Zork I

The forefather of modern adventure games, Zork brought the genre to the masses. I have begun this game many times, wandered the dark and dusty halls of the Great Underground Empire, only to get completely stuck and put it back on the shelf. Finally, after my wife helped me finish playing through Trinity, we tackled this adventure again and completed it!

There are certainly puzzles here that haven't aged well (e.g. (Spoiler - click to show)figuring out you need to give the egg to the thief or (Spoiler - click to show)defeating the cyclops) but for the most part after a little experimentation and discovering the types of interactions the game expects you to take, most of it is well structured.

There is effectively no story to speak of, and the few other living creatures you encounter are hostile obstacles to bypass, but the immersion here is top notch. The descriptions are not necessarily grandiose and examining the vast majority of objects only states that they are nothing special, but the writing is just detailed enough to let your mind fill in the blanks mostly without even noticing. You feel like you're delving deeper and deeper into damp, rocky caves and where evidence of civilization lies, it's rough, dusty, and abandoned. Unlike the sequel, there is not a huge variety of locations, but each room is exactly distinct enough that you'll start to remember where it is on your map very quickly (you **are** drawing a map, right?!).

Zork isn't a very cruel game, but it will seem like it is until you wrap your head around how the world works (the occasional poorly designed puzzle excepted). It definitely doesn't hold your hand. While I'm usually a fan of starting at the beginning, Zork is difficult enough and the learning curve steep enough that I'm not sure I would recommend it as an entry point into the genre for beginners unless they are already excited and eager to take on the challenge. That said, not having played very many interactive fiction games, I don't yet have an opinion of a better one. Certainly, if you can look beyond the lack of guidance and get immersed in the world the prose reveals, there are many mysteries and adventures Zork I offers.

Zork 1 is straight up GANGSTA, yo! If you can beat this game without hints then you are, without a doubt, one of the smartest people.

Back in 1984 when my folks bought me my first home computer (IBM PCjr) I was 15. Zork was the second PC game that I bought for the new computer. The first was Sir-Tech's <==== W I Z A R D R Y ! ===[--o ... an early computer RPG modeled after Dungeons & Dragons. I was very into D&D and so naturally I wanted to experience adventure on my computer.

Zork is kind of like D&D, in a way. You use a sword to fight monsters. You collect treasure. There are lots of traps and puzzles. Kind of like D&D modules were at the time.

And then it had the humor. The interesting history of the Great Underground Empire. The quirky responses to things. And treasure. Treasure was always fun back in the 80's.

This game has a special nostalgic value for me, of course, but I still feel this game holds up pretty well. Sure, it's absolutely CRUEL and brutal. It is a real challenge. This game isn't going to make you think or ponder life's mysteries or give a happy feel good comedy time. No, it's going to kick you in the private parts. Again. And Again. Until you quit, because you just can't handle it. Or until you smile after hours and hours of careful plodding, restoring, exploring, and eventually, winning!

It took me years but I did eventually beat Zork 1, then 2, and even 3. I did play a bit of Zork Zero and a few of the others in the more graphical parts of the series. Grand Inquisitor is super funny (never beat it). They all have adventuring and quirky flavor that is unique to the GUE setting and related areas. There's a lot to like about the series, overall, so why not start with the first one, the grandaddy of them all, ZORK I.

You know you want to. Go ahead. The house is right there.