Line #16 VideoGame/ZZT


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2	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zzt.png]]
3	'''''ZZT''''' is an MS-DOS shareware computer game created by Creator/TimSweeney 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.
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5	What it had unlike other games, however, was its selling point: an internal world editor. Simply by pressing the "E" key on the main menu, the player could begin creating their own worlds. Not only could they place all the items, creatures, terrains, and other elements they saw in the official worlds, but they could use a simple scripting language, ZZT-OOP, to program "objects" to do whatever they wished. The combination of ''ZZT'''s abstract graphics and ease of use allowed players of any age group, from children to adults, to create and share their own games regardless of skill level, contributing to its explosive success in the shareware era.
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7	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 [[Platform/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.
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9	The success of ''ZZT'' was such that it allowed Tim Sweeney to fund further game development, and build up his company into what is today known as Creator/EpicGames. Decades after its peak, ''ZZT'', now {{freeware}}, maintains a small but healthy community of both enthusiasts and new creators alike, creating new worlds to this very day. External editors such as [=KevEdit=] and [=ZEdit2=] now make it easier than ever to make new games for the engine, and the emulator ''[[https://zeta.asie.pl/ Zeta]]'' allows the game to be played on modern computers, including in your web browser. In 2020, a fan reverse-engineered ''ZZT'' to reconstruct its source code, which Sweeney admitted to have lost, and released the result under the MIT License with his blessing as "[[https://github.com/asiekierka/reconstruction-of-zzt The Reconstruction of ZZT]]", allowing anyone to create their own fork of the engine customized to their liking. The [[https://museumofzzt.com/ Museum of ZZT]] is the current hub of the community, dedicated to not only documenting the game's history (with over 3,000 games hosted as of this writing), but publishing new worlds.
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11	A sequel, ''Super ZZT'', was released in October 1991, with new features such as an expanded board size, a scrolling viewport, special "stone" items that enable custom HUD displays, and the ability to place items in more colors than what the ''ZZT'' editor could provide without fanmade workarounds. However, it fared worse than its predecessor on account of its squished display and the fact that the editor was locked away by default unless the user ran the game with the command line argument "/e". Even now, there are much fewer ''Super ZZT'' worlds compared to ''ZZT'' worlds, though it is slowly growing as the years go by.
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14	!!General tropes associated with the engine:
15	* AlienGeometries:
16	** 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.
17	** 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 UnintentionallyUnwinnable. 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).
18	* ASCIIArt: By virtue of running entirely in text mode.
19	* BeatingADeadPlayer: If you die, the game's animation speeds up and any enemies and traps on the screen will continue attacking your icon at superspeed.
20	* BlackoutBasement: Some screens are dark, requiring the use of a torch to have limited sight.
21	* DialogueTree: These feature in the official worlds, and the user can create their own using ZZT-OOP, scripting both the possible responses and what they will do.
22	* FunWithAcronyms: [[WordPureeTitle Though ZZT didn't originally stand for anything]], it has been joked that it means "Zoo of Zero Tolerance".
23	* GameMaker: The world editor and the ZZT-OOP scripting language effectively makes the game into this.
24	* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Mostly - keys come in 7 colors, but if you already have one key, another key of the same color cannot be collected and will instead block your path. Many puzzles are deliberately centered around this behavior.
25	* LevelEditor: Most people agree that this is the best part of the game (much to the surprise of the game's creator).
26	* LockedDoor: Locked doors with colored keys are a puzzle supported by the engine by default. If you don't want the defaults, of course, you can use ZZT-OOP to script your own.
27	* NintendoHard: The official worlds tell you from the start that you'll need to [[SaveScumming save a lot.]]
28	* PowerUpMotif: Collecting an energizer (which provides temporary invincibility) causes the player to flash and also plays a jaunty tune—an arrangement of the Surfaris' "Wipeout". When the tune finishes, the energizer effect also stops.
29	* RespawnPoint: Some rooms are set up so the player warps to where they entered whenever they are hurt.
30	* SpaceFillingPath: Ping Pong Paths appeared so frequently in older and lower-quality games that numerous "help" worlds designed to help with game development urged designers not to use them. ''[[https://museumofzzt.com/file/z/syndrome.zip ZZT Syndromes]]'' in particular forces the player to step on all the tiles in a Ping Pong Path to emphasize this [[spoiler:until the tutor lets you off the hook by carving a path straight through it]].
31	* TimedMission: Individual levels ('boards') can limit the amount of time a player can spend on them and send you back to where you entered if it runs out.
32	* TenSecondFlashlight: The torches, which only last for a few seconds before burning out.
33	* {{Unwinnable}}: it's possible to end up in e.g. a position where you need ammunition, but with none left.
34	* XtremeKoolLetterz: The name ZZT was chosen so that it would appear on the bottom of Usenet listings.
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36	!!Tropes associated with the four official worlds:
37	* BilingualBonus: The jail in ''City of ZZT'' includes a prisoner who only speaks Spanish. Translating it reveals an admission from Tim Sweeney that [[SelfDeprecation he's not good at writing in Spanish]].
38	* CityNoir: The eponymous ''City of ZZT'' is introduced as the "home of smog, crime and endless bureaucracy", which is why you must escape from it. On top of that, the city is filled with all manner of deadly obstacles and [[CorruptPolitician the mayor is openly corrupt]].
39	* CorruptPolitician: The Mayor of the ''City of ZZT'' will not help you unless you give him a 100-gem bribe to fund his re-election campaign.
40	* TheDevilIsALoser: [[spoiler:In ''Caves of ZZT'', saying "yes" to the Devil's challenge causes him to give up without a fight.]]
41	* ExcusePlot: ''Town'' and ''Caves'' amount to, "explore this place and collect the purple keys", while ''Dungeons'' is "you've been thrown into the dungeons, collect the purple keys to escape". ''City'' is "this city is awful, get a key and ticket for the next train out of town".
42	* HeroicMime: The player has no dialog in any official game.
43	* InvisibleMonsters: Traversing through Hell in ''Caves of ZZT'' requires fighting an invisible demon.
44	* LockedDoor: ''Town'', ''Caves'' and ''Dungeons'' revolve around collecting purple keys to open the doors to the final area. ''City'' requires only a single purple key, but you need some other items to board the train as well.
45	* KleptomaniacHero: Collecting one of the purple keys in ''Town of ZZT'' requires the player to [[BankRobbery rob a bank]]. They also cannot access the Stock Room in the Armory unless they trick the Guardian of the Key into shoving their key out the door so they can steal it.
46	* OddballInTheSeries: ''City of ZZT'' is the only official world that does not involve collecting purple keys to reach your goal; instead, you must collect a variety of other items to enable your escape from the city by train, courtesy of the engine's flag system. It also makes the heaviest use of ZZT-OOP in general, including a puzzle that involves piloting a robot with a separate control panel, while the other worlds make only minor use of scripting in comparison.
47	* SchmuckBait: The Alpha in ''Dungeons of ZZT'' is preceded by a series of one-word scrolls saying, "If you touch the Alpha, you will die", which is exactly what happens.
48	* ShoutOut: Asking the Vendor in the ''Town of ZZT'' Armory for "Advice" will result in them quoting "Stairway to Heaven" by Music/LedZeppelin.
49	* ToHellAndBack: In ''Caves of ZZT'', the player must go to Hell to get one of the purple keys, and then escape with their life.

Context VideoGame / ZZT