There are plenty of lessons to be learned, so read it.
If you're still a fetus and you don't remember those classy old Infocom text-adventures, you can still play 'em. One thing the article failed to mention is that the .Z format is still alive, that folks are still porting the interpreter and even writing new games. There are interpreters for .Z here, and there are a slew of third-party .Z adventures here. The original Zorks are downloadable as executables for PC and Mac here.
Enjoy 'em and stay away from the Grue!