Cutthroats is Michael Berlyn's third game for Infocom and the third in the adventure magazine-themed Tales of Adventure series, following Seastalker and Berlyn's previous Infidel. Normally this is where I'd say some interesting facts about it, but I don't know any, and the generally spoiler-free Infocom Fact Sheet doesn't really have any. So let's just dive in.
The issue of True Tales of Adventure, as in Infidel, serves as both a manual and an in-universe feelie, recounting gameplay instructions and lore through stories and anecdotes, this time mostly about deep sea treasure diving, though none are directly related to Cutthroat's plot or setting. More directly relevant are the two other feelies; a maritime equipment catalog with a tide-table appendix that looks an awful lot like a copy protection mechanism, and a book of famous shipwrecks in the local waters.
Nights on Hardscrabble Island are lonely and cold when the lighthouse barely pierces the gloom, ruminates Cutthroats. We play a treasure hunter, but an unsuccessful one whose fruitless expeditions surely haven't been featured in True Tales of Adventure. A local scoundrel Hevlin comes into our room at the hotel, asking us to hold onto a copy of the aforementioned shipwreck book that he "acquired." I've read Treasure Island. I already know this doesn't end well for him.
His last words here are "I've got to go find Red," before taking off. Then a scuffle outside involving three men ends with one getting stabbed, who may or may not be Hevlin. Either way, Hevlin is dead, and the Hardscrabble police have surprisingly few questions for us.
The next morning, a note is found under the door:
If you're interested in a big deal, be at The Shanty at 8:30 this morning.
-Johnny
Despite the urgent timeframe, I began with Trizborting, as always.
My room is sparsely furnished, with little but a bed and dresser, in which a bank passbook showing a balance of $603, a room key, and spare change of clothes can be found along with the shipwreck book. A small closet stored some diving equipment. As I left the inn, a man known as "The Weasel" could be seen heading from the lobby to the upstairs hallway where my room was located.
I followed Hardscrabble's main street, Wharf Road, which stretches east to the sea, and along the way noted a few establishments - the lighthouse, McGinty Salvage, Outfitter's International, and two trawlers, the Night Wind and Mary Margaret, both of which are described in the catalog that comes with the game.
The Shanty lay at the end of the street, where Johnny Red awaited, accompanied by one "Pete the Rat" as well as The Weasel. They asked me to help finance a treasure salvaging. Trusting them seemed like a bad idea, but to keep the plot moving forward, I agreed. Red told me to meet at the lighthouse by 9:30, warning me not to let McGinty find out.
I got up to continue Trizborting, and as I walked back west on the Wharf Road, stomach now grumbling (great, another blasted hunger daemon), I passed McGinty, who stared at my possessions, apparently visible and of some interest to him.
Hunger, and thirst, it turns out, won't kill you, but will produce distracting messages, and after about 50 moves, will cause you to randomly stumble and miss turns. Food and drink can be ordered at The Shanty, thankfully, and I finished mapping out Hardscrabble's accessible portions, consisting of 50 rooms.
- McGinty's and Outfitter's International are initially closed. I was able to enter each at certain points, and the trigger to open them seems to be related to meeting Johnny Red. McGinty's eventually closes shop and throws you out.
- A winding road west of Wharf Road leads past an impassable swamp, to the lighthouse, which is locked.
- There is an alley behind the row of business establishments, which all have locked back doors. To the south is an impassable field of weeds.
- Ocean Road, east of Wharf Road, leads south to Point Lookout, the highest point on the island, and to Shore Road, which leads to the Mariner's Trust and the Ferry Landing.
- The two ships at the wharf are explorable and have identical layouts, with four decks around a wheelhouse, and more rooms below deck. The Night Wind has a drill in storage, while the Mary Margaret has a deep sea diving suit and a small, mysterious machine.
Some further observations about the locals' actions and other scripting matters:
- The Weasel will, if you fail to lock your bedroom door, enter and ransack it, searching for the passbook (not the shipwreck book for some reason). If he finds it, then he won't show up at The Shanty - he'll be seen hanging out in the back alley behind it and will leave on the morning ferry - and Johnny Red will call the treasure hunt off.
- After agreeing to the treasure hunt, Johnny Red goes straight to the lighthouse, and McGinty goes to The Shanty for a smoke before returning to his shop. The Weasel and Pete the Rat leave once McGinty shows up.
- McGinty gets excited if he sees you carrying the passbook, and, like The Weasel, doesn't seem to care about the shipwreck book. He will then shadow you, and The Weasel will kill you if he's seen with you.
