♦ Livestream Contents
“24 Hours of ZZT Summer 1999 [Space]” by Misteroo, Various (1999) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/24hoz-sum1999/]
(1:26) “ATTACK OF THE CYAN ╥ FROM SPACE” by Masamune
(6:19) “The Space Race” by Cal Adams
(16:18) “Richie Neptune, Tina, And Tonga In Space: Not just for smart people anymore!!!!” by xenogamy (Not played)
(17:43) “Name That Space Tune” by butterwhore
(31:29) “emptyspaces” by myth
(1:37:32) Personal Rankings
Creativitity, and the lack thereof in this latest batch of games from the Summer 99 24HoZZT!
Starting off with a borderline junk submission, "Attack of the Cyan Pi" (yet the title uses a line wall character) is an ALL CAPS GAME ABOUT FIGHTING THE INVADING PI AT REQUEST OF PRESIDENT BOB. A few mono-colored board with a few tigers, and we call it an entry. Too on-topic to be disqualified like previous junk entries, yet too stupid to have any real appeal, masa aims for the bottom of the scoreboard and by god, he gets what he wants.
Next, "The Space Race" is a goofy literal interpretation of the term, with an American rocket well on its way to Mars when suddenly a Russian ship shows up and starts pulling ahead! You're then sent to the engine room of the ship to come up with something to add to the furnance to accelerate. Features some rude violence against a cat, the Hope Diamond, and very simple puzzles that almost all amount to using one item to get the next in the sequence of events. And it's a pretty short sequence.
But, some sympathy should be spared for it. As the judge's comments note that Cal's original entry was somehow deleted, and this was a very hastily made rush job instead.
Then we skip over "Richie Neptune". This contest has had its share of gratuitous ASCII sex already with Yellow Dwarf, but this one is nothing but that. Sorry xeno, the prying eyes of the AOL mods may not have been a concern by 1999, but little did you know that the Twitch terms of service would be in 2026. ...But if you look at the game yourselves, you uh aren't missing much.
"Name That Space Tune" shows up to save us from what was a crop of very short games with little appeal. It's a short game with some appeal! A game show with a whopping three conversions of various "space" songs. The conversions are well composed. Especially compared to some of the Star Wars themes I've had the mispleasure of hearing in ZZT. As a game show, players need to actually buzz in to answer, otherwise two CPU opponents may beat them to the punch, making it more than just an AKWare-style series of quiz prompts. With some more songs, this could have been pretty cool, but even in its current state, it's merely a solid idea that's over as soon as it begins.
Finally, "emptyspaces" provides us with some real food. The third place winner (she was robbed imo) is a direct sequel to her contest winning entry "Nightplanet". Mentu docks on a space station hoping to refuel and repair his ship, but quickly discovers that it has been taken over by some kind of giant bio-horror tentacle creature which absorbs humans, and spits them out as green drones that do its deadly bidding. With a mix of solid action against weird creatures and former humans, as well as a few impressive puzzles, this is by far the star of the contest thus far. There's even some actual story development when Mentu discovers a survivor and teams up with her to blow up the station and fly away safely! An excellent game all around, and one of considerable size for a 24 HoZZT game. Not only one of the best entries of this contest, but perhaps one of the best of all the 24HoZZTs that have currently been played!
♦ Play these worlds in your browser
https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/24hoz-sum1999/
♦ Streamed Feb 15th, 2026
