Zork IV ?
Nikos Chantziaras
Recent news have it that Activision is planning a "Zork IV."
Ken Love, producer at Activision, confirmed the rumor in an email,
but also said that the deal is not yet finalized.
Can it really happen?
--
Niko <realnc--(AT)--lycos--(DOT)--de>
http://members.lycos.co.uk/realnc
Michael Coyne
> www.infocom-if.org/news.html says:
>
> Recent news have it that Activision is planning a "Zork IV."
> Ken Love, producer at Activision, confirmed the rumor in an email,
> but also said that the deal is not yet finalized.
>
> Can it really happen?
Hmmm... according to:
http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/wizards.html
and also to other things I've read and heard over the years, Enchanter was
Zork IV.
From the link mentioned (CG = Computer Games)
CG: Tell me about Enchanter.
Blank: We sent it off for duplication today. So unless the plane is
hijacked, we expect to see it on the shelves soon. It's in the Zorkish
tradition. But instead of being the bumbling adventurer, you're a novice
who's graduated from Magician's School. You have a spell book. It's a
problem-solving game like Zork. It's all magic, it's not underground.
And it's intended as the start of a series.
CG: When will Zork IV be out?
Blank: There will not be any more Zorks. This is Zork IV for anyone who
really cares.
Berlyn: For anyone who wants Zork IV, this is it. For anyone who doesn't
want it to be Zork IV, this is it.
--
coyneATmbDOTsympaticoDOTca
What do you mean, I need a signature?
Michael Coyne
>
> Hmmm... according to.... [snip]
> Enchanter was
> Zork IV.
>
And as per my usual form, I forgot to mention my point, which was that
it's yet another demonstration, complementing ZGI and Nemesis, that
Activision have a sadly limited understanding of the history of Infocom,
and the savage beauty of that which they bought and destroyed. Sigh.
John W. Kennedy
> www.infocom-if.org/news.html says:
>
> Recent news have it that Activision is planning a "Zork IV."
> Ken Love, producer at Activision, confirmed the rumor in an email,
> but also said that the deal is not yet finalized.
>
> Can it really happen?
[sigh!] "Zork IV" is "Enchanter". It says so in "Zork III".
--
John W. Kennedy
"Give up vows and dogmas, and fixed things, and you may grow like
That. ...you may come to think a blow bad, because it hurts, and not
because it humiliates. You may come to think murder wrong, because
it is violent, and not because it is unjust."
-- G. K. Chesterton. "The Ball and the Cross"
Peter van der Goes
"Nikos Chantziaras" <for....@manager.de> wrote in message
news:bf9r1s$cjvl6$1...@ID-151409.news.uni-berlin.de...
be willing to take that lantern one more time... :-)
Weird Beard
news:%y1Sa.2520$ye5.8...@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net:
> [sigh!] "Zork IV" is "Enchanter". It says so in "Zork III".
>
Whereas in the Enchanter hintbook it says that it *isn't*
Glenn P.,
> www.infocom-if.org/news.html says:
> Recent news have it that Activision is planning a "Zork IV."
> Ken Love, producer at Activision, confirmed the rumor in an email,
> but also said that the deal is not yet finalized.
> Can it really happen?
I only hope that if it does, they'll release a Commodore-64 or Commodore-128
version of it!
--
=============================================================================
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=============================================================================
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_____ And Bert the Turtle was very alert;
{~._.~} When danger threatened him he never got hurt --
_( Y )_ He knew just what to do!
(:_~*~_:) He'd Duck And Cover -- Duck And Cover!
(_)-(_) He did what we all must learn to do,
You... and you... and you... and you --
Duck -- And Cover!"
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Nikos Chantziaras
>
> [...] it's yet another demonstration, complementing ZGI and
> Nemesis, that Activision have a sadly limited understanding of the
> history of Infocom, and the savage beauty of that which they
> bought and destroyed. Sigh.
Well, it was already destroyed at the time they bought it. But since they
didn't revive it, I wonder why they bought it in the first place.
