Zork TrilogyZork Trilogy

Zork is an interactive fiction computer game. Infocom released Zork as a commercial game for personal computers, split due to memory limits of personal computers compared to the mainframe system. The three titles released commercially were Zork: The Great Underground Empire – Part I in 1980 (later known as Zork I), Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz in 1981, and Zork III: The Dungeon Master in 1982.

Plot The original MIT version of Zork (also called Dungeon) combines plot elements from all three of the following games, which were made available for commercial sale.

Zork I: The Great Underground Empire The game takes place in the Zork calendar year 948 GUE (although the passage of time is not notable in gameplay). The player steps into the deliberately vague role of an "adventurer". The game begins near a white house in a small, self-contained area. Although the player is given little instruction, the house provides an obvious point of interest.

Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz The player begins in the Barrow from Zork I armed only with the trusty brass lantern and the elvish sword of great antiquity from before. The objective of the game is not initially clear, but the player is pursued throughout by the titular wizard.

Zork III: The Dungeon Master The player begins at the bottom of the Endless Stair from Zork II.

Zork III is somewhat less of a straightforward treasure hunt than previous installments. Instead, the player—in the role of the same "adventurer" played in Zork I and Zork II—must demonstrate worthiness to assume the role of the Dungeon Master.