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General discussion (archive)New release: The Zork Anthology(216 posts)(216 posts)
(216 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted January 18, 2011
Today's second release is, beyond doubt, the most oldschool one in GOG.com's history. Read below to find out why.

The Anthology includes Zork I, Zork II, Zork III, Beyond Zork, Zork Zero, and Planetfall. This means six titles in total, all hailing from the 1980s, weighing in at a whopping nine megabytes. Yep, that means just around one floppy disk per game.
That means plain text and gameplay based on text input, but beneath the rough exterior lies a beauty that's hard to find in more modern games. Countless unforgettable situations and descriptions from the Zork series have become iconic in more contemporary fiction, both printed and interactive.
With such timeless and absolutely enthralling games, set in a crazy, surreal world, packed with a witty narrative and sarcastic, dark humor, what's there not to love?
So light your bronze lantern, pick up that Elvish sword of great antiquity and embark on a journey to (re)discover the world of Zork. You will not be disappointed.
Posted January 24, 2011
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BoxOfSnoo: Well I realized why I didn't play through Zork before. Plotless, directionless, themeless, and not a few situations that can make the game unwinnable. There is some decent humor, but this isn't "Interactive Fiction" as much as it is "random puzzles in a box". Brilliant programming for the time but there's a distinct lack of design.

These days the parsers have gotten considerably better, the puzzle design has become much better and the storytelling is light-years beyond this.

I don't know if the other games are much better. I suspect Planetfall might be a little bit better, but I haven't gone through that one either.
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RUSBoris: Completely agree. Can't understand why people would buy these types of games aside from nostalgia (can't even imagine what nostalgia there might be -- even when it was brand new)
You might just be underestimating just how old these games are, bucko.

I mean, back then, you could either have "an open field west of a white house" or.. well... this.

It's hard to understate how much more compelling and interactive the worlds could feel with text over graphics.
Posted January 24, 2011
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RUSBoris: Completely agree. Can't understand why people would buy these types of games aside from nostalgia (can't even imagine what nostalgia there might be -- even when it was brand new)
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cheeseslice73: You might just be underestimating just how old these games are, bucko.

I mean, back then, you could either have "an open field west of a white house" or.. well... this.

It's hard to understate how much more compelling and interactive the worlds could feel with text over graphics.
My biggest complaint over this release is they could have included the better graphics versions of the Zork games - playing them in Arial font makes them a whole different game.

:(
Posted January 24, 2011
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RUSBoris: Completely agree. Can't understand why people would buy these types of games aside from nostalgia (can't even imagine what nostalgia there might be -- even when it was brand new)
The intent of my post was not to put down "these types of games", quite the opposite! I really enjoy Interactive Fiction, it's just that this is a very poor example of what a text adventure can deliver.
Posted January 24, 2011
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RUSBoris: Completely agree. Can't understand why people would buy these types of games aside from nostalgia (can't even imagine what nostalgia there might be -- even when it was brand new)
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BoxOfSnoo: The intent of my post was not to put down "these types of games", quite the opposite! I really enjoy Interactive Fiction, it's just that this is a very poor example of what a text adventure can deliver.
They're not Infocom's best games, true. But then Zork was pretty much directly inspired by Colossal Cave. Zero, Planetfall and Beyond are all a little better than the core Trilogy itself.
Posted January 24, 2011
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GoJays2025: ...
> get leaves
I see no leaves here. ...[etc.]
Lol. I've (sadly) been there quote a few times. Too much "amateur" IF needs copious playtesting to write proper responses to what commands other gamers would actually use.
Posted January 24, 2011
GoJays2025 , ROFL. that post is true for me as well!
Posted January 24, 2011
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nifehed: GoJays2025 , ROFL. that post is true for me as well!
It's really a matter of opinion, I find. Some feel that objects should be described in the location description, even if they're not "game" objects. Others feel that if you actively tell someone something is there, and it's not relevant, attempting to "use" the object in any fashion, the game should tell you that "it's not important to the game",but for my money, that kind of thing is basically the quickest way to pull me right out of the experience.

The IF Author's art isn't an easy one. Quite a lot of it is personal taste.
Posted January 24, 2011
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cheeseslice73: It's really a matter of opinion, I find. Some feel that objects should be described in the location description, even if they're not "game" objects. Others feel that if you actively tell someone something is there, and it's not relevant, attempting to "use" the object in any fashion, the game should tell you that "it's not important to the game",but for my money, that kind of thing is basically the quickest way to pull me right out of the experience.

The IF Author's art isn't an easy one. Quite a lot of it is personal taste.
This is true. They have to be subtle enough with their clues that the player won't immediately know if something is useful and how it can be used, yet they must give you enough of a hint that you aren't wondering too blindly. Tough to get the right balance, that's for sure.

Unfortunately I seem to fail when it comes to even the easier IF because I get overwhelmed by the amount of actions available - often not realizing that you have to look behind a certain object, or look IN something, instead of just looking AT something, and that's just one example. Smell, listen, and other uncommonly used verbs in such games also trip me up.

It's a shame because I do really like the idea of IF, and wish I can play them properly without having to resort to copying & pasting the whole walkthrough to solve them.
Post edited January 24, 2011 by GoJays2025
Posted January 25, 2011
Fantastic! GOG are pumping out the old Activision releases. It's good to know that this company, which now owns a good percentage of the 80s and 90s gaming scene (especially adventure games, owning both Infocom and Sierra) are so willing to keep those titles alive and DRM-free.
Posted February 27, 2011
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Afthartos: Hmm... Aren't we missing on Grand Inquisitor?
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cheeseslice73: We're missing all the graphical adventure games. Judging by this release, Activision will probably eventually release them one at a time. ZTUU will probably turn up with Grand Inquisitor (though, that's freeware anyway). Fuck knows if we'll ever get Enchanter, Sorceror and Spellbreaker.
GI is freeware? When did that happen?
Posted February 27, 2011
Was probably referring to ZTUU, just a little awkwardly phrased.
Posted March 06, 2011
Is the CD called the Masterpieces of Infocom? I have a copy too, bought it new years back.
That thing lists for serious money on Amazon and ebay when you can find it.




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Mentalepsy: Oddly enough, I have these games on CD. I found it a while back for a few dollars in a used bookstore.

I've only played the first one. I got stuck, though.
Posted March 07, 2011
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bbostick: Is the CD called the Masterpieces of Infocom? I have a copy too, bought it new years back.
That thing lists for serious money on Amazon and ebay when you can find it.
It's actually the Zork Anthology, which includes the same six games as the GOG release.
Posted March 09, 2011
hey, thanks to the spammer for bumping the thread

zork is awesome
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This is my favourite topic
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General discussion (archive)New release: The Zork Anthology(216 posts)(216 posts)
(216 posts)