HackerTube.dev

GET LAMP: The Text Adventure Documentary

Google TechTalks · 244.2K views · 2011-03-10 · 2:01:18

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

Jason Scott discusses making his documentary GET LAMP at a Google Tech Talk and screens part of the film. It covers the history of text adventures and interactive fiction, with interviews of Infocom developers and others.

On Hacker News

HN recommends it to anyone interested in text adventures, Infocom, MUDs and early computer gaming history.

Recommended by 5 HN people across 5 months · HN mentions 2014–2026

Topics

Search by tags

What people said

anonymousiam · 2026-01 · Recommendation

Jason Scott (of textfiles.com) made a great documentary video about the Adeventure game. I picked up a copy at DEFCON about 15 years ago. [LINK] [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
petercooper · 2022-06 · Recommendation

He also did a documentary about text adventure games called "GET LAMP" which I enjoyed a lot: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
freediver · 2019-03 · Recommendation

Oh the MUDs! Props to Forest’s edge and TempusMUD. Text is the ultimate medium because it directly connects with our imagination. I remember jumping out of my chair after reading a line of text on my screen. Recommend watching “Get lamp” documentary to fans of MUDs, text adventures and those born after: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by Google TechTalks, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources