installing-games.md

Setting Up Games for Gargoyle

So, you've acquired a work of interactive fiction, and you'd like to play it in Gargoyle. Interactive fiction works have been published in many forms over the decades, some easy to use, some less so. The exact steps you need to follow depend on what format it's currently in, but read on and we'll figure it out.

Where did you get it?

Many works already come in the format Gargoyle expects, so you might not need to do anything at all.

I got it from the IFDB

Works obtained from the Interactive Fiction Database are almost certainly already in the format Gargoyle expects.

See "Start Reading" below.

I got it from the original author

Works created using a "modern" interactive fiction system (say, anything created after the year 2000) are probably already in the format Gargoyle expects. See "Start Reading" below.

Works created before the year 2000, or the mid-to-late 90s at the earliest, are probably formatted for a specific system, and may need to be converted. See "Inspecting the Work" below.

I bought it from an online service (like Steam, GOG, etc.)

The easiest way to play such a game is to install it and run in the normal way for that service, rather than via Gargoyle. Some games can only be played that way, but sometimes (especially if it's a repackaged version of a classic 1980s text adventure) the game data can be extracted and used with Gargoyle.

See "Inspecting the Work" below.

I got it somewhere else

You might have found a copy online, bought it from a physical store in the 1980s, or maybe a friend eagerly handed you a floppy disc and urged you to try it out.

Wherever you got it, see "Inspecting the Work" below.

Inspecting the Work

Most works of interactive fiction organise their files by particular naming conventions, and by inspecting the files we can determine what format it's in, and what we need to do to convert it.

Most of these tests involve looking at file extensions (such as the .txt in a name like readme.txt), but some operating systems hide some or all file extensions by default. Make sure your file manager is configured to show file extensions for all files before proceeding.

When you look at the files in this work, what do you see?

Files named ZORK0.ZIP, ZORK0.EG1, ZORK0.CG1

This is Infocom's game Zork Zero. ZORK0.ZIP is the actual game content, while the other two files contain the game's graphics.

Unfortunately, Zork Zero's graphical enhancements are not compatible with Gargoyle, so you'll need to use another tool such as Frotz to play it.

Some other .zip file

A ZIP file is usually an archive containing one or more other files. The actual game files themselves are almost certainly inside the ZIP file, not the ZIP file itself.

On most computers, you can open a ZIP file and look inside it as though it were an ordinary folder, but if not, you should be able to use third-party tools like WinZip or 7-Zip to extract them.

Once you have extracted the files, look again.

A .html file, possibly with other files

An HTML file is designed to be displayed in a web-browser, and can't be used with Gargoyle.

Sorry.

A .gam file

This is probably a work built with the TADS 2 engine, and should work with Gargoyle as-is.

See "Start Reading" below.

A .t3 file

This is probably a work built with the TADS 3 engine, and should work with Gargoyle as-is.

See "Start Reading" below.

A .z1, .z2, .z3, .z4, .z5, .z6, .z7, .z8, or .zblorb file

This is probably a work built for some version of the Infocom Z-Machine, and should work with Gargoyle as-is.

See "Start Reading" below.

A .glulx or .gblorb file

This is probably a work built for the Glulx engine, and should work with Gargoyle as-is.

See "Start Reading" below.

A gamedata.dat file

This is probably a game developed by Level 9. You should rename it to have the .l9 extension, You can also rename it to match the name of the actual game it represents instead of "gamedata".

For example:

The Worm in Paradise.l9

Depending on the platform it was built for, there may be additional files containing images to be displayed at various points of the game:

• gamedata.cga, gamedata.hrc
  • Image files for MS-DOS computers. If you renamed gamedata.dat to match the actual game name, you should rename these files to match. Keep them beside the (renamed) .dat files.
• gamedata.pic
  • Image files for other computers. If you renamed gamedata.dat to match the actual game name, you should rename these files to match. Keep them beside the (renamed) .dat files.

For example:

The Worm in Paradise.pic
The Worm in Paradise.cga
The Worm in Paradise.hrc

When you start reading, you'll need to point Gargoyle to the .l9 file. See "Start Reading" below.

gamedat1.dat, gamedat2.dat, and gamedat3.dat files

This is probably a game developed by Level 9. You should rename them all to have the .sna extension. You can also rename them to match the name of the actual game they represent instead of "gamedat", as long as they each have the correct number at the same place.

