13Jan 3
Zork Running on 4-Bit Intel Computer https://hackaday.com/2026/01/03/zork-running-on-4-bit-intel-computer/
#Games #Retrocomputing #Fourbit #Intel4004 #Virtualization #Zmachine #Zork
Zork Running On 4-Bit Intel Computer

Before DOOM would run on any computing system ever produced, and indeed before it even ran on its first computer, the game that would run on any computer of the pre-DOOM era was Zork. This was a te…

Hackaday
HackadayJan 3

Zork Running on 4-Bit Intel Computer

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/01/03/zork-running-on-4-bit-intel-computer/

Shawn SijnstraDec 24
As a surprise Christmas gift to #retrocomputing, I've pushed out a new version of my #Vezza #Infocom #zmachine #interpreter. This time it's a #CP/M build, specifically for the #TRS80 models 2/12/16... on glorious 8-inch floppies. My requestor and tester Ziggystar12 was kind enough to take a photo of Bureaucracy running on a machine with the 8-inch drives; a game that could never be run on that machine before even though it was contemporary! #retrogaming #retroBattleStations
S. John RossDec 24

My #InteractiveFiction disasterpiece, the aggressively awful yet sincerely huggy Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom, celebrates its 18th birthday today!

If you've never played a text adventure before, this free game will give you the wrong idea about them in ways that may never fully heal. If you've played ToaSK already, Gunwar and Vessa have _missed you._ Come home, barbarian! 🥰

https://ghalev.itch.io/toask
https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=8upuvdnsk4sho6ac

#TextAdventure #AdventureGame #Inform7 #ToaSK #ZMachine

StylusDec 15

Last week @hkz geektrapped me into understanding how "z5" format text adventures were distributed on the Apple II. A tool, interlz5, was written some years ago. Today, the source seems to be lost. I reverse-engineered what interlz5 was doing, and wrote my own version, interl5.py. (the z got lost, sorry). And just now I blogged about it: https://emergent.unpythonic.net/01765766083

Let's hope this one doesn't get lost too.

(also just to confess, until I tried to @ them in this post I was sure hkz's handle was kHz, a fitting name for someone dabbling in old and slow computers)

#interactiveFiction #zMachine #z5

"interlz5" in Python -- Apple II text adventure adventures

hkzDec 12

A paper on how to reuse interpreters to get inform v3/5 games on your Apple II:
https://www.kansasfest.org/wp-content/uploads/apple_ii_inform_paper.pdf

There's just a slight issue: the linked tool used to interleave v5 story files on floppy images can no longer be downloaded.
The original URL is http://3.buric.co/interlz5-001.zip, archive.org doesn't seem to have it.

Please, tell me that someone here has it...

#apple2 #infocom #inform #ZMachine

NERDS.xyz – Real Tech News for Real NerdsNov 20

Microsoft releases Zork I, II, and III as open source

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://nerds.xyz/2025/11/microsoft-zork-open-source/

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬Nov 20
Preserving code that shaped generations: #Zork I, II, and III go #OpenSource
#Microsoft has released the #sourcecode for Zork I, II, and III under the MIT License through a collaboration with #Xbox and #Activision that involved submitting pull requests to historical source repositories maintained by digital archivist #JasonScott. Each repository now includes the original source code and accompanying documentation.
https://opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11/20/preserving-code-that-shaped-generations-zork-i-ii-and-iii-go-open-source #ZMachine
Preserving code that shaped generations: Zork I, II, and III go Open Source

Microsoft’s Open Source Programs Office (OSPO), Team Xbox, and Activision are making Zork I, Zork II, and Zork III available under the MIT License.

N-gated Hacker NewsNov 11
🎉✨ Advent of Code on the Z-Machine: Because there's nothing quite like using 1979 tech to solve modern #puzzles, right? 🤔 Let's all gather 'round the virtual campfire and pretend this is a groundbreaking idea instead of a nostalgic nod to ancient programming relics. 📟💾
https://entropicthoughts.com/advent-of-code-on-z-machine #AdventOfCode #ZMachine #RetroGaming #Nostalgia #ProgrammingTech #HackerNews #ngated
Advent of Code on the Z-machine

Hacker NewsNov 11

Advent of Code on the Z-Machine

https://entropicthoughts.com/advent-of-code-on-z-machine

#HackerNews #AdventOfCode #ZMachine #RetroGaming #CodingChallenge #GameDev

Advent of Code on the Z-machine