<!--
	Title: Zork, The Great Underground Empire
	Author: Bob Liddil, POB 66 Peterborough NH 03458
	Source: BYTE v6(2)
	Date: Feb 1981
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

*Deep within the inky underground<br>
Lurk things only half whispered of<br>
And twisty hidden passages<br>
Which hide both treasure and death.<br>
But who can deny the challenge<br>
Offered to he who would trespass here,<br>
For would not the lure of gold and glory<br>
Be worth more to a man than breath?*

*From* Song of Zork *by Freerover the Bard*

Adventure has evolved many times during its short history. From Crowther's
and Wood's creation to the genius of Scott Adams to the wild antics of Greg
Hassett, the journey has been exciting and entertaining for the fans of
inventive computer puzzles. No single advance in the science of Adventure has
been as bold and exciting as the introduction of Personal Software Inc's *Zork,
The Great Underground Empire.*

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<p class="larger" style="font-weight: bold;">At a Glance</p>
<div class="cols">

**Name**<br>
*Zork, The Great Underground Empire*

**Type**<br>
Adventure game

**Manufacturer**<br>
Personal Software Inc<br>
1330 Bordeaux Dr<br>
Sunnyvale CA 94086<br>
(408) 745-7841

**Price**<br>
$39.95

**Format**<br>
5-inch floppy disk

**Language**<br>
Z80 machine code

**Computer**<br>
Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I with 32 K bytes of memory and one disk drive

**Documentation**<br>
Printed instructions included

**Audience**<br>
Anyone interested in Adventure or fantasy gaming

**Backup Capability**<br>
None apparent

</div></div>

The first thing that everyone will look for when Zork boots up is the blinking
cursor, and the "I AM ... " and "YOU SEE ... " format that Scott Adams has
popularized in his nine Adventures. That is not the case here. The screen
layout is arranged in such a way as to move the WHERE prompt (which gives your
current location in the game) down to the bottom of the screen. I found this
most useful after reading ten or twelve lines of detailed area description.
Additionally, the number of turns elapsed, the number of points accumulated,
and the location form an information display on the bottom line of the screen.
Other game information scrolls upward as the game progresses, giving a very
professional screen layout for the game.

If you happen not to have an unlimited amount of time to spend with your
computer, *Zork* has a SAVE command that allows you to save your position in
the game onto a blank, initialized floppy disk. While some cowards use it to
retain their hard-earned position in the game before making some dangerous
move, the true purpose of this command is to let you follow the game through
to its ultimate end (which may take weeks), or as protection against losing
your position due to, say, a brief power failure.

*Zork* comes on a write-protected single-density 5-inch disk with what appears
to be its own operating system doing the booting and initialization. The disk
defied examination by the most sophisticated methods available to me. I hope
that Personal Software (which distributes *Zork*) will be able to foil the
software pirates and traders for a while. The disk seems to be absolutely
uncopyable.

Loading and preparing for play is simple enough. Merely insert the *Zork* disk
into drive 0 and press the reset button of your computer. When the program is
up and running, a pleasant block cursor greets you. You are now ready to play
*Zork*.

*Zork* requires a 32 K-byte disk system (in this case, a Radio Shack TRS-80
Model I with 32 K bytes of memory and one disk drive) due to the eloquence of
the descriptions and the large number of locations that are stored on the disk
to be recalled at the appropriate times during the game. The advance copy I
used had no instructions, so, in the beginning, I played a fairly straight
game of Adventure.

I was eager to test *Zork*'s biggest selling point, intelligent input (ie: its
ability to accept free-form instructions). I typed "OPEN THE BAG AND GET THE
LUNCH," in reference to a brown paper sack inside the house. The computer
complied. There was water and food, so I typed "EAT THE LUNCH AND DRINK THE
WATER," to which the computer responded with gratitude for satisfying its
hunger and thirst.

I was hooked.

## Exploring *Zork*

This Adventure begins in a beautiful forest near a large white house that is
boarded up in an obvious attempt to keep explorers out. I managed to get into
the house through the front once, but I was plunged into darkness and eaten by
a monster called a grue. The game gave me the option of reincarnating myself,
which I did (at a cost to myself of 10 points). I was revived in a forest.

Beyond the forest is a deep and beautiful canyon through which the River
Frigid flows. This was the first time I had ever been at the end of the
rainbow. No, I didn't see a pot of gold, but just because I didn't see it
doesn't mean it wasn't there.

In these three locations (ie: house, forest, canyon), the descriptions were
lavish, sparing no words in their bestowal of clues and information to the
player. An ordinary jeweled treasure, in the form of a bird's egg, more than
once sent me scurrying to the dictionary in search of the meanings of some of
the words used to describe it.

There are many tools available to the explorer. I was able to obtain a lantern
(light wards off grues), a length of rope, a nasty-looking knife, an elvish
sword (which glows for reasons of its own), a refillable water bottle, a
lunch, and garlic (which presumably repels Were-beings or Vampires, though I
encountered none). Armed with these things, I entered the Underground Empire
in search of gold and glory.

There was this pugnacious troll who popped up in the middle of a room
description early in the game. Here, I got a chance to test the combat
capabilities of the game. I typed "ATTACK TROLL", to which the computer
supplied a supplemental <*with hands*>. Look out! Remembering that the
program accepts more complex input, and, having survived the first combat
turn, I typed "ATTACK TROLL WITH SWORD." This gave more satisfactory results:
the troll expired, his body obligingly turning to black smoke in the interest
of litter-free dungeon delving.

A thief came along shortly thereafter and challenged my right to exist in
*Zork*. I typed "THROW KNIFE". He caught it in his sack and dispatched me to
the netherworld, all in one swift motion. I could still hear him laughing as I
lay ruefully reincarnated on the forest floor. I was ten points lighter and my
possessions were scattered to the four winds. Sadder but wiser, I reentered
the lower levels after 20 minutes of rounding up those items that were
absolutely needed.

More cautious now, I explored the passages and tunnels of *Zork* (level 1).
There are no unwarranted locations here-unless you can count the presence of a
dam with color-coded control buttons in a maintenance room. Gleefully, I began
pushing buttons, something I should know better than to do, as a veteran of
the *Death Dreadnought* and *Strange Odyssey* Adventures. When the water level
began rising, I was not concerned. Then I drowned.

The program was really getting testy with me by now. Grudgingly I was
reincarnated by the Patron Deity who guards the souls of all Adventurers.
Empty-handed once more, I resumed my journey. I retraced my steps to the
Loud Room, where whatever you say is echoed. Then, after 768 turns and an
afternoon of unparalleled enjoyment, my luck ran out. I became Grue Munchies,
part of the balanced diet of silly dungeon players allotted to those
carnivorous native dark dwellers of *Zork*.

On other occasions, I have been expelled from *Zork* on multiple charges of
being a reckless Adventurer. Nonetheless, armed with the dubious rank of
Amateur Explorer and my knowledge of the highest levels, I am looking forward
to the time when I will plunge once more into the troll-, thief-, and
grue-laden depths of the Underground Empire.

*Zork*, as peer to the Microsoft *Adventure* and heir apparent to the throngs of
Adventure cultists who wait breathlessly for each new offering, is equal to
the awesome task it has been given. That the program is entertaining,
eloquent, witty, and precisely written is almost beside the point. Unlike the
kingdoms of the Adventures for machines with 16 K bytes of memory and far from
the classic counter-earthiness of the Colossal Cave in the original *Adventure*,
Zork can be felt and touched- *experienced*, if you will-through the care and
attention to detail the authors have rendered.

I've been to *Zork* today. Tomorrow, I will take a friend. Together we will
unwrap the cloaks of mystery surrounding this most excellent and memorable
work of computerized fiction. And when we have extracted from this land every
drop of adventuring that can be obtained, we will likely not be kept waiting.
A sequel is nearing completion, even as this is being written.

Somebody, please, let me know when it's done.
