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Zork Returning As a Browser MMO

Posted by Soulskill on from the still-waiting-on-a-new-starcon-game dept.

Gamasutra reports that Jolt Online Gaming is teaming up with Activision to revive the Zork franchise in the form of a casual, browser-based MMO. The Legends of Zork website provides some basic background information: "The Great Underground Empire has recently fallen and the land is in disarray. The Royal Treasury has been sacked. The stock market has collapsed, leading even mighty FrobozzCo International to fire employees from throughout its subsidiaries. A craze of treasure-hunting has swept through the remnants of the Great Underground Empire. The New Zork Times reports that trolls, kobolds and other dangerous creatures are venturing far from their lairs. Adventurers and monsters are increasingly coming into conflict over areas rich with loot. It's a dangerous time to be a newly-unemployed traveling salesman, but it's also a great time to try a bit of adventuring." Gamasutra also has a brief interview with Jolt's CEO, Dylan Collins. There's no word yet whether or not players are likely to be eaten by a grue.

24 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Grue! by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 2, Funny

    You know both the men and the women will be eaten by the grue.

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
    1. Re:Grue! by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Funny

      throw bottle at grue

      There, that should take care of him.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  2. Re:It is dark here. by meringuoid · · Score: 2, Funny
    You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

    Ah, but I have a brass lantern. And a nasty knife. And an elvish sword of great antiquity. I fear nothing...

    ... hey, is it me or is my light getting dim?

    --
    Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  3. Planetarion by oneofthose · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is the same Jolt that owns the legendary Planetarion (http://www.planetarion.com/) browser game. They don't seem to invest a whole lot of money into Planetarion but apparently are creating an entirely new game. This is sad for me because I prefer science fiction and strategy over role playing and loved Planetarion back in the days. Jolt recently got bought by Omac Industries (http://omacindustries.com/). They also own Nation States, a popular nation simulation browser game.

  4. Multi-player text adventures? by yotto · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Gee, someone should have thought of this YEARS AGO!
     
    Oh wait they did.
     
    I'm on dialup, so got tired of waiting for TFA to load. Maybe it's graphical and awesome and whatever.

    --
    Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
    1. Re:Multi-player text adventures? by Zironic · · Score: 2, Informative

      The main difference is that it'll be browser based instead of telnet based, and with ads(unless you pay).

    2. Re:Multi-player text adventures? by roguetrick · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So what do you call MUDs that use a java telnet client in your browser.

      --
      -The world would be a better place if everyone had a hoverboard
    3. Re:Multi-player text adventures? by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Funny

      So what do you call MUDs that use a java telnet client in your browser.

      Stupid.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Multi-player text adventures? by Mad+Merlin · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You could always give Game! a shot instead. It should be snappy, even on dialup.

      --
      Game! - Where the stick is mightier than the sword!
    5. Re:Multi-player text adventures? by icebraining · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Welcome to Zork (originally Dungeon). This version created 11-MAR-91 (PHP mod 03-AUG-05)
      There are 22 users playing Zork. Of those, 20 have not logged in.
      There are 40636 registered adventurers.

      404 Error: Now what??

      --
      Dilbert RSS feed
  5. You Are Likely To Be Eaten By A Grue by ChameleonDave · · Score: 4, Funny

    Obligatory YouTube video.

    1. Re:You Are Likely To Be Eaten By A Grue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      More proof white guys shouldn't rap.

  6. Zork? by kpainter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Great Underground Empire has recently fallen and the land is in disarray. The Royal Treasury has been sacked. The stock market has collapsed, leading even mighty FrobozzCo International to fire employees from throughout its subsidiaries. A craze of treasure-hunting has swept through the remnants of the Great Underground Empire...

    Sounds a bit too much like reality to me.

  7. It's a rare game... by PoochieReds · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...that can survive being turned into a MMORPG. Most developers tend to think that making a game into a MMOG adds value, but I tend to think it's the reverse.

    1. Re:It's a rare game... by oodaloop · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Adding value to a MMOG makes it a game?

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    2. Re:It's a rare game... by jonaskoelker · · Score: 5, Funny

      Coming soon to a gaming rig near your: Guitar Hero, the MMOG version.

      You can look forward to many hours of fun whacking goblins with your axe in search of the Golden Mic Stand from Kalimdor. When you have assembled a whole stage, you can hold concerts, and when you meet other players you can do battle.

      (Monthly subscription rates may apply, see inside of box for details)

    3. Re:It's a rare game... by MindlessAutomata · · Score: 5, Insightful

      We need a Leisure Suit Larry MMO.

    4. Re:It's a rare game... by Shaitan+Apistos · · Score: 2, Funny

      You mean this?

      http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath/features/bard/bardclass.xml

    5. Re:It's a rare game... by Culture20 · · Score: 4, Funny

      You just defined the internet.

  8. Free Zork! by agnosticanarch · · Score: 3, Informative

    In related news, Infocom (?) is giving away Zork I, II and III on their website. infocom-if.org

    Now I'm definitely more likely to be eaten by a grue.

    ~AA

    --
    I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do.
  9. Re:Two questions: by VolkerLanz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1. Are any of the people involved with the original in on this? I know TFA says that they were in contact with Activision regarding backstory, but that's not necessarily the same thing.

    I think that's rather unlikely. Mr. Collins explicitly says in the interview that he's "continually searching for people who were involved in the games over the years" and quotes only Activision as a source for the "entire mythology". None of the original Zork Implementors works (or has worked in the past) for Activision.

    Also, the artwork on http://www.legendsofzork.com/ makes you wonder if Mr. Collins has really caught up with the "entire mythology". This adventurer is from anywhere but from Zork -- not with that torch in his hand.

  10. So it's reality based then? by syousef · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The Great Underground Empire has recently fallen and the land is in disarray. The Royal Treasury has been sacked. The stock market has collapsed, leading even mighty FrobozzCo International to fire employees from throughout its subsidiaries

    So it's reality based then?

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  11. Eat Me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Auto-Cannibalism will do nothing to improve your situation.

    -Float!

  12. The first question by T.E.D. · · Score: 2, Funny

    The first question clearly is going to be: Will Grues be a playable race?