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From: Scott Gamble <g10517@email.mot.com>
Subject: Re: Zork games as text files
Organization: MOTOROLA 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 19:56:11 GMT
Message-ID: <1995Aug25.195611.5524@schbbs.mot.com>
References: <41eva0$e8v@agate.berkeley.edu> <DDsEyy.GCs@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca> <41h2i0$g29@agate.berkeley.edu> <41hdr3$dep@nic.lth.se>
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mol@marvin.df.lth.se (Magnus Olsson) wrote:
>
> 
> Sorry if I'm acting as a wet blanket, but I think you should consider the
> legal consequences of what you're doing.
> 
> If you're planning to use the Zork room descriptions as they are, then
> it would be blatant copyright infringement. I'm not quite sure that
> Activision will take a kind view of that.
> 
> If you plan to use the room descriptions from "dungeon", the so-called
> public domain version of Zor (which, BTW, is distributed as source
> with the room descriptions as a text file) then it's less clear - you
> could argue that "Dungeon" is de facto in the public domain after
> being copied so many times.  I'm not quiote sure if that argument
> would hold, though - maybe some net.lawyer could comment? 
> 
> On the other hand, if you were to use the Zork room descriptions as the
> basis for writing something very similar, then it would be something
> quite differnt.
> 
> 
> PLEASE don't misunderstand me: I think a MUD based on Zork might be a cool
> thing, if it's well done. But Activision may not like it.
> 
> Magnus

There is already an LPmud in the works based on the Zork series.

oddly enough the mud name is zorkmud.  Currently the mud is down
due to disk problems on the machine where it was located.  We 
have a new site and hope to be there soon.  

The backbone of the mud is the areas from zork I-III.  With the 
theme of the mud being purely puzzle solving.

scott gamble 
g10517@email.mot.com


