Zork II

Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz is an interactive fiction computer game published by Infocom in 1981. It was written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Anderson. It is the second game in the immensely popular Zork trilogy and was released for a wide range of computer systems. It begins where Zork I left off and leads into Zork III.

Contents

1 Plot
2 Spells
3 Notes
4 Quotes
5 Glitches
6 External links

Plot

The AFGNCAAP begins in the Barrow from Zork I armed only with the trusty brass lantern and sword of elvish antiquity. The purpose of the game is not initially clear.

The Wizard of Frobozz is soon introduced. The Wizard was once a respected Enchanter, but when his powers began to fade he was exiled by Lord Dimwit Flathead the Excessive. Now bordering on senility, the Wizard is still a force to be reckoned with. Your goal, as you venture into the Wizard's realm, is to avoid his capricious tricks and learn to control his magic.

Like its predecessor, Zork II is essentially a treasure hunt. Unlike the previous game, the ten treasures are tied together by a crude plot. Finding the treasures does not end the game; the adventurer must also figure out a way to use them in order to reach the game's finale.

Spells

The spells used in the game are:

FALL - causes the target to stumble and fall, sometimes fatally
FANTASIZE - causes the target to hallucinate
FEAR - causes the target to become afraid of the caster
FEEBLE - temporarily reduces the target's carrying capacity
FENCE - prevents the target from going anywhere
FERMENT - makes the target drunk, movement becomes random
FIERCE - causes the target to become dangerous
FILCH - causes the target to be moved to the caster's inventory
FIREPROOF - causes the target to become immune to fire
FLOAT - causes the target to levitate
FLUORESCE - causes the target to emit light
FREEZE - paralyzes the target, preventing any action but waiting
FRY - destroys the target
FUDGE - produces the smell of chocolate if cast by the player, transforms the player into a fudge statue if cast by the wizard
FUMBLE - causes the target to drop what it is holding
FREE - frees a captive target; used by the demon on himself if the player poorly phrases the request for the wizard's wand
FROBIZZ, FROBOZZLE, FROBNOID - near the game's end, incanted by the wizard in an unsuccessful attempt to control the demon

Notes

If a player gets stranded on a volcano ledge (e.g. by forgetting to tie the balloon to the hook), after some time a "volcano gnome" appears:

A volcano gnome seems to walk straight out of the wall and says, "I have a very busy appointment schedule and little time to waste on trespassers, but for a small fee, I'll show you the way out." You notice the gnome nervously glancing at his watch."

Similarly, if the player gets trapped in the bank, another gnome appears:

An epicene gnome of Zurich wearing a three-piece suit and carrying a safety-deposit box materializes in the room. "You seem to have forgotten to deposit your valuables," he says, tapping the lid of the box impatiently. "We don't usually allow customers to use the boxes here, but we can make this ONE exception, I suppose..." He looks askance at you over his wire-rimmed bifocals.

If the adventurer puts non-valuable items in the box, the gnome tosses them out and they disappear. If the adventurer doesn't give the gnome something valuable after a while, he just leaves.

Zork II contains the notoriously difficult Bank of Zork vault puzzle, with a seemingly unmotivated solution involving walking through an apparently solid wall and having the location to which a door leads depend on the direction from which a room was entered.

The game also contains the "Oddly-angled Room" puzzle, generally considered unfair to players outside the U.S. not familiar with the game of baseball.

Quotes

[After solving the well puzzle.] "You are at the top of the well. Well done."

Glitches

[Bug in certain versions when giving an unintelligible command.] "I can't see the Gnome of Zurich anywhere!"

External links

[Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz] at MobyGames
[Zork II information and overview]
[Scans of the Zork II package, documentation and feelies]
[Infocom-if.org's entry for Zork II]
[All three Zork games downloadable for PC and Mac]
[The Infocom Bugs List entry for Zork II]
[The Dot Eaters page] featuring a history of the Zork games and Infocom

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