History VideoGame / ZZT

Its technological simplicity also contributed, and was an early, somewhat accidental example of "designing for the broadest hardware spec" - the game's only real requirements were 512KB of system RAM, 2 megabytes of hard drive space, the ability of the PC to run in 16-color, 25-line, 80-column text mode (which was generally standard on any graphics adapter from EGA on), and the ability to run MS-DOS 5.0 - which, generally, meant a 286 or better. In practical terms, this meant that any PC from five or six years prior to the game's release, from basically [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer the PC-AT on]], could run the game, at a time when PC games tended to ''push'' hardware rather than work on compatibility with older hardware, and when PC hardware was evolving explosively. The ability for basically anyone to play the game if they'd purchased an IBM-compatible in most of the prior decade was deeply appreciated by many users and contributed to the game's (comparatively) huge sales in the early 1990s.

'''''ZZT''''' is an MS-DOS shareware computer game created by Tim Sweeney and released on January 15th, 1991 under the one-man label of Potomac Computer Systems. Across a series of four worlds, with ''Town of ZZT'' as the shareware world, the player controls a white-on-blue smiley face in a world on a tile-based grid, in which it can move and shoot in four directions, use torches to light its way in dark places, and touch objects to interact with them. Even by the standards of 1991, the game was technologically simple, exclusively using text-mode color graphics and PC speaker sound.

* AlienGeometries: The target boards (screens) whenever you walk off a board in each cardinal direction are only defined for that specific board. This means a designer can make one board link to another, but then have the second board either not link back to the first or even link to a different board altogether, allowing for non-Euclidean level design. It's also possible to make a board loop in on itself for extra effect.

** In older worlds, it was more common for this to happen ''by accident'', because the built-in editor does not automatically link boards when you connect one board to another. This means you need to set both ends of the exit individually, or else you can end up with a one-way exit that can often render a world UnwinnableByMistake. By contrast, modern editors will link board exits by default, and even indicate if the board exits reciprocate (with a command or option to either fix it if they don't, or undo it to invoke this trope).

Its technological simplicity also contributed, and was an early, somewhat accidental example of "designing for the broadest hardware spec" - the game's only real requirements were 512KB of system RAM, 2 megabytes of hard drive space, the ability of the PC to run in 16-color, 25-line, 80-column text mode (which was generally standard on any graphics adapter from CGA on), and the ability to run MS-DOS 5.0 - which, generally, meant a 286 or better. In practical terms, this meant that any PC from five or six years prior to the game's release could run the game, at a time when PC games tended to ''push'' hardware rather than work on compatibility with older hardware, and when PC hardware was evolving explosively. The ability for basically anyone to play the game if they'd purchased an IBM-compatible in the previous decade was deeply appreciated by many users and contributed to the game's (comparatively) huge sales in the early 1990s.

Its technological simplicity also contributed, and was an early, somewhat accidental example of "designing for the broadest hardware spec" - the game's only real requirements were 512KB of system RAM, 2 megabytes of hard drive space, the ability of the PC to run in 16-color, 25-line, 80-column text mode (which was generally standard on any graphics adapter from CGA on), and the ability to run MS-DOS 5.0 - which, generally, meant a 286 or better. In practical terms, this meant that any PC from five or six years prior to the game's release could run the game, at a time when PC games tended to ''push'' hardware rather than work on compatibility with older hardware, and when PC hardware was evolving explosively. The ability for basically anyone to play the game if they'd purchased a IBM-compatible in the previous decade was deeply appreciated by many users and contributed to the game's (comparatively) huge sales in the early 1990s.

Its technological simplicity also contributed, and was an early, somewhat accidental example of "designing for the broadest hardware spec" - the game's only real requirements were 512KB of system RAM, 2 megabytes of hard drive space, the ability of the PC to run in 16-color, 25-line, 80-column text mode (which was generally standard on any graphics adapter from CGA on), and the ability to run MS-DOS 5.0 - which, generally, meant a 286 or better. In practical terms, this meant that any PC from five or six years prior to the game's release could run the game, at a time when PC games tended to ''push'' hardware rather than work on compatibility with older hardware. The ability for basically anyone to play the game if they'd purchased a IBM-compatible in the previous decade was deeply appreciated by many users and contributed to the game's (comparatively) huge sales in the early 1990s.