I have a soft spot in my heart for the original, text-based Zork. It was the first game to introduce me to the adventure genre, and the game that is probably the most responsible for turning me into a “serious” gamer. So, naturally, an Ars Technica report claiming that the Zork series is being re-formatted for the Amazon Kindle and other e-readers has me pretty excited.
PortableQuest is the name of the company that is working to bring Zork I-III, as well as Mini-Zork, to e-readers. The Kindle’s keyboard and limited browser capabilities will enable gamers to navigate their way through the text-based adventure, while Amazon’s Whispernet service will allow them to save their progress.
With the e-reader version of Scrabble currently enjoying a 16-day stint in the Top 100 on Amazon’s Bestsellers list, obviously there is a market there for text-based games. Who knows? If the Zork series is successful as well, maybe it will pave the way for new games and interactive novels on the platform.