And some notes about time:
- Game time doesn't advance past 8:20am. At first I thought this was a scripting trigger so that time doesn't advance until the plot is ready, until I realized the reason is much more prosaic. Your watch just needs winding.
- Outfitter's International and the Mariner's Trust open at 9:00am.
- McGinty's opens at 9:20am, after he returns from his morning smoke. At 10:20am, he closes shop and goes to the bank, then to Outfitter's International, and returns to his shop after 11:00am.
Hardscrabble now mapped out, I restarted to play for real. I went to see Johnny Red, locking my bedroom door behind me, and agreed to his little treasure hunt. Regrouping at the lighthouse, he gave his plan - my first job is to identify the location of a wreck, based on a salvaged gold coin dated 1860 and stamped with King Peter II of Portugal. I must also supply $500 for provisions, and do the dive. Red captains, of course, Pete cooks, and Weasel crews. We are to meet up at Point Lookout at 10:45 with the money, get provisions, and finally meet back at The Shanty at 11:45.
The wreck is obviously the São Vera, which sank at 40'N and 45'E.
After this meeting, Johnny Red goes to Outfitters International before going to Point Lookout. The Weasel waits until 10:24, then makes a quick trip to the hotel, no doubt trying to break into my room again, before going to The Shanty. Pete leaves for The Shanty at 10:30.
I went back to my room to get the passbook and diving gear, then left, locking the door behind me, and went straight to the Mariner's Trust to withdraw everything, and went straight to Point Lookout, narrowly missing McGinty, and dropped my passbook here, where McGinty would be unlikely to see it. There, Johnny Red took my money, and confided in me that he'd been working with Hevlin, that he knows I have his shipwreck book, and that he doesn't trust Pete or Weasel.
This is more than a little suspect. Just how much time passed between Hevlin's egress from my room and when he got stabbed right outside of it, presumably by Weasel? Or was Hevlin the one who did the stabbing, giving him time to find Johnny, and then get killed after telling him everything? And if so, who did he stab? Why should Johnny confide anything in me when he doesn't trust anyone else? What does he (and Weasel) know about McGinty that he isn't telling me? All signs suggest he isn't being completely level, and if he is, then he's a fool to even go on a boat with these characters that he outright suspects of backstabbing murder.
But for the time, the only way to advance the story is to follow the script. Johnny asked if the treasure would be more than 200 feet deep, and as it was, we'd need the Mary Margaret with its deep-sea diving gear. We went to Outfitters International, where Johnny purchased some gear, leaving me with $189 to spend on stuff, and no clues on what Johnny already bought or what I'd need later. I saved here, knowing I'd have to revisit.
I used this save point to track the characters' movements over the next few hours:
- Johnny goes to The Shanty and chats for a bit with Pete & Weasel.
- At 11:30, McGinty leaves his shop and goes toward The Shanty.
- At 12:00, Weasel leaves The Shanty and goes to the ferry landing. McGinty arrives later, looks around, and leaves for the ferry landing.
- Weasel meets McGinty at the landing, hands him something, and boards the ferry. McGinty goes back to the office, where there is now an envelope on his desk with "Weasel's Merchant Seaman's card - collateral for deal" written on it.
- At 1:50, Pete and Johnny leave The Shanty and head to Mary Margaret.
Regrettably, the store won't sell you spear guns, so it isn't possible to shoot McGinty and see what's inside his envelope.
I bought myself nautical charts, a flashlight, and a tube of putty, totaling exactly $189. Next I snuck aboard the Night Wind to steal its drill, returned to The Shanty for a drink of water, and returned to the wharf, boarded the Mary Margaret, and waited for everyone to join me. I gave Johnny the coordinates, we arrived, and Weasel beckoned me to dive. After helping myself to some breakfast and water in the galley, I equipped the dry suit and a flashlight, connected the air hose from the onboard compressor, dove, and at 150 feet got eaten by a shark.
I reloaded. I now knew I'd need to buy a flashlight and shark repellent, which priced me out of the $150 nautical charts. I bought the following:
- Net
- Anchor
- Flashlight
- Diving book
- Shark repellent
- Putty
- Dry cell
- C battery
Total bill is $185.
The shark repellent is immediately useful, and I arrived at the São Vera after diving 400 feet. A ladder down to the middle deck broke as I tried to descend it, stranding me on the middle deck, where I found a plaque of King Alfonso VI, a pushable cask, and an aftward exit blocked by debris. Unable to pass or get back above deck (I tried standing on the cask to no avail), I picked this point as a stopping point for now.
Yarr matey
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