Frost 2: Ice (incomplete)

Frost 2: Ice opens to a musical theme by MadTom "Winter Breeze" originally written for the first game but unused until now, set over the absolutely expected by this point, quality Nadir art both in background scenery and some really good character art.

The two characters are the game's main protagonist, a hamster named Jubal, and a sparkly turtle named Martina. I think it's a considerable improvement over the title screen of the original game which doesn't really give you the slightest idea what it's all about. This time, Nadir gives us a depiction of the game's most vital characters rather than a lot of green and a symbol which is meaningless the first time the player sees it.

The game itself opens with this message that just immediately gets right into the troubled story of Ice's release.

Oh, and then there's Frost 2: Bread, a fake upload by Flimsy Parkins (who else would it be) with the original game's title screen and some random chaotic looking boards. This got uploaded not long after Ice was leaked, and was probably done in response! The unofficial copy was only ever distributed through private channels (aka me yelling anywhere on IRC that I had a copy if anyone wanted it).

Nadir was nice enough to do some final clean up for the official release and give a bit of commentary on the rest of the game when the content runs dry for what was actually completed. It's really awesome that he did all this since for the most part, any abandoned ZZT series has next to no information about what was supposed to happen next.

Okay, it's almost time to really begin. Nadir self-flagellates his abilities a lot here and for the most part there's not really any issues with the writing other than sometimes getting a little too into the minutiae of how the world's society is designed.

Frost 1 had a line when Penny was being exiled and her family was saying their goodbyes and giving her things to survive in the wilderness until she reached civilization again and she totally asked about tampons. If you want people to laugh at you in 2003, bringing up the menstrual cycle of anthropomorphic foxes is a very good way to do it. Several reviews mention the line, and a screenshot of the abandoned ZZT clone Tyger uses the conversation just prior to the line as a way of showing that scroll windows were implemented.

RIGHT. NOW WE'RE HERE. Finally.

Penny (green) and Henna (purple) are still traveling and are stopped at an inn for the night. Penny immediately crashes in bed and Henna takes the moment's peace to write a letter to her father.

Graphically Nadir likes to add small details to make things come to life. We've got stables (one of which holds Stumpy, the sentient rock creature that's Henna's pet), a communal toilet for the guests, some animated fireplaces, and a random sleeping guest in another room.

Nadir also isn't afraid to make more work for himself during these cutscenes. It would've been considerably easier to just give Penny and Henna a single large room, but Nadir gives them each their own, and keeps them cramped. The cramped nature means a lot of extra code for Henna as she has to pull her chair out, move to the desk, pull the chair back in, and then even makes a little piece of paper appear on it.

Frost 2 is extremely text heavy, but unlike certain other games, it's worth reading. The magical nature of the world here makes it so zombies showing up might not come off as unusual, but it becomes clear that the dead reanimating is not something that should be possible. Henna takes it... pretty well.

The letter gives a lot of geography of the world of Ilititoa: Vasqueth, Gian, Alsace. It's very apparent that Nadir spent a lot of time developing this world as opposed to most ZZT games feeling like every place was made up as the author went along.

For a refresher, Melissa was the name of Penny's best friend pre-exile.

Henna being so chill about zombies and death are acknowledged in-character. This would be a pretty definitive example of the game's writing not being all that great, and while it's still a lackluster response to ZOMBIES, her admitting it's a bit blunt takes the edge off.

Henna heads off to sleep, and Nadir codes in her moving her bag off the bed as well as pushing the chair back in to the desk. Details.

Before the next cutscene begins to play, you're treated to a short tune by MadTom called "Mider".

Here we get to see a nice suburban home (specifically in Soulforge, Awtes, yet more named places), with a nice backyard, Nadir's staple oven, and some closets full of junk.

Our first of several references to ZZT and its community. Johnathan Wellington Wells is the author of Evil Sorcerer's Party, one of ZZT"s best games, and one which Nadir provided the artwork for two of the files.

