>examine engravings
The engravings were incised in the living rock of the cave wall by an unknown hand. They depict, in symbolic form, the beliefs of the ancient Zorkers. Skillfully interwoven with the bas reliefs are excerpts illustrating the major religious tenets of that time. Unfortunately, a later age seems to have considered them blasphemous and just as skillfully excised them.
(but if they were excised, how do you know what they are...)
>nw then e then u Round Room This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.
Loud Room This is a large room with a ceiling which cannot be detected from the ground. There is a narrow passage from east to west and a stone stairway leading upward. The room is deafeningly loud with an undetermined rushing sound. The sound seems to reverberate from all of the walls, making it difficult even to think.
On the ground is a large platinum bar.
The rest of your commands have been lost in the noise.
(ha)
(ignoring the platinum bar are we?)
>u Deep Canyon You are on the south edge of a deep canyon. Passages lead off to the east, northwest and southwest. A stairway leads down. You can hear the sound of flowing water from below.
(hmm....is this an underground...canyon? Or did we emerge from below ground?)
PSA: if this has made anyone else want to go play some old Infocom games there is a very good iOS (but not Android) collection of nearly all (27) of their text adventures. It's free to download, and comes with Zork I. $10 gets you all the rest (you can also buy them in groups for $3, but there are 5 groups). It's got a good interface, the maps, scans of the manuals, 3D models of the boxes and things that came in them (this was a fun thing Infocom did, trust me). It is missing Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (which is playable for free), Bureaucracy (also written by Douglas Adams (you could die from too many typos)), and Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It (which nobody remembers, but was all about wordplay).
I recommend: Planetfall (a classic sci-fi story with a cool robot buddy) and Lurking Horror (Cthulhu at MIT). But there is a ton of great stuff across many genre of storytelling (mystery, horror, suspense, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, adventure).
I bought that Infocom collection a while back! (And started a Let's Play of it that I didn't get far into). From what I've played it does seem like a really nice and well thought out package. I love that they included 3D rotatable versions of the feelies and game boxes. (I'm not using it for this Let's Play because it doesn't let you copy text.)
Well, I dunno what I'd do with it. I guess you did say that the goal is theoretically to put treasure in the trophy case, for whatever reason. Just seemed like a weird thing to do and kinda inconvenient so I wasn't really thinking about it.
Eh, I guess I may as well though.
d then get platinum bar then w then w then w then s then s then e then n then drop sword then u then w then put platinum bar in trophy case
>d Loud Room This is a large room with a ceiling which cannot be detected from the ground. There is a narrow passage from east to west and a stone stairway leading upward. The room is deafeningly loud with an undetermined rushing sound. The sound seems to reverberate from all of the walls, making it difficult even to think.
On the ground is a large platinum bar.
...I assume "bar bar" is a reference or joke or something but the only thing I can think of is how barbarian apparently comes from other languages sounding like "barbarbar" to romans or something like that, and that seem like an unlikely pull.
>w then w then w then s then s then e then n then get painting then drop sword then u then w then put painting in trophy case Round Room This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.
(...d'aww I was hoping that would work. I think the Loud Room, and the way it messes with the parser, tripped things up a bit.)
>w then w then s then s then e then n then get painting then drop sword then u then w then put painting in East-West Passage This is a narrow east-west passageway. There is a narrow stairway leading down at the north end of the room.
The Troll Room This is a small room with passages to the east and south and a forbidding hole leading west. Bloodstains and deep scratches (perhaps made by an axe) mar the walls.
There is a bloody axe here.
Cellar You are in a dark and damp cellar with a narrow passageway leading north, and a crawlway to the south. On the west is the bottom of a steep metal ramp which is unclimbable.
East of Chasm You are on the east edge of a chasm, the bottom of which cannot be seen. A narrow passage goes north, and the path you are on continues to the east.
Gallery This is an art gallery. Most of the paintings have been stolen by vandals with exceptional taste. The vandals left through either the north or west exits.
A small leaflet is on the ground.
There is a clove of garlic here.
A hot pepper sandwich is here.
