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Weird to learn that the three Zork games were one game split, given that they're so tonally different. (the first having basically no narrative at all, the seco

Weird to learn that the three Zork games were one game split, given that they're so tonally different. (the first having basically no narrative at all, the second being profoundly silly, and the third being fairly serious and dark)

stevekemp 2y ago
I guess it depends on how you view it. Originally there was a Zork game, then a company was formed and they decided to repurpose their existing game as their first project/product because they had no other inspiration. The existing content was too large to fit into the small computers available at the time, so only parts of the prior-art were used in the "new" game. Zork [1] was popular so the idea of a sequel was raised, and of course the content which was left out was then used the second time around. And repeat. I think it's fair to say there was no cohesive intentions to make three games initially, and you can kinda see that from the "plot".
- ghaff 2y ago
  The folks who wrote the original Zork were AI Lab folks who were generally more interested in the technology than the game design. They weren't really that interested in games as the end state. Which led to Cornerstone but that's another story. And, yes, computer resources were a big issue. I think you can find at least one presentation from Dave Lebling (maybe?) at GDC where he talks about some of this.
sparky_z 2y ago
Zork 2 and 3 actually contain a lot of new material, which is the origin of the tonal shifts. The original mainframe Zork was basically a larger version of Zork 1. Zork 2 took most of the rooms that had to be cut for space, weaved them together into a new map, and added a lot of new things as well, including all the sillier plot elements, like the wizard. Zork 3 was almost entirely new, except for the brief endgame which was the original endgame of mainframe Zork.
- mintplant 2y ago
  Huh! I've only played the original mainframe game. I thought the Infocom releases were just that game split into three—I had no idea about all the new material! I'll check them out.
jhbadger 2y ago
If you play a version of the original MIT Zork (often called "Dungeon"), you'll find it isn't exactly the three games put together. There really isn't much plot in the original -- like Zork I it is just basically a treasure hunt (as was the Colossal Cave Adventure which inspired it). There are additional puzzles and plots in Zork II and III that have no basis in the original.

stevekemp 2y ago

I guess it depends on how you view it. Originally there was a Zork game, then a company was formed and they decided to repurpose their existing game as their first project/product because they had no other inspiration. The existing content was too large to fit into the small computers available at the time, so only parts of the prior-art were used in the "new" game. Zork [1] was popular so the idea of a sequel was raised, and of course the content which was left out was then used the second time around. And repeat. I think it's fair to say there was no cohesive intentions to make three games initially, and you can kinda see that from the "plot".

ghaff 2y ago
The folks who wrote the original Zork were AI Lab folks who were generally more interested in the technology than the game design. They weren't really that interested in games as the end state. Which led to Cornerstone but that's another story. And, yes, computer resources were a big issue. I think you can find at least one presentation from Dave Lebling (maybe?) at GDC where he talks about some of this.

sparky_z 2y ago

Zork 2 and 3 actually contain a lot of new material, which is the origin of the tonal shifts. The original mainframe Zork was basically a larger version of Zork 1. Zork 2 took most of the rooms that had to be cut for space, weaved them together into a new map, and added a lot of new things as well, including all the sillier plot elements, like the wizard. Zork 3 was almost entirely new, except for the brief endgame which was the original endgame of mainframe Zork.

mintplant 2y ago
Huh! I've only played the original mainframe game. I thought the Infocom releases were just that game split into three—I had no idea about all the new material! I'll check them out.

jhbadger 2y ago

If you play a version of the original MIT Zork (often called "Dungeon"), you'll find it isn't exactly the three games put together. There really isn't much plot in the original -- like Zork I it is just basically a treasure hunt (as was the Colossal Cave Adventure which inspired it). There are additional puzzles and plots in Zork II and III that have no basis in the original.