Extract text from Z-machine game files (ZBLORB)
To convert ZBLORB Game files to another format, you need Frotz or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Interactive Fiction Archive" file type, you need software like Frotz or a similar tool.
ZBLORB files are standard Blorb archives specifically designed to package Z-machine interactive fiction games. Created by Andrew Plotkin, these files bundle the core text adventure game (often a Z5 or Z8 file) with multimedia assets like cover art, background audio, and metadata into a single, distributable file.
To play or open a .ZBLORB file, users typically need specialized interpreters like Gargoyle or Frotz. For more context on the underlying technology, see the Z-machine or Interactive fiction Wikipedia pages.
The primary disadvantage of this format is its extreme niche application. Standard archive software like WinRAR or 7-Zip cannot extract the contents of a .ZBLORB file because it uses an IFF (Interchange File Format) chunk structure rather than standard compression. This creates a frustrating barrier for users who just want to extract the cover art, music, or the raw game file to run on an older, text-only emulator.
Users often need to convert or extract .ZBLORB files into standard formats like JPG or PNG for the images, OGG for audio, and Z8 for the raw game code. Standard online converters completely fail to process .ZBLORB because they lack the specific Blorb extraction algorithms required to read the chunk headers.
Because this is an interactive fiction-specific format, it is difficult to open or convert without dedicated IF tools like blorbtool.py. Often only the original interpreter software can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your ZBLORB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert ZBLORB file to EXE, ISO, BIN, CUE, PAK, WAD, PK3, PK4, BSP, MAP, SAV or DAT, you can use Frotz or similar software from the "Interactive Fiction Game Packaging" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MOD, BIN, CFG, SCX, DAT, MPQ, LOG, CUE, INI, EXE, SCM or ISO files to ZBLORB, try Frotz or another comparable tool in the "Interactive Fiction Game Packaging" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our ZBLORB converter.