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ZORK (1980): TEXT IMPS VERSUS GRAPHICS GRUES

It is only fitting that Infocom's Zork should be the final game discussed in this book. After all, it is the only game we've covered that relies totally on text for both input and output—it's the most book-like of all the games we've covered! Although modern critics might take its lack of graphics and sound as proof of its obsolescence, anyone with an appreciation for human language should consider it miraculously advanced. Zork represents something of a paradox: it's at the same time obsolete and cutting edge. On one hand, computers and consoles have made huge gains in audiovisual technology since text adventures like Zork were dominating best-seller lists. On the other hand, developers have made ...

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