The venerable Infocom text-adventure game Zork spawned the Infocom Z-Machine V3, a virtual machine that could run "programs" (games) from the commercial to the hobbyist, including "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Planetfall and Curses."
If you're thinking of running these games and you have your own chip fabrication facility, then the 2014 Opencores file has you covered with a hardware implementation of the Z-Machine V3, supporting all functions of the VM except save/restore (which are tricky to pull off in a chip).
I'm pretty sure you can also cook this into an FPGA if you don't wanna go the full ASIC.
A Verilog implementation of the Infocom Z-Machine V3. The spec the Z3 follows is http://inform-fiction.org/zmachine/standards/z1point0/index.html. Specifically version 3, the so called "Standard" games. These were released between 1982 and 1987 and covers most Infocom games. Z3 passes the "CZECH - Comprehensive Z-machine Emulation CHecker" by Amir Karger. And is known to run at least Zork I, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Planetfall and Curses (by Graham Nelson).
To provide the input/output a terminal is implemented in a BIOS (in Z-machine code) which exists in the ROM above 120Kb. The IO related opcodes (like @print) vector into the BIOS which provides the terminal. A small number of extra op codes were added so the BIOS could interface with an LCD touchscreen and access the top 64Kb of RAM (which shadows the ROM).
Lazer Walker compiled a list of about 100 iOS game recommendations. They seem to like a lot of the same kinds of games I like (rougelikes, tower defense, civilization sims). I just bought 868-Hack on their recommendation.
GB Studio is a “free and easy to use retro adventure game creator for your favourite handheld video game system.” Use a modern visual scripting interface to create Zelda-style 2D role-playing games that run on the Nintendo Game Boy or standalone on the web. · Visual game builder with no programming knowledge required. · Design […]
Jason Scott has made the source available for every one of Infocom's classic and genre-defining text adventure games (previously) for the Apple ][+ and its successors, posting it to Github under the historicalsource account.
From your apartment door to your bike lock, it’s not uncommon to carry a number of different keys on your keyring, but that doesn’t make it any more bearable when you’re fussing to find the right one or deal with the infamous pocket bulge. The KeySmart Pro’s smart design cuts down on key clutter and […]
Happy DNA Day! April 25 is a day to recognize deoxyribonucleic acid – better known as the molecule that holds the code to our entire genetic makeup. What better way to celebrate than with a complete ancestry test that’s about more than just satisfying idle curiosity about your family tree? The lab techs at Vitagene use […]
For musicians, clubgoers or anyone in the thick of a loud environment, earplugs aren’t just an option. If you plan on keeping your hearing through sustained exposure to levels over 85 decibels (roughly the sound of a blender), they’re a must. The good news is, most earplugs will muffle the sound. The bad news is, […]
