Zork notes

The game for which was chosen for me to base my “reimagining” around was Zork, a  text based adventure game created by Tim Anderson, Mark Blank, Bruce Daniels and Dave Lebling in 1977. The game’s backstory is as follows:

Zork is set in "the ruins of an ancient empire lying far underground". The player is a nameless adventurer "who is venturing into this dangerous land in search of wealth and adventure. The goal is to return from the "Great Underground Empire" alive with the treasures, ultimately inheriting the title of Dungeon Master.

Having never played Zork before I figured it would probably be a good idea to begin the project by playing it. The modern gamer might struggle to consider Zork a game because unlike a conventional game, it does not give a player any illustrations/ graphics to influence and explain their actions within the game world – but despite this it still creates a game space for the player to explore using only a few lines of description and basic commands for the player to traverse the world. The player can move anywhere and do anything as long as it is plausible or recognisable action. However Zork is interesting and far removed from conventions in that gives the player no kind of indication of who they are and what their goal is. Most games have pre-defined goals; be it to complete a level/ mission, collect a number of items, defeat a boss, etc. Zork may have creatures and goals for the player to achieve but it is entirely up to the player to discover these.

I think this game is likely not suited for a modern audience at it’s current state because despite the freedom and expansive nature of its setting - the lack of visible goals, graphics and reliance on a players own want to explore this world make it very far removed from the linear games that have been released for the past 10 years.

My own personal experience of playing it has been varied. Issues I have found were largely in relation to finding where to go, which key phrases are recognised and general navigation. Nevertheless there was a certain pleasure in freely exploring a foreign land and discovering items (such as a jewelled egg in a nest which required a tree to be climbed). However like most text based games which grant you a large amount of freedom, until the right objects are found, and used the correct way the game just cannot progress. It’s a feature for many point and click games such as Hotel Dusk, the Ace Attorney Series and Sam and Max. The similarities between Point and Click games and Zork in regards to gameplay are actually quite large so that could be one avenue I could explore with my reinvention.

However another issue that makes Zork different from point and click adventures is that unlike the graphically illustrated adventures of Sam and Max and the like, Zork’s basic descriptions at some point do not necessarily reflect what needs to be done or can be misinterpreted. For example:

“…you may climb down here”

Climb down

“I do not understand this”

However if there was one positive point I took from the gameplay of Zork it was the exploration side of the game. If it could be given a slightly more linear direction via a narrative then some of the issues could be addressed I feel because, taking Hotel Dusk as an example, should the lead character require something different from what is required he will often make hints to what the player should look for and where. Or at points where this does not happen, the player only need re-iterate the narratives flow to that point to find clues as to what to do.

Another side of things I would like to look at would be the old adventure Role Playing books that were popular several years ago. In these games the player would be placed into a simple scenario and would then be given a series of options that would determine whether they would lead their nameless adventurer to success or failure. Like Zork they could find or purchase items but their use would only become apparent at the correct points in the book. I like the branching nature of the Role Playing books and so this is another thing I would like to experience first-hand and research.

Finally the brief mentions intended Audience and Platform so these are things I will have to consider and research thoroughly. My initial thoughts that are of a narrative heavy point and click styled exploration game also consider the Wii or 3DS as possible platforms to consider. As for the Audience, that will likely become apparent as the game concept takes shape.