Zork One: The Great Underground Empire
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire, is the first "official" Zork game.1 Unlike many of its sister games, Zork I actually has a fairly simple structure: youre hunting for treasure through the abandoned ruins of a section of The Great Underground Empire2. This section is located in a part of Zork known as The Frigid River Valley, which is nicknamed "The Most Inaccessible Region Of Zork." This means that you can't possibly escape except by facing the dangers ahead. Oh lucky you.
Zork One Vs. Dungeon
Many who have played both games, especially those who could never figure out how to enter "that stupid white house", have remarked that the two are the same games. This is not true. Dungeon was simply broken up into smaller parts, and made more interesting. New characters were added, new treasures, new rooms, etc. Zork One also ranks better than Dungeon because it can understand what you type much better than Dungeon. No more of those infamous "guess the verb"3 puzzles. However it is smaller, and easier to beat. Oh, well. It's still a challenge for those of you who fancy yourself to be great adventurers.
You Are Not Alone
Just like in all of the other Zork games, Grues4 are lurking in the pitch black areas, waiting to dismember you if you come to close. Always remember a source of light.
You may/will also find yourself shadowed by a "lean and hungry gentleman" who wanders the mazes, plucking treasures from you. He is the Thief. Beware him. Because of your skill at puzzle solving and treasure hunting, he considers you a threat to his livlihood5. He is a skilled fighter, and an even more skilled pick pocket. You will have to fight him, but that's best saved for when you have a lot of points and experience.
How Will I Finish?
Zork One ends when you locate The Stone Barrow. However, you can't find the secret path to it6, until you locate the Twenty Treasures Of Zork. These are scattered about the area, just waiting for you to find them and/or for the thief to steal them from you. However, this handy list might give you an idea as to what you should look for.
1) Jewel Encrusted Egg
2) Rare Painting
3) Ivory Torch
4) Golden Coffin
5) Egyptian Sceptre
6) Pot Of Gold
7) Jewelled Scarab
8) Large Emerald
9) Crystal Skull
10) Trunk Of Jewels
11) Crystal Trident
12) Jade Figurine
13) Sapphire Bracelet
14) Perfectly Cut Diamond
15) Silver Chalice
16) Golden Clockwork Canary
17) Brass Bauble
18) Leather Bag Of Coins
19) Platinum Bar
20) Rare Map
When you find a treasure, put it in the trophy case that you find in the living room. For some reason, the Thief will never steal from there. He also won't steal from you if you're above ground. Maybe that has something to do with it . . .
I've Looked Too Far Into This
Okay, for you h2g2 and Douglas Adams7 freaks, take a look at this: If you count the Elvish Sword as a treasure (the Thief does), then there are twenty one treasures. Now, Zork isn't real, as much as I would like it to be. Therefore, Zork is at least half as good as real life. So, if Zork were real, the number of treasures could double. And twenty-one treasure multiplied by two equals forty-two! Neat, huh?
And finally . . .
Zork One is now freeware. You can download it for no charge. So, take a step into a larger world: download it from this site to download this, as well as three other freeware Zork games! Plus, you can learn a lot about Infocom8! Now, is that a good deal, or is that a good deal?
1Official meaning that Infocom marketed it.2Also known as Zork, Quendor, G.U.E., and The Land Of Frobozz.3If you don't know what this is, you are one of the luckiest people on the planet. Trust me.4Generated Random Underground Encounters5thievery.6It's ironically close to where you start the game. Almost embarrasing, actually.7He wrote two games for Infocom! The company that originally made Zork! Cool, huh?8The company that originally marketed Zork
