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From: grruffin@woodlawn.uchicago.edu (steppin)
Subject: Re: Zork Nemesis
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Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1996 17:30:10 GMT
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I think most of the posts I've seen about Zork: Nemesis have been
unreasonably harsh. For me, at least, what made the original Zork
games so excellent was not the actual text itself, but the real
historical, geographical, and mythical context that the text created.
To preserve that context (in other words, to create a "real" Zork
game), text is not necessary. There are other ways to arrive at a
genuine representation of that world. 

RTZ may not have done it, but I definitely think Zork: Nemesis has.
Unlike RTZ, the creators of Zork: Nemesis informed themselves on the
history and politics of the Zork world around the time periods of the
old games, and have placed themselves very accurately in that context:
- 10th century GUE, roughly in the 940s, very close to the Zork Trilogy.
- In the Eastlands, in the southern portions largely unknown to us so far.
- Accurate emphasis on the importance of the Guilds of Enchanters, and of
powerful figures like Syovar (if you don't recognize the name, read
Meretzky's four multiple-path books).

At any rate, I think there is a lot in Zork: Nemesis worth looking forward
to, a lot that will add to the richness of the Zork universe as we know it
without contaminating it with silliness. I seem to remember a lot of people
whining when Beyond Zork and Zork Zero came out, for exactly the same
reason, but having seen the final product, they stopped talking. Check out
Zork: Nemesis and see if you still have the same feelings.

Just MHO,

Nino Ruffini