Harry
<for....@manager.de> made the world a better place by saying:
>Michael Coyne wrote:
>>
>> [...] it's yet another demonstration, complementing ZGI and
>> Nemesis, that Activision have a sadly limited understanding of the
>> history of Infocom, and the savage beauty of that which they
>> bought and destroyed. Sigh.
>
>Well, it was already destroyed at the time they bought it. But since they
>didn't revive it, I wonder why they bought it in the first place.
My guess is, that at the time some of the Infocom games could make for
some interesting (read lucrative) franchises. Zork kinda made them
some money, I'll wager. But they really did not handle this very well.
If they had made use of their properties when the names were still
kind of familiar to the games buying public, they could have done lots
of things with the stories Infocom created.
Now they only have a couple of Zorks and a canceled Planetfall sequel.
To make a disgusting analogy: after the beautiful racehorse died, they
let the carcass rot so they could not even make pet-food out of it.
Okay, so I am playing Lurking Horror at the moment. Forgive my
grossness ;-)
-------------------------
"Hey, aren't you Gadget?"
"I was."
http://www.haha.demon.nl
(To send e-mail, remove SPAMBLOCK from address)
28 IF
Both positions are correct.
Andrew Plotkin
> Both positions are correct.
Neither position is interesting.
If Activision is considering producing a game called "Zork 4", what
kind of game will it be? Similar to ZGI? Or does the name indicate
that they're they're breaking with their house style of game design
(again), and changing to something more consciously Infocom-like?
--Z
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
* Make your vote count. Get your vote counted.
Rikard Peterson
> If Activision is considering producing a game called "Zork 4",
> what kind of game will it be? Similar to ZGI? Or does the name
> indicate that they're they're breaking with their house style of
> game design (again), and changing to something more consciously
> Infocom-like?
>
> --Z
Calling it Zork 4 makes me think they've only counted the graphical
games. RtZ, ZN, and ZGI. That would make three prior games. Making a
Z4 as in "the Zork after Z3" now seems weird. But either way, if it's
good, I'll be happy beacuse personally I liked Grand Inquisitor a lot
too and digest games that are a feast for eyes and ears just as easily
as text only games. (And I don't have the nostalgia attached to the
Zork label - GI was my first Zork.) I'd be surprised if it'll actually
be called Zork 4, though.
Rikard
HellRazor
"28 IF" <dogw...@frostwarning.com> wrote in message
news:fa3ohvsh3k600gmlo...@4ax.com...
Is this sort of like "No Tea"?
HellRazor
Michael Coyne
Software Store
You can see a copy of Enchanter here.
>get enchanter
Zork IV: dropped
>x enchanter
It's the latest and greatest extravaganza from Infocom. A completely new
adventure, with a completely new style of gameplay and a comprehensive
system of magic.
>get zork iv
Enchanter: dropped
>x zork iv
It's the long-awaited fourth installment of the Zork series from Infocom.
A completely new adventure set in the Zork universe, with the familiar
sophisticated style of gameplay and a comprehensive system of magic.
>ask clerk about zork iv
The spotty salesclerk shrugs. "It's really a completely new game. They
should have called it something other than Zork IV. It's pretty cool
though, you have to defeat this guy Krill. He's like a god or something."
The salesclerk returns to sliding surreptitious glances at the Apple Strip
Poker boxes lining the top shelf, seemingly unconcerned at the casual
slaughter of all-powerful deities.
>ask clerk about enchanter
The greasy young salesclerk removes his finger from his nose. "It's really
just another Zork adventure, but with spells. They really should have
called it Zork IV. It's pretty cool though, you have to defeat this guy
Krill. He's like a god or something."
The salesclerk resumes his nasal gymnastics.
Michael
Quintin Stone
> The salesclerk resumes his nasal gymnastics.
Excellent. :) Had me laughing out loud.
