Implementer

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An Implementer (alternatively Implementor) is the self-given name of the creators of the Infocom text adventure series Zork as well as the name of the fictional, self-referential minor deity characters from the Zork Universe who are integral to the plot of Beyond Zork.

[edit] Implementers in Zork II

This is the Tomb of the Unknown Implementer. A hollow voice says: "That's not a bug, it's a feature!" In the north wall of the room is the Crypt of the Implementers. It is made of the finest marble, and apparently large enough for four headless corpses. Above the entrance is the cryptic inscription: "Feel Free."

[edit] Implementers in the Enchanter series

In Enchanter the player can find and read The Legend of the Great Implementers:

This legend, written in an ancient tongue, speaks of the creation of the world. A more absurd account can hardly be imagined. The universe, it seems, was created by "Implementers" who directed the running of great engines. These engines produced this world and others, strange and wondrous, as a test or puzzle for others of their kind. It goes on to state that these beings stand ready to aid those entrapped within their creation. The great magician-philosopher Helfax notes that a creation of this kind is morally and logically indefensible and discards the theory as "colossal claptrap and kludgery."

It is possible to cast the ZIFMIA spell ("magically summon a being") on the Implementers, revealing an Easter egg:

The implementers of the world, Marc Blank and Dave Lebling, appear before you, looking quite as confused as yourself. They speak:

Dave: "What's happening here?"

Marc: "Uh, I dunno. YOU wrote this code, not me."

Dave: "Hmm. Another day, another bug. Let's see here..."

They disappear a moment later.

Dave's voice: "That should do it."

A related Easter egg is included in Sorcerer. It's possible to cast the AIMFIZ spell ("transport caster to someone else's location") on the Implementers:

You appear on a road in a far-off province called Cambridge. As you begin choking on the polluted air, a mugger stabs you in the back with a knife. A moment later, a wild-eyed motorist plows over you.

[edit] Implementors in Beyond Zork

In Beyond Zork, the Implementors inhabit the Ethereal Plane of Atrii, where they busy themselves with luncheons and foster speculation that they created the world. When an Ur-grue steals the Coconut of Quendor (after the adventurer fails to catch it), the Implementors charge the adventurer with recovering the Coconut before the Ur-grue undoes all of magic.

v • d • e Zork Implementers

Tim Anderson | Marc Blank | Bruce Daniels | Dave Lebling