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. Later, he created the Spellcasting trilogy, the flagship adventure series of Legend Entertainment.
Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky
His keen wit, prose and coding skill made him one of only two interactive fiction writers (along with Dave Lebling) admitted to the Science Fiction Writers of America[1], and in September 1999, PC Gamer magazine named Meretzky as one of their twenty-five "Game Gods"; those who have made an indelible mark on the history of computer gaming.
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 (an "Implementor"), scripting Planetfall and creating the famous cult figure robot sidekick "Floyd".
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.
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.
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.
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.
Meretzky appears as himself antagonizing rapper MC Frontalot in the music video for "It Is Pitch Dark."[2] (released on Secrets from the Future). The song references several of Meretzky's text adventure games, and the video is directed by documentarian Jason Scott Sadofsky, whose film Get Lamp is about the genre[3].
Several years later, Meretzky joined Blue Fang Games to work on the popular Zoo Tycoon franchise.
He is currently employed as a vice president at social media game developer Playdom.
Steve Meretzky访谈录编辑本段回目录
最近，Steve Meretzky这位曾经设计过众多经典Infocom 图文游戏的创作巨匠，现今投"笔"从"网"转而开始设计在线游戏。近日，我们有幸与他促膝长谈，畅聊游戏人生。
Steve Meretzky的游戏设计事业可谓历尽坎坷，沧海桑田。80年代，Infocom名下最受青睐的冒险游戏中有数款出自Steve Meretzky之手，其中包括《Planetfall》、《Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy》，以及《Zork Zero》。与那些早年在锉折之后悄然隐退的人士不同，Meretzky在 Infocom于1986年被Activision购并，且游戏创作室分崩离析之后仍干劲不减，勇创新类型，开拓新风格。90年代初，他开发了一系列幽默诙谐的冒险游戏；其中尤为引人注目的是为Legend Entertainment公司（《Wheel of Time》和即将推出的《Unreal》续集的开发商）开发的《Spellcasting 101》及其两款后续版本。此外，Meretzky还以《Hodj 'n' Podj》在迷题游戏设计领域一试身手，而且凭借超凡脱俗的侦探游戏《The Space Bar》，Meretzky也在现代图像冒险游戏领域有所尝试。日前，GameSpot有幸了解到有关Meretzky的近况，Meretzky 刚刚加盟WorldWinner.com，成为该游戏网站网络游戏创作的领军人物。
点击放大
点击放大 GameSpot：您在80年代为Infocom 编写了大量成功的图文冒险游戏，并以因此闻名业界。您是如何开始制作互动故事的？
