Planetfall
Planetfall is a science fiction themed interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky, and the eighth title published by Infocom in 1983. The original release included versions for Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, TRS-80, and IBM PC compatibles (both as a self-booting disk and for MS-DOS). 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 uses the Z-machine originally developed for the Zork franchise and was added as a bonus to the "Zork Anthology".
| Planetfall | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Infocom |
| Publisher(s) | Infocom |
| Designer(s) | Steve Meretzky |
| Engine | Z-machine |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Apricot PC, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, CP/M, Rainbow, Kaypro II, Macintosh, NEC APC, Osborne 1, MS-DOS, PC-9801, TI-99/4A, TRS-80. |
| Release | Release 20: July 8, 1983 Release 26: October 14, 1983 Release 29: January 18, 1984 Release 37: October 3, 1985 Solid Gold: May 31, 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, Interactive fiction |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The word planetfall is a portmanteau of planet and landfall, and occasionally used in science fiction to that effect. 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." A sequel, Stationfall, was released in 1987.