BBC Micro Z-Machine Interpreter

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[[Image:Z-machineinterpreterlogo.png|left|150x82px|BBC Micro Z-Machine Interpreter]]
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[[Image:Z-machineinterpreterlogo.png|left|300x163px|BBC Micro Z-Machine Interpreter]]
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<br><br><br>
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<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
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= by Jon Welch =
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= &nbsp;&nbsp;by Jon Welch =
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__NOTOC__
__NOTOC__
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<br>
 
[[Image:BBCModelBZMachineInterpreter-zorkIz3.png|thumb]]
[[Image:BBCModelBZMachineInterpreter-zorkIz3.png|thumb]]
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[[Image:z-machineinterpreterv3logo.png|left|400x94px|BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Interpreter]]<br style="clear:left;"/>
=== [[BBC_Micro_Z-Machine_Interpreter_v3|BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Interpreter]] ===
=== [[BBC_Micro_Z-Machine_Interpreter_v3|BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Interpreter]] ===
''Target Systems:'' '''BBC Microcomputer'''<br>
''Target Systems:'' '''BBC Microcomputer'''<br>
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''Developed in:'' BBC BASIC (prototype), 6502 assembler<br>
''Developed in:'' BBC BASIC (prototype), 6502 assembler<br>
<br>
<br>
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Interactive fiction / text adventure interpreter for running Infocom v3-only Z-Code / Inform games including 24 from ''Infocom'' such as ''Zork I'' and ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' as well as home-brew fan creations.
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Interactive fiction / text adventure interpreter for running Infocom v3-only Z-Code / Inform games<br>
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<br style="clear:right;"/>
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including 24 from ''Infocom'' such as ''Zork I'' and ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' as well as home-brew<br>
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fan creations.
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<br style="clear:right;"/><br><br><br>
[[Image:BBCMasterZMachineInterpreter-Adventz5.png|thumb]]
[[Image:BBCMasterZMachineInterpreter-Adventz5.png|thumb]]
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=== BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3-5) Interpreter ===
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[[Image:z-machineinterpreterv35logo.png|left|400x93px|BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3-5) Interpreter]]<br style="clear:left;"/>
'''PROJECT STATUS: ''On Hold'''''<br>
'''PROJECT STATUS: ''On Hold'''''<br>
''Target Systems:'' '''BBC Microcomputer B+ / Master 128 only'''<br>
''Target Systems:'' '''BBC Microcomputer B+ / Master 128 only'''<br>
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''Developed in:'' BBC BASIC (prototype), 6502 assembler<br>
''Developed in:'' BBC BASIC (prototype), 6502 assembler<br>
<br>
<br>
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Interactive fiction / text adventure interpreter for running Infocom v3 - v5 Z-Code / Inform games including virtually all the ''Infocom'' catalogue such as ''A Mind Forever Voyaging'' and ''Beyond Zork'' as well as home-brew fan creations including many available from the [http://mirror.ifarchive.org/if-archive/games/zcode/ IF archive].
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Interactive fiction / text adventure interpreter for running Infocom v3 - v5 Z-Code / Inform games<br>
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<br style="clear:right;"/>
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including virtually all the ''Infocom'' catalogue such as ''A Mind Forever Voyaging'' and ''Beyond Zork'' as<br>
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well as home-brew fan creations including many available from the [http://mirror.ifarchive.org/if-archive/games/zcode/ IF archive].
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<br style="clear:right;"/><br><br><br>
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[[Image:informv3idelogo.png|left|550x70px|Inform / Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Development Environment]]<br style="clear:left;"/>
=== [[BBC_Micro_Z-Machine_Interpreter_informz3|Inform / Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Development Environment]] ===
=== [[BBC_Micro_Z-Machine_Interpreter_informz3|Inform / Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Development Environment]] ===
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''Target Systems:'' '''Windows''' (can be recreated on other platforms supported by ''Inform'' and ''BeebEm'', such as Mac OS X and Linux)<br>
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''Target Systems:'' '''Windows'''<br>
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<br>
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(can be recreated on other platforms supported by ''Inform'' and ''BeebEm'', e.g. Mac OS X or Linux)<br>
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''BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Interpreter'' distributed with [http://www.inform-fiction.org/inform6.html ''Inform 6.15''] for use as a complete Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) development environment to create new IF works / text adventures for use with the BBC Micro or any other platform with a Z-Machine interpreter, such as Game Boy/C64/Spectrum +3 etc.
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<br>
<br>
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''BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Interpreter'' distributed with [http://www.inform-fiction.org/inform6.html ''Inform 6.15''] for use as a<br>
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complete Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) development environment to create new IF works / text<br>
 +
adventures for use with the BBC Micro or any other platform with a Z-Machine interpreter, such<br>
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as Game Boy/C64/Spectrum +3 etc.

Revision as of 22:04, 30 September 2008

BBC Micro Z-Machine Interpreter









  by Jon Welch


Introduction

Legendary text adventure developer, Infocom, designed their games to run as a virtual machine, known as a Z-Machine. This meant that all of the company's interactive fiction games could be ported to a new platform by simply porting the underlying Z-Machine Interpreter. Infocom never officially released a port of their games to the BBC Micro, though they were rumoured to have created a prototype interpreter which was abandoned due to concerns about potential software piracy. In the '90s, fans reverse-engineered the Z-Machine format and have ported the Z-Machine Interpreter to many new platforms including mobile phones, hand-held consoles and PDAs. A new language, Inform, was also created for designing new adventures which could be complied into the Z-machine format.

This project aims to port the Z-Machine Interpreter to the BBC Micro, allowing you to run most of the non-graphical Infocom back-catalogue of games, as well as many modern adventures created with Inform. Inform 6 can also be used to write your own v3 games which can then be played on the BBC Micro.

Discuss BBC Micro Z-Machine Interpreter


BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Interpreter

BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Interpreter

Target Systems: BBC Microcomputer
License: Freeware
Developed in: BBC BASIC (prototype), 6502 assembler

Interactive fiction / text adventure interpreter for running Infocom v3-only Z-Code / Inform games
including 24 from Infocom such as Zork I and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as well as home-brew
fan creations.



BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3-5) Interpreter

PROJECT STATUS: On Hold
Target Systems: BBC Microcomputer B+ / Master 128 only
License: Freeware
Developed in: BBC BASIC (prototype), 6502 assembler

Interactive fiction / text adventure interpreter for running Infocom v3 - v5 Z-Code / Inform games
including virtually all the Infocom catalogue such as A Mind Forever Voyaging and Beyond Zork as
well as home-brew fan creations including many available from the IF archive.



Inform / Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Development Environment

Inform / Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Development Environment

Target Systems: Windows
(can be recreated on other platforms supported by Inform and BeebEm, e.g. Mac OS X or Linux)

BBC Micro Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) Interpreter distributed with Inform 6.15 for use as a
complete Z-Machine v1.1 (Infocom v3) development environment to create new IF works / text
adventures for use with the BBC Micro or any other platform with a Z-Machine interpreter, such
as Game Boy/C64/Spectrum +3 etc.