♦ Livestream Contents
“24 Hours of ZZT Autumn 1999 [Fantasy]” by Knightt, Various (1999) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/24hoz-aut1999/]
(1:54) “Forest of the Damned” by Blazer
(26:12) “Dragon Feces” by xerox
(43:52) “First Fantasy” by dragonlord
(57:18) “The Tower of the Overseers” by Smiley14
(1:28:09) Personal Rankings
Getting into the good stuff. Eventually.
Starting with tied-for-second game Forest of the Damned, where a lost adventurer finds themselves aiding a small kingdom with a cursed forest. Great rewards are promised if the player can rescue the king's men and find a way to break the curse. It's a pretty straightforward game with a tiny maze of trees and some touch them before they touch you combat. The art is pretty nice, especially the introduction's rain effect. Eventually, players find a cave, meet an evil wizard and get into a basic RPG battle. Alas your bow attack will miss every shot due to busted RNG, which makes it impossible to win. A promising game that seems to have clicked with the judges despite the bugs.
Dragon Feces is a gross game where you slay a dragon in the introduction, only to find the villagers are mad you killed their nice dragon friend and didn't deal with his feces, which have been cursed to move and attack anything that goes near. The enemies don't actually do much, but then the "Newbie Protectors" show up and the game takes a stab at long-worn newbie bashing humor. In a cave a fight with a giant pile of dung isn't present due to time constraints, resulting in an automatic victory. Then the passage out is accidentally destroyed preventing the ending from being reached. In it, some town guard takes credit for your work and you leave town in shame. I'll give the game credit for an original concept.
Then it's on to First Fantasy. Kwark dreams (fantasizes?) of becoming a hero. One day while Kwark and his friend Lara are practicing their swordfighting techniques, Kwark accidentally clonks her on the head rendering her unconscious! Then Daemonos, the leader of the zombie tribe, shows up to take her as his latest victim! A nearby owl explains that thanks to the gem in your sword, you're the chosen one meant to defeat the villain. There's a short walk to the enemy's castle, fighting "kobalds" and zombies, with a few ambushes in the castle itself as you grab the key to Daemono's lair. A fight ensues and Lara is saved, with her spreading word of your heroic rescue (omitting the bonk on the noggin), allowing your dream to be realized.
It's a cute game, though there isn't a whole lot to it. It looks like dragonlord had some greater ambitions, as there's a status indicator that replicates your current health in meter form on every board, along with exp and gold gained from defeating enemies that never has a purpose. Enemy code suggests stronger attacks as you level, though players never get to.
Lastly, The Tower of the Overseers tells the story of a planet conquered by powerful beings (Overseers) who have been making life miserable for the inhabitants of the world. When they begin heavily draining the planet's resources in plans to move on to a new world, leaving their current one to die, a soldier known as Maya is born from the holy power of the Ayim (bird ppl with magic). Despite the game insisting on some lazy fantasy stereotypes of girl = weaker but faster, Maya kicks some ass and knows some potent magic of her own.
Featuring an anime art style, colorful backgrounds, and nice depictions of the Overseers' tower, the game stands out from the usual motif of forests and castles seen thusfar. Gameplay is at first glance nothing that hasn't been seen already this contest. There are zombies, wolves, and a few of ZZT's built in enemies to slash and shoot at as you ascend the tower. A magic system allows various spells to be cast, providing a little bit of depth to the combat.
Then to top it all off, there are puzzle boss fights where you have to find ways to use the environment to harm otherwise invulnerable overseers. These are accompanied by full screen art boards, with some typical banter for the battles they precede.
The game isn't flawless. The regenerating MP and ammo systems cycle between being capped out and being empty, making it possible to be unable to act when you should be able to. However, the unique art style, creative creature designs (ZZT cat girls and bird people), and interest in making boss battles more than shooting foes with 50 fireballs made this one a lot of fun to play. A game with some real potential for development beyond the contest.
And then we rank em! Which is pretty easy today with our clear winner.
♦ Play online
https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/24hoz-aut1999/
♦ Streamed Apr 5th, 2026
