Planetfall
Planetfall is an interactive science fiction computer game penned by Steve Meretzky and the eighth title published by Infocom in 1983. Like most Infocom games, it was released for multiple platforms simultaneously, thanks to the portable Z-machine. The original release included versions for the PC (both as a booter and for DOS) and the Apple II. Versions for Atari ST and Commodore 64 were released in 1985. A version for CP/M was also released. Although Planetfall was Meretzky's first title, it proved to be one of his most popular works and a bestseller for Infocom; it was one of the five best-selling titles reissued in Solid Gold versions with in-game hints. Planetfall uses the Z Engine, originally developed for the Zork franchise, and was included as a bonus in the "Zork Anthology". The word "Planetfall" is a portmanteau of "planet" and "landfall" and is occasionally used in science fiction to that effect. The book Planetfall by Arthur Byron Cover uses the image of the game on its cover and is marketed as "In the bestselling tradition of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY"[2]. A sequel, Stationfall, was published in 1987. Planetfall teleports you 12,000 years into an unheard-of future. You've joined the Stellar Patrol to explore the galaxy, but all you've seen so far is the end of a pug-until your ship explodes and you're flung onto a mysterious, deserted planet. Luckily, you have Floyd, an adorable multipurpose robot with the personality of a mischievous 8-year-old. He's the ideal companion to help you venture through your new world, mastering its dangers and uncovering its secrets.
Story
After the collapse of the Second Galactic Union in 1716 GY, the galaxy entered a ten-thousand-year Dark Age. nterstellar travel ceased, and many star systems fell into a near-barbaric state, burning coal and ash for energy and growing food directly from the exposed topsoil. In 11,203 GY, a treaty between the Tremain and Gallium empires established the Third Galactic Union. Ships of the Tellar Patrol (a pseudo-military wing of the Union government on Tremain) began exploring the galaxy in search of the human civilizations that are the remnants of the Second Union. You are an inhabitant of the planet Gallium. Despite being one of the most politically powerful worlds in the Union, Gallium is no walk in the park. In fact, the Gallium Chamber of Commerce brochure titled "Ten Good Reasons to Visit Gallium" ends on page 3. The author ran out of reasons after listing only two. Your family has served in the Stellar Patrol for five generations. Your great-great-grandfather was a High Admiral and one of the founding officers of the Patrol. It was a given that you would join the Patrol when you came of age. Now, more than a year after you enlisted and two months after your transfer to the S.P.S. Feinstein, you are still only an Ensign Seventh Class. Your superior officer, Ensign First Class Blather, is making your life a living hell. You begin to wonder whether you are really suited to the Stellar Patrol. But then the unthinkable happens...