My series on Spellbreaker over at Gold Machine hasn’t ended. I’ve come to believe that I need to step back and discuss why Zork is a six-game thing aesthetically rather than an open-ended commercial proposition. Given the shift in direction, I thought I would make a new thread rather than continue updating the Spellbreaker Let’s Play.
To do this, I had to step back and talk about the wider world of Zork history and branding.
The conversation about Zork’s rhetorical situation continues. This time, the focus is on the concept of “authorship” as evinced by Infocom in its early days.
I take a closer look the authorship and subject matter of Zork I, arguing that it scaffolds important themes and motifs that would recur throughout the series.
Edit: it’s possible that I will reach the limit for contiguous replies. If so, I will update the OP, but stop adding to the thread.
With Zork II the plot of the Zork trilogy becomes clear(er). I continue to discuss it while also introducing some overarching themes to be discussed later.
Our detour has come to an end. It’s time to talk about the Enchanter Trilogy and its correspondence to the Zork Trilogy. Only one post to go, with one last post specific to Spellbreaker!
We have reached the end! I have done all I can to present the ending of Spellbreaker as the conclusion of the six Zork saga games. I enjoyed spending so much time thinking about it, as it has become one of my favorites. In my twenties, I didn’t think as highly of it. I think I found it “too hard.” Ah well, the folly of youth I suppose.
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