Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It
Encyclopedia
Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It is an interactive fiction
computer game written by Jeff O'Neill and published by Infocom
in 1987. It was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the PC
and Commodore 64
. Nord and Bert was unique among Infocom games in that it was highly surrealistic
, centering around word play
and pun
s. It is Infocom's twenty-seventh game.
The only effort made to interlink the separate parts of the game is as follows: reality has somehow been altered around the town of Punster. Idiom
s and cliché
s are suddenly manifesting themselves quite literally, and it falls to the player, as it always does, to sort things out.
The sections of the game:
(who also illustrated the front and back of the game package). The cartoons generally illustrate several of the types of puzzles in the game, such as "All Alone on a Desserted Isle", which shows a castaway sitting on a tiny island (complete with requisite palm tree) surrounded by pies, cakes, and ice cream. Each cartoon corresponds to a section of the game.
Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
computer game written by Jeff O'Neill and published by Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
in 1987. It was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
. Nord and Bert was unique among Infocom games in that it was highly surrealistic
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, centering around word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
and pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s. It is Infocom's twenty-seventh game.
Plot
Nord and Bert defies easy description, and in fact almost seems to have been created in an effort to be as strange as possible. For example, the title and front box illustration (two farmers staring at an animal that consists of two cows' rear halves fused together) have nothing to do with the game. Rather, Nord and Bert revolves around several different kinds of wordplay, with a "chapter" of the game dedicated to each style. The first seven chapters can be played in any order, since each exists as an independent "short story" unrelated to the other chapters; to begin the eighth, however, the player must provide seven "passwords" provided by completing each of the other sections.The only effort made to interlink the separate parts of the game is as follows: reality has somehow been altered around the town of Punster. Idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
s and cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
s are suddenly manifesting themselves quite literally, and it falls to the player, as it always does, to sort things out.
The sections of the game:
- "The Shopping Bizarre" - this portion takes place in a grocery store where normal products have been replaced by outlandish homonymHomonymIn linguistics, a homonym is, in the strict sense, one of a group of words that often but not necessarily share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings...
s. The player must change all the oddities back to their original form by simply typing the correct names. For instance, when confronted with a large, awkward-looking mammal sporting hooves and antlers that smells of fudge, the player must type "chocolate mousse" (a homonym for "mooseMooseThe moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
"). - "Playing Jacks" - this section is rather short and unfocused, and involves a gadget called the "Jack of All Traits" (which is, of course, a play on the phrase "Jack of all trades"). When presented with a series of unusual situations, this item proves useful by displaying attributes of other items whose name contains "Jack". For instance, when a mermaid tangled in fishing line washes ashore, the player can turn the Jack of All Traits into a JackknifePocket knifeA pocket knife is a folding knife with one or more blades that fit inside the handle that can still fit in a pocket. It is also known as a jackknife or jack-knife...
and cut the lines. - "Buy the Farm" - this chapter takes place around a farm and requires the player to use a variety of clichéd expressions literally. Younger players may find a few of these expressions somewhat obscure, such as BEAT SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARESSwords to ploughsharesSwords to ploughshares is a concept in which military weapons or technologies are converted for peaceful civilian applications....
or BUY A PIG IN A POKEPig in a pokeThe idioms pig in a poke and sell a pup refer to a confidence trick originating in the Late Middle Ages, when meat was scarce, but cats and dogs were not...
. - "Eat Your Words" - another section of idioms presented literally, this time revolving around a diner. The player must alternately insult and apologize to a waitress by using phrases such as GIVE THE WAITRESS THE EVIL EYEEvil eyeThe evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...
or EAT HUMBLE PIEHumble pieTo eat humble pie, in common usage, is to apologize and face humiliation for a serious error. Humble pie, or umble pie, is also a term for a variety of pastries, originally based on medieval meat tripe pies.- Etymology :...
. When the waitress is sufficiently exasperated, she allows the player to enter the kitchen, where the chef is murderously hostile until the player "leaves the cook to his own devices" and "gores his ox". - "Act the Part" - a very strange portion of a very strange game. With little explanation, the player must take part in a 50s-style sitcom and perform visual gags and bits of slapstickSlapstickSlapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comedy, including giving someone a "hotfoot" and playing along with knock-knock jokeKnock-knock jokeThe knock-knock joke is a type of joke, probably the best-known format of the pun, and is a time-honored "call and answer" exercise.It is a role-play exercise, with a punster and a recipient of wit.The standard format has five lines:...
s. - "Manor of Speaking" - this chapter takes place in a house filled with bizarre rooms. Although this section has several puzzles reminiscent of Infocom's "straightforward" interactive fiction games, they are played for surreal humor. As an example: a room called The KremlinKremlinA kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
has a talking portrait of Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. The player must wind a clock and place it inside a box, and then enter the Kremlin. The portrait of Marx assumes that the ticking box is a bomb and falls off the wall, revealing a safe which can be opened using the clock's "winding" key. - "Shake a Tower" - this section ties a number of situations into an absurd story using spoonerismSpoonerismA spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
s. The tangled phrase can be entered by itself, such as "pretty girl" for "gritty pearl". Sometimes certain actions must be performed first, such as feeding stones to set up the change from "fed rocks" to a "red fox". - "Meet the Mayor" - the final chapter can only be played after the rest of the game has been successfully completed. Elements of many of the preceding sections are mixed here as the player tries to convince Punster's mayor to sign a law. Some puzzle solutions are phrases that are merely hinted at by the surroundings, such as "Possession is nine-tenths of the law" or "taking something under false pretenses."
Feelies
For years, each game released by Infocom contained feelies, or extra objects, in its packaging. The only "feelie" included with Nord and Bert was Home on the Range, a booklet of wordplay-themed cartoons drawn by Kevin PopeKevin Pope (cartoonist)
Kevin Pope, born in 1958 in Carmel, Indiana is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in the pages of MAD Magazine since 1997. He is best known to Mad readers as the artist for the "Melvin and Jenkins" series of behavioral guides. Pope has also illustrated greeting cards, advertisements, and...
(who also illustrated the front and back of the game package). The cartoons generally illustrate several of the types of puzzles in the game, such as "All Alone on a Desserted Isle", which shows a castaway sitting on a tiny island (complete with requisite palm tree) surrounded by pies, cakes, and ice cream. Each cartoon corresponds to a section of the game.