The Video Thread

[Scribbit]

I was watching videos by DarkMatt717 and found some ZZT-related features. This inspired me, and I'm thinking of trying ZZT movie reviews, bloopers, or demos. I recorded a preview of PortalZZT, but it was about a minute too long so I'm going to edit it down before I can post it.

Also: the school blocked the loophole I was using to get to youtube, so I can only watch from home now.

[Schroedingers Cat]

http://www.zensur.freerk.com/#4.5.1

[nps]

there's no need to be rude

i'm sorry ... it's just ... i really wanted to see the powerpuff girls singing in german and ... it scared me when they weren't ... i felt like you'd torn a deep and inner part of me out ... i was angry! i was confused.

[Scribbit]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1I1R1TkkDsM

Sorry it's a little blurry. I made this because I wanted to make ZZT videos and thought a demo might be a place to start. I'm thinking of making more videos of my favorite games, like video reviews. Or other stuff to just help show people how ZZT works. One person I showed my game to had never played ZZT before and didn't know how basic things like ricochets and shooting work. Hopefully it'll help to be able to just show people a video of a level.

[zamros]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ijnEN7cqB5o

terrifying

[Microwave]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1I1R1TkkDsM

I solved this puzzle by shooting a bullet over the red square then walking through the door.

[Zandor 12]

STOP BREAKING THE GAME MICROWAVE

sheesh

[Microwave]

I'm a filthy fucking game genie abuser.

To contribute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NLbDgyMusk

Haven't seen this movie, but someone sent me this trailer and told me that it's good.

[Stak]

In the alphabet system, there are 26 letters. The detectives who investigate these abc's are members of an elite squad called the Special Letters Unit.

These are their stories.

[Scribbit]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1I1R1TkkDsM

I solved this puzzle by shooting a bullet over the red square then walking through the door.

STOP BREAKING THE GAME MICROWAVE

sheesh

Actually, I found that solution as well, and I let it stand for the time being. But I'm changing it in the next release so you can't do that, although admittedly the only people likely to do that are people who've been ZZT-ing long enough that they don't need my "portal tutorial" in the first stage. I also added hints in the second stage for people who've never seen a ricochet puzzle, because many of these people tested my game and had this problem, and I wanted to make my game accessible to new players.

Of course, this might mean a complete listing of the controls at the start of the game, which would definitely be annoying. Maybe I should make a custom help file and a batch that puts it in the proper place when the game runs?

[Quantum P.]

Replacing the default help file is an interesting idea, but I don't know how well it would work -- to replace the message that comes up when you press "H" in-game, you'd have to replace ZZT.DAT, which I think contains some other stuff that ZZT uses. Possible, but I don't know how easy it would be.



What some games have done is have an object like the following:

Code: Select all

#cycle 1
:loop
#if not h /i#loop
#clear h
HELP FILE/HINTS FOR THIS BOARD GO HERE
blah blah blah...
/i#loop

Then you can type ?+h to bring up a help/hints box. It's a bit of a hack, and you'd have to tell your users to type ?+h instead of h for help... so it might not be what you're looking for.



Alternatively, you could design the levels such that basic ZZT concepts are introduced along the way. This could be done either with hints (like what you did with the ricochet puzzle) or with examples (e.g., include a really easy puzzle that uses ricochets, just to get the player used to the idea that those little star-shaped things bounce bullets around).

And ZZT's controls are already listed on the sidebar, so you probably wouldn't need to introduce those.

[Scribbit]

Code: Select all

#cycle 1
:loop
#if not h /i#loop
#clear h
HELP FILE/HINTS FOR THIS BOARD GO HERE
blah blah blah...
/i#loop

Then you can type ?+h to bring up a help/hints box. It's a bit of a hack, and you'd have to tell your users to type ?+h instead of h for help... so it might not be what you're looking for.

I tried that, it worked once and stopped. I was using it to let the player continue if stuck in a portal, because that Pause-step-shoot thing is hard to describe and it's less elegant than an inventory-style engine. Maybe I did it wrong.

Alternatively, you could design the levels such that basic ZZT concepts are introduced along the way. This could be done either with hints (like what you did with the ricochet puzzle) or with examples (e.g., include a really easy puzzle that uses ricochets, just to get the player used to the idea that those little star-shaped things bounce bullets around).

I played portal with the commentary on after I beat it, that's pretty much how the developers describe their early puzzles. I think I should add a couple levels of "training," before my shoot-through-portals challenge in the second level.

And ZZT's controls are already listed on the sidebar, so you probably wouldn't need to introduce those.

You'd be surprised. I was showing this to some other people and they had some trouble figuring out how to shoot until I pointed out the controls, they didn't seem to notice it at first. Perhaps after playing a simpler ZZT game like Town or something they'd figure it out, but this game has too many new elements at once for a first-timer. I suppose I could make some no-portal puzzles just to get the player started, or just put more hints in the early levels.

...

This really belongs on a project thread, doesn't it.

[Scribbit]

I know I can edit posts, but this is a real video and not an off-topic discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFTT01Symx4

Is there anyone here who hasn't seen this already? even so, I think it's worth going back to. It was for me, when I found it buried in my favorites list.

[Shadow Mage]

http://gizmodo.com/359993/elmo-doll-wan ... -kill-elmo

Anybody here still like elmo?

[Commodore]

its all about grover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rygc5JQKYNQ