Source code of Infocom games

[RealNC]

In case someone here missed the event, Jason Scott did some magic again:

https://github.com/historicalsource?tab=repositories

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

It doesn't appear that any compiler can compile them. Maybe someone will find that!

[Jizaboz]

"ZILF" does apparently. The code is neat to look at. I'm really interested in the unreleased stuff but haven't had time to eyeball it nearly as much as I'd like.

[bryanb]

"ZILF" does apparently. The code is neat to look at. I'm really interested in the unreleased stuff but haven't had time to eyeball it nearly as much as I'd like.

The problem with ZILF is if you mention the software in polite company people start to assume that there are Zorks you'd like to fuck. That's not the sort of reputation you can ever hope to live down. On a related note, I'm getting the idea that Jizaboz is really, really into Zork. I think some people over the years have misinterpreted the purpose of Infocom's feelies (which the original release of Zork didn't even have!). They sound way dirtier than they really are.

It is genuinely exciting to see this important source code get released. I don't think we've ever been closer to being able to create our own Infocom adventures than we are right now. Heck, now we can even fork Zork. Hey, maybe we can give ZILF another meaning: Zorks I'd Like to Fork. There are honestly several Zorks I'd personally like to fork.

[pinback]

BEST OF

[bryanb]

More seriously, I was thinking today about how differently the IF scene could have developed if something like ZILF with a better name plus the recently released source code had been available in the 90s. Part of the reason Inform got so popular is because people wanted to create their own Infocom-like games and it seemed like the most authentic option at the time, but ZIL is inherently more authentic. I'm glad we've got it now, but I wonder what it could have developed into.

I'm interested in playing new ZIL games, but will you even see them entered in the competition as it exists now? It just won't have the same impact on the community unfortunately, and other development systems will probably remain more attractive for IF creators who want to create old school games but aren't primarily nostalgic for Infocom. Then again, IF has been a sea of niches for as long as I can remember. Maybe the right people will still write the games and the right people will find them and play them. We can hope.

[Jizaboz]

Hahah Best Of indeed. And yes, always nice not to have to explain my name!

More seriously, I was thinking today about how differently the IF scene could have developed if something like ZILF with a better name...

Yeah that name is as unfortunate as my current vaping device: "VooPoo". It would be interesting to see what would have been if both this source and a compiler were out many years ago. Back in the early 90s I was trying to create text adventures in QBasic then Turbo C and that wasn't exactly a smooth or productive method. It wasn't until someone told me about Get Lamp coming out in about a year that I even knew anything about modern IF development. And yup, went straight to Inform7 though strictly working in Hugo the past few years.

When you look at the roster of games in recent competitions.. an ever growing larger percentage of non-parser based games are entered. Twine (bleah) etc. Getting people in these contests to choose ZIL over even Inform these days would be difficult. Like you said.. perhaps there will be a niche that forms that takes off though.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

We're all now playing F,M,K for the first three Zorks. You guys go first, I need time to really consider my choices.

[Flack]

Dunno that I'd fuck a Grue, but I've been eaten by one.

[vaporware]

Come on, the name is the best part! Without it, I never would've met this artist, and the world would've been subjected to more of my pixel art instead of this cute lil' beast.