♦ Livestream of the ZZT world "LOME: The Legends of Matt Eatingham" by Leamas (2000) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/lome/]. ♦
A long time ago on a small island a king was killed in battle against assassins so they could claim his necklace which holds an unknown power.
Centuries later, Matt Eatingham ventures to that same island hoping to find his father whom he's never met. Will these stories intersect? Not in this part at least!
LOME is an ambitious early 2000s adventure that I played some time ago which really won me over. Matthew gets to freely explore a large 5x5 island dotted with settlements, caves, and friendly islanders. In his search his for father, he often finds himself distracted, having a hard time turning down opportunities to help the people that live on the island, and in some cases, going out of his way to help those who would otherwise refuse it.
It's a slow paced game at first where it can be difficult to tell where to go next, but once it gets underway it's a ZZT game that does a great job of presenting an open world and letting players roam free. A unique encounter system causes boards to fill up with lions/tigers as you explore, allowing players to earn money for defeating them, and ensuring that the outside world is always dangerous no how many enemies Matt takes down.
In this first part, we get our bearings, saving the town gates from a tiger attack, then work on reuniting some friends that had a falling out with one another who also both really need to bathe. Some treasure is recovered from the cave where few that enter return, and after disturbing the monsters within, the mayor of one of the island's two towns is kidnapped by monsters, with Matt volunteering to help so he can make up for his mistake. Next time, we rescue the mayor and maybe get our first clues as to where our dad actually is.
♦ Play this world directly in your browser ♦
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/lome/
♦ Originally streamed on February 16th, 2024 ♦
