♦ Livestream of the ZZT world "Epica (Unfinished)" by Benco (2005) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/epica/]. ♦
♦ Stream Contents ♦
• (48:30) End of Ad Break 1
A very unexpected upload that recently dropped. Epica is an action/RPG title by Benco that was being developed in the mid-2000s, but after a move without bringing the game along with him, was assumed lost. More than a decade later, he would instead release Ana, his modern interpretation of the ideas he had for Epica.
Until a few weeks ago when an in-progress version of the game that had been sent to someone had been found!
Epica is very much one of those ZZT games of the era that promised too much. Complex character interactions that would effect how characters react, a bajillion weapons and spells, non-linear gameplay, secret items to find, sidequests to complete, etc. etc. This build of the game can't exactly deliver on those lofty goals (and I don't think any vanilla ZZT game promising that ever could), but it does deliver an impressive little introductory chapter!
There's lots to explore and plenty of secrets to find as you set out to find a powerful magic wand in order to cure the illness of Ol' Man Willis. A fun overworld set on some sort of small landmass floating in space with some great starry backgrounds makes exploring the world exciting as you never know what each board will bring. Eventually secret passages to underground labyrinths are uncovered, and when the wand is found the true threat of the game is revealed.
There are also quite a lot of really impressive animations done with invisible walls that make this one a real treat to experience yourself. Alas, towards the end numerous passage errors and unlinked boards crop up as the game wasn't exactly ready to be released in its current state, but this one was a blast to play and had it been cleaned up and released as a demo back in 2005 would have certainly gotten noticed!
♦ Play this world directly in your browser ♦
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/epica/
♦ Originally streamed on June 30th, 2023 ♦