Studio This appears to have been an artist's studio. The walls and floors are splattered with paints of 69 different colors. Strangely enough, nothing of value is hanging here. At the south end of the room is an open door (also covered with paint). A dark and narrow chimney leads up from a fireplace; although you might be able to get up it, it seems unlikely you could get back down.
Loosely attached to a wall is a small piece of paper.
There is a brown sack here.
A painting by a neglected genius is here.
There is a rope here.
There is a jewel-encrusted egg here.
There is a nasty knife here.
Taken.
Dropped.
Kitchen You are in the kitchen of the white house. A table seems to have been used recently for the preparation of food. A passage leads to the west and a dark staircase can be seen leading upward. A dark chimney leads down and to the east is a small window which is open.
A bottle is sitting on the table.
The glass bottle contains:
A quantity of water
Living Room You are in the living room. There is a doorway to the east, a wooden door with strange gothic lettering to the west, which appears to be nailed shut, a trophy case, and a closed trap door at your feet.
>open trap door then down then s then w then u then get sword
The door reluctantly opens to reveal a rickety staircase descending into darkness.
The trap door crashes shut, and you hear someone barring it.
Cellar
You are in a dark and damp cellar with a narrow passageway leading north, and a crawlway to the south. On the west is the bottom of a steep metal ramp which is unclimbable.
East of Chasm You are on the east edge of a chasm, the bottom of which cannot be seen. A narrow passage goes north, and the path you are on continues to the east.
You can't go that way.
(mm let's see, I think you wanted to...)
>e Gallery This is an art gallery. Most of the paintings have been stolen by vandals with exceptional taste. The vandals left through either the north or west exits.
A small leaflet is on the ground.
There is a clove of garlic here.
A hot pepper sandwich is here.
>n Studio This appears to have been an artist's studio. The walls and floors are splattered with paints of 69 different colors. Strangely enough, nothing of value is hanging here. At the south end of the room is an open door (also covered with paint). A dark and narrow chimney leads up from a fireplace; although you might be able to get up it, it seems unlikely you could get back down.
Loosely attached to a wall is a small piece of paper.
There is a sword here.
There is a brown sack here.
There is a rope here.
There is a jewel-encrusted egg here.
There is a nasty knife here.
Hm, it's gonna make going back upstairs later a bit more tedious, but maybe I should
get rope then get sack then get knife
since those could come in handy.
then s then w then n then n then e then e then se then e
(in case I messed that up, I'm trying to go to the engravings cave and then take the east path from it)
(Just to show off Zork's surprisingly sophisticated parser...)
>take all but egg and paper
brown sack: Taken.
rope: Taken.
nasty knife: Taken.
(By comparison, Zork's antecedent, Colossal Cave Adventure, could only understand two words per command - 'get lamp', 'hit troll', 'go north'.)
>s then w then n then n then e then e then se then e (I'll spoiler tag the journey.)
Gallery This is an art gallery. Most of the paintings have been stolen by vandals with exceptional taste. The vandals left through either the north or west exits.
A small leaflet is on the ground.
There is a clove of garlic here.
A hot pepper sandwich is here.
East of Chasm You are on the east edge of a chasm, the bottom of which cannot be seen. A narrow passage goes north, and the path you are on continues to the east.
Cellar
You are in a dark and damp cellar with a narrow passageway leading north, and a crawlway to the south. On the west is the bottom of a steep metal ramp which is unclimbable.
The Troll Room This is a small room with passages to the east and south and a forbidding hole leading west. Bloodstains and deep scratches (perhaps made by an axe) mar the walls.
There is a bloody axe here.
East-West Passage This is a narrow east-west passageway. There is a narrow stairway leading down at the north end of the room.
Round Room This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.
Engravings Cave You have entered a low cave with passages leading northwest and east.
There are old engravings on the walls here.
Dome Room You are at the periphery of a large dome, which forms the ceiling of another room below. Protecting you from a precipitous drop is a wooden railing which circles the dome.
>d Torch Room This is a large room with a prominent doorway leading to a down staircase. Above you is a large dome. Up around the edge of the dome (20 feet up) is a wooden railing. In the center of the room sits a white marble pedestal.
A piece of rope descends from the railing above, ending some five feet above your head.
Sitting on the pedestal is a flaming torch, made of ivory.
