Microsoft Open Sources Zork Trilogy Preserving Generation Of Classic Games
The proliferation of digital game libraries and cloud streaming services has raised concerns about game preservation. Some publishers, such as EA, have stepped up in a big way by open sourcing older titles in their back catalogs. Now, Microsoft is adding its own contribution by open sourcing the classic Zork trilogy.
Microsoft will be releasing the source code for Zork I, Zork II and Zork III under the MIT License. Included as part of this release will be any available documentation, such as build notes, comments and files that are historically relevant. However, marketing materials, packaging, trademarks and branding aren’t part of this preservation effort, and will remain with their respective rights holders.
The company says that the singular goal of this release is to “place historically important code in the hands of students, teachers, and developers so they can study it, learn from it, and, perhaps most importantly, play it.”
It’s with good reason, too. These games featured some interesting technical innovations, like the virtual machines dubbed Z-machines, that made it easier to port the game to new platforms. The Z-Machines facilitated the porting of these games from mainframes to a myriad of incompatible home computers at the time, including the Commodore 64, Apple IIs, IBM PCs, and other computers.
Interested players will be able to download the source code to compile and run it on their computers using a Z-machine interpreter, like Windows Frotz. Although, those who want to experience the classic games without jumping through hoops can do so by buying it from Good Old Games (GOG).
It’s great to see major players in the gaming industry recognize the importance of classic games. Hopefully this spurs other publishers to do the same and ensure the preservation of the games we know and love.
