Zork Nemesis - Technology

Technology

Zork: Nemesis employed technology Activision dubbed "Z-Vision Surround Technology." This gave users a simulated 360-degree view of each location visited.

Nemesis was one of the first games to employ such technology. As such, although it added new depth to the gameplay, it appears dated and pixellated by today's standards. Nemesis only allows panning either horizontally or vertically at any position, not both at the same time as with later games, such as The Journeyman Project 3 or Myst III: Exile. Details were far more difficult to make out in the panoramic scenes in Nemesis than in the still screens. The sequel Zork Grand Inquisitor made significant improvements to the Z-Vision system.

Zork: Nemesis, like other adventure games of its time, made use of live actors. Each of the six major characters, plus several additional characters, were played by actors. The game features a significant amount of screen-time for the actors, thanks to its use of flashbacks at key locations (or objects) and the use of monologues in which a character addressed the player explaining and justifying his/her actions.

The player's character in Zork: Nemesis is never identified, but the hint book refers to the character as "she," and one male NPC looks at the main character and remarks, "Hey, you're beautiful!" - however, this response is a result of artificial mental stimulation, and so would likely happen regardless of the gender of the player.

Zork: Nemesis was one of the largest games of its time, occupying three CD-ROMs. This was due to the large amount of full-motion video and panoramic scenes. The disks were however organised to minimise swapping.