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Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

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Re: Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

#71

Post by pavlov »

bredren wrote: post #37

Hitchhikers Guide was one of the first PC games I ever got. I had no idea it was a “text adventure.” Nor did I understand it was based on a book. My dad got it for me used from The Computer Club in downtown Lake Oswego, Oregon. I picked it out largely due to the green guy on the front of the box. I remember being delighted by all the weird stuff it came with, including a small packet of fuzz, and other artifacts from…

A very thorough review of the game on the Digital Antiquarian, including photos of the packaging:

https://www.filfre.net/2013/11/hitchhiking-the-galaxy-infoco...

On the same site, an exquisitely detailed account of how the Hitchhiker's game came to be:

https://www.filfre.net/2013/11/the-computerized-hitchhikers/

Re: Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

#72

Post by ghaff »

pm215 wrote: post #66
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Frankly, this sounds like terribly punishing game design. Why did so many players put up with it? Was there really nothing better?

Basically, punishing game design was somewhat traditional. It was only later that the IF community (game authors and players) shifted towards an understanding that games should be "fairer". For instance Graham Nelson's "Bill of Player's Rights" in chapter 3 of his http://ifarchive.jmac.org/if-archive/info/Craft.Of.Adventure... lays out some rules, many of which Hitchhikers and the other classic Infocom games break (i…

Indeed. And one of my favorite Infocom games was A Mind Forever Voyaging which was arguably more tilted towards the literary and less towards hard puzzles than most. Which probably is one reason it's not as well known.

I'm sympathetic to arguments that you should be able to--at least in principle--be able to work your way through IF without having to rely on trial and error. Which wasn't the case with a lot of Infocom games.

Re: Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

#73

Post by jackhack »

donretag wrote: post #62

Each game (from the ones I recognize) fit on a single 5.25" 360KB floppy. We barely think in megabytes anymore.

and ran in Those games felt miraculous back in the day. I still recall the amazement I felt playing the detective game Deadline (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadline_(video_game) ) and the way the simulation moved on in real time -- people wandering through a house, or suspects fidgeting nervously or offering additional info while I questioned them -- even if I didn't enter a command and merely waited.

Appreciating the severe limitations it operated within makes it all the more amazing. Another fine example of "scarcity drives innovation."

40,000 bytes for all code and data. Wow.

Re: Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

#74

Post by codingdave »

bredren wrote: post #37

Hitchhikers Guide was one of the first PC games I ever got. I had no idea it was a “text adventure.” Nor did I understand it was based on a book. My dad got it for me used from The Computer Club in downtown Lake Oswego, Oregon. I picked it out largely due to the green guy on the front of the box. I remember being delighted by all the weird stuff it came with, including a small packet of fuzz, and other artifacts from…

I loved it, too - really enjoyed the puzzles, and had gotten through most of the game as a kid. I never quite finished it, and found out later that there was a timing component whereby you had to make the tea and get to the exit while Marvin was in the right place, (or something like that), and if you missed the chance, it never told you the game was in an unwinnable state, so you could play forever.

Nevertheless, I fondly recall solving the babel fish puzzle, just one step at a time, reading a clue, trying something new, getting one step further. Thinking it was almost solved, then having to go back and get some missing item from the first room of the game, etc. I find strong parallels to that puzzle and debugging code, and never did quite enjoy any other Infocom game quite as much. (Although Lurking Horror came close.)

Re: Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

#76

Post by logfromblammo »

jerf wrote: post #43
bredren wrote: post #37

Hitchhikers Guide was one of the first PC games I ever got. I had no idea it was a “text adventure.” Nor did I understand it was based on a book. My dad got it for me used from The Computer Club in downtown Lake Oswego, Oregon. I picked it out largely due to the green guy on the front of the box. I remember being delighted by all the weird stuff it came with, including a small packet of fuzz, and other artifacts from…

It is an extremely difficult game. In theory, I know the answer to all the puzzles, however, there are so many ways to lose without realizing it that I've never managed to string together a single play session in which I do it correctly. Though I've also long since stopped trying. :) For instance, there are subareas where you must collect various tools. Many of these are themselves rather fragile affairs, easy to rui…

The game randomly picks tools you don't have in order to force you to solve the puzzle that tells you which tool will be selected before you are actually asked for it.

If I recall correctly, you can't even carry all 10 tools into the room where the random tool is needed (unless you figure out the aunt thing).

Re: Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

#78

Post by klez »

bencollier49 wrote: post #49

No license anywhere. These games are still valuable IP aren't they?

At the bottom of the README

> This collection is meant for education, discussion, and historical work, allowing researchers and students to study how code was made for these interactive fiction games and how the system dealt with input and processing. It is not considered to be under an open license.

So all rights reserved, basically

Re: Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

#79

Post by jackhack »

ghaff wrote: post #65
jerf wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is an extremely difficult game. In theory, I know the answer to all the puzzles, however, there are so many ways to lose without realizing it that I've never managed to string together a single play session in which I do it correctly. Though I've also long since stopped trying. :) For instance, there are subareas where you must collect various tools. Many of these are themselves rather fragile affairs, easy to rui…

Also consider that, Invisiclues books notwithstanding, there was no straightforward way to get help if you really got stuck somewhere as this was pre-Internet for most people and certainly pre-Web.

but dial-up modem bulletin boards were definitely a thing, in those days. Or Compuserv, if so inclined. I wrote a BBS in Applesoft basic (and assembly, to trap some of the control characters and escape commands) and hosted it on my Apple ][. comms at 110/300 baud (full duplex!) or even 1200 baud where text comes faster than you can read, if you had the extra $400 for an AppleCat modem!

walkthroughs were very popular topics.

Re: Source code for Zork, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and other Infocom games

#80

Post by phjesusthatguy3 »

donretag wrote: post #62

Each game (from the ones I recognize) fit on a single 5.25" 360KB floppy. We barely think in megabytes anymore.

I bought five of the Activision re-releases back in the mid '90s. Each one was a selection of games on a CD ("on CD-ROM for the first time! Works with Windows 95!") with printed materials, when the whole set plus scans of the printed stuff could have fit on one disc with room to spare. I still have all of that stuff except the outer boxes.
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