tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7274560874062585311.post4184376872098015099..comments2024-03-28T06:43:37.598-07:00Comments on Gaming After 40: Adventure of the Week: ZORK I: The Great Underground Empire (1981)StillGaminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18366215127642090500noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7274560874062585311.post-52450473773914942422014-12-25T06:57:05.377-08:002014-12-25T06:57:05.377-08:00Oh, yes, Zork III drew two things from Dungeon; th...Oh, yes, Zork III drew two things from Dungeon; the Puzzle Room and the End-game in the Dungeon Master's lair.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7274560874062585311.post-48499564919207209952013-03-27T17:15:15.119-07:002013-03-27T17:15:15.119-07:00A little history, from someone who more-or-less li...A little history, from someone who more-or-less lived through it:<br /><br />The original DUNGEON, which was sometimes called "Zork: The Great Underground Empire" on those large machines that played it, was split into two games by Infocom. They released it as "Zork I: The Great Underground Empire" and "Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz." Infocom added a little bit to each half, to round them out and make each feel more complete on its own. "Zork III" was a later Infocom title and drew nothing at all from DUNGEON; it was essentially spun by Infocom out of whole cloth.<br /><br />Lord Dimwit Flathead got his surname from ASCII art of his head. It's easier to make an ASCII art rendition of a head that was flat on the top, than it is to make an ASCII art head that's round on top. Lord Dimwit Flathead also sported a row of vertical bars delimiting his head's upper surface, to represent his flat-top haircut.<br /><br />Oh -- and according to Wikipedia, "Zork" was originally MIT slang for an unfinished program. "DUNGEON" was to be its official title, but TSR (the makers of Dungeons & Dragons) threatened them with a trademark infringement lawsuit. Which is kind of interesting, as TSR had themselves been threatened with suits from the Tolkien Estate for using hobbits and ents (which they had to rename halflings and treants).Roger M. Wilcoxhttp://www.rogermwilcox.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7274560874062585311.post-79981061901732087282011-05-14T04:33:03.107-07:002011-05-14T04:33:03.107-07:00I recall many very happy hours as a teenager in th...I recall many very happy hours as a teenager in the early 90s playing through Zork 1... :)<br /><br />As a bit of fun trivia, the number of leaves (69,105) was an in-joke at Infocom & MIT, largely because it has an unusual relationship (and partly because 69 is a sexual reference):<br />69 in hex = 105 in decimal; 69 in decimal = 105 in octal<br /><br />It appears in a bunch of their games; examples are listed here:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69105_(number)<br /><br />I know that I recognize 12592, but beyond the Commandment containing the sexual reference(s) "Hello, Sailor", I can't find any information on it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03601530372895286420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7274560874062585311.post-75475904169466568852011-05-06T02:31:12.832-07:002011-05-06T02:31:12.832-07:00Ahhh Zork. The very first computer game I bought f...Ahhh Zork. The very first computer game I bought for my brand new C64 at the tender age of 12. Saved up allowance and christmas money to by this and alittle later Questron. Both provided me with hours of enjoyment. I remember it took me 2 months to beet this. Of coarse no faqs and walkthroughs were hard to come by.Travisnoreply@blogger.com