Deadline
Deadline is a murder mystery text adventure game, written by Marc Blank and published by Infocom in 1982. It has a simple premise explained clearly on the package: “A locked door. A dead man. And 12 hours to solve the murder.”
You play as an unnamed detective who has just arrived at the estate of the recently deceased executive Marshall Robner. The case is all but closed, written off as a suicide by overdose. The only thing that stands out is that Robner had called his lawyer about updating his will three days earlier. Robner’s widow has granted you twelve hours for a final investigation. In addition to the impossible nature of a locked-room murder, you’ll have to deal with unwilling and indifferent suspects, as well as multiple false leads. Fortunately your assistant Sergeant Duffy is always nearby to take items to the lab for analysis.
Deadline has a lot of elements that were innovative at the time, and a level of complexity that’s uncommon today. I had a lot of fun piecing this mystery together. It’s not available for sale online, but if you’re interested in interactive fiction, I’d highly recommend picking up a copy of The Lost Treasures of Infocom on eBay. They’re not terribly expensive, you’ll get a large collection of fantastic games, and it includes printed copies of the manuals, maps, and other printed materials. The games can be played on nearly any computer using one of the many Z-Machine interpreters available.
- Z-Machine Interpreters on Inform
These can run Deadline and other interactive fiction on almost any computer. - Deadline packaging and feelies
Includes photos of the box and contents, including the case files included with the game. - Deadline on Wikipedia
- Deadline on MobyGames
- Deadline is a detective mystery game involving a possible murder. It includes frequent mentions of suicide and drug overdose.
Part 1
Tonight I’m starting Infocom’s Deadline, one of the games I’m playing for DOSember! I’m starting a bit early because once again I have decided to play a notoriously difficult detective mystery game and I will not finish in one month. Deadline was also Infocom’s first game with feelies, including a little plastic bag of pills, and other evidence.
Part 2
I’m continuing Deadline tonight for DOSember, Infocom’s first murder mystery text adventure. I’m really enjoying it so far—it seems pretty complex, with a ticking clock and a list of unique commands to conduct your investigation with.
Part 4
I think it may be time to start making spreadsheets. Do you think real detectives ever make spreadsheets or does this only make sense for time traveling gamer detectives? Deadline continues for DOSember~
Part 5
Last time I learned a new snooping technique, let’s try to use it!
Part 6
Last week I finally got in to the secret room! So uh… now what? Deadline continues and DOSember is forever~
Part 7
I feel like we had a major breakthrough in Deadline last week! Tune in now to find out how wrong I am~