Game designer Doug Barnett worked independently with Activision and wrote several "choose your own adventure" style books. Art designer Mark Long (co-founder/owner of Zombie Studios) had several goals in mind to "make the game realistic" and "avoid things like mazes in text adventure games," and "multiple ways to solve puzzles, and to finish the game." In an interview in 1999, he stated these concepts:   As a tribute to the original Infocom, "Return to Zork" included these feelies:   "Return to Zork" is set in the year 1647 GUE, later than any other game in the fictitious history of Zork, including those made after it. Even the relevant backstory postdates all other games, beginning with the Great Diffusion in 1247 GUE. The events of earlier games and even the Great Diffusion, to a degree, have come to be regarded as archaeology or even mythology by this time. The player's character is a sweepstakes winner who wins an all expenses paid holiday to the Valley of the Sparrows, in Zork. Upon arrival, however, the player quickly learns that the entire area has fallen under some dark and sinister influence, becoming decayed and dysfunctional. Whole buildings have mysteriously vanished, murderous vultures infest the land, people have frequent and disturbing nightmares featuring some dark being which refers to itself as Morphius, and many of those who have survived have become reclusive and paranoid. The player must survive countless perils whilst exploring the valley, investigating the causes of the powers that have gripped the land and ultimately putting a stop to them. Roughly half a year before "Return to Zork"s original release on PC, Activision announced that the game would also be released for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. This version was later cancelled. Two months later after release, it was announced that Activision was working on a conversion of "Return to Zork" for the Atari Jaguar after they were signed by Atari Corporation to be a third-party developer for the system. The port was then announced in video game magazines in 1994 as one of the first upcoming titles for the Atari Jaguar CD add-on. It was kept being advertised as in development on magazines in 1995, however, it was never released for unknown reasons. "Return to Zork" was made on a budget of $1.5 million, and became a commercial hit. In its first sixth months, the game achieved global sales of 300,000 units. By September 1994, it had earned $2.4 million and sold 600,000 copies—"more than half from bundled systems", according to "Fortune"s Stephanie Losee.