>examine Frotz question

November 13, 2012 5:46 AM

So, I have Frotz for the iPad, and I am having stupid amounts of fun with the games it comes with. Question is, how do I get more?

I've looked around the web and seen several solutions which involve moving games downloaded on pc to the pad, but in my current situation I have my pad and nothing else. I have found an archive of indie games, which has given me plenty of stories to run through, but I'm interested in getting hold of the old Infocom abandonwear games (Planetfall, HHGttG, LGoP - those sort of games). So far I can only find downloads for the pc which obviously isn't of any use.

Have I any hope of getting hold of these classics, or should I give up the ghost and focus my attention on the slew of quality indie games out there?

posted by Inner Universe to computers & internet (7 answers total)

Which PC downloads have you been looking at? If you can get to the z-files, Frotz should run them.
posted by griphus at 6:08 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yay! I found this, which is a page of the z-files of some old Infocom games. H2G2 and Planetfall are both there. Just choose the file you want. The next page you see, tap 'open in Frotz'. (Anyway, it should be the only 'open in' option.)

Hopefully this solves your problem. If not, H2G2 at least is available here from the BBC.

On a side note, if you had just accessed the pages from which you were supposed to download the z-files on a PC using your iPad, you would conceivably have been able to choose 'open in Frotz'.
posted by undue influence at 6:14 AM on November 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

(Answer found via this page, I feel bad for not crediting)
posted by undue influence at 6:17 AM on November 13, 2012

Griphus - The majority of files I've found have either been zipped or the raw DOS program which doesn't leave me with many options.

undue influence - That is just what I need! You have my thanks.
posted by Inner Universe at 6:22 AM on November 13, 2012

There are apps that will allow you to unzip files for use in other apps. Just search for zip in the App Store! :)
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 6:41 AM on November 13, 2012

For future references: there are unzipping programs in the App store, which extract the files into their own temporary location and then let you open the unzipped files from the appropriate programs. Usually, iOS apps will then automatically copy these files into their own storage location so that you don't have to go through the unzipper again.
posted by griphus at 6:43 AM on November 13, 2012

This one's played through a browser, but did you know that Sony commissioned a text-adventure for the newest James Bond movie, "Skyfall?" The game is called the British Intelligence Officers Exam and it runs, as I said, through a browser, but it's a text-adventure with some graphics to go with it, rather, it seems like the old Gateway games (as in Frederick Pohl's "Gateway," with the Heechee and so on).

Sure beats the hell out of a movie-themed pinball game that'll mainly end up in the mancaves of wealthy folks.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:57 PM on November 13, 2012