Implementer (video Games) - Implementers at Infocom

Implementers At Infocom

The original Zork Implementers who formed Infocom included Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, and Dave Lebling. As the company grew, the title Implementor became a badge of status. Infocom frequently promoted from within, and in particular a number of game testers, including Steve Meretzky, rose to the rank of Imp. Meretzky was publicly referred to as an Implementor, both in the "About the Author" section of the Planetfall manual and in a few issues of Infocom's customer newsletter, The New Zork Times (later renamed The Status Line).

Of special interest in the company culture was the "Implementors' Lunch", said to be "a legendary weekly event garnering all the Infocom game writers." Brian Moriarty has said his first Implementors' Lunch "was like being invited to tea at Abbey Road with the Beatles!" The Imps used an old Cornerstone package, square and blue, as a picnic basket.