h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ahhh... Many fine lectures were mis-spent in the shadow of flood control dam number 3...

Ah, a fellow faceless adventurer. Xyzzy!

Plugh, Plover and Y2 to you too!

If you're into advent, check out http://www.xyzzy.com - it's a "vanity site", but has some good links...

I've been there. Loved Advent, but couldn't help but think that I still preferred Zork. Probably because Zork actually tells you where most of the exits are . . .

Hey, if you're interested in Interactive Fiction, you might want to check out its official newsletter at http://www.xyzzynews.com. They have pretty much everything that you'd need to know about IF. BTW, are you a veteran of just Zork and Advent, or IF in general?

I tried to start a Zork club around here once.... A846867

but then I went for my own original RPG club at A989698

So.... should I just delete Club Zork, or what?

What?

Anything that gets people talking about Zork is a good thing. It's a subject that needs some serious attention if there's to be hope of an official game again at any point in the future. It's position as best-selling computer game series of all time is beginning to be challenged by other titles.

And for the record, I'd show up at Club Zork myself were I not so busy with college and the adventures in the h2g2 community.

(BTW Peet, I'm hiding, come find me. Heh-heh-heh....)

Good to see you, Affy! I'm a bit busy IRL, hence my continued absence on the adventure threads... Soon, though...

Okay, soon's good....but wait too long and you may miss out on a chance to win both The Philosopher's Stone AND the Elixir Of Life.

I've raised some interesting questions: Is the sword in the Trilogy actually supposed to be Sting from the Lord of the Rings?

No, though there are similarities.

Both swords glow with blue light, both are made by elves, etc.

However, ignoring the fact that Zork and Middle Earth are two different Universes entirely, there are a few other important differences. First of all, the adventurer in the Zork games was always depicted as being an average-to-large sized person who could handle the sword well. Bilbo Baggins, on the other hand, admitted that Sting was little more than "a dagger that seemed roughly sword-sized to him" due to the small stature of Hobbits.

Next, the glowing light acts differently in the two worlds. In the Tolkien stories, these swords glow when orcs or goblins are near. The sword from the Zork trilogy glows when you're near trolls, a thief, a wizard, a princess, a dragon, the dungeon master, a vampire bat, and the like. It even gives off pulsing flashes of light when you dare to pick up the rusty knife in the middle of the maze.

Now, it's highly possible that the Implementors were inspired by the glowing feature of the Tolkien swords, but the other differences seem to great in my mind to assume that this sword and Sting are the same. Nice observations on your part, though.