Ethan Mollick rebuilt Zork with AI — open source, prompts included
emollick · x · 2026-09-05
Ethan Mollick used AI to create a playable version of the text adventure Zork and released it open source. The AI had to make numerous judgment calls to keep the game interesting — including preserving the classic Grue-eats-you mechanic.
All the prompts and nudges he used are shared in the image accompanying the thread, making it a reproducible recipe. He also fielded complaints, noting Zork is open source and he never won it anyway.
Related event: Ethan Mollick shows GPT-6 Astra turning Zork into a playable 3D action game(5 posts)→
More from coding & agent
- Bezalel packs agent memory, email, payments, and a cloud computer into one MCP URL — Rasmic · 2026-09-05
- Argos: a stateful simulation engine turns video models into a renderer for a persistent world — mallow610 · 2026-09-05
- Astra agent builds its own simulator inside a simulation, with agents inside — w1kke · 2026-09-05
- Ceetrix MCP server enforces 13 engineering rules to keep coding agents disciplined, free in beta — julianharris · 2026-09-05
- GPT-6 Astra one-shots a 3D game in 45 minutes, with image gen as the graphics trick — yacineMTB · 2026-09-05
- Video breakdown: turning AI skills into self-improving loops, from prompting to a 4-part working system — aakashgupta · 2026-09-05