/====================================================================\
|| Quintin Stone O- > "You speak of necessary evil? One ||
|| Code Monkey < of those necessities is that if ||
|| Rebel Programmers Society > innocents must suffer, the guilty must ||
|| st...@rps.net < suffer more." -- Mackenzie Calhoun ||
|| http://www.rps.net/ > "Once Burned" by Peter David ||
\====================================================================/
Stefano McValdemar Canali
I got in touch with M.Laird @ Activision and he told me that he
doesn't know anything about this Zork game.
And that he's supposed to know things like this.
Stefano (s.ca...@FrobozzMagicCo.com)
Peter van der Goes
"Stefano McValdemar Canali" <joj...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f01e7344.03072...@posting.google.com...
Arrrrgh! Reality!
We were doing a lot of wishing, hoping and reminiscing here, please don't
confuse us with the facts :-)
Nikos Chantziaras
>
> Just a quick message.
> I got in touch with M.Laird @ Activision and he told me that he
> doesn't know anything about this Zork game.
> And that he's supposed to know things like this.
I wonder who maintains infocom-if.org?
Daniel Dawson
thought I might put this in...
You pick up and read article <bgrnff$rg0rq$1...@id-151409.news.uni-berlin.de>,
written by Nikos Chantziaras <for....@manager.de>. It says:
>I wonder who maintains infocom-if.org?
Hmm, if it helps at all, a DNS lookup reveals infocom-if.org is an alias for
ks406.kasserver.com. Also, I did a traceroute, and the nearest domain name with
location info I found (1 hop away) is N-1-atm030-732.de.lambdanet.net.
(Also, trying to get to ks406.kasserver.com results in a 403.)
Well, not very helpful, I'm sure, but now you have some idea where this site
might be.
--
| Email: Daniel Dawson <ddawson at icehouse.net> ifMUD: DanDawson |
| Web: http://www.icehouse.net/ddawson/ X-Blank: intentionally blank |
Adrien Beau
> Stefano McValdemar Canali wrote:
>>
>> Just a quick message.
>> I got in touch with M.Laird @ Activision and he told me that he
>> doesn't know anything about this Zork game.
>> And that he's supposed to know things like this.
>
> I wonder who maintains infocom-if.org?
A few database queries reveal that the domain is registered by
Marco Thorek, who lived in Herten, Germany at the time the
registration was done. He has an email account on the gmx.net
server; his username there simply is his last name.
infocom-if.org was registered on 2001-03-23 and will expire on
2004-03-23.
--
spam....@free.fr
You have my name and my hostname: you can mail me.
(Put a period between my first and last names).
Peter
"Adrien Beau" <spam....@free.fr> wrote in message
news:1347922.V...@maya.enadir.net...
Gosh, why all this cloak and dagger stuff of digging up where the guy lives?
I just sent him an email from the link on his site and here's the reply:-
"Hello Peter,
thanks for your interest.
All information comes from Ken Love, producer at Activision.
As far as I can tell, the project will take off, but it may be a while,
until Activision officially announces it.
Laird's "I don't know" is probably the official position until things
are definitive.
Cheers,
Marco"
I think the guy is genuine but I'm not so sure about Activision.
Regards,
Peter.
Adrien Beau
>
>> > I wonder who maintains infocom-if.org?
>>
>> A few database queries reveal that the domain is registered by
>> Marco Thorek, who lived in Herten, Germany at the time the
>> registration was done. He has an email account on the gmx.net
>> server; his username there simply is his last name.
>>
>> infocom-if.org was registered on 2001-03-23 and will expire on
>> 2004-03-23.
>
> the guy lives?
Actually more a matter of quickly typing "whois" in a terminal and
getting all the data he gave when he registered the site... I've
included his home town because I'm always interested in
unvirtualizing the Internet; I like to know where servers and
operators are.
Blue Event Horizon
Am I reading too much into the coincidence or is it significant I'm
reading this while downloading headers for alt.surrealism?
The first post gave me the impression Activision was releasing an old
retitled Infocom game as a freebie promo for some new game of theirs
as they did with Zork I, Zork II and Zork III. Something I could
point potentially interested people to as a free download. Oh, well.
BEH