The Enduring Legacy of Zork

M

monkeymagick

[H]News
Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
480
Here's a nice write-up for all you Zork dorks out there. Created 40 years ago in MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science by four graduates, the game still has a lasting effect on the tech world. The four spent about 2 years refining the text-based adventure, leaving it up on MIT machines for students who had access to ARPANET. Eventually, the three of the developers along with seven others founded the company Infocom and released the game in three-parts. To this day, the word parser influences the chatbots of tomorrow.

During its 1980s heyday, commercial versions of Zork released for personal computers sold more than 800,000 copies. Today, unofficial versions of the game can be played online, on smartphones, and on Amazon Echo devices, and Zork is inspiring young technologists well beyond the gaming field.
 
A classic, Legend for its time. Its probably one of a hand full of games that are still talked about from the beginning of the PC era. Along with the original King's Quest....oh the good old days.
 
'Oh ye who go about saying unto each: "Hello sailor":
Dost thou know the magnitude of thy sin before the gods?
Yea, verily, thou shalt be ground between two stones.
Shall the angry gods cast thy body into the whirlpool?
Surely, thy eye shall be put out with a sharp stick!
Even unto the ends of the earth shalt thou wander and
unto the land of the dead shalt thou be sent at last.
Surely thou shalt repent of thy cunning.'
 
Loved me some Infocom games back in the day. If their logo was on a game box, then it was likely a sure winner.
 
I still have a copy somewhere. I remember my 7th grade computer teacher had up play it then taught us basic. Fun times.
 
Had I known
I had to give that stupid jewel encrusted egg to that damn thief I would have finished it! Instead I kept killing him with the stiletto.
 
Last edited:
My friends and I used to play this in a store called Children's Palace. They used to have a few Atari, Commodore and a Coleco Adam computer on display. We'd play until they kicked us out. We got pretty far into the game but don't think I ever finished it. Probably one of the first computer games I ever played.
 
You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door....



Scary I still remember that first line...very profound first PC gaming experience for me.
 
weird thing is after all these years, my only real memory of any zork game ( and I have played them all) is the old drunk guy saying "Want some rye? Course ya do."
 
kju1 said:
You have been eaten by a grue.
Click to expand...

The grue was tame compared to the blasted thief. I actually killed him one time and thought I was safe.... nope, the stupid jerk came back in another room later and killed me. Me thinks that was a bug that was never fixed.
 
Zork was great and I still have every game produced for the Zork series. Also have Leather Goddesses of Phobos which was produced by Infocom in 1986. Time flies when you're having fun and with the series there was a lot of fun (and puzzle solving) to be had.. :)
 
The timing of this thread is perfect, I've only just started playing this on my C64 for the first time and I'm loving it!

There's something about text based adventures, they inspire your imagination every bit as well, if not better, than a good book.

6atdVUkh.jpg
 
BulletDust said:
The timing of this thread is perfect, I've only just started playing this on my C64 for the first time and I'm loving it!

There's something about text based adventures, they inspire your imagination every bit as well, if not better, than a good book.

6atdVUkh.jpg
Click to expand...


Holy shit, there's a trip down memory lane for me...my first Infocom games were played on a C128 in "Go 64" mode.
 
BulletDust said:
The timing of this thread is perfect, I've only just started playing this on my C64 for the first time and I'm loving it!

There's something about text based adventures, they inspire your imagination every bit as well, if not better, than a good book.

6atdVUkh.jpg
Click to expand...
This post is full of win!!
 
SomeoneElse said:
A classic, Legend for its time. Its probably one of a hand full of games that are still talked about from the beginning of the PC era. Along with the original King's Quest....oh the good old days.
Click to expand...
In the scale of things, Kings Quest was no where near the beginning of the PC era as Zork actually is.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Madoc
like this
BulletDust said:
The timing of this thread is perfect, I've only just started playing this on my C64 for the first time and I'm loving it!

There's something about text based adventures, they inspire your imagination every bit as well, if not better, than a good book.

6atdVUkh.jpg
Click to expand...

I don't remember the c64 having such large text, is that the normal display? It's been a long time but I had that machine for years and years.
 
BulletDust said:
The timing of this thread is perfect, I've only just started playing this on my C64 for the first time and I'm loving it!

There's something about text based adventures, they inspire your imagination every bit as well, if not better, than a good book.

6atdVUkh.jpg
Click to expand...
Seriously, if you can find them-check out some Scott Adam's adventures. There were a bunch back in the day. Originally text then some with graphics.
 
funkydmunky said:
In the scale of things, Kings Quest was no where near the beginning of the PC era as Zork actually is.
Click to expand...
3 years isn't that significant....still very much in the same conversation of time period. Zork was created in '77 and and Kings quest was '80. Public version releases were 1980 and 1983 respectively.....So 3 years is pretty much the same time period.
 
gulguran said:
I don't remember the c64 having such large text, is that the normal display? It's been a long time but I had that machine for years and years.
Click to expand...

It does like more like the VIC20's 20 (or 25?) character wide display, doesn't it?
 
SomeoneElse said:
3 years isn't that significant....still very much in the same conversation of time period. Zork was created in '77 and and Kings quest was '80. Public version releases were 1980 and 1983 respectively.....So 3 years is pretty much the same time period.
Click to expand...

Wasn't that "Adventure House" by Roberta Williams?
 
Todd Walter said:
It does like more like the VIC20's 20 (or 25?) character wide display, doesn't it?
Click to expand...

C64 display in it's normal text mode does 40 columns. They had some word processor apps that would do 80 on a C64, but the text was a lot less readable, because it just crammed a smaller character set into the same 320x200 resolution of the text/character screen mode.

I'm not sure how that worked actually. Maybe some weird multi-byte per character hack or something.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top