For example:

Lancelot Quest For The Holy Grail 1.sna
Lancelot Quest For The Holy Grail 2.sna
Lancelot Quest For The Holy Grail 3.sna

Depending on the platform it was built for, there may be additional files containing images to be displayed at various points of the game:

• 1, 2, 3, etc. and title
  • Image files for newer games, on the Amiga, Macintosh and some Atari ST. Keep them beside the (renamed) .dat files.
• 1.squ, 2.squ, 3.squ, etc.
  • Image files for newer games, on the Atari ST. If the extension is in upper-case (i.e. .SQU), rename it to be lower-case. Keep them beside the (renamed) .dat files.
• 1.pic, 2.pic, 3.pic, etc.
  • Image files for newer games, on MS-DOS computers. If the extension is in upper-case (i.e. .PIC), rename it to be lower-case. Keep them beside the (renamed) .dat files.

When you start reading, you'll need to point Gargoyle to the first .sna file, and it will automatically load the others as necessary. See "Start Reading" below.

Some .dat files

Unfortunately, .dat is a very generic extension, used by many works in many different formats.

Luckily, most of them were commercial text adventures of the 1980s, so it's practical to just list them.

• AMFV.DAT
  • Rename to A Mind Forever Voyaging.z4
• BALLYHOO.DAT
  • Rename to Ballyhoo.z3
• BEYONDZO.DAT
  • Rename to Beyond Zork - The Coconut of Quendor.z5
• BORDERZO.DAT
  • Rename to Border Zone.z5
• BUREAUCR.DAT
  • Rename to Bureaucracy.z4
• CUTTHROA.DAT
  • Rename to Cutthroats.z3
• DEADLINE.DAT
  • Rename to Deadline.z3
• EDEN.DAT
  • Rename to Return to Eden.l9
  • If you also have the EDEN.CGA and EDEN.HRC files, rename them to Return to Eden.cga and Return to Eden.hrc
• ENCHANTE.DAT
  • Rename to Enchanter.z3
• HITCHHIK.DAT
  • Rename to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.z5
• HOLLYWOO.DAT
  • Rename to Hollywood Hijinx.z3
• INFIDEL.DAT
  • Rename to Infidel.z3
• LURKING.DAT
  • Rename to The Lurking Horror.z3
  • If you have release 221 (the game prints the release number when it first starts) the game supports sound. Gargoyle cannot use the sound files shipped with the original game, but they are available in a format Gargoyle can use from the IF Archive. Rename Lurking.blb to The Lurking Horror.blb and when you play the game, you should hear chanting during your dream in the terminal room.
• MOONMIST.DAT
  • Rename to Moonmist.z3
• NORDANDB.DAT
  • Rename to Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head Or Tail Of It.z4
• PLANETFA.DAT
  • Rename to Planetfall.z3
• PLUNDERE.DAT
  • Rename to Plundered Hearts.z3
• SEASTALK.DAT
  • Rename to Seastalker.z3
• SHERLOCK.DAT
  • Rename to Sherlock - The Riddle of the Crown Jewels.z5
  • If you have release 26 (the game prints the release number when it first starts) the game supports sound. Gargoyle cannot use the sound files shipped with the original game, but they are available in a format Gargoyle can use from the IF Archive. Rename Sherlock.blb to Sherlock - The Riddle of the Crown Jewels.blb and when you play the game, you should hear horrible screeching when you play Holmes' violin.
• SNOWBALL.DAT
  • Rename to Snowball.l9
  • If you also have the SNOWBALL.CGA and SNOWBALL.HRC files, rename them to Snowball.cga and Snowball.hrc
• SORCERER.DAT
  • Rename to Sorcerer.z3
• SPELLBRE.DAT
  • Rename to Spellbreaker.z3
• STARCROS.DAT
  • Rename to Starcross.z3
• STATIONF.DAT
  • Rename to Stationfall.z3
• SUSPECT.DAT
  • Rename to Suspect.z3
• SUSPEND.DAT
  • Rename to Suspended.z3
• TRINITY.DAT
  • Rename to Trinity.z4
• WISHBRIN.DAT
  • Rename to Wishbringer.z3
• WITNESS.DAT
  • Rename to The Witness.z3
• WORM.DAT
  • Rename to Worm in Paradise.l9
  • If you also have the WORM.CGA and WORM.HRC files, rename them to Worm in Paradise.cga and Worm in Paradise.hrc
• ZORK1.DAT
  • Rename to Zork - The Great Underground Empire.z3
• ZORK2.DAT
  • Rename to Zork II - The Wizard of Frobozz.z3
• ZORK3.DAT
  • Rename to Zork III - The Dungeon Master.z3

When you start reading, you'll need to point Gargoyle to the file you renamed. See "Start Reading" below.

Start Reading

By now, the work should be in the format Gargoyle expects. Launch Gargoyle, and it should ask you to choose a file to run. Choose the file you set up according to the instructions above, click "Open", and you should be up and running!

If not, we may have guessed the format incorrectly. If any of the other sections above seem to be a better match than the sections you followed, try the others instead. If all else fails, you can ask for help in the Getting Started Playing IF section of the Interactive Fiction community forum