Editing Zork (section)

==Plot==
[[File:Zork-map.jpg|thumb|Map of the 1977 ''Zork'' world drawn by Aaron A. Reed for the ''50 Years of Text Games'' project]]
''Zork'' does not follow a [[nonlinear gameplay|linear storyline]]. Most of the setting is established through the game's written descriptions of items and locations, as well as manuals in later game releases. Long before the time the game is set in, the Quendor empire, having conquered everywhere above ground, built a massive cave complex to expand. Two hundred years later, the ruler Lord Dimwit Flathead renamed the empire to the Great Underground Empire and spent his reign building massive, largely pointless projects such as an underground dam and the royal museum. A century later, the empire's overspending caused it to collapse, and all the residents left. The abandoned empire is the setting of the three episodes of ''Zork''.<ref name="Manual1-310"/>

''Zork I'' begins with the unnamed player standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door; most of the game occurs underground, as do the subsequent episodes. In ''Zork{{spaces}}II'' the player learns of the Flatheads, and meets the Wizard of Frobozz, who was once a respected enchanter but was exiled by Lord Dimwit Flathead when his powers began to fade. The wizard appears randomly throughout the game and casts spells that begin with the letter "F" on the player. These have several effects, such as "Fluoresce", which causes the player to glow, and "Freeze", which keeps the player stuck in place for a few turns. In ''Zork{{spaces}}III'' the player character gathers the garb of the [[Dungeon Master]] to become his successor. Once the player has all the items, they must feed an elderly man, who reveals himself as the Dungeon Master and shows them the doorway leading to the final hallway. After the player solves the final puzzles, the Dungeon Master appears and transforms the player to look like himself, signifying the player's succession to his position.