INFONOTES: SERIOUS INFOCOM TRIVIA - Part 2
by Graeme Cree (gramecree@aol.com)
Concluded from the last file
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Zork I: The Great Underground Empire
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1. ZORK 4 - A NEW HOPE?: The title of Zork 1 was changed after
its commercial release. Originally the name "The Great Underground
Empire" applied to the series as a whole, and Zork 1 was called
"ZORK: THE GREAT UNDERGROUND EMPIRE - Part 1," in Versions 5 and
15. From Version 20 onward, the roman numeral "I" was added to
the game, and "The Great Underground Empire" applied to Zork 1
only.
2. PYRRHIC VICTORY?: Zork 1 is probably the only Infocom game
where you don't have to survive to win. If you get the ancient
map, and then get killed, you don't have to come back to life by
praying at the altar. Simply go to the Stone Barrow in your undead
condition to win with the full number of points.
Neither do the treasures matter after you've gotten the map. You
can throw all of the Treasures of Zork into the Frigid River
before going to the barrow, or you can take as many as you can
carry with you. Your score and victory will be unaffected.
3. HUNT THE WUMPUS: In all versions of Zork 1 through version 30,
if you enter the Bat Room without the garlic, you get the
following message:
Fweep!
Fweep!
Fweep!
A deranged giant vampire bat (a reject from WUMPUS) swoops down
from his belfry and lifts you away....
In versions 75, 76, 88 and 52, the reference to the Wumpus game is
deleted and the message simply reads:
A large vampire bat, hanging from the ceiling, swoops down at you!
Fweep! Fweep! Fweep!
The bat grabs you by the scruff of your neck and lifts you
away....
4. FINITO?: The game's final message also changed. Here is the
original message, as it appeared in versions 5 and 15:
As you enter the barrow, the door closes inexorably behind you.
Around you it is dark, but ahead is an enormous cavern, brightly
lit. Through its center runs a wide stream. Spanning the stream is
a small wooden footbridge, and beyond a path leads into a dark
tunnel. Above the bridge, floating in the air, is a large sign.
It reads: All ye who stand before this bridge have completed a
great and perilous adventure which has tested your wit and
courage. You have gained the mastery of the first part of the
Great Underground Empire. Those who pass over this bridge must be
prepared to undertake an even greater adventure that will severely
test your skill and bravery! Play "ZORK: The Great Underground
Empire, Part II".
In version 20, the final sentence was changed to:
Play "ZORK II: The Wizard of Frobozz".
In versions 23, 25, 26, 28, and 30, the phrase "You have gained
the mastery of...." was changed to "You have mastered the first
part of..."
In version 75 and 76, "You have mastered the first part of the
Great Underground Empire," was changed to "You have mastered the
first part of the Zork Trilogy,", and "Play "ZORK II: The Wizard
of Frobozz"." was changed to:
The ZORK trilogy continues with "ZORK II: The Wizard of Frobozz"
and is completed in "ZORK III: The Dungeon Master," available now
at fine stores everywhere.
In versions 88 and the Solid Gold version (version 52), the phrase
"available now at fine stores everywhere" was deleted.
5. EBCDIC: Extended Binary-Coded-Decimal-Interchange- Code was a
file format (infamous, really) formerly used by IBM as an
alternative to ASCII. In all versions of Zork I through Version
30, the description of the maintenance room is like so:
Maintenance Room This is what appears to have been the maintenance
room for Flood Control Dam #3. Apparently, this room has been
ransacked recently, for most of the valuable equipment is gone. On
the wall in front of you is a group of buttons, which are labeled
in EBCDIC. However, they are of different colors: Blue, Yellow,
Brown, and Red. The doors to this room are in the west and south
ends.
In Versions 75, 76, 88 and 52, the last three sentences of this
description are changed to remove the reference to EBCDIC:
On the wall in front of you is a group of buttons colored blue,
yellow, brown, and red. There are doorways to the west and south.
Interestingly, the description of the Machine Room in Zork 2,
which also had buttons labeled in EBCDIC, was never changed, even
though at least one version of the game was released after the
change was made to Zork 1. In fact, the Zork 2 description says
that "naturally" the buttons are labeled this way, meaning that
you must have expected that after seeing it in Zork 1.
