Even though we got a computer in the mid to late 90’s, a shitty DOS-box that no-one kind of really knew how to do anything with, I was infinitely interested in anything to do with it. I remember playing Guerrilla Wars and some dungeon crawlers on it and such, but I feel like I almost entirely missed out on text-based games. I vaguely remember playing two, but I guess I was just excited about computer graphics or something that I didn’t really care for them or the ones I tried just sucked.
I’m sure there’s people here that have more experience with them so I ask you to bring forth all your favorite text-based adventures, regardless of genre. What classics should I go for?
Checkout Zork, it runs Zcode games. There’s loads of games at IfArchive with some packs listed on intfiction.
McMurphy’s Mansion
https://www.myabandonware.com/game/mcmurphy-s-mansion-271
A puzzle solving text adventure where you go around your relative’s estate trying to uncover 12 gold bars. I have fond memories of playing this as a child with my Scottish grandmother.
Holy shit this is my first “Reddit Moment” on Lemmy, where I go to post something and someone else has already posted it.
So many parts of that damn game are somehow burned into my psyche.
“Arum Sub Est”.
Alphaman
https://www.mobygames.com/game/21019/alphaman/
https://www.myabandonware.com/game/alphaman-315
A humorous post-apocalyptic roguelike starring Elvis and Donald Trump (the 90s version).
I worked with the creator Jeff to release the original source code, and it’s seen a little bit more recognition in roguelike circles recently
I remember the Questprobe games.
Questprobe was a trilogy of graphical adventure video games featuring Marvel Comics characters.
Questprobe featuring The Human Torch and The Thing
Questprobe featuring Spider-Man
Give them a try if you are familiar with using DosBox.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=2WAlzD3c3UA
https://piped.video/watch?v=6SPjUvvEDAk
https://piped.video/watch?v=-HfmCvsrZMM
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
I feel like early Legend Entertainment games are a perfect gateway to interactive fiction since they do have some graphics and interface while still being primarily text-driven. My personal favourite is Frederik Pohl’s Gateway series (books are amazing too), but you could check out Spellcasting 101 and Eric the Unready which are available on GOG.
And if we’re talking classics I’d recommend Babel for starters, it uses very modern game design without softlocks and unfair fail states, almost entirely narrative driven with simple and satisfying puzzles sprinkled in.
Otherwise I’m a huge fan of anything by Andrew Plotkin.
Not a huge fan of Zork, it’s so rough to play these days without a guide. Maybe other Infocom games should be played first, like Planetfall, it’s relatively not so player hostile.
Yes, text adventure games go beyond Infocom, although they won the era. There’s Magnetic Scrolls, Melbourne House, Level 9, and (yes) Legend, which shares DNA with Infocom in the form of prolific alum Steve Meretzky. Back in the day, everyone was getting in on text adventures; even Electronic Arts published one.
That said, I would go with an Infocom game for your first, as the later ones especially were very well-designed and tended to be fairly forgiving. A Mind Forever Voyaging or Planetfall are good choices. Planetfall has a sequel, if that makes it more interesting to you. I would avoid Zork to start; it’s a good game, but there was a lot of evolution after 1977.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of the medium’s crowning achievements and you should probably wait to savor that one.
MUDs (Multi User Dungeons - The massive multiplayer text adventure RPGs that came before the term “MMORPG” has been invented) may be your friend. Games like unitopia.de. All you need is a telnet client (built-in in almost all operating systems).
If you like roguelikes, you’re in for a treat. Check out Brogue and DCSS.
And if you want to witness some TUI eyecandy without it being a game,
ssh git.charm.sh
.