Steve Meretzky：一切都是从一台Apple II电脑开始的，那天我恰巧在饭厅的桌上看到了它。且听我细细说来，我结识了许多来自麻省理工学院（MIT）的Infocom创办人；他们比我早几年上大学。我们同时参加了一些学生课外活动（具体讲就是电影和讲座）。我主修建筑工程管理，然而我最初几份在建筑工司的工作简直是令人头脑发木，无聊透顶。而与此同时，我的室友Mike Dornbrook却是Infocom独一无二的游戏测试员。由于当时的Infocom连间办公室都没有，因此Mike 就在我们饭厅的餐桌上用一台Apple II 测试《Zork I》。他不在时，我也玩玩这款游戏，并向他汇报我找到的所有问题。事实证明，我的"纠错"能力相当不错。因此，当Mike到商学院进修后，我就理所当然地成为Infocom唯一一位游戏测试员。这份工作我大约做了一年。一天，《Zork》的作者之一 ，Infocom主管开发的副总裁Marc Blank突然问我，是否愿意尝试编写游戏。于是，1982年秋季，我开始着手进行《Planetfall》的创作，这部作品在一年后出炉。
GS：由于您已经开始涉足其它类型游戏的创作，在转型的过程中，您遇到过何种新挑战？您仍然可以从冒险游戏设计中汲取的经验是什么呢？
SM：游戏业诞生之初，游戏开发几乎是一人在单操独办。没有专业的图像和音效制作人，一切的设计、撰写、制片及编程（这当然需要一些帮手）工作都需要我一人孤军奋战。但当随着我们步入80年代晚期和90年代，游戏项目的规模日益增大，许多庞大、专业的设计小组共同参与一个项目的开发。制作一款游戏愈来愈需要一个领军人物穿梭其中，将游戏的某个构想灌输给一个日趋庞大、分工各异的制作人群。沟通和领导能力这些在游戏业早期完全派不上用场的技能，在现在却是至关重要的。而且，谢天谢地，我已经有6年没有亲自编写过一行程序代码了！
在早期的主要经验中，能到现在仍然颠扑不破的是"细致入微"。在游戏设计过程中，最后50％的工作只能将游戏品质提升5％，但就是那五个百分点--即是画龙点睛之笔，使游戏人物能够对含混晦涩的指令有所反应，将用户定制功能引入游戏，用快捷的按钮取代了烦闷的窗口，将各种惊喜隐藏于游戏中，凡此种种--就是一流游戏区别于普通游戏的关键所在。然而，不幸的是，许多发行商都将目标定位于当今业界的底线。这些目光短浅的发行商们无法注意到，诸如Blizzard等永远奉行这一规则的制作公司才是最畅销游戏的创作者。
GS：近几年，您创编了一款图像冒险游戏及一款战棋类迷题游戏。除冒险游戏之外，您还对什么类型的游戏感兴趣？
SM：我喜欢玩的游戏类型与我爱创作的游戏类型没有任何出入。我最忠爱的游戏类型包括，冒险游戏、角色扮演游戏、战略游戏，以及经典迷题游戏。在上述各种类型中，除战略游戏之外，我已经涉足过所有类型的游戏制作。因此，今后我最有兴趣参与制作的就是战略游戏。我还希望制作不落俗套，在全新方向有所尝试的游戏，诸如《模拟人生》（The Sims）或《The Incredible Machine》。
《太空酒吧》（Space Bar）编辑本段回目录
开发商： Boffo Games
发行商： SegaSoft
年代： 1997
《我心永在》或许是Steve Meretzky所有作品中最为出色的一款，同时它也是这位游戏大师设计的唯一一款严肃风格的冒险游戏。Meretzky的名字常常与经他妙手点播的幽默冒险游戏形影不离：诸如《Planetfall》、《Leather Goddesses of Phobos》、《the Spellcasting》系列，以及《Superhero League of Hoboken》等等。所有这些游戏都渗透着一种黑色幽默，都因笔锋犀利的写作手法而锦上添花，而且都非常怪诞离奇。但是，这些游戏中最荒诞的要属《太空酒吧》了，而这也是Meretzky设计的唯一一款图像冒险游戏，其中的技术将Meretzky疯狂的想像表现得不差毫厘。
《太空酒吧》是一款典型的神秘冒险游戏，它以外星人星球Armpit VI这个异乎寻常的游戏环境为背景。玩家在游戏中扮演Alias Node，一位效力于"联合真空安全部队"，正试图调查一战友被害原因的人类侦探。为将案件查个水落石出，玩家必须在"The Thirsty Tentacle"里采访各具形态的外星人，正如读者想象的那样，这就是游戏题目所指的太空酒吧。
《太空酒吧》在某些方面借鉴了已颇有时日的InfoComics游戏（诸如出自Meretzky本人之手的《Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen》），因为改变玩家人物的观点是游戏中不可或缺的一个因素。这将是玩家破案的主要方法，因为主人公曾接受过"移情灵通术"训练。这种灵通术让玩家进入外星人的心灵，然后通过他们自己的视角重温记忆。但是，与传统的线性InfoComics游戏不同的是，玩家在《太空酒吧》中征服的人物将完全在你的掌控之中，而你则要通过他们与众不同的观点解决大堆的疑团。玩家可以听到他们用各自的声音讲话，而且还得应对外星人与人类间奇特的结构性差异。一个最有名的例子就是，当玩家在一个Zzazl（一种长着复眼，外表颇似昆虫的生物）的记忆深处游荡时，整个视窗被分割成七幅小图像，让玩家通过一个苍蝇的视角来观察世界。
游戏中外星人的设计师是Ron Cobb，他曾主持设计过大名鼎鼎的电影《星球大战》中一个酒馆场景里的许多生物，因此玩家将在此款游戏中结识众多有趣的生物物种。一个形似圆桶的鼻涕虫生物懒洋洋地躺在酒吧的桑拿间里；一群硕大的昆虫在阴暗角落里围着一张小餐桌喋喋不休地闲聊；一只没有鼻子，长着肥大下巴的粉红色外星生物正伴着现场乐队节奏和缓的爵士旋律"翩翩起舞"，而乐队也是"麻雀虽小，五脏俱全"，成员中还有一位蓝色的四臂鼓手。
Meretzky让我们从一种趣味横生、轻松愉快的氛围走进未来，游戏中随处可见他特有的幽默。《星际迷航》（Star Trek）向玩家展示了一个理想化的游戏世界，其中的所有人都对地球的历史了如指掌、倒背如流，但在Armpit VI 这个星球上，一切都错位了。举个例子来说，在一个本以"蛮荒西部"为主题的博物馆中，矗立着一套厚重的19世纪潜水盔甲，上有一说明写道："此类铠甲是装备精良的牛仔在抵御凶猛的印第安和纳粹等敌人时的必要装备。"此外，还有自动饮料机出售各种功能饮料，诸如Bad Acid旅行，以及与101位律师前往Yzore进行双周Bad Acid旅行等等。
