The history of the game Zork is a long and winding one, starting with MUDs and kin on university mainframes – where students entertained themselves in between their studies – and ending…
As the readme states, you can’t actually compile the source code. The compilers are lost to time and it’s from a very obscure, proprietary fork of an obscure language. Essentially, this headline should read “Microsoft owns code not even their engineers could comprehend, so they released it for free since they couldn’t possibly make money from it”.
To be fair, Zork is also just a simple text-based adventure game. I’m not even sure what could be learned by looking at its source code unless you wanted to learn that obscure, proprietary forked language itself. Text-based adventures are little more than spicy Hello World programs. 🤷♂️
I am now imagining Microsoft making a new Zork game that is a graphical feast and not at all similar to the OG other than killing you outright if you spend too long in the dark.
I mean, arguably this was done years ago with Return to Zork, Zork: Nemesis, and Zork: Grand Inquisitor. They shared a bit of the humor of the originals, but they were still pretty different.
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But… Why? I don’t trust them, what do they want?
As the readme states, you can’t actually compile the source code. The compilers are lost to time and it’s from a very obscure, proprietary fork of an obscure language. Essentially, this headline should read “Microsoft owns code not even their engineers could comprehend, so they released it for free since they couldn’t possibly make money from it”.
To be fair, Zork is also just a simple text-based adventure game. I’m not even sure what could be learned by looking at its source code unless you wanted to learn that obscure, proprietary forked language itself. Text-based adventures are little more than spicy Hello World programs. 🤷♂️
It is very dark, you are likely to be eaten by a grue. Or profiled by Microsoft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nigRT2KmCE
I didn’t even know Microsoft owned Zork lol
It’s a maze of twisty passages that gets there…
Infocom was bought by Activision, which later got merged into Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft later bought.
And apparently Microsoft originally wanted to buy the rights all the way back in the 80s! It only took them 40 years…
I am now imagining Microsoft making a new Zork game that is a graphical feast and not at all similar to the OG other than killing you outright if you spend too long in the dark.
I mean, arguably this was done years ago with Return to Zork, Zork: Nemesis, and Zork: Grand Inquisitor. They shared a bit of the humor of the originals, but they were still pretty different.
Grand Inquisitor is by far the best 3d Zork title, Nemesis felt too much like Myst and wasn’t nearly comedic enough for mec
Agreed.
extremely rare microsoft W
Why is everything named so weird
I don’t know Kowowow.
ok I misread something I thought it was another linux program or whatever