♦ Livestream of X ZZT worlds. ♦
“24 Hours of ZZT Spring 1999 [Fear]” by HM, Various (1999) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/24hoz-spr1999/]
♦ Stream Contents ♦
• (1:37) “Fear” by Misteroo
• (19:15) “Fearrock” by mtimhoff
• (45:22) “The Impossible Maze” by Lemmer
• (47:00) “Fear This Shitty Game” by Masamune
• (52:02) Personal Rankings: Take 1
• (53:24) “Attack of the Evil Yellow Borders” by butterwhore
• (1:01:58) Personal Rankings: Take 2
• (1:10:19) “DarkMage Software Magazine 14” by DarkMage [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/dmage/]
Wrapping up the Spring 1999 24HoZZT!
After a long hiatus for Oktrollberfest streams, it was time to finish what was started, beginning with "Fear", the winner of the contest, simply named "Fear". While it starts off as a shooter of man vs. giant praying mantis (with some cool insect art) the game pivots repeatedly, incorporating a number of modes of play. There's an RPG battle with the Sun, the iconic AKWare Impromptu Quiz filled with a number of unanswerable questions, a transporter maze with invisible walls that make it harder to tell where you'll end up, and a climactic RPG battle with Bob Dole. The gameplay is perfectly fine, if not exactly contest winning, but the numerous art boards and goofy humor definitely give it an edge in 1999. A fun game to start off with, and one that definitely deserved to do well in the rankings.
"Fearrock" (as the title screen board is named) deals with a rogue scientist attacking his fellow scientists with the Thoughtstone, a rock that lets one enter people's minds and give them waking nightmares. Your task is to use the stone to go into people's minds and help defeat their fears. It's almost a bit like Psychonauts, which wasn't expected for a game from 1999. Fight droids in one now techno-phobic scientist's brain, shoot down planes in another, escape the bombing of a city in WW2. Lots of variety here, though the timer on the bombing escape is too tight and the sequence too long to enjoy. Oh. Also a giant scorpion. Again, good variety, with some decent execution, but not a whole lot to do, and a bit awkward to navigate.
"The Impossible Maze" is a collection of four single board mazes that are just boards that loop on themselves. A gag entry, and loaded with flashing red and blue walls to make for an unforgettable 60 seconds of eye strain to confirm the joke.
"Fear This Shitty Game" - Shoot ruffians. Talk to PURE FEAR. Get a fax machine implanted into your skull. The usual.
Then I start the rankings until I realize I skipped a game.
We can't forget "Attack of the Evil Yellow Borders" a game that graces us with a list of food eaten and music listened to like all good 24HoZZT games should. Many thanks to Kroger brand corned beef. Tech issues plague the game's development (neatly documented in the menu) so there isn't a lot to actually do. You get a series of "oh no newbie game" yellow bordered boards that bring you to AOL HQ where you dismantle its various departments to make the world a better place. Not a whole lot here, but PC woes make it clear why.
Then it's on to the rankings! Overall, the contest didn't have much in the way of outright duds, but it also didn't have anything as impressive as previous events.
And since these games were so short, we tacked on the final issue of DarkMage Software Magazine as well, getting to check out a beach setting and cool close-up of a face on the title screen. Most of it isn't anything too new, but once again I find myself wishing that "Monsoon" game came out. The tidal wave (slime) overtaking the Statue of Liberty is a real great job of doing a lot with a little.
Next time: A new competition, with the most entries ever received!
♦ Play these worlds directly in your browser ♦
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/24hoz-spr1999/
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/dmage/
♦ Originally streamed on November 23rd, 2025 ♦
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