🚀 go-pugleaf

The first computer game I owned - barring whatever came on the
"Getting Started" diskettes for my Apple IIc - was Zork I. It wasn't
the first video game I played - that was probably Pong - or even the
first computer game - my memory is hazy in this regard, but I think it
was Ultima I - but Zork is where I officially count my start as a
computer gamer. Not dependent on an endless stream of quarters or the
use of somebody else's hardware, I could play Zork whenever I wanted
and at my own pace.

I do not actually remember /when/ I purchased Zork, but I do remember
that I played it in Spring. At that time, my workstation was situated
in the kitchen, right next to the back entrance, and I well recall
playing with the door open, the warm breeze wafting in and carrying
with it the redolent aroma of the warm, sunny day outside. At the same
time, though, I was sitting in the shadowy nook; this combination of
sensations were a necessary addition while playing a game otherwise so
sparse in stimulus. Visualizing Zork's game-world - presented only by
sparse snippets of descriptive text - was entirely dependent on the
player's imagination and - while I do not consider myself a slouch in
that department - every little bit helped to enliven the game's world.
The shadows of my nook - with sunlight lipping in the edges - helped
simulate the lamp-lit darkness of the Great Underground Empire, as did
the earthy smells coming through the door.

These days, spoiled as I have become by the modern 3D-rendered
masterpieces we disparage as mere "games",  I find I have little
patience for Interactive Text Adventures; it's not so much that I
dislike the medium - well-written text can still transport me to other
realms - as I detest the interface and mechanics of the genre. Even
back in the day, the struggle to guess the correct verb or noun was an
annoyance, as were the purposely obtuse logic puzzles. Getting to the
end of those games was often more effort than it was worth and I
rarely got any sense of accomplishment on completing them; it was more
a sense of relief. It was the exploration of those hidden caverns that
I loved, especially the early bits before the puzzles and mechanics
started becoming to obtrusive. To this day I can still close my eyes
and remember the excitement of creeping through the passages and rooms
- for some reason, the Round Room in particular stands out -  and, if
I put a little effort into it, I can even summon the dusty smell of
its untrammeled corridors. 

Not all Interactive Text Adventures were so satisfying; Enchanter was
a wonderful, almost D&D-like romp through wilderness and ruin and the
Hitchhiker's Guide was humorous and notoriously unforgiving (one of
the few instances where figuring out the exact combination of moves to
solve a puzzle was its own reward because they were so impossibly
challenging). Most of Infocom's games never matched these high points
however - including Zork II and Zork II, sadly - and eventually
gamers, including myself, left them behind for more graphical games
that were less reliant on abstruse puzzles and were just more FUN.

Nonetheless, as I sit in front of my computer on this warm Spring day,
thirty and more years later, memories of my explorations of the Great
Underground Empire return to me, carried again by the green breezes of
the season. Some might say that's because Zork was my first, but I
think it's because it was one of the best.