We're almost in the clear now! I think it's been more than a year since we've seen an empty queue.
13 of the 24 games in the queue at the time of writing this are getting published because I can't count!
Alas this means I'm going to have to get off my butt and do something about the various esoteric ZZT clones still remaining in the queue...
“BZZT1” (1996)
A custom font devoid of any greater context. There's a pre-made batch file to automatically run ZZT with the font and reset it to the system font afterwards, but it just calls ZZT without a world to load implying that this is a generic font to be used with any number of games rather than one meant for a specific game. There's also a mod file included that sounds kind of familiar but I couldn't tell what you song it is and I'm going to kick myself when I find out. Aha! It's a cover of "Mother Alien Fight Theme" from Alexis Janson's Code Red (see song 22 here. And thanks to The Green Herring for figuring out its source.)
“Palace” (1997)
Definitely an early work by whoever made this. Features some great dialog like a guard asking you if you're friend or foe and if you answer foe they just say "No" or a queen who offers you a cookie when you talk to her on her throne.
“Michael McDonald's House of Horror” (1997)
Featuring a very bad salesman who gives you the items before taking away your gems to pay for whatever you asked for.
“One Day At School” by Alex Arrowsmith
A game in which after failing a test at school you can insult the teacher, strike her, or take the test again. If you hit her you get an A! The interactions with most characters are violent including an option to kick or punch a student. Kick him and he hits you in the nose so hard you die. Punch him and you get suspended and the game also ends.
This actually really gives off School ZZT vibes, and is just barely a step above it, which is kind of an incredibly quality needle to thread.
“Mission: Doom” by Rick Toboz (1996)
For as much influence as Mission Enigma had on ZZT games, that was mostly focused on the many long title screen animations it inspired. This game seems to be going more for emulating its story though it looks like it couldn't keep up on that front for too long.
“Where Did I Go Wrong?” by AKNeutron (1999)
A helper world that shies away from the term "newbie" and derivatives and goes with "amateur". This short guide takes the form of making the player work their way through a bunch of poorly designed areas accompanied with text pointing out why they might be worth avoiding in your own games.
“Rings of Power” by Josh Bovia (1995)
Your basic fantasy quest to recover the three rings of power that once protected the land from monsters that were stolen and hidden by the evil Lord Grimlor
“Ace Man” by Tracy Lee (1997)
Sadly not a game about asexuality. Or maybe it is, there's not a lot of text so it's left pretty open to your interpretation. Also probably not actually affiliated with Coleco.
“Polo Land” by Eric Guffey (1997)
The mayor has politely asked you to save the city from destruction. An incredibly incomplete adventure that starts on the wrong board causing the game to immediately be soft-locked without editing
“One Board Adventures” by Quack6754 (1998)
That's plural. There's no menu either so to play this collection of single board games (...some of which are multiple boards) you have to constantly edit the starting board. "Village!" is particularly notable as it somewhat clumsily tries to do an effect where you can't see inside the cave until you actually step inside.
“The Adventures of Duke Pitfall” by AJJupiter (1996)
Duke Nukem meets Pitfall Harry? A short adventure to stop the bad guys from smuggling out toxic waste to be illegally disposed of!
“Zach Math” (1996)
Not a lot of math, but definitely a lot of fake walls and fake wall mazes.
“The Box and The Blob (Prototype)” by Nupanick (2008)
And finally, something a little more recent. Why, this world is hardly a decade old! An engine prototype that looks to be a puzzle game about manipulating two characters. Move with arrows and try shooting in two different directions to perform special moves (the only one implemented is up + up to change the active character).
