https://zonklife.com/tags/zork/ Recent content in Zork on Zonk Media Hugo en-us Zonk Media Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://zonklife.com/posts/2026-08-19-my-dad-banned-video-games-then-he-bought-us-zork/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://zonklife.com/posts/2026-08-19-my-dad-banned-video-games-then-he-bought-us-zork/ <figure class="video"> <div class="video-frame"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/KioOShRRmKI?rel=0" title="My Dad Banned Video Games. Then He Bought Us Zork." loading="lazy" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> </figure> <h2 id="summary">Summary</h2> <p>Growing up in the 1980s, my family had pretty strict rules about what I could do on our Atari 800XL computer. Video games were basically off-limits unless I could prove I was being productive and actually using the machine to learn something worthwhile. But there was one glorious exception to that rule: Zork. My dad actually bought us Zork, and it completely changed how I thought about gaming and interactive storytelling. It wasn&rsquo;t just a game—it was a gateway into understanding what computers could really do.</p>