Interactive fiction: text-based adventure games
Interactive fiction games (or text adventures) are adventure games in which the player gives textual commands in order to act within the given story. The story itself is told both using text and static pictures or with no graphics of any kind, just text. The genre's stepping stones are Adventure (developed in 1975) and the Zork series. Infocom, Legend Entertainment and Magnetic scrolls were some of the most popular interactive fiction developers of the 80s.
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The Lurking Horror
DOS1987 Infocom
The mist
DOS1985 Angelsoft
The Pawn
DOS1986 Magnetic Scrolls
The Shadows of Mordor
DOS1988 Beam Software
The Usurper
DOS1989 Sir-tech Software
The Witness
DOS1983 Infocom
The Wizard of Oz
DOS1985 Windham Classics
Time and Magik: The Trilogy
DOS1988 Level 9 Computing
Timequest
DOS1991protected Legend Entertainment
Transylvania
DOS1986freeware Polarware
Transylvania 3: Vanquish the Night
DOS1990 Polarware
Treasure Island
DOS1985 Byron Preiss Video Productions
Trinity
DOS1986 Infocom
Voodoo island
DOS1985 Angelsoft
Wishbringer
DOS1985 Infocom
Xtrek
DOS1991freewareNSFW
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire
DOS1982 Infocom
Zork is one of the most popular text-adventures and one of the first interactive fiction games ever created. The first Zork was developed in the seventies and ported on various platform by Infocom in the early 80s. Infocom wa...
Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz
DOS1983 Infocom
You survived Zork I, and now it’s personal. In Zork II, you face off against the enigmatic Wizard of Frobozz, who exists mostly to mess with you like a magical prankster with way too much free time. The puzzles get harder, t...
Zork III: The Dungeon Master
DOS1984 Infocom
The final part of the original trilogy, Zork III ditches treasure-hunting in favor of introspection, moral puzzles, and the looming presence of the Dungeon Master—basically the Gandalf of passive-aggressive mentorship. It&rs...
Zork Quest: Assault on Egreth Castle
DOS1988 Tom Snyder Productions
Interactive fiction meets comic book in this spin-off, where you follow a fantasy story through illustrated panels and scripted choices. Zork Quest: Assault on Egreth Castle feels like your dungeon master turned into a storyboard ...
Zork Quest: The Crystal of Doom
DOS1989 Tom Snyder Productions
More illustrations, more intrigue, more doom. The Crystal of Doom continues the hybrid of comic-style storytelling and light role-playing with just enough choices to make you feel clever (or guilty). This time, you’re chasin...
Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz
DOS1989 Infocom
With Zork Zero, Infocom decided to throw everything into the cauldron: graphics, mouse support, and a jester who won’t shut up. A prequel to the original trilogy, it’s stuffed with puzzles, jokes, and deeply Zorkian no...