Lmst

Following my Zork themed posts, here's another - a short interview from 1985 with David Lebling, an Infocom game designer:

https://youtu.be/wYBhQY0Xtso?feature=shared

#retrogaming #textadventure #zork #infocom

And in-between times I am playing with a new (to me) Z-Code interpreter called Vezza in RunCPM.

So far so good... Running all my favourites (inc all the Zorks), so far as high as some Z5's.

Loving an easy single interpreter that I can just chuck data files at as CMD line parameters!

https://sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

And/Or

https://gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza

#infocom
#zork
#planetfall
#RunCPM
#Vezza

Zork provided me with countless days of endless imagination. It's still as magical to play today as it was when I was young ⌨️

#zork #infocom #commodore #commodore64 #c64 #retrogaming #textadventure

Zork Quest II (1989) was Infocom and Tom Snyder Productions' fourth, and final, Infocomic. It picks up where Zork Quest I left off and continues the story of Gurthark, Frobwit, Ryker, and Acia while introducing several new characters. Unfortunately, though, no matter which path you follow, the story ends on a cliffhanger that would never be resolved.
#Infocom #Infocomics #RetroGames #RetroGaming

https://www.invisiclues.org/infocomics/zq2-c64

Une fusion de l'audiovisuel public ? Le vrai visage de la réforme Dati

Page web de l'émission : https://podcast.ausha.co/penser-les-luttes/ep-5-une-fusion-de-l-audiovisuel-public-le-vrai-visage-de-la-reforme-dati

#podcast #InfoCom

Infocom Interpreter Hacking on Commodore PET
#CommodorePET #Infocom #6502Assembly #RetroComputing #Root42 #BitShifter #TextAdventures #Commodore64 #RetroDev #LiveCoding
https://theoasisbbs.com/infocom-interpreter-hacking-on-c64/

Many Infocom game testers went on to to become implementers for Infocom -- Steve Meretzky, Amy Briggs, Jeff O'Neill... Hollywood Hijinx (1986) was collaboration between long-time testers "Hollywood" Dave Anderson and Liz Cyr-Jones. Rather than have a detailed storyline, the game presented itself as a good old-fashioned treasure hunt laden with themed puzzles in the spirit of Zork.
#Infocom #RetroGames #Retrogaming

https://www.invisiclues.org/hhijinx

Plundered Hearts (1987) had so many firsts (and lasts) -- First (and last) game written by a woman, first (and last) game with a female protagonist, first (and last) game since Zork I with the protagonist's face on the cover. Activision CEO Bruce Davis, incensed that the game had a female protagonist, refused to allow any marketing.

#Infocom #RetroGames #RetroGaming

https://www.invisiclues.org/plundered-hearts

I am planning to do a Let's Code Livestream on Sunday, 8th June 2025, at 20:00 CEST, 18:00 UTC. We will be hacking away on an Infocom interpreter for the Commodore PET -- and I barely speak 6502 assembly! What could possibly go wrong???
https://youtube.com/live/IvGJ7XQSHcc?feature=share
#letscode #infocom #interactivefiction #retrogaming

Me in front of my Commodore PET setup, with disk drive, holding up a boxed copy of Infocom's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Although only Douglas Adams' name appears on the box, Adams actually had very little to do with Bureaucracy (1987). The story is based on an idea by Adams but he soon lost interest in the game. It was written mostly by Adams' assistant Michael Bywater with input from several implementers, including Marc Blank, Brian Moriarty, Jerry Wolper, and others -- really, whoever was available as it passed through many hands at Infocom.
#Infocom #RetroGames #RetroGaming

https://www.invisiclues.org/bureaucracy

#interactivefiction #retrogaming #textadventuretuesday #polyplay #infocom #retrogaming
#morrcom #tristamisland #interactivefiction #tristamisland

Geschafft. Die "gebuggden" Punkte habe ich wie man sieht auch bekommen. Also hab ich mehr als man eigentlich bekommen konnte. Es gibt auch noch eine zweite Stelle wo ich Punkte mehrfach bekommen habe.

#polyplay #infocom #retrogaming
#morrcom #tristamisland #interactivefiction #tristamisland

Ein kleiner Bug ... mag gespannt ob ich trotz der nun erhaltenen Extra Punkte noch gewinnen kann.

The Grundy #NewBrain was an interesting #z80 based machine from 1982. One of its more remarkable features was a built-in single line display in addition to the video out, allowing for some portable use. The machine was targeted at business use and didn't get a large amount of platform specific software. It ran a version of #CP/M 2.2 with an efficient implementation giving it a large TPA. The platform also supports inverse characters, although without a specific control code to toggle so I need to manually track reverse character mode and toggle the top bit accordingly. With some gymnastics in memory management, a 50Hz timer is available, allowing me to count the ticks for the 10Hz timer expected by a full featured #Zmachine
Now that it's properly tested and running, you can download the latest addition to the #Vezza family from https://gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza and if you are curious about the NewBrain you can get the emulator and other info from https://newbrainemu.eu/new/

I've attached screenshots of the Bomber game in action, as well as the #Infocom classic A Mind Forever Voyaging.

Grundy NewBrain emulator playing the Infocom classic A Mind Forever Voyaging.

Grundy NewBrain emulator playing bomber real time interactive z-machine game.

While porting #Vezza for another #z80 platform (the Grundy #NewBrain), I noticed that there was an issue with the timer routine for the #MSX version. It turns out that the code was in there for the MSX version was using the MSX clock, however, it was not calculating the time properly, The MSX has a fine-grained timer which allows me to measure the time to the nearest 0.1 second as required for the #Zmachine standard. This makes the MSX version one of the few that I have written which supports the full fine-grained time requirement.

While for normal text adventures, this timer resolution might not make much difference, some of the fun post-#Infocom games, this distinction is used. One of the games that I've tested which works properly now is the `bomber.z5`, a real time game where you need to drop bombs from the plane to create a flat landing for your plane. Check the screenshot below for the action! Download the latest from https://sijnstra.itch.io/vezza
#retrogaming #retrocomputing

Screenshot of MSXBlue running the real time z-machine game bomber.z5 on Vezza.

The Lurking Horror (1987) was, curiously, Infocom's only horror-themed work of interactive fiction. Inspired by supernatural horror writers H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, it was Dave Lebling's eighth work of Infocom IF.
#Infocom #RetroGames #Retrogaming

https://www.invisiclues.org/lurking-horror

#polyplay #infocom #retrogaming
#morrcom #tristamisland #interactivefiction #tristamisland