Ezanya - ZZT (1991)

Background:

Once upon a time, there was a little company known as Epic Megagames. A programmer by the name of Tim Sweeney put together an OOP-based ascii-adventure game framework called ZZT and released it on the world before the concept of "Shareware" was even in vogue.

I immediately fell prey to the allure of coding adventures within the system. Motivated by the lure of a $100 prize for a nationwide adventure-making competition, I worked furiously to put together Ezanya, and won 1st prize - my first paycheck in the computer game industry!

Afterwards, Tim and I carried on a lengthy correspondence. While our ways would eventually part without my having authored any additional works for Epic (due largely to the fact that I needed money up front to survive and Epic wasn't in the habit of providing cash advances) Tim and I did keep in touch for a number of years to follow. You have to love the initial letterhead -

Downloads:

Downloads are provided for the original ZZT series as well as the "Revenge of ZZT" contest winners. For further ZZT information and downloads, please refer to the ZZT Homepage.