[kenjackson]

Is natural language simply mean using words? Is SQL natural language? I think what makes it a natural language is that it follows natural language rules, which Infocomm games surely did not.

Furthermore, Infocomm games used basically 100% precanned responses. It would do the rudimentary things like check if a window was open so if you looked at a wall it might say the window on that wall was open or closed, but that's it. I don't understand how that can make it a natural language interface.

> This is a puzzling comment. The UI for Zork has nothing at all to do with Dragon's Lair.

In both games there's a set path you follow. You follow those commands you win, if not, you lose. There's no semantically equivalent way to complete the game.

I remember spending most of my time with Infocomm games doing things like "look around the field" and it telling me "I don't know the word field" -- and I'm screaming because it just told me I'm in an open field! The door is blocked... blocked with what?! You can't answer me that?!

There were a set of commands and objects it wanted you to interact with. That's it. That's not natural language, any more than SQL is. It's a structured language with commands that look like English verbs.

[abecedarius]

I think you're mixing Infocom with some of the much cruder adventure games of the time. Or maybe remembering an unrepresentative Infocom game or part of one.

Not to say Infocom included AI. They just used a lot of talent and playtesting to make games that felt more open-ended.

[kenjackson]

No. I actually went and played Zork again to be sure. Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy had me pulling my hair out as a kid. It was definitely Infocom.

I also, as a kid, write a lot of Infocom-style games, so I can appreciate how good of a job they did. but I've also looked at their source code since it has all been released and I wasn't too far behind them.

[abecedarius]

I forgot about Hitchhiker's -- to be fair, that did seem less like a game/world and more like a big, funny... art piece? I never got back to it after needing hints to make it to the Heart of Gold.