6. NORTH OF HOUSE: In all versions of Zork 1 up to version 30, if
you are at "North of house", and want to go to "Behind House", you
can only go east. In versions 75 and later, you can go either east
or southeast.
7. GOTTA MATCH?: In all versions of Zork 1 after Version 30,
opening the matchbook will tell you how many matches are left. In
versions through Version 30, trying to open it will generate the
message "You must tell me how to do that to a matchbook." In these
versions, the only way to tell how many matches you have is with
the command COUNT MATCHES.
8. ODD SYNONYMS: In all versions of Zork 1, the deflated pile of
plastic can be referred to as a "boat", but not as a "raft." Once
inflated, it can be called either one.
9. THE WORST DAM PUZZLE: In most versions of Zork 1, there are
two ways to obtain the platinum bar; either by saying ECHO in the
Loud Room to change the acoustics, or by entering the room while
the dam is refilling. In the first version of the game (version
5), the second solution does not work.
In most versions of the game, the room is "loud" when the dam is
full, "extremely loud" (meaning you can't stay there at all) while
it is emptying, and "quiet" when it is refilling. In Version 5, it
is "loud" in all three circumstances.
10. GUESS THE VERB: The coal machine long provided one of
Infocom's very rare guess-the-word puzzles. In all versions up to
Version 30, FLIP was about the only verb that would work on the
switch (i.e. FLIP SWITCH WITH SCREWDRIVER). In Versions 75 and
later, PUSH, MOVE, and probably a few more would work.
11. READING MATERIAL: In Zork 1, there are four bits of reading
material: The leaflet in the mailbox, the Zork Owner's Manual, the
Tour Guidebook, and the matchbook. The text of each of these was
revised in various versions of the game.
11a. THE LEAFLET: The leaflet in the mailbox in Zork 1 underwent
a couple of revisions. This is the leaflet as it appeared in
Versions 5 and 15:
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WELCOME TO ZORK
-------------------
ZORK is a game of adventure, danger, and low cunning. In it you
will explore some of the most amazing territory ever seen by
mortals.
No computer should be without one!
The original ZORK was created by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce
Daniels, and Dave Lebling. It was inspired by the ADVENTURE game
of Crowther and Woods. This version was created by Marc Blank,
Dave Lebling, Joel Berez, and Scott Cutler.
(c) Copyright 1979 & 1980 Infocom, Inc. All rights reserved.
After version 15, the third paragraph with it's reference to the
Colossal Cave Adventure game, was deleted, and the fourth
paragraph was expanded. This is how the leaflet looked in Versions
20, 23, 25, 26, 28 and 30:
WELCOME TO ZORK
ZORK is a game of adventure, danger, and low cunning. In it you
will explore some of the most amazing territory ever seen by
mortals.
No computer should be without one!
Copyright 1982 by Infocom, Inc.
All rights reserved.
ZORK is a trademark of Infocom, Inc.
Finally, the copyright paragraph was also deleted and the whole
leaflet message was put in quotation marks, and combined into one
paragraph. The leaflet in versions 75, 76, 88, and 52 looks like
this:
WELCOME TO ZORK!
ZORK is a game of adventure, danger, and low cunning. In it you
will explore some of the most amazing territory ever seen by
mortals. No computer should be without one!"
11b. THE ZORK OWNER'S MANUAL: There were four separate versions
of the Zork Owner's Manual. The first one, appearing only in
Version 5, looked like this:
Congratulations!
You are the privileged owner of a genuine ZORK Great Underground
Empire (Part I), a self contained and self maintaining universe.
As a legitimate owner, you have available to you both the Movement
Assistance Planner (MAP) and Hierarchical Information for Novice
Treasure Seekers (HINTS). For information about these and other
services, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope
to:
Infocom, Inc.
GUE I Maintenance Division
PO Box 120, Kendall Station
Cambridge, Mass. 02142
For version 15, the funny acronyms and hint instructions were
removed in favor of a commercial for Zork 2, and looked like this:
Congratulations!
