Legends of Zork
Encyclopedia
Legends of Zork was a popular browser-based online adventure game, based on the legendary Zork
universe.
was originally announced in January, 2009. However, the developers recanted that MMO statement, calling it a "casual adventure game", instead. Game mechanics were similar to Kingdom of Loathing
, and there was no charge to sign up.
Upon defeating monsters, players may have recovered enchanted Double Fanucci cards which could be arranged into four-card hands called "gambits", which enhanced types of skills. In addition, having face cards in a gambit could provide other enhancements, like additional hit points or inventory capacity. Legends of Zorks Double Fanucci cards were drawn by artist Greg Brown and colored by Jim "Zubby" Zubkavich.
.
Alec Meer of Rock, Paper, Shotgun
criticized the game, saying it's "as though someone designed a micropayment
system then awkwardly shoved a very crude game on top of it." Meer goes on to describe the game as "rudimentary" and "unfunny."
Kenneth Newquist of nuketown.com called it "a barebones MMORPG-style game designed for the casual gamer" which was all about number crunching, although pointed out that it was not necessarily a bad thing, comparing the game to the Facebook
App D&D Tiny Adventures. He criticised the lack of a story within the game, but admitted that later additions to the game in the form of quests came some way to fixing this problem. He also said "Still, it is Zork-like. The locations, the artwork, and the tone all evoke the Infocom games I loved." He conceded that while it did not come up to his expectations (although he was still playing it several months after release), other players might, and thought that as "an amusing little app, and as a lunch time diversion, I think it works."
Zork
Zork was one of the first interactive fiction computer games and an early descendant of Colossal Cave Adventure. The first version of Zork was written in 1977–1979 on a DEC PDP-10 computer by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling, and implemented in the MDL programming language...
universe.
Production
A Zork massively multiplayer online gameMassively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
was originally announced in January, 2009. However, the developers recanted that MMO statement, calling it a "casual adventure game", instead. Game mechanics were similar to Kingdom of Loathing
Kingdom of Loathing
Kingdom of Loathing is a browser-based, multiplayer role-playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, including creator Zack "Jick" Johnson and writer Josh "Mr. Skullhead" Nite. The game was released in 2003...
, and there was no charge to sign up.
Premise and gameplay
Players controlled a recently-fired traveling salesman for FrobozzCo International, now fighting monsters and solving puzzles for zorkmids (the world's currency). A class, leveling, equipment and skill system give each character unique attributes. Free accounts were given 30 action points per day, but could pay a fee to receive more and other "perks".Upon defeating monsters, players may have recovered enchanted Double Fanucci cards which could be arranged into four-card hands called "gambits", which enhanced types of skills. In addition, having face cards in a gambit could provide other enhancements, like additional hit points or inventory capacity. Legends of Zorks Double Fanucci cards were drawn by artist Greg Brown and colored by Jim "Zubby" Zubkavich.
Critical reception
Legends of Zork received mixed reactions from the gaming community, with many reviews complaining that the game was not true to the original ZorkZork
Zork was one of the first interactive fiction computer games and an early descendant of Colossal Cave Adventure. The first version of Zork was written in 1977–1979 on a DEC PDP-10 computer by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling, and implemented in the MDL programming language...
.
Alec Meer of Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Rock, Paper, Shotgun is a UK-based PC gaming blog written by Alec Meer, Jim Rossignol, John Walker, and previously Kieron Gillen and Quintin Smith. Rock, Paper, Shotgun launched in July 2007. In 2010 the website partnered with Eurogamer...
criticized the game, saying it's "as though someone designed a micropayment
Micropayment
A micropayment is a financial transaction involving a very small sum of money and usually one that occurs online. PayPal defines a micropayment as a transaction of less than 12 USD while Visa prefers transactions under 20 Australian dollars, and though micropayments were originally envisioned to...
system then awkwardly shoved a very crude game on top of it." Meer goes on to describe the game as "rudimentary" and "unfunny."
Kenneth Newquist of nuketown.com called it "a barebones MMORPG-style game designed for the casual gamer" which was all about number crunching, although pointed out that it was not necessarily a bad thing, comparing the game to the Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
App D&D Tiny Adventures. He criticised the lack of a story within the game, but admitted that later additions to the game in the form of quests came some way to fixing this problem. He also said "Still, it is Zork-like. The locations, the artwork, and the tone all evoke the Infocom games I loved." He conceded that while it did not come up to his expectations (although he was still playing it several months after release), other players might, and thought that as "an amusing little app, and as a lunch time diversion, I think it works."