Tools

• To compile ZIL code into playable Z-machine story files:

  • Download ZILF 0.9

  • Or, build the newest ZILF from source code with the .NET Core 2.2 SDK

• To edit and debug ZIL code:

  • Visual Studio Code

  • The zil-language extension for VS Code

• To run compiled Z-machine story files:

  • Gargoyle

  • Windows Frotz 

  • Frotz

  • ...or many others

• To get help:

  • Zork Implementation Language group on Facebook

  • ZILF Discord

  • ZILF subreddit

  • IntFiction.org

• To report a bug in ZILF:

  • JIRA

Documentation

• Learning ZIL, or Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Writing Interactive Fiction... by Steve Meretzky

• ZIL by Marc Blank

• The MDL Programming Language by Stu Galley and Greg Pfister

• The Z-Machine Standards Document

• ZIP: Z-language Interpreter Program by Joel Berez, Marc Blank, and David Lebling

Test Suite

• ZILF library tests

  • Demonstrates the use of features from ZILF's parser and world library.

• ZILF integration tests

  • Demonstrates the use of features in MDL and ZIL, as implemented by ZILF.

Examples

• Empty game template by Adam Sommerfield

• Adventure (Colossal Cave) ported by Jesse McGrew

• Cloak of Darkness ported by Alex Proudfoot

• The Bean Stalker by Jack Welch

• Tenliner Cave Adventure ported by jcompton

Classic Game Source Code

• Unmodified source code for Infocom's games as uploaded by Jason Scott

• ZIL source code for Infocom's games, cleaned up and patched so it compiles under ZILF (release 1)

• The Obsessively Complete Infocom Catalog, including source code curated by Andrew Plotkin

Classic Game Known Bugs

• The Infocom Bugs List by Graeme Cree

• More bugs in Infocom games by Nathan Simpson

Articles

• Long Lost ‘Zork’ Source Code Uploaded to GitHub, But Few People Understand It (April 18, 2019)

• The History of Zork

• A story about the source code for the original mainframe Zork

ZIL Blogs

• Internal Secrets of Infocom Games by Michael Ko

• Vaporware IF: posts about ZILF by Jesse McGrew

• Learning ZIL by Alex Proudfoot

• ZIL Crazy After All These Years by Jonathan Blask

Videos/Podcasts

• Where to Start - Quick Code Guide

  • How to write and run an ultra-simple (1 room, 1 object) game in ZIL

• Game On! - Infocom text games and ZIL (1:21:50)

  • Kevin Savetz interviews Steve Meretzky at GitHub HQ.

• Infocom - Zork Implementation Language (4:44; April 23, 2019)

  • A nice quick overview video, featuring an interview with Dave Lebling on Zork, MDL, and ZIL.

• History of the Language (8:10)

  • A clip from Get Lamp. (Original interview is here.)

• Jason Scott Talks His Way out of It: The Infocom Source Code Episode (19:27; April 28, 2019)

  • Jason Scott talks about releasing the Infocom Source Code on GitHub.

  • The Specialness of Infocom, The Craft, The Z-Machine, Z-Machine Glories, Full Sentences and Every Platform, GET LAMP, The Infocom .ZIP File, A Release, Stu Galley, GitHub, The Clones and Branches, Steve and Kevin have a chat.

Things That Aren't ZIL

• Other historical game source code uploaded/curated by Jason Scott

• Inform 7