You are the privileged owner of a genuine ZORK Great Underground
Empire (Part I), a self contained and self maintaining universe.
If used and maintained in accordance with normal operating
practices for small universes, ZORK will provide many months of
trouble- free operation. Please check with your dealer for Part II
and other alternate universes.
After Version 15, the manual was altered slightly to remove the
reference to Zork 2, and to this game being part 1. Here's how the
manual looked in Versions 20, 23, 25, 26, 28, and 30:
Congratulations!
You are the privileged owner of a genuine ZORK: The Great
Underground Empire, a self-contained and self- maintaining
universe. If used and maintained in accordance with normal
operating practices for small universes, ZORK will provide many
months of trouble- free operation.
After Version 30, the manual was changed even more slightly,
simply by adding a blank line after "Congratulations!" It appeared
that way in Versions 75, 76, 88, and 52.
11c. THE TOUR GUIDEBOOK FOR FLOOD CONTROL DAM #3:
Except for minor pagination changes, The Tour Guidebook only
changed once; for the Solid Gold version. Here is how it appeared
there:
" Flood Control Dam #3
FCD#3 was constructed in year 783 of the Great Underground Empire
to harness the mighty Frigid River. This work was supported by a
grant of 37 million zorkmids from your omnipotent local tyrant
Lord Dimwit Flathead the Excessive. This impressive structure is
composed of 370,000 cubic feet of concrete, is 256 feet tall at
the center, and 193 feet wide at the top. The lake created behind
the dam has a volume of 1.7 billion cubic feet, an area of 12
million square feet, and a shore line of 36 thousand feet.
The construction of FCD#3 took 112 days from ground breaking to
the dedication. It required a work force of 384 slaves, 34 slave
drivers, 12 engineers, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear
tree. The work was managed by a command team composed of 2345
bureaucrats, 2347 secretaries (at least two of whom could type),
12,256 paper shufflers, 52,469 rubber stampers, 245,193 red tape
processors, and nearly one million dead trees.
We will now point out some of the more interesting features of
FCD#3 as we conduct you on a guided tour of the facilities:
1) You start your tour here in the Dam Lobby. You will notice on
your right that....
In previous versions, the paragraph beginning with "The
construction of FCD#3 took 112 days" was not present.
11d. THE MATCHBOOK: The matchbook remained virtually identical in
all versions of Zork 1. It was changed only once, and very
slightly. This is how it appeared in versions 5, 15, 20, 23, 25,
26, 28, and 30:
(Close cover before striking)
YOU too can make BIG MONEY in the exciting field of PAPER
SHUFFLING!
Mr. Anderson of Muddle, Mass. says: "Before I took this course I
used to be a lowly bit twiddler. Now with what I learned at GUE
Tech I feel really important and can obfuscate and confuse with
the best."
Dr. Blank had this to say: "Ten short days ago all I could look
forward to was a dead-end job as a doctor. Now I have a promising
future and make really big Zorkmids."
GUE Tech can't promise these fantastic results to everyone. But
when you earn your MDL degree from GUE Tech, your future will be
brighter.
In versions 75, 76, 88, and 52 the grammar was changed to
eliminate a slight redundancy. The phrase "I used to be a lowly
bit twiddler," was changed to "I was a lowly bit twiddler."
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Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz
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1. In the first release of Zork 2 (version 7), the game is
subtitled "The Great Underground Empire - Part 2.", in addition to
"The Wizard of Frobozz." (See the discussion of the series title
under Zork 1, for more about this).
2. In versions 18, 19, 22, 23, and 48, you must have the Wizard's
Wand with you when you descend the staircase to the Zork 3 area,
or else you will be killed by the green lines of force. In
versions 7, 15, and 17, the wand is not necessary to win.
3. All versions of Zork 2 know the words "Ulysses" and "Odysseus"
(from Zork 1), but have no response for them. The game simply
returns no output at all and goes to the next turn. This is
obviously a holdover from the days of the mainframe Zork. No
version of Zork 3 knows either word. -- P. Darnowsky
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