Name: Infidel
Platform: Atari 800
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Keyboard
Genre: Adventure - Text
Gametype: Licensed
Release Year: 1983
Developer: Infocom
Publisher: Infocom
Players: 1
Programmer: Michael Berlyn
_________________________

You've been marooned by your crew in the vast wasteland of the Egyptian Desert. The burning heat causes you to think you are a brave explorer of fortune, but you have already been branded an Infidel. You are more likely to starve to death than finding the gold and riches that are hidden in the pyramids. 

Difficulty Level: Advanced

Trivia:

Copy protection for the game required the user to dig at a specific set of coordinates and translate hieroglyphics. The map and brief primer made these two tasks considerably easier, although it is possible to muddle through the game without them.

(From The New Zork Times Vol.3 No.2 Spring 1984)

Some statistics about Infidel:

Apparent number of rooms (those seen by the player): 
infinite (The Desert seems infinite, but internally it's actually just 10 rooms) 
Number of rooms: 77 
Number of different ways to die: 40 
Number of words in vocabulary: 613 
Number of takeable objects: 49 

From The New Zork Times, Vol.3 No.1, Winter 1984)

Infocom's first Tale of Adventure might have been called Pyramid. Though uninspired, it was used through the game's initial testing and had a loyal following due to its descriptive nature. Infocom's ad agency, Giardini/Russell, was unimpressed and suggested Infidel. Infocom was unimpressed: it sounded more like something from the Crusades than an exploration for a lost pyramid. But in combination with its distinctive logo and the proposed package design, Infocom relented. They even changed the game a bit to make it work better. 



http://www.mobygames.com/game/atari-8-bit/infidel
