comic—the instruction manual for the game Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction game published and developed by Infocom in 1986 for the DOS, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, Atari ST and Commodore 64 computers. ...
In A Mind Forever Voyaging, Meretzky attempted to address social issues, but Infocom's success was declining, and the 1988 Zork Zero was one of his last titles there. A Mind Forever Voyaging (AMFV) is an interactive fiction game designed and implemented by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1985. ...
Zork universe Zork games Zork Anthology Zork trilogy Zork I Zork II Zork III Beyond Zork Zork Zero Planetfall Enchanter trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Other games Wishbringer Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Topics in Zork Encyclopedia Frobozzica Characters Kings Creatures Timeline Magic Calendar...
In 1994, Meretzky co-founded Boffo Games, where he was Vice President of Creation, and developed such titles as the story puzzle game Hodj 'n' Podj and the detective comedy The Space Bar until the company closed its doors in 1997, though Meretzky still maintains the website domain boffo.com. Boffo Games was a promising but very short lived computer games developer founded in 1994 by Steve Meretzky, Mike Dornbrook, and Leo DaCosta. ...
The Space Bar Box Art The Space Bar was part of the Graphical Adventure genre for personal computers co-developed by Rocket Science Games and Boffo Games, later finished by Boffo after the closer of Rocket Science Games. ...
Around the year 2000, Meretzky joined WorldWinner as a game advisor and Principal Game Designer. Meretzky is also a charter member of the Computer Game Developers Association, and a frequent speaker at industry conferences such as GDC. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a non-profit organization designed to promote, and strengthen the video game industry, and have computer games recognised as an art form. ...
GDC is a three letter acronym, or more accurately an initialism, for: Game Developers Conference Guglielmi Detachable Coil Game Development Club This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
Works Meretzky has been credited on games developed by: Infocom, Legend Entertainment Company, Activision Inc., Boffo Games Inc., MicroProse, GameFX and Tom Snyder Productions. Zork universe Zork games Zork Anthology Zork trilogy Zork I Zork II Zork III Beyond Zork Zork Zero Planetfall Enchanter trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Other games Wishbringer Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Topics in Zork Encyclopedia Frobozzica Characters Kings Creatures Timeline Magic Calendar...
Legend Entertainment was an American developer of computer games. ...
Activision, Inc. ...
Boffo Games was a promising but very short lived computer games developer founded in 1994 by Steve Meretzky, Mike Dornbrook, and Leo DaCosta. ...
MicroProse Software, Inc. ...
Lead designer In the following titles, Meretzky was sole or lead designer / creative director.
Infocom Planetfall is a 1983 science fiction text adventure by Steve Meretzky of Infocom. ...
Zork universe Zork games Zork trilogy Zork I Zork II Zork III Enchanter trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Wishbringer Beyond Zork Zork Zero Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis Zork Grand Inquisitor Encyclopedia Encyclopedia Frobozzica Miscellaneous Timeline Calendar Magic Double Fanucci Companies Infocom Activision This article is about the computer game. ...
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is an interactive fiction computer game based on the seminal comic science fiction series of the same name. ...
A Mind Forever Voyaging (AMFV) is an interactive fiction game designed and implemented by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1985. ...
Cover of the Lane Mastodon comic—the instruction manual for the game Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction game published and developed by Infocom in 1986 for the DOS, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, Atari ST and Commodore 64 computers. ...
Stationfall is an interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky and released by Infocom in 1987. ...
Zork universe Zork games Zork Anthology Zork trilogy Zork I Zork II Zork III Beyond Zork Zork Zero Planetfall Enchanter trilogy Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Other games Wishbringer Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Topics in Zork Encyclopedia Frobozzica Characters Kings Creatures Timeline Magic Calendar...
Activision - Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X! (1992), Activision (under the "Infocom" label)
Legend Entertainment Legend Entertainment was an American developer of computer games. ...
Legend Entertainment was an American developer of computer games. ...
Legend Entertainment was an American developer of computer games. ...
Superhero League of Hoboken is a computer game from Legend Entertainment, designed by reputable interactive fiction designer Steve Meretzky. ...
Legend Entertainment was an American developer of computer games. ...
Boffo Games Virgin Interactive was a successful and influential British video game publisher. ...
The Space Bar Box Art The Space Bar was part of the Graphical Adventure genre for personal computers co-developed by Rocket Science Games and Boffo Games, later finished by Boffo after the closer of Rocket Science Games. ...
SegaSoft, headquartered in Redwood City, California was a joint venture Sega and CSK, created to develop and publish single and multiplayer games for the PC, primarily in the North American marketplace. ...
WorldWinner While at WorldWinner, Meretzky designed over 30 games, including: - Word Cubes (2001), WorldWinner
- SwapIt! (2003), WorldWinner
- Skillgammon (2004), WorldWinner
- Haunted Mine (2004), WorldWinner
- Paint Buckets (2005), WorldWinner
Other titles For these titles, Meretzky had a lesser role, such as in an advisory capacity: Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender was a point-and-click style graphic animated adventure developed and published by Microprose in November of 1992. ...
Eric the Unready is an adventure game from Legend Entertainment. ...
Books - Steve Meretzky's Spellcasting 301: Spring Break: The Official Hint Book from Legend Entertainment Company, 1993, Compute, ISBN 0874552869
(as S. Eric Meretzky) - Zork: The Forces of Krill (A What-Do-I-Do-Now Book, Zork #1), 1983, Tor Books, ISBN 0812579755
- Zork: The Malifestro Quest (A What-Do-I-Do-Now Book, Zork #2), 1983, Tor Books, ISBN 0812579801
- Zork: The Cavern of Doom (A What-Do-I-Do-Now Book, Zork #3), 1983, Tor Books, ISBN 0812579852
- Zork: Conquest at Quendor (A What-Do-I-Do-Now Book, Zork #4), 1984, Tor Books, ISBN 0812559894
Articles - "Humor in Game Design", 1997, Proceedings of Computer Game Developers Conference
- "Interview: Steve Meretzky", R. Rouse, "Game design: Theory and practice", 2000
- "Building Character: An Analysis of Character Creation", 2001, Gamasutra [1]
References - Meretzky's page at Boffo Games
- Infocom biography
- Interview with Steve Meretzky, Adventure Classic Gaming (2001)
- MobyGames entry on Meretzky
- WorldWinner biography
- Infocom authors
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