Zork My Kindle
October 11, 2010
One of the things I love about the Kindle is that it does one thing really well, which is be a book reading device. It doesn’t have to make bacon and change my oil and do a dozen other multimedia functions, so long as reading on it is a superlative experience. So while it does have a browser on it, I really haven’t cared much, other than to buy books. Until today, when I stumbled upon the perfect marriage of new tech and old.
PortableQuest is a game engine made for text-based interactive fiction that can be played on the Kindle. Just fire up Whispernet and browse to PortableQuest.com on your Kindle to get started. You can play Mini-Zork I, Zork I, Zork II or Zork III.
Best of all, you won’t have to worry about being eaten by a grue. Who said the Kindle needs a backlight!
I’m curious about how well the game plays with regard to the Kindle’s refresh, and the time it takes for the game to run the turn itself?
It works fine with the refresh. I’ve had no issues. With regards to speed, each command executes in about the time it would take you to turn two pages in a Kindle book.