Posts
North-South Passage
This is a high north-south passage, which forks to the northeast.
Round Room
This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.
>nw
You can't go that way.
>s
Narrow Passage
This is a long and narrow corridor where a long north-south passageway briefly narrows even further.
>n
Round Room
This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.
>sw
You can't go that way.
>se
Engravings Cave
You have entered a low cave with passages leading northwest and east.
There are old engravings on the walls here.
examine engravings
The engravings were incised in the living rock of the cave wall by an unknown hand. They depict, in symbolic form, the beliefs of the ancient Zorkers. Skillfully interwoven with the bas reliefs are excerpts illustrating the major religious tenets of that time. Unfortunately, a later age seems to have considered them blasphemous and just as skillfully excised them.
(but if they were excised, how do you know what they are...)
Round Room
This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.
Loud Room
This is a large room with a ceiling which cannot be detected from the ground. There is a narrow passage from east to west and a stone stairway leading upward. The room is deafeningly loud with an undetermined rushing sound. The sound seems to reverberate from all of the walls, making it difficult even to think.
On the ground is a large platinum bar.
The rest of your commands have been lost in the noise.
(ha)
(ignoring the platinum bar are we?)
>u
Deep Canyon
You are on the south edge of a deep canyon. Passages lead off to the east, northwest and southwest. A stairway leads down. You can hear the sound of flowing water from below.
(hmm....is this an underground...canyon? Or did we emerge from below ground?)
I recommend: Planetfall (a classic sci-fi story with a cool robot buddy) and Lurking Horror (Cthulhu at MIT). But there is a ton of great stuff across many genre of storytelling (mystery, horror, suspense, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, adventure).
Eh, I guess I may as well though.
d then get platinum bar then w then w then w then s then s then e then n then drop sword then u then w then put platinum bar in trophy case
Loud Room
This is a large room with a ceiling which cannot be detected from the ground. There is a narrow passage from east to west and a stone stairway leading upward. The room is deafeningly loud with an undetermined rushing sound. The sound seems to reverberate from all of the walls, making it difficult even to think.
On the ground is a large platinum bar.
>get platinum bar
bar bar ...
get platinum bar
>get platinum bar
bar bar ...
bar bar ...
bar bar ...
bar bar ...
platinum platinum ...
w then w then w then s then s then e then n then get painting then drop sword then u then w then put painting in trophy case
Round Room
This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.
(...d'aww I was hoping that would work. I think the Loud Room, and the way it messes with the parser, tripped things up a bit.)
>w then w then s then s then e then n then get painting then drop sword then u then w then put painting in
East-West Passage
This is a narrow east-west passageway. There is a narrow stairway leading down at the north end of the room.
The Troll Room
This is a small room with passages to the east and south and a forbidding hole leading west. Bloodstains and deep scratches (perhaps made by an axe) mar the walls.
There is a bloody axe here.
Cellar
You are in a dark and damp cellar with a narrow passageway leading north, and a crawlway to the south. On the west is the bottom of a steep metal ramp which is unclimbable.
East of Chasm
You are on the east edge of a chasm, the bottom of which cannot be seen. A narrow passage goes north, and the path you are on continues to the east.
Gallery
This is an art gallery. Most of the paintings have been stolen by vandals with exceptional taste. The vandals left through either the north or west exits.
A small leaflet is on the ground.
There is a clove of garlic here.
A hot pepper sandwich is here.
Studio
This appears to have been an artist's studio. The walls and floors are splattered with paints of 69 different colors. Strangely enough, nothing of value is hanging here. At the south end of the room is an open door (also covered with paint). A dark and narrow chimney leads up from a fireplace; although you might be able to get up it, it seems unlikely you could get back down.
Loosely attached to a wall is a small piece of paper.
There is a brown sack here.
A painting by a neglected genius is here.
There is a rope here.
There is a jewel-encrusted egg here.
There is a nasty knife here.
Taken.
Dropped.
Kitchen
You are in the kitchen of the white house. A table seems to have been used recently for the preparation of food. A passage leads to the west and a dark staircase can be seen leading upward. A dark chimney leads down and to the east is a small window which is open.
A bottle is sitting on the table.
