How can I play Zork?

[chrisrx]

I've been reading up on zork recently and it sounds quite interesting, I used to play a few text adventures.

But I haven't got a clue how to play it on linux, has anyone got it to work?
What interpreter should I use etc.

[dfreer]

I had zork (or maybe minizork? is there a difference?) running using dosbox at one point in time... be careful though. It is dark out, you are likely to be eaten by a grue!

[dfreer]

http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/

You can download the DOS version of the game at the link above. Extract the game, and then install dosbox. start dosbox, and then type:

MOUNT C ~/zorkdownloadfolderhere
C:
zork1

Have fun!

[chrisrx]

Ah I found a much easier way, Install frotz which is an interpreter
download zork from that link you posted
load DATA/ZORK1.DAT in frotz in the terminal

[rolando2424]

You can play zork online I think.

I forgot the site though.

EDIT: I think it was in this site: http://www.gameszoo.org/rezork/

[fakie_flip]

How do I install games using dosbox? I believe the game Shivers installs on Windows 95/3.1 and dos, but the SETUP.EXE is only for Win95, and the AUTOPLAY.EXE does not work either. Look at the picture I have attached.

[davin]

Play online man

[Sonja]

Frotz worked much better for me.

The web-based one crashed sometimes, and saving and restoring is a bit annoying. (I wish it used cookies or something.)

Here's a song to put you in the mood: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=4nigRT2KmCE

[FranMichaels]

Hmm, the last Sierra games I bought with Windows/DOS versions were Larry 7 and King's Quest 7.

If memory serves, there should be an INSTALL.EXE (in addition to setup.exe) to use for DOS instead. Your screenshot didn't show the whole file listing...

Hope that works though.

EDIT: D'oh just realized I replied to a offtrack post in an old thread.
Back to zork, use frotz, don't bother emulating a full VM, and why play zork online if you can have it on your computer? (Unless you use different machines all the time, then I guess play it online...)

[Ideastone]

I miss King's Quest. Did anyone here ever play the original? I had it on my parent's Tandy 1000. It was great. Though, Oregon Trail is better than King's Quest and Zork.

[FranMichaels]

I miss King's Quest. Did anyone here ever play the original? I had it on my parent's Tandy 1000. It was great. Though, Oregon Trail is better than King's Quest and Zork.

I have played through King's Quest I-VII, never touched #8 though. Heard it had battling and was in 3D. Blah to that. Anyway, the above work perfectly in DOSBox, much better than running them on the old machines themselves.

[Ideastone]

I have played through King's Quest I-VII, never touched #8 though. Heard it had battling and was in 3D. Blah to that. Anyway, the above work perfectly in DOSBox, much better than running them on the old machines themselves.

Awesome, now I need to track dow King's Quest I and relive my youth.

[yaztromo]

You are in a maze of corridors all alike, do you go North, East, South or West?
North
North
North
North

A stone wall blocks your path.
East
The forest closes in and blocks your path
West
West
West
You are eaten by a grue!

Bah :)

[Ideastone]

You are in a maze of corridors all alike, do you go North, East, South or West?
North
North
North
North

A stone wall blocks your path.
East
The forest closes in and blocks your path
West
West
West
You are eaten by a grue!

Bah :)

Eaten by a grue indeed. Back when I used to play with Gentoo I would have swore that some config files got ate by grues on occasion, but that could have just been user error on my part.

[Totenglocke]

I'm new to linux (just installed Ubuntu this past weekend) and I installed frotz, but frotz DATA/ZORK1.dat doesn't work. I get an error saying that it cannot open the story file. Any ideas?

[linuxlizard]

dosbox, wine, and vice (commodore 64 emulator).

If it's win95 try wine.

[DirtDawg]

Playing Zork is very easy.

Install frotz

sudo apt-get install frotz

Download Zork(s) from Infocom: http://www.infocom-if.org/downloads/downloads.html

Unzip Zork in desired location, then use frotz to run the DAT file located in the DATA directory inside the extracted Zork directory:

frotz ~/zork1/DATA/ZORK1.DAT

It works like a champ and there's no need to mess with Wine or Dosbox.

[DirtDawg]

I'm new to linux (just installed Ubuntu this past weekend) and I installed frotz, but frotz DATA/ZORK1.dat doesn't work. I get an error saying that it cannot open the story file. Any ideas?

Frotz is case sensative. Try running DATA/ZORK1.DAT

[Totenglocke]

The case sensitive thing didn't work and the other told me "no such directory".

Maybe I'm doing it wrong (again, new to Linux), but I made a folder named zGames inside my home folder. I typed ~/zgames/zork1/data/zork1.dat and it said that the directory does not exist. Now (I realized I forgot the frotz) I typed frotz ~/zgames/zork1/data/zork1.dat and it again said it cannot open the story file.

[DirtDawg]

The case sensitive thing didn't work and the other told me "no such directory".

Maybe I'm doing it wrong (again, new to Linux), but I made a folder named zGames inside my home folder. I typed ~/zgames/zork1/data/zork1.dat and it said that the directory does not exist. Now (I realized I forgot the frotz) I typed frotz ~/zgames/zork1/data/zork1.dat and it again said it cannot open the story file.

When I extracted zork, I did so into a folder called "zork1", but the files inside were all caps. So to run, I had to use:

frotz ~/zork1/DATA/ZORK1.DAT
Note that the "~" at the beginning is shorthand for your home folder (/home/dirtdawg/ in my case).

The first time you tried, it didn't work probably because there is no "~/zgames/zork1/data/" folder but a "~/zgames/zork1/DATA/" folder. When you use the frotz command, it will always tell you it can't open the story file no matter the error. If you try:

frotz /all/cows/eat/grass
you will get the same message (though most cows eat starchy corn nowadays).

If what you're saying is accurate, my guess is this command will work:

fortz ~/zgames/zork1/DATA/ZORK1.DAT

If that doesn't work, I would recommend double checking the files to make sure you have the caps and the path correct (zgames or zGames?). If you are certain that your path is correct and all the caps are correct, then maybe your download was corrupted and you should download again. If it still doesn't work, then "your frotz is broken" :)

[Totenglocke]

FINALLY! I tried doing exactly what you just said, but I guess I was missing a cap somewhere.....it works now. I feel like an idiot. Surprisingly, I got everything working after installing Ubuntu within 2 hours, yet I couldn't get a simple game to run.......

[DirtDawg]

FINALLY! I tried doing exactly what you just said, but I guess I was missing a cap somewhere.....it works now. I feel like an idiot. Surprisingly, I got everything working after installing Ubuntu within 2 hours, yet I couldn't get a simple game to run.......

Hey, you're learning so cut yourself a little slack. We've all been there before. Glad you got it working. :KS

[Totenglocke]

Now what I want to know is, how do I write a script or make some kind of a shortcut so that I either 1) click on an icon to start the game or 2) type something like "zork1" and start it?

[Totenglocke]

Actually, scratch that, I found a site that showed me how to write a script.

[Grishka]

you don't need a script. get this: http://ccxvii.net/gargoyle/.

[k33bz]

great game btw.

I didnt install frotz, seemed better for me to use dosbox, since i have alot of old dos games i play.

and if you use dosbox, you dont install the games onto your system, just need to know where you put the system game files at. for instance mine are located in its own home folder, that my main account has access to. so i start up dosbox:

mount c /home/dos
cd c
and that is all i do.

[Bilderbikkel]

I have ported the Zork C++ source code to a Qt Creator project: http://richelbilderbeek.nl/GameZork.htm . Compile it to play in a terminal. Have fun, Bilderbikkel

[Sslaxx]

I have ported the Zork C++ source code to a Qt Creator project: http://richelbilderbeek.nl/GameZork.htm . Compile it to play in a terminal. Have fun, Bilderbikkel
You should have the copyright disclaimers for Activision, not Infocom.

[Bilderbikkel]

You should have the copyright disclaimers for Activision, not Infocom.

Dear Sslaxx,

Thanks for this notice, yet I still believe Infocom has created Zork, due to the Wikipedia page about Zork (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zork) and the Infocom page about Zork (http://www.infocom-if.org/games/zork1/zork1.html). Searching the Activision website for Zork does not yield its page. Why do you think Activision created it nevertheless?

Thanks in advance, Bilderbikkel

[Sslaxx]

Creation has nothing to do with it. Activision own the copyrights to the original Zork game as they own the assets of Infocom.

[Bilderbikkel]

Creation has nothing to do with it. Activision own the copyrights to the original Zork game as they own the assets of Infocom.

Dear Sslaxx, I believe you and have changed the disclaimer. Thanks, Bilderbikkel