Posted: 8/28/2005 8:39 AM
Post subject: Zork Trilogy freeware movement
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hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
The classic Zork Trilogy was recently listed on CNET as being in the top 10 freeware games available today. Unfortunately, the Zork Trilogy is not freeware and they had to remove the link. Classicdosgames.com has started a petition to ask Activision to revive or release the games as freeware at http://www.petitiononline.com/Zork/. If you'd like to sign the petition, please add weight to your signature by using your real name. I encourage you to truthfully disclose your country or location in order to highlight international appeal for the Zork series and demonstrate the potential for a positive public relations move by Activision. If leaving comments, only leave positive comments and goodwill towards the recipients of the petition.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 10/2/2005 8:29 PM
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hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
The petition now has over 75 signatures! Thank you to everyone who signed, and I hope anyone who loves Zork and hasn't signed yet still will. Thanks everyone!
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 10/2/2005 10:13 PM
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xebra
Joined: 5/3/2004
Posts: 1203
You know there is no way Activision is going to make those games freeware when they are still selling like hotcakes. They are so popular that every video game store I called didn't have any in stock!
Posted: 10/3/2005 1:01 AM
(Edited: 10/3/2005 1:06 AM)
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hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
They haven't been sold individually in over 20 years. They haven't even been sold in compilations for over a decade. They can't sell them and they won't give them away, so everyone loses. I'm trying to show them that there is enough fan interest to make it worth their while to either start selling them again, or give them away in exchange for fan appreciation and loyalty, which could lead to future sales. Text adventures aren't profitable any more.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 10/3/2005 1:05 AM
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nesrocks
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Location: Rio, Brazil
Text adventures aren't more than mere novelties, the kind you replay for 2 minutes and never again.
aka Nesrocks http://www.youtube.com/user/UoBtExFODA https://nesrocks.com https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios
Posted: 10/3/2005 1:09 AM
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hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
They're as much a part of history and computer culture as NES games. We're grown men that still play games from 20 years ago. We appreciate the greatness of technology that doesn't hold a candle to the technology we possess today. Just as a Picasso belongs in a museum, a classic game deserves to be enjoyed.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 10/3/2005 2:11 AM
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xebra
Joined: 5/3/2004
Posts: 1203
*Cough* Sarcasm *Cough* (@Hopper)
Posted: 10/3/2005 2:12 AM
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Bag_of_Magic_Food
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It's still good to know the facts!
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Posted: 10/3/2005 2:33 AM
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nesrocks
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yea, hopper, xebra was being sarcastic. But i enjoy nes games because i know how to appreciate them, not because of some deja vu feeling. Maybe i just dont know how to appreciate a text based game, you tell me what's good about it.
aka Nesrocks http://www.youtube.com/user/UoBtExFODA https://nesrocks.com https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios
Posted: 10/3/2005 3:33 AM
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Bag_of_Magic_Food
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Joined: 5/29/2004
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Yeah, I don't know that I care for all-text games, because you're practically "playing blind". Sometimes graphics help a little.
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Posted: 10/3/2005 3:56 AM
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hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
I assumed he was, but he raised a good point: why would Activision make the games freeware? Those are the reasons why I think it stands enough a chance to be worth doing. These are REALLY old games! Oh, and about the lack of graphics: a well written piece of interactive fiction makes up for the lack of graphics. Adventure (aka Colossal Caves) felt real because you could imagine it based on the excellent descriptions.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 10/3/2005 4:13 AM
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Bag_of_Magic_Food
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but my terrible sense of direction...
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Posted: 10/3/2005 6:02 AM
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hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
Part of the fun of those games was making a map. It was *real* exploration!
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 10/4/2005 12:03 AM
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Zer0
Former player
Joined: 9/12/2004
Posts: 184
Location: Austria/Styria
FODA wrote:
Text adventures aren't more than mere novelties, the kind you replay for 2 minutes and never again.
So, you also read novels for 2 minutes and then put them away? :P
Posted: 10/4/2005 12:34 AM
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nesrocks
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Posts: 4096
Location: Rio, Brazil
text adventure isn't a novel.
aka Nesrocks http://www.youtube.com/user/UoBtExFODA https://nesrocks.com https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios
Posted: 10/4/2005 2:03 AM
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FractalFusion
Editor, Expert player (2073)
Joined: 6/15/2005
Posts: 3282
Glitchy TAS of 2013 Gameboy TAS of 2013 PSX TASer of 2010
Zer0 wrote:
FODA wrote:
Text adventures aren't more than mere novelties, the kind you replay for 2 minutes and never again.
So, you also read novels for 2 minutes and then put them away? :P
"Novelties" does not mean "novels", at least not in English.
Posted: 10/4/2005 2:54 AM
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nesrocks
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Player (246)
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Oh lol didnt even notice that he could have mistaken those 2 words. :S still think he might have not.
aka Nesrocks http://www.youtube.com/user/UoBtExFODA https://nesrocks.com https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios
Posted: 10/4/2005 9:56 AM
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hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
Actually, some text adventures literally are novels. Douglas Adams turned The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy into a text adventure. Your goal is to cause the game to play out like the novel. It's like reading a novel, except that you die if you make the wrong decisions. There are many types of text adventures. Some can only be played one way, which leads to a story or novel playing out. Others are more like an RPG, giving you the freedom to explore at your leisure, and pick up the story in whatever order you see fit. The former is a great way for the author to make sure that the game is read like a book, while the latter is more like real life. A well written text adventure is immersive and creates a world that seems familiar and real. You can return years later and still remember many of the places and people. I haven't played in years, but I could enter the Colossal Caves right now and find my way to the Hall of the Mountain King, cross the crystal bridge and enter the maze. Once experienced, they can't be forgotten. That's how you make a game with replay value.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 10/4/2005 12:19 PM
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SprintGod
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Joined: 5/20/2004
Posts: 118
Location: Over there!
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy wrote:
You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't. It is pitch black. > slap self Done. **** You have died **** We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) > Your score is 0 of a possible 400, in 0 turns. Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game? (Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_nolan.shtml
Blah!
Posted: 10/24/2005 9:28 PM
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hopper
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
Well folks, here comes the exciting part. The petition now has well over 100 signatures, so I've presented it to my contact at Activision. There is still time to sign if anyone else wants to add weight to it, but I want to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this initiative. Now might also be a good time to generate buzz on any other forums you visit, and maybe even to *politely* contact Activision to tell them that you support the initiative and would be more likely to purchase other Activision products if they would throw us a bone on these 30-year-old games. Thanks, and good luck.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Posted: 10/29/2005 10:10 PM
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Rick
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Joined: 6/25/2004
Posts: 607
Location: Maine
SprintGod wrote:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy wrote:
You wake up. The room is spinning very gently round your head. Or at least it would be if you could see it which you can't. It is pitch black. > slap self Done. **** You have died **** We are about to give you your score. Put on your peril-sensitive sunglasses now. (Hit RETURN or ENTER when ready.) > Your score is 0 of a possible 400, in 0 turns. Would you like to start over, restore a saved position, or end this session of the game? (Type RESTART, RESTORE, or QUIT):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_nolan.shtml
XD!!! That's just awesome. XD
http://wiki.rustedlogic.net/The_Cutting_Room_Floor The Cutting Room Floor wiki.