Is there anyway to get the code and bundle in my own Infocom games? I bought the Lost Treasures and have copies of everything so I'm legal. I would love to be able to make a custom bundle with my Infocom favorites.
@alexmclintock I added version 4 (Infocom Plus) support last weekend so Hitchhikers should be playable now. There are a couple of bugs I need to work out first (for some reason Trinity crashes) but most of the work is done. Then I'll move on to supporting version 5 which will allow almost all the Infocom games to work. This also has the additional benefit of opening the app up to the huge library of Inform games too.
@chipos81 I am sure you are a good guy, but shouldn't you include a few links in the description? Unless you own google shares and want us to be looking all over the place
As the implementer who wrote the first Z-machine for the TRS-80 some 30 years ago and one of the founders of Infocom, I was thrilled and impressed to see what you did. I can guarantee you that we never imagined it would be played with a pen!
@scottcutler Well, I'd like to return the complement. 30 years later I'm still enjoying Infocom's works. You guys really did an incredible job. Implementing the Z-machine was a real pleasure for me, seeing all the clever tricks used to squeeze such a complex game into such a small space. To build such a rich illusion of a real world in under 128Kb is just incredible. As a current professional videogame programmer I doff my cap to your ingenuity :)
@scottcutler Scott: Thanks for the wondrous hours of entertainment you and your company provided "back in the day". Zork & Hitchhiker's still live here on original Atari, Apple & Commodore hardware and provide a tidal wave of nostalgia right when I need it. :) As for Chipos81's implementation... WOW! Now that's a great hack! Great job!
@zubieta The paper has a pattern of tiny dots on it. A camera at the tip of the pen reads these dots and uses it to work out exactly where the pen is.
Oddly, the Livescribe pen cannot scan printed text. Yet the C-Pen, based on the same Anoto technology, is a great text scanner. I wonder if the C-Pen engine can be hacked into it. Are you interested in trying?
@juyujelly Glad you liked it. I'd love to be able to put the Z-machine interpreter on the Livescribe app store. The problem is all the Infocom text adventure are still copyrighted so I can't bundle them with the app. Also there's no way for a user to easily transfer files on and off the pen. The plan is to extend the interpreter so version 5 and 8 games work. Then I should be able to bundle a selection of modern homebrew text adventures with it.
can I get info regiarding the tic tac toe game??
monkeyman1688 1 week ago
"Dude..why are you playing tic tac toe by yourself?"
"I am NOT playing Tic Tac Toe with MYSELF! I am playing it with my PEN. Sheesh!"
"Oh..."
jace14444 6 months ago
Is there anyway to get the code and bundle in my own Infocom games? I bought the Lost Treasures and have copies of everything so I'm legal. I would love to be able to make a custom bundle with my Infocom favorites.
AaronD04040603 7 months ago
Lol you suck!
ATOMIXMONKEY53 1 year ago
Would it be possible to show the Hitchhikers Infocom game too? That would be even more spectacular.
alexmclintock 1 year ago
@alexmclintock I added version 4 (Infocom Plus) support last weekend so Hitchhikers should be playable now. There are a couple of bugs I need to work out first (for some reason Trinity crashes) but most of the work is done. Then I'll move on to supporting version 5 which will allow almost all the Infocom games to work. This also has the additional benefit of opening the app up to the huge library of Inform games too.
chipos81 1 year ago
@chipos81 I am sure you are a good guy, but shouldn't you include a few links in the description? Unless you own google shares and want us to be looking all over the place
skdkskdk 2 weeks ago
Where can we get this pen?
antdude 1 year ago
Saw this because Jason "Get Lamp" Scott just tweeted about it. Amazing!
DGJerz 1 year ago
As the implementer who wrote the first Z-machine for the TRS-80 some 30 years ago and one of the founders of Infocom, I was thrilled and impressed to see what you did. I can guarantee you that we never imagined it would be played with a pen!
scottcutler 1 year ago 18
@scottcutler Well, I'd like to return the complement. 30 years later I'm still enjoying Infocom's works. You guys really did an incredible job. Implementing the Z-machine was a real pleasure for me, seeing all the clever tricks used to squeeze such a complex game into such a small space. To build such a rich illusion of a real world in under 128Kb is just incredible. As a current professional videogame programmer I doff my cap to your ingenuity :)
chipos81 1 year ago 6
@scottcutler Scott: Thanks for the wondrous hours of entertainment you and your company provided "back in the day". Zork & Hitchhiker's still live here on original Atari, Apple & Commodore hardware and provide a tidal wave of nostalgia right when I need it. :) As for Chipos81's implementation... WOW! Now that's a great hack! Great job!
screamengine 9 months ago
How does it know you wrote on a different place?
zubieta 1 year ago
@zubieta The paper has a pattern of tiny dots on it. A camera at the tip of the pen reads these dots and uses it to work out exactly where the pen is.
chipos81 1 year ago
@chipos81 So it will only work with this paper?
Or are you referring to the drawn lines as the "pattern of tiny dots"?
By the way, I didn't even knew it had a camera heheheh
zubieta 1 year ago
can we download these games somewhere? i would love to play
dmoola 1 year ago
This makes me want one.
GayDessert 1 year ago
Nicely done.
Regards,
Zibri
z1ph0n3 1 year ago
Oddly, the Livescribe pen cannot scan printed text. Yet the C-Pen, based on the same Anoto technology, is a great text scanner. I wonder if the C-Pen engine can be hacked into it. Are you interested in trying?
shermonty 1 year ago
that is awesometastic! :D
I am (just starting) to learn java... so things like this really intrigue me (:
reddirtshow 1 year ago
That is AWESOME...! Are you sharing these apps somewhere?
juyujelly 1 year ago
@juyujelly Glad you liked it. I'd love to be able to put the Z-machine interpreter on the Livescribe app store. The problem is all the Infocom text adventure are still copyrighted so I can't bundle them with the app. Also there's no way for a user to easily transfer files on and off the pen. The plan is to extend the interpreter so version 5 and 8 games work. Then I should be able to bundle a selection of modern homebrew text adventures with it.
chipos81 1 year ago