"So it's wonderful to have a big win in archiving a trio of seminal text games for the ages. Microsoft announced today that the code for Zork, Zork II and Zork III will be made available open source under the MIT License. The company's Open Source Programs Office, Xbox and Activision all contributed to the effort. "The goal is not to modernize Zork but to preserve it as a space for exploration and education," Microsoft team members wrote in the blog post sharing the news."
"Not only was it a unique experience of narrative and puzzles, but the accomplishments of the Z-Machine virtual machine it ran on helped make Zork easily available to players on multiple platforms during the rise of personal computers in the 1990s. There are still modern Z-Machine interpreters out there (or you can buy and play all three Zork titles the normal way thanks to the similarly preservation-minded folks at Good Old Games)."
Microsoft released the source code for Zork, Zork II and Zork III under the MIT License with contributions from the company's Open Source Programs Office, Xbox and Activision. The release prioritizes preservation and educational access rather than modernization. Zork pioneered parser-based interactive fiction and continues to inspire the present-day interactive fiction community. The Z-Machine virtual machine enabled cross-platform availability during the rise of personal computers in the 1990s. Modern Z-Machine interpreters remain available, and Good Old Games offers purchasable versions of all three titles. The MIT licensing ensures continued public availability despite earlier rights resting with Activision.
Read at Engadget
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