Your greatest challenge lies ahead-and downwards.

An INTERLOGIC'" prose adventure

(::commodore COMPUTER Copyright This software product is copyrighted and all rights reserved by lnfocom. Inc. It is published by Commodore under license from lnfocom. Inc. The distribution and sa le of this product are intended for the use of the original purchaser only and for use only on the computer system specified. Lawful users of this program are hereby licensed only to read the program from its medium into memeory of a computer solely for the purpose of executing the program. Copying. duplicating. selling or otherwise distributing this product is a violation of the law. This manual and packaging are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by lnfocom. Inc. and Com­ modore. This document may not. in whole or part. be copied. photocopied, reproduced. trans­ lated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form without prior consent. in writing. from lnfocom. Inc. Willful violations of the Copyright Law of the United States can result in civi l damages of up to $50.000 in addition to actual damages. plus crimi­ nal penalties of up to one year imprisonment and/or a $10.000 fine.

Th~Gr~at Und~rfround Empir~

ZORK"' and INTERLOGIC"' are trademarks of lnfocom. Inc. © 1981 . 19 82 lnfocom, Inc. Printed in U.S.A. Talldn\l to You can include several sentences in W~lcom~ to ZORK! Loadin\l ZORK When you pl ay a ZORK game. you ta ll< one input line if you separate them by Until you·ve entered the world of To load ZORK. follow the instructions on to ZO RK in pl ain Engli sh. typing in all the word THEN or a period. You don·t ZORK.you·ve never truly adventured your Reference Card. your requests on your l ). (Z O RK all ows input line. For example: Both ZORK I and ZORK II are number will appear. followed by a you to abbrevi ate some words. though. description of the starting locati on of TAKE BOOK. N. DROP BOOK AND designed so that you·II experience their because you use them often ) When CANDLE. the game: you have finished typing a line. press challenges in the most realistic sense. TAKE THE BOOK THEN N. DROP WEST OF HOUSE the RETUR N l ). words explicitl y. ZO RK then di splays a WHERE IS THE GOLD? encounter. it will tal

3 2 Rules and Sfrafefies Concepts for Explorinf Commands for Explorinf SU\tfesfions for More Successful Some things that you can do with objects The best way to move from place to ZORKI: in the story are not immediately obvious. ZORK Plavill\1 place is to type the direction you want to It is essenti al that you draw a map. Some The Great Underfround Empire Containment: Some objects. called go. Acceptable directions are NORTH or In ZORK I. you are near a great under­ of the problems in the game (the Maze containers. can contain other objects. N, SOUTH or S, EAST or E, WEST or W, in ZORK I. for one example). cannot be ground labyrinth. which is reputed to Some containers can be opened or NE, NW, SE, SW (or NORTHEAST, contain vast quantities of treasure. No solved without mapping. Remember closed. and some are always open. Some NORTHWEST, SOUTH EAST or that there are 10 possible directions. doubt. you wish to acquire some of it. are transparent. and some are not. Most SOUTHWEST respectively). and also U In order to receive full credit for trea­ In certain circumstances ENTER, containers have a limited capacity. and or UP and D or DOWN . EXIT (or IN, OUT) apply. sure. you must deposit it safely in the all objects have sizes. so that it is possible When you enter a particular place trophy case. Read everything carefully. There are to fill up containers. Similarly. some (ZORK calls any Rind of place a "room") clues in some of the descriptions. labels. In addition to treasure. the labyrinth objects have surfaces on which other for the first time. ZORK usually displays contains various objects that may or engravings. and booRs. etc. objects can be placed. the name of the room. a description of it. Most objects in the game which can may not be useful in your attempt to and then descriptions of any interesting acquire the treasure: you may need Fi!Jhtin!J: Characters in the story will. as be taRen are important. either as trea­ a rule. fight bad when attacRed. They objects in the room with which you sures or for solving problems Some-. sources of light. since caves are often might want to interact. When you return darR. and weapons. since dungeons may. in some cases. attacl< you unpro­ times treasures are also needed to voRed. Some of these beings are stronger to a room. ZORK normally displays just solve problems. often have unfriendly beings wandering the name of the room and the names of about in them. Reading material is scat­ than others: it might be advisable to wait Unli Re other games with which you awhile before tacl GIVE THE CATERPILLAR TO THE move and the story progresses only at after going north. you can return to CHRISTMAS-TREE MONSTER. each ticR. Nothing happens in the story where you started by going south. THE CHRISTMAS-TREE MONSTER IS while you are thinRing and planning REVOLTED AT THE THOUGHT OF your next move. so you can plan your ADORNING ITS BRANCHES WITH moves slowly and carefully if you A CATERPILLAR. so choose. You have just learned that there is probably something which would be a decoration pleasing to the monster and possibly a solution to the problem.

4 5 How to Quit Savin\1 a Gatne PosHion List of ZORK Commands SAVE If you want to stop playing. and never It will taRe you some time to play ZORK To simplify your adventuring. you may Saves a game position on yo ur storage continue from this particular position through to the end. just as it taRes you order ZORK to give yo u information by disRette. See the secti on SAVING A again. type QUIT ZORK will respond: some time to finish a good booR. You will typing specifi c commands. These com­ GAME POSITION YOUR SCORE WOULD BE score almost certainly not finish in one sitting. mands can be used over and over again SCORE (TOTAL OF 350 POINTS} IN number ZORK allows you to continue pl aying at as needed. but they are each considered ZORK shows your current score with MOVES. THIS SCORE GIVES YOU a later time without having to start over one complete move. Type your com­ the number of moves you have made. THE RANK OF ranR. DO YOU WISH from the beginning. just as you can place mand as a sentence to ZORK after the and your ranR. Your ranR is your rating TO LEAVE THE GAME? \( IS a booRmarR in a booR you are reading prompt(> ) appears. as a professional ZORK pl ayer and is AFFIRMATIVE):> There is a ZORK command. call ed The list of commands is: based on the number of points you have. SAVE, that ma Res a .. snapshot" of your Type Y next to the prompt (> ) and AGAIN SCRIPT press the RETURN Rey position in the game. If you are a cau­ ti ous or prudent pl ayer. you may want to ZORK wi !I respond as if you had This command assumes you have a If you never want to continue from .repeated your previous sentence. printer. It commands the printer to begin this particular position again. but you save your position before you embarR upon (or after you fini sh) any particu­ BRIEF printing a transcript of your game want to Reep playing. type RESTART session. after the prompt (> ). ZORK responds larly tricRy or dangerous part of the jour­ Thi s commands ZORK to fu lly describe by starting the game over from the ney. Having taRen a snapsho t. you can go only newly encountered rooms and SUPERBRIEF beginning. bacR to that position even though you objects. Rooms already visited and Thi s command tells ZORK to show you If you want to continue playing from may get lost or Ril! ed after ward. objects already seen will be described only the name of the room you have this particular position. but at a later When the prompt(> ) appears. by printing the room name and the entered. and no other info rmati on. It is time. follow the SAVING A GAME type SAVE, then press the RETURN Rey. obj ect names only. briefer than BRIEF. POSITION instructions. Then foll ow the instructions on your Reference Card. DIAGNOSE UNSCRIPT ZORK gives you a medical report of This command stops your printer fr om Resforin\1 a Saved your physical conditi on. Thi s is particu­ printing. Gatne Position larly useful if you have just survived a VERBOSE When you want to continue playing dangerous battle. Thi s command te ll s ZO RK to show you a fr om where you made a snapshot. fo ll ow INVENTORY long description of the room and the the RESTORE procedure You can ZORK li sts your possessions. If you ·ve obj ects in it whenever you enter a room. RESTORE a saved snapshot at any time noti ced the thief lurRing about. you VERSION during play. might want to checR to see if your When the prompt(> ) appears. type: ZORK responds by showing you the belongings are still there. You may release number and serial number of RESTORE and press the RETURN Rey. abbreviate INVENTORY by typing I. Then fo ll ow the instructions on your your copy of the game. Reference Card. LOOK WAIT ZORK wil l now let you continue play­ ZORK describes your surroundings in Thi s command causes time in the game ing from your restored position. You can detail. Yo u may abbrevi ate LOOK by to pass. Normall y. between moves. type LOOK for a description of where typing L no time is passing as far as ZORK is you are. QUIT concerned- you could leave your com­ Thi s gives yo uth ~ option to quit playing. puter. taRe a nap. and return to the If you want to save your position. first game to find that nothing has changed. read the instructi ons under SAVING A WAIT is used when you want to find out GAME P O SITION. You may abbreviate what will happen in the game if you do QUIT by typing Q. abso lutely nothing while time passes. RESTART For example. if you encounter an alien This ends the game and starts the game being. you could WAIT and see what it over fr om the beginning. will do. RESTORE Restores a game position you saved with the SAVE command. See the sec­ tion RESTORING A POSITION

6 7 TOO MANY NOUN CLAUSES. An Command Summary Sentence Syntax Appendix example is "Put the troll in the basket The following commands can be entered D A ZORK sentence must contain at ZORK's Responses with the shovel." A valid ZORK sentence when the prompt(>) has appeared on least a verb or a command (e.g. AGAIN) ZORK may occasionally have a few has. at most. one direct object and one the screen. (For explanations. see LIST D Separate multiple objects of the verb words for you when it wants you to clar­ indirect object. OF ZORK COMMANDS section) by the word "AND" or a comma (,). ify your instruction Some of ZORK s BEG PARDON? Yo u did not type any­ AGAIN D Several sentences typed to ZORK at responses are: thing after the prompt(>) and before BRIEF one time must be separated by a period I DON'T KNOW THE WORD your you pressed the RETURN key on your (.)or by the word "THEN." A period is word'. The word you typed is not in keyboard DIAGNOSE not needed at the end of a line of input. the game's vocabulary. Sometirr,ies a IT'S TOO DARK TO SEE. In the story. INVENTORY D Only two kinds of questions may be synonym or rephrasing will be und~r­ there was no light to see objects in LOOK asked: "WHAT" and "WHERE." stood ... If not. ZORK probably doesn t D Compass directions may be abbrevi · the room. • QUIT know the idea you were trying to get ated to N, E, S, W, NE, NW, SW, SE, and across. I CAN'T SEE ANY 'object' HERE. In the story the object you referred to was RESTART UP and DOWN may be abbreviated to U I CAN'T USE THE WORD .you r not accessible to you. RESTORE and D, respectively. word· HERE. ZORK !mows the word D The letter "L" may be used to abbrevi­ you typed. but the word made n ~.se nse MULTIPLE OBJECTS CANNOT BE SAVE USED WITH ·your verb· It is legal for ate the LOOK command. where you put it in the sentence: Open SCORE D The letter "I" may be used to abbrevi­ the take". for example. you to use multiple objects (that is. nouns or noun phrases separated by SCRIPT ate the INVENTORY command. YOU MUST SUPPLY A VERB! Unless "and" or a comma) only with certain SUPERBRIEF you are answering a question. each sen­ verbs. Among the more useful of these tence must have a verb (or a command) verbs are "take ... "drop." and "put. " UN SCRIPT in it somewhere. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT SEN­ VERBOSE THERE IS A NOUN MISSING IN THAT TENCE. You typed a sentence that is VERSION SENTENCE. This usually indicates an gibberish: for example. "Give troll with incomplete sentence. such as "Put the sword ... You might try rephrasing WAIT lamp in the." where ZORK expected the sentence. another noun and couldn't find one.

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8 9 INTERLOGIC™ Reference Card for the ™

I. What You Need 111. Talking to the Game IV. The Status Line When you enter the SAVE com- mand, the game will re spo nd : Required Whenever you see the prompt ( > ). At the top of the screen, you will D Commodore 64 Computer the game is waiting for you to type in see a status line. This line is updated Please insert SAVE diskette, - Press RETURN key to continue- D One VIC-1541 diskette drive your instructions. You may type up to after every move to show your current two full lines of text at a time. If you whereabouts in the game. Depending 1. If you have only one diskette Optional make a mistake, use the DELETE key upon the type of game. it may also drive. remove the game diskette and D One or more blank, formatted to _erase the error. When you have show other information: insert the storage diske tte : otherwise· diskettes (for SAVEs) finished typing in your instructions, ju st insert th e storage diskette in the press the RETURN key. The game will D VIC graphic printer (or Score second drive. (To prepare this diskette. respond and then the prompt ( >) will see Initializing Storage Diskett es .) equivalent) connected to the serial port reappear. In games that keep a score. such (for SCRIPT) as the ZORK®underground adven­ 2. Press RETURN . The game wil l NOTE: You may use the left- and respond D Second VIC-1541 diskette drive right-arrow keys in combination with ture s. the right side of the status line (for convenience with SAVE) the DEL and INST keys to edit your wi ll show someth ing like this: Position (0-7): Default = O command; however, use of the up- and SCORE: 245/920 3. Type a number be tween O and 7 down-arrow keys will cause unpredict­ to te ll the game which save position on 11. Loading the Game Th e first number is your score and able results. the second 1s the total number of the diskette to use (or simply press the 1. Turn on the power to your If a description will not fit on the moves you have made. In the example, RETURN ke y to se lect the default). The Commodore 64 . screen all at once, [MORE] will appear you have 245 points in 920 moves. gµme will respond 2. Insert the game diskette in in the bottom left portion of the screen. Drive (8/9): Default = 8 Drive 1 (device 8) and close the drive After reading the part on the screen Time you will need to press the space ba~ to 4. Select whichever drive contains door. In games that keep track of the the SAVE diskette. Now the game wil l 3. Type see the rest of the message. time (e .g., the mystery thriller respond DEADLINE'"), the righ t side of-the LOAD "GAME",8 - Press RETURN key to begin - When the computer responds status line wil l look someth ing like the foll owing: 5. Press RETURN . Th e game will "READY," type TIME: 9:22 AM type Saving . .. Th is shows the curren t time of day "RUN ." in the game. to indicate that th e game is being . The diskette drive will spin the saved. Thi s shou ld take about half a diskette and the program will load. A minute. When the game has been me_ssage should appear asking you to V. Saving a Game Position saved, it wi ll respond wait while the game loads (this should To save the cu rre nt position, use the Please re-insert GAME diskette, take no more than 2 minutes). - Pre ss RETURN key to continue - SAVE command. You may SAVE up to 4. If nothing appears on your eight different game positions on each 6. Remove the sto rage di skette screen, something is wrong. (See the storage diskette and RESTORE them in from the drive and insert the game Troubleshooting section .) any order To keep track of these dif­ diskette again (th is step is unnecessary ferent positions. each is assigned a if you are using two drives). Close the number (from 0 to 7) Each time you drive door. SAVE a game position, it will overwrite 7. Press the RETURN key. If all is any position that is already on your well, the game wi ll re spon d storage diskette with the number you Ok. specified. If you want to SAVE more If it responds than one game. you mu st use a dif­ Failed . pNo-ffi~~g~~C6~5~~ V~~darDeErAegilsltNerEed tratdedmarkskof Commodore Business Machines Inc. ferent position number for each one. • , D are ra emar s of lnfocom, Inc. ' consult the Troubleshooting section. You may now continue playing. You IX. Troubleshooting can use the storage diskette and the RESTORE command to return to this If the game fails to load properly, position at another time. or if SAVE/RESTORE fail s. check each of the following items_ If none of these offers a solu tion, call your Commodore VI. Restoring a Saved Game dealer for assista nce. 1. Check to see that your Com­ Position modore and disk drive(s) are plugged in To restore a previously saved game correctly, connected properly, and that position. enter th e " RESTORE " com­ everything is turned on. mand. Then follow the steps (1 to 7) for 2. Check to see that the diskette SAVE above. was inserted correctl y. and that the drive door is closed. 3. Inspect th e diskette carefully fo r VII. SCRIPTing any vis ible damage_ 4. Be sure that the diskette(s) is in If you have a VIC Graphic printer the proper drive(s). The game diskette (or any equivale nt printer which may only be ru n from the main drive attaches to the serial port on the Com­ (device 8). For SAVE/RE STORE. be sure modore 64) , you may make a transcript that you have typed the co rr ect drive of the game as you play it: number for the storage diskette_ 1. Con nect the printer to the serial 5. For SAVE, be su re th at the port on the Commodore 64 . storage diskette is not write-protected 2. Turn on the printer. (i .e .. there is nothing covering th e 3. Load the game as described notch on the side of the diskette) above. 6. Also fo r SAVE , be certai n th at 4. To start the transcript at any the diskette has been properly in it ial­ time, use the SCRIPT command. ized (formatted). As a last resort. try a 5. To stop th e transcript, use different diskette. UN SC RIPT. 7. If you have turned off your Com-· 6_ SCRIPT and UNSCRIPT may be modore, follow the instructions for used as often as desired as long as the loading the game. printer is left on-line. 8. Try again: th e problem may be only momentary_ VIII. Initializing Storage Diskettes Storage, or "SAVE" diskettes are made using the standard Commodore diskette ini tialization procedures (" NEW " command). See either the Commodore 64 Reference Manual or the VIC-1541 diskette drive manual for detailed instructions. Commodore Business Machines, Inc. 1200 Wilson Drive• West Chester, PA 18380 Commodore Business Machines, Limited • - 3370 Pharmacy Avenue• Agincourt, Ontario, M1W 2K4