♦ Livestream of the ZZT world "Adventure: The Lost Gems" by Snika (2002) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/snikagems/] ♦
♦ Stream Contents ♦
• (3:18) "Adventure: The Lost Gems" by Snika (2002) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/snikagems/]
A really ambitious first release that offers a mixture of the usual newbie tropes along side some new ideas that make for a rather fun experience bugs be darned.
It starts like any other first time adventure. The royal gems have been stolen, and you're a nice enough guy to go out and find them. Those gems have been scattered around an island in various biomes and are guarded by fierce enemies. Pyramids, Forests, Ice Caverns... you know the drill.
But as with any good ZZT adventure, the tried-and-true gameplay is backed up by some creative writing and an odd cast of characters. Snika's got some odd ideas up his sleeve, but it results in a frantic game with a lot of surprises, and a lot of laughs. (Some even intentional!)
You'll visit a store that only sells keys to jerks. Have to avoid all sorts of instant game overs from mechanical eyes that kill unauthorized users, make friends, be betrayed, and even do an awkward stealth mission. The author is trying to do so much, and doesn't have the refinement to make it all work, but you have to admire him for trying. The dungeons have an in-game map and mitigate backtracking with extra exits that magically connect back to their beginnings. There are invisible mazes and giant centipedes too.
It has a few real issues, namely in its boss fights taking absurd amounts of shots and offering little feedback that what you're doing works. Eventually it gets to a point where ammo is far to scarce to defeat them. Then there are some small board connection errors that also spoil the adventure a bit, but if you can handle the ZZT jank, this one has been a treat so far that I'm looking forward to continuing!
♦ Play this world directly in your browser ♦
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/snikagems/
♦ Originally streamed on March 28th, 2025 ♦