The glass bottle contains:
A quantity of water
Living Room
You are in the living room. There is a doorway to the east, a wooden door with strange gothic lettering to the west, which appears to be nailed shut, a trophy case, and a closed trap door at your feet.
What do you want to put the paint in?
(yessss)
>the trophy case
You don't have that!
(err...)
>open trophy case
Opened.
>put painting in trophy case
Done.
(Your score went from 39 to 45)
Please supply a filename for save
Ok.
>open trap door then down then s then w then u then get sword
The door reluctantly opens to reveal a rickety staircase descending into darkness.
The trap door crashes shut, and you hear someone barring it.
Cellar
You are in a dark and damp cellar with a narrow passageway leading north, and a crawlway to the south. On the west is the bottom of a steep metal ramp which is unclimbable.
East of Chasm
You are on the east edge of a chasm, the bottom of which cannot be seen. A narrow passage goes north, and the path you are on continues to the east.
You can't go that way.
(mm let's see, I think you wanted to...)
>e
Gallery
This is an art gallery. Most of the paintings have been stolen by vandals with exceptional taste. The vandals left through either the north or west exits.
A small leaflet is on the ground.
There is a clove of garlic here.
A hot pepper sandwich is here.
>n
Studio
This appears to have been an artist's studio. The walls and floors are splattered with paints of 69 different colors. Strangely enough, nothing of value is hanging here. At the south end of the room is an open door (also covered with paint). A dark and narrow chimney leads up from a fireplace; although you might be able to get up it, it seems unlikely you could get back down.
Loosely attached to a wall is a small piece of paper.
There is a sword here.
There is a brown sack here.
There is a rope here.
There is a jewel-encrusted egg here.
There is a nasty knife here.
>get sword
Taken.
Hm, it's gonna make going back upstairs later a bit more tedious, but maybe I should
get rope then get sack then get knife
since those could come in handy.
then s then w then n then n then e then e then se then e
(in case I messed that up, I'm trying to go to the engravings cave and then take the east path from it)
>take all but egg and paper
brown sack: Taken.
rope: Taken.
nasty knife: Taken.
(By comparison, Zork's antecedent, Colossal Cave Adventure, could only understand two words per command - 'get lamp', 'hit troll', 'go north'.)
>s then w then n then n then e then e then se then e (I'll spoiler tag the journey.)
This is an art gallery. Most of the paintings have been stolen by vandals with exceptional taste. The vandals left through either the north or west exits.
A small leaflet is on the ground.
There is a clove of garlic here.
A hot pepper sandwich is here.
East of Chasm
You are on the east edge of a chasm, the bottom of which cannot be seen. A narrow passage goes north, and the path you are on continues to the east.
Cellar
You are in a dark and damp cellar with a narrow passageway leading north, and a crawlway to the south. On the west is the bottom of a steep metal ramp which is unclimbable.
The Troll Room
This is a small room with passages to the east and south and a forbidding hole leading west. Bloodstains and deep scratches (perhaps made by an axe) mar the walls.
There is a bloody axe here.
East-West Passage
This is a narrow east-west passageway. There is a narrow stairway leading down at the north end of the room.
Round Room
This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.
Engravings Cave
You have entered a low cave with passages leading northwest and east.
There are old engravings on the walls here.
Dome Room
You are at the periphery of a large dome, which forms the ceiling of another room below. Protecting you from a precipitous drop is a wooden railing which circles the dome.
Please supply a filename for save
Ok.
>tie rope to railing
The rope drops over the side and comes within ten feet of the floor.
(I don't think I ever got here when I played in the past. Exciting!)
d
Ah well, if I can't get back up I'll just be lame and load that save.
Torch Room
This is a large room with a prominent doorway leading to a down staircase. Above you is a large dome. Up around the edge of the dome (20 feet up) is a wooden railing. In the center of the room sits a white marble pedestal.
A piece of rope descends from the railing above, ending some five feet above your head.
Sitting on the pedestal is a flaming torch, made of ivory.
u
You cannot reach the rope.
Please supply a filename for restore
Ok.
>w then nw
Engravings Cave
You have entered a low cave with passages leading northwest and east.
There are old engravings on the walls here.
Round Room
This is a circular stone room with passages in all directions. Several of them have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins.