Duffy in Infocom games

[Richard Bos]

Is it known whether the name "Duffy" meant anything to Infocom? I can't
find it in the usual lists of implementors.

The reason I ask is that it occurs at least twice in the games. Once in
Deadline, where there you are assisted by Sgt. Duffy - and in Suspect,
but that is because of its appearance in Deadline - and once in
Stationfall, which starts on board S.P.S. Duffy.

Richard

[John W Kennedy]

Post by Richard Bos
Is it known whether the name "Duffy" meant anything to Infocom? I can't
find it in the usual lists of implementors.
The reason I ask is that it occurs at least twice in the games. Once in
Deadline, where there you are assisted by Sgt. Duffy - and in Suspect,
but that is because of its appearance in Deadline - and once in
Stationfall, which starts on board S.P.S. Duffy.

For historic reasons, a great many policemen in large cities on the US
east coast are of Irish ancestry, and, in popular US art, the Irish
policeman is even more common than in reality. That alone is enough to
name the character in "Deadline" "Sergeant Duffy", and all the other
Infocom references to the name derive from that original.

It is /possible/ that there was some reason to pick the particular name
"Duffy", but I know of none.