但遗憾的是，此款游戏的趣味性因一些愚钝不堪的迷题，以及令人烦躁的光碟数据读取时间而大打折扣，这些缺憾不仅破坏了它的游戏方式，而且令整个故事无法顺畅进展。事实上，在一台配有大容量硬盘的现代化高速计算机上运行这款游戏将大大增加其趣味性，因为玩家可以将光碟上的内容拷贝到硬盘上，从而减少数据交换时间。
Meretzky has been credited on games developed by: Infocom, Legend Entertainment Company, Activision Inc., Boffo Games Inc., MicroProse, GameFX, Floodgate Entertainment, and Tom Snyder Productions.
Lead designer
In the following titles, Meretzky was sole or lead designer / creative director.
Infocom
Planetfall (1983)
Sorcerer (1984)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1984)
A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985)
Leather Goddesses of Phobos (1986)
Stationfall (1987), Infocom
Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz (1988)
Lane Mastodon vs. the Blubbermen (1988)
Activision
Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X! (1992), (under the "Infocom" label)
Legend Entertainment
Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls (1990)
Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance (1991)
Spellcasting 301: Spring Break (1992)
Superhero League of Hoboken (1994)
Boffo Games
Hodj 'n' Podj (1995), Virgin Interactive Entertainment
The Space Bar (1997), Rocket Science Games, SegaSoft
WorldWinner
Word Cubes (2001)
SwapIt! (2003)
Skillgammon (2004)
Haunted Mine (2004)
Paint Buckets (2005)
...more than 25 more...
Other titles
For these titles, Meretzky had a lesser role, such as in an advisory capacity:
Frederik Pohl's Gateway (1992), Legend Entertainment Company
Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender (1992), MicroProse
Eric the Unready (1993), Legend Entertainment Company
Sinistar Unleashed (1999), THQ Inc.
Books
Steve Meretzky's Spellcasting 301: Spring Break: The Official Hint Book from Legend Entertainment Company, 1993, Compute, ISBN 0-87455-286-9 (as S. Eric Meretzky)
Zork: The Forces of Krill (A What-Do-I-Do-Now Book, Zork #1), 1983, Tor Books, ISBN 0-8125-7975-5
Zork: The Malifestro Quest (A What-Do-I-Do-Now Book, Zork #2), 1983, Tor Books, ISBN 0-8125-7980-1
Zork: The Cavern of Doom (A What-Do-I-Do-Now Book, Zork #3), 1983, Tor Books, ISBN 0-8125-7985-2
Zork: Conquest at Quendor (A What-Do-I-Do-Now Book, Zork #4), 1984, Tor Books, ISBN 0-8125-5989-4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Meretzky
