But… Why? I don’t trust them, what do they want?
Microsoft Open Sources Zork I, II And III
Submitted 18 hours ago by setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
https://hackaday.com/2025/11/21/microsoft-open-sources-zork-i-ii-and-iii/
Comments
justlemmyin@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip 11 hours ago
As the readme states, you can’t actually compile the source code. The compilers are lost to time and it’s from a very obscure, proprietary fork of an obscure language. Essentially, this headline should read “Microsoft owns code not even their engineers could comprehend, so they released it for free since they couldn’t possibly make money from it”.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 10 hours ago
To be fair, Zork is also just a simple text-based adventure game. I’m not even sure what could be learned by looking at its source code unless you wanted to learn that obscure, proprietary forked language itself. Text-based adventures are little more than spicy Hello World programs. 🤷♂️
Zedd_Prophecy@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
It is very dark, you are likely to be eaten by a grue. Or profiled by Microsoft.
umbrella@lemmy.ml 14 hours ago
extremely rare microsoft W
monotremata@lemmy.ca 10 hours ago
Kowowow@lemmy.ca 17 hours ago
Why is everything named so weird
qfe0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 hours ago
I don’t know Kowowow.
Kowowow@lemmy.ca 10 hours ago
ok I misread something I thought it was another linux program or whatever
Die4Ever@retrolemmy.com 17 hours ago
I didn’t even know Microsoft owned Zork lol
dhork@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
It’s a maze of twisty passages that gets there…
Infocom was bought by Activision, which later got merged into Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft later bought.
ricdeh@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
And apparently Microsoft originally wanted to buy the rights all the way back in the 80s! It only took them 40 years…