🧭 THE ARCHIVES

Quote of the day

The cyclops says "Mmm Mmm. I love hot peppers! But oh, could I use a drink. Perhaps I could drink the blood of that thing." From the gleam in his eye, it could be surmised that you are "that thing".

-- Zork I

Factoid of the day

In 1992, former implementers Marc Blank and Michael Berlyn teamed up to found video game company Blank, Berlyn & Co., eventually renamed to Eidetic and then to Bend Studio after being acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment. The company initially produced games for the Apple Newton, but later pivoted to computer and console games such as Busby 3D and Syphon Filter.

*Earth will be destroyed in 12 minutes to make way for a hyperspace bypass.*
Dec 1985

Games, v7(12)

~1 minute read

Dec 1983

Computers at Play: Adventure

Zork I, II, and III

Roe R. Adams III

The Zork trilogy, which chronicles happenings in a vast realm known as the Underground Empire, is the most famous of the all-text adventure games. Fantastic creatures, magic spells, and diabolical traps abound at every turn, and each room or area is described in long paragraphs of rich detail, helping the player visualize the setting.

In the first saga, titled The Great Underground Empire, the player begins outside a strange house that holds the hidden portal to the underground. Once below, the adventurer will rarely see daylight again until he finishes Zork III. Inside the house may be found a lamp and an ancient elfin sword. Whenever the computer tells you the sword is emitting a blue light, watch out: Dangerous creatures are around.

The intermediate-level Zork II: The Wizard of Frozzbozz goes ever deeper into the underground realm, and the adventurer must now deal with dragons, unicorns, and a carousel of spinning death. Randomly appearing throughout the dungeon is the Wizard of Frozzbozz himself, who casts spells that all begin with the letter F (freeze, float, fluoresce, etc.). In the third game. The Dungeon Master, which is geared for the expert level, the player is faced with very complicated riddles to solve and finally must duel the dungeon master of the title.

Though interconnected, each part of the trilogy is solvable separately. Zork I, the simplest, is a great game for first-time adventurers. The second and third installments become progressively more difficult.

Created by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling, the Zork trilogy has set a national standard for excellence in puzzle design. It will delight the game player with many months of adventures.

Zork I, II, and III, Infocom, Cambridge, MA; on disk for Apple II/II + /IIe, Atari 800/1200, Commodore 64, CP/M, DEC Rainbow, IBM PC, TI Professional, TRS-80 Model III, $40-$50 each.

This article appeared in
Games
Dec 1983

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