# Getting Started

In order to use Windows Frotz 2002, you will need a Z-code story file to play on it. This format was originally invented by Infocom, Inc. for the games they released during the 1980s.

Members of the current interactive fiction community have written many games using Graham Nelson's Z-Machine compiler Inform, all of which can be played using Windows Frotz 2002. These games can be downloaded from the IF Archive at
http://www.ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXgamesXzcode.html

When Windows Frotz is first started, a file dialog opens, prompting you for a game file to load. This file can be either a Z-code file or a Blorb file. A Z-code file usually has a name ending with .zn, where n is a number indicating the Z-code version, e.g. .z5. A Blorb file contains multimedia resources for games, and can also contain the Z-code for the game as well. Blorb files usually have a name ending with .blb.

The file dialog also has a check box for selecting the format used to save and restore game positions in. Unless you need to load game positions saved in an old version of Frotz, it is recommended that you leave this check box selected. This will cause Windows Frotz 2002 to use the Quetzal format for saved positions, which allows a saved position to be loaded into any Quetzal supporting interpreter on any platform.

Once a game file is selected, Windows Frotz 2002 will open its main window and start running the game.

Further information:

- Running Infocom games
- Menus and the toolbar
- Editing keys
- Changing options
- Example Z-code files