The home belongs to Cedric, the recipient of Henna's letter. Again Nadir commits to the details with a book on the table that Cedric takes with him when he goes to get his coffee. The kettle of hot water whistles, the postal worker shows up to deliver the mail and rings the doorbell to make their presence known, and when Cedric returns to the dining room table, a mug is set on it along with the letter.

Despite two games in the series being released, and the fact that the villain is introduced mysteriously on the very first board of the first game, you'll never get to learn what the overarching plot of the series is supposed to be. The villain, Set, has landed in this era of time (so there's some form of time travel) and I think is going around trying to kill the survivors of some event.

Frost 1 covers nothing of Set, these events, or why all these characters presumably are eventually going to meet up, and he's just as much of an unexplained mystery here. Cedric doesn't even provide his name, and just like the first game, Set only shows up on a single board.

Hey this board is beautiful. It has some masterful perspective work with the buildings shrinking as they're placed farther away from the camera. Everything being non-orthogonal makes the shot much more difficult to create, especially when stuck with ZZT's non-square character size. Then we've got those trees mostly in shadow as the sun sets and taking up a large portion of the foreground which I feel like almost nobody else would have thought to include in their city street board.

Compare it with another angled street seen in MadTom's Burglar!, where his graphics are solid, and the angle still makes the board feel distinct. It looks good, but Nadir could cram so much detail in a way that no one else was really able to compare to.

So of course, a scroll with some commentary by Nadir explains that it's actually nothing notable at all. Have some confidence Nadir!!

The all caps isn't as hyperbolic as it may sound, as mentioned in the Closer Look for Algorithm, where the author would frequently ask Nadir for "graphical secrets".

More geography! While the names of the cities and streets isn't of any importance to you, the rest of details do a lot more for setting the scene and introducing some more villains like Mammoth, who is not in this game. If you are a villain in Frost, do not expect much screentime.

What is important, is that we get introduced to Jubal, the game's protagonist. Much like it's predecessor, Frost 2 takes some time before the player gets to actually do anything. The biggest complaints the first game received were it taking so long to start, and then the actual gameplay being pretty mediocre.

Ice still has the same flaws, though there's at least a little bit more to the main gameplay. The big difference though is just the change in taste over four years from Power to Ice. In 2003, a game being story first and foremost was a much harder sell. Plus, it's also easier to dismiss flaws in Ice since it's not actually a finished game.

For all the worldbuilding Nadir does, I wish I had any idea what the rules on magic were. Is it legal here? Encouraged? Discouraged? How many fuzzy critters know magic? Neither Jubal nor Alfred (a beaver) seem to think a psychic force is that unusual, but Nadir doesn't give you the context to grasp how you at your computer should feel about all this.

Jubal and Alfred are both introduced as a kindhearted thieves more interested in stealing for survival than profit.

What I still can't get over, is that Nadir pulls off these characters with a vertical resolution of 16 characters. And again he's not afraid to go above and beyond with what's necessary. Alfred's bandanna isn't just a solid red, but has yellow spots, but more impressively is that he's wearing a tie-dye shirt in a text mode game with 16 colors available!

Jubal gets to be dressed in layers with a jacket over his own shirt, and something is up with his eye.

Then in the background we get to see a bit of ZZT graffiti with "Mad Edgar" being a reference to MadTom, and even including the symbol he frequently included in his work. "RAWCUS CRU" is probably a reference to #rawr, the main ZZT IRC channel of the time.

The comedy stylings of Alfred and Jubal as they discuss the plan (or lack thereof) to get into the building and help whoever it is that need help.

Look! Gameplay!

