It's dark. You may be eaten by a grue.

I'm back after a three-ish month hiatus. What with exams, weddings of putative brothers, and sheer laziness, it is already the middle of July. Not only have I not updated my blog in a while, I have not read anything seriously academic since...let's see...the middle of May? Panic wells within me as I gauge the consequences of my unconscionable procrastination; and I hear a steady voice close to my ear say, "It's dark. You may be eaten by a Grue."

Of course, this wonderfully understated and yet deeply disturbing threat does not claim my imagination as its point of origin. Credit goes to the creators of the Zork series of games. Many may be unfamiliar with this series. A pity, that... for these games are by far the best interactive-fiction/role-playing games ever made. They were created under the Infocom/Activision label sometime in the '80s. (Incidentally, I also believe that these games, along with Douglas Adams, Star Trek: TNG and Rick Astley, redeem the otherwise dispensable decade of my birth.)

They are a totally text-based game. That's right, a video-game with no video...or audio, for that matter; just an introductory manual, a map and your imagination. All of the games--Zork 0, Zork 1, 2, 3, 4 (I've lost count), and other related games like Enchanter, Sorcerer, Planetfall etc.--make up for the absence of graphics by being witty, intelligent and just plain peculiar. You take on the role of a wily explorer in these games and make your way through enchanted castles, cursed underground kingdoms, and abandoned realms. In your journies you seek treasures, cast spells, match your wits against evil wizards, clever dwarves and cunning theives, and explore a world you can only imagine.
Alas, I do not believe these games are available on the market anymore. But, there is the Internet, and there are die-hard fans who want to make the Grue a household name. Seek and thou shalt find.