# In which I awaken an ancient evil **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604 "2010-06-10T01:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/21 "2010-06-10T17:12:22Z")
Wow… that video is really great! Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/22 "2010-06-10T18:46:22Z")
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**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/23 "2010-06-10T22:48:52Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Wow… that video is really great! > Thanks for the link. I don’t want to call MC Frontalot a guilty pleasure, because there’s no guilt involved. Clever lyrics, great hooks, geeky subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/24 "2010-06-11T13:11:11Z")
I find it rather amusing that someone with the handle of “Yorick” is posting in a Zork thread. (Seeing as how “Saint Yoruk” was one of the historical personalities in that universe.) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/25 "2010-06-11T13:55:09Z")
Somewhere at home I’ve got a box of “The Lost Treasures of Infocom” with about twenty different text adventures including the original Zork series, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and a bunch of murder mysteries I had never heard of before. I should try to burn all of those installation disks to a CD before they quit making floppy drives and I am no longer able to use them. > [@Sue\_Duhnym](#): > > Don’t even get me started on explaining to her why floppy disks are called floppy. My husband actually went further back and explained to her how he used to carry a deck of cards around while she got that glazed-over look in her eyes and fired up her DS. Freaking kids these days. A few years ago we had a young lady on our team who was in her late 20’s and had never seen a 5 1/4" floppy disk. So to really freak her out, one day one of the senior members of the group brought in an old piece of core memory from a mainframe to show her. You know, one of those iron grids with the metal rings. Then we told her to get off our lawn. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/26 "2010-06-11T14:01:46Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Whew, here I thought you opened an old cooler or something! I’m glad I wasn’t the only person to think of that. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/27 "2010-06-12T07:03:21Z")
Beware, I live! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/28 "2010-06-12T07:13:14Z")
I burned two motherboards playing zork on my old pcjr. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/29 "2010-06-12T07:54:49Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > There are installation instructions at that site. Apparently Stuffit Expander will work on binhex files now. Whodathunkit? You could probably use the Unix utility ‘unbinhex’ or ‘xbin’ as well. If you don’t want to use the command line or Stuffit Expander (and who could blame you for either of those), use [The Unarchiver](http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/apps/unarchiver.html) for files like that. Not that it matters, though, if you’ve got an Intel Mac. Those Zork apps will only run under Classic, as one might expect for a file encoded in that format. If you can get a hold of any original file published by Infocom, you can use a Z-machine interpreter, available [here for Mac](http://www.inform-fiction.org/zmachine/macos.html) or just look down the sidebar for your OS [here](http://www.inform-fiction.org/zmachine/interpreters.html). Of course, the Z-machine has a Javascript version, and you can play the Infocom Zorks in any Javascript-capable web browser [here](http://zorkonline.net/) (save & restore not yet implemented, I don’t think). ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/30 "2010-06-12T21:16:11Z")
Semi Hijack Is Adventure available for free anywhere? Logic dictates that it is and that the magic word Pugh doesn’t work in the land beyond the chasm. ---
**Author:** ![UncleNito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7cd45c/32.png) [@UncleNito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleNito)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/31 "2010-06-12T21:25:49Z")
Before my hard drive crashed, I had a Z-machine interpreter (Z-shell? I forget) and pretty much all of the Infocom games, which I used to play on my parents’ Commodore. HHGTG, Zork, Planetfall … good times. I need to re-download it. There’s new interactive fiction you can download too. Like a lot of free, user-written stuff, much of it is lousy and some of it is excellent. I wasted a lot of time my first year in law school on text adventures. I’m blanking on the Mac interpreter that worked best but there is a pretty good one that runs all the files. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/32 "2010-06-14T01:10:36Z")
Related: the prior librarian at my Medical Library used a computer catalog she purchased in 1987. It looks like Pong (I remember Pong!). It used floppies. It was also a PITA. I was having trouble getting it to work for me and I had lots of IT (for the hospital, not the company, which we could not find…\*) “helping” me. One helper via phone flat refused to believe that I was using a program that used floppies. Damned whippersnapper! \ I pitched the whole thing and went with an online catalog. It costs less than a dollar a day. \*apparently this company does still exist because I got a promo from them just last week. For over $1200, they will upgrade my (old) system… In their promo they say that “some new users are not familiar with the DOS look; this upgrade makes our system more user friendly” and they give an example: Old way: Patron Name… (“DOS look”) New way: \ I about fell off my chair laughing. For over a 1K I get something that looks like 1994? It is to laugh. Other tech anecdote: we used to have an old rotary phone in the basement. One day #1 son wanted to call a friend, but the cordless’ battery had died or something. I told him to use the downstairs phone. He looked at me blankly and asked, “How?” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/33 "2010-06-17T00:08:04Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Other tech anecdote: we used to have an old rotary phone in the basement. One day #1 son wanted to call a friend, but the cordless’ battery had died or something. I told him to use the downstairs phone. He looked at me blankly and asked, “How?” :smack: I am very old ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/34 "2010-06-17T00:23:22Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Semi Hijack > > Is Adventure available for free anywhere? Logic dictates that it is and that the magic word Pugh doesn’t work in the land beyond the chasm. Yes, it is. I know this because I have it downloaded on my laptop. Unfortunately I can’t remember where I got it, but it was only just a few months ago that I downloaded it. I’m sure a Google search would turn something up… ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/35 "2010-06-17T00:30:24Z")
How I loved Zork. And built little maps on grid paper. Never completed it though, sigh. Dark Castle- now that’s one worth remembering! ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/36 "2010-06-17T00:41:47Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > I don’t want to call MC Frontalot a guilty pleasure, because there’s no guilt involved. Clever lyrics, great hooks, geeky subject matter. FWIW, this song has been my companion during this development phase. Thanks again. The guy has some interesting stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/37 "2010-06-17T00:46:08Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Other tech anecdote: we used to have an old rotary phone in the basement. One day #1 son wanted to call a friend, but the cordless’ battery had died or something. I told him to use the downstairs phone. He looked at me blankly and asked, “How?” :smack: A number of years ago, I was stage managing a show set in the 1950s. The lead was a young man of about 16. He was flummoxed by two pieces of technology that he was required to use every night. 1 - The cooler mounted bottle cap opener. No you couldn’t just twist off the cap of your coke back then. 2 - The rotary dial pay phone. No, those little holes were not buttons, and you had to put your money in the phone, before you could make a call. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/38 "2010-06-17T01:25:24Z")
I’m 20 years old and I’ve never even _seen_ a rotary phone in person. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/39 "2010-06-17T02:02:35Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I like [Pretty Good Solitaire](http://www.goodsol.com/) and I buy my father a new edition every now and then. It has HUNDREDS of solitaire games, with a 30 day free trial. > > And I remember Pong. I was fascinated with it when it first appeared at the pinball arcades. Pysol is a really good program as well. I’ve got the original and haven’t tried the fork that has added even more games. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604/40 "2010-06-17T13:29:10Z")
I admit, I kind of miss the golden age of text based games. To me, the difference between a text based game and a graphics-based game is like the difference between a book and a movie, one not necessarily better than the other. I know that this marks me as someone over forty. I have a special place in my heart for Planetfall, the first text based game I actually completed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-awaken-an-ancient-evil/542604.md?page=3)