The player finally gets to move somewhere other than a tiny box in a corner. This is also the board Nadir said he preferred to the city street board with the pretty trees. It still looks quite nice. The background city skyline and mountains are a nice layering effect, and the inside of the residence next to the pizza parlor also have a lot crammed inside. I feel like it's both not as good looking as the earlier art board, but also that it's unfair to compare boards that the player needs to walk around in to mostly static cutscene boards. (Admittedly I did just that comparing it to Burglar! but streets and sidewalks don't change all that much whether they're restricted to tiles a player can walk on or not)

Step one is getting inside, which is made pretty clear as to how.

The only other items to interact with are some chicken bones. Dwell on which animals do and do not get anthropomorphized if you want.

You can't actually take them since Alfred tell you they're gross and asks why in the world would you want to carry chicken bones.

After smashing through the window Jubal and Alfred both go inside. Alfred is on top of things and immediately checks to see the kitchen door is locked. Jubal may be the smartest thief Alfred knows, but Alfred definitely takes the lead in this break-in.

Before the player can explore too much, movement is heard from the next room and some sort of creature walks right up to the door. The duo agrees they're going to have to figure out something since it's the only way forward.

Alfred is weirded out either by Jubal's sudden narration or his suddenly more flowery language.

Armed with a plate, Jubal rushes in to deal with the... dog. (It's not a dog.)

The critter is indeed distracted, but the plate shattering on the ground gets the attention of one of the home's occupants that's upstairs. (Oddly the breaking of the window did not.)

It really doesn't go well for our heroes. The sinister XX kills both Jubal and Alfred with a single blast of magic.

Nadir keeps his trademark humor.

Once Benji moves towards the door, then you're free to pick up the chicken bones. This makes some sense for you with a view of the entire first floor, but Alfred and Jubal don't get any hints about what's on the other side. All it'd take would be hearing a growl when you examine the door to provide the context needed. We also learn the creature is a yikeu!

doestheyikeudie.com

I don't know why Benji dies! It's very unnecessary.

Alfred moves into the foyer and begins examining some of the keys on a counter. Talking to him afterwards he explains that the "kitchen" key is probably booby trapped in some way since there is no lock on the kitchen door. The other key is assumed to be the one for the locked room, but there's still a trap on the other side.

There's a door that connects to the neighboring pizzeria, and I can't imagine how bad it must be to literally live adjacent to one. My first apartment had one next door to one that was its own separate building and the parking area constantly smelled like pizza. It would be miserable.

There's still some sort of laser on the other side of the locked door, so a key alone isn't enough. The kitchen is the only place left to explore since the upstairs area is occupied.

Alfred dutifully follows. Having a partner that's actually shown on the board is pretty uncommon in ZZT worlds, and one that makes so many movements and constantly has new things to say about the situation make Alfred feel like a character that's really with you and trying to help.

The kitchen contains the expected items. An oven, a sink, a fridge (which Jubal jokes about taking some sodas from), but most importantly are the controls for the alarm system and some cans of dry ingredients.

The alarm is obviously important for being something to disable the lasers, but that requires a code. The cans...

Jubal, master thief, knows all about hiding things in the rice. Nadir codes in Alfred walking up to the controls and shutting down the lasers. Once they've been disabled, it's time to enter the forbidden chamber.

Entering the room leads to a passage to this art board. We get a good look at the imprisoned turtle that's both chained up and trapped beneath a magical forcefield. Again I want to compliment Nadir on making that bubble look bubbly.

Martina and Jubal, both seen on the title screen, finally get to meet. Martina's ability to talk is the first time something unusual has happened with a character making darn sure you know that no, this is not normal.

The board layout shifts, and instead focuses entirely on the room where Martina's been held captive. Don't worry, the furniture still correctly matches up with the earlier board!

The escape begins.

And immediately ends.

Two siblings, known to the player only as XX and XY to differentiate between their genders (it's 2004) immediately catch everyone. You learn that the siblings are working for Mammoth and it seems like Jubal and Alfred are about to be killed when they're instead put to sleep. This screenshot here is just at the start of the screen fading to solid white.

Penny and Henna _love_ to write.