Thoughts by LostInSpace (22 Sep 2024) – Interpreter (Z-Code)
The ZZT level editor has inspired hobbyists to create their own projects to this day. However, even back then, the hype led to further development. MegaZeux not only improved the graphics and scripting language, but also the range of avatar interactions. This made it possible to incorporate plot elements that were otherwise only found in commercial adventure games. This inspired one of the legendary members of the scene to start a series planned to span 10 episodes. However, her work Weirdness was never completed, which further fuelled the game’s cult status.
The first chapter under review here does not contain a lot of locations, which means that the graphics take a back seat. The construction of puzzles now possible with MegaZeux, which were also used in text adventures in the past, are omnipresent. So much, in fact, that for the purposes of looking at the game, I have referred back to an implementation in Inform 6 that took place many years later. This even increases the difficulty somewhat, as inputs are made via the parser and not via a selection menu of predefined options as in the original.
On the other hand, graphical gimmicks that could not be reproduced textually were translated into short mini-games. For example, you crack a colour code, similar to a Rubik’s Cube, or set the course for fluctuating particles in a network of tubes. This is, of course, impressive in a text-only environment, but it is also a lack of appropriate puzzle ideas on the same level. Presumably, these action-parts were different in the MegaZeux version, but the port at least preserves an impression of the ‘untranslatable’ original.
The actual game initially appears to be very realistic, only to break off with it later. You start as an average teenager in an average detached house in an American suburban area. A wooden spoon, which you find right at the beginning and which is never used, is probably a reminder that you weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Only the nerdy brother, who has programmed MegaZeux on his computer (Attention: self-reference) and set up a laboratory in the basement, is the springboard for further inquiries about strange events – such as the police presence on the neighbouring main road – on this starry night.
In order not to spoil potential readers, no further references to the way on which reality gets lost will be given. Anyone who wants to try out Weirdness will not be put off by this omission. However, be warned against politically incorrect humour. Some of the descriptions are a little crude by today’s standards, but should not be a reason to draw negative conclusions about the quality and standard of the rest of the story.
An interesting movement from a historical perspective is that the graphic diversity of ZZT only maintained the fascination of its hobby authors in connection with the simplified action radius – movement in 4 directions and fire command. The graphically more varied MegaZeux brought the development back 10 years into the age of text adventures instead of into the future due to its extensive scripting language. This can be seen in the sheer mass of ZZT games, which – as exemplified by this cancelled game series – are only matched by a few MegaZeux titles.
