{"id":182858,"date":"2021-02-19T09:40:30","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T06:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game\/"},"modified":"2021-02-19T09:40:30","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T06:40:30","slug":"before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game\/","title":{"rendered":"#Before Fortnite, There Was ZZT: Meet Epic\u2019s First Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3d6b31d1750\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3d6b31d1750\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game\/#Whats_a_%E2%80%9CZZT%E2%80%9D_Anyway\" >What\u2019s a \u201cZZT,\u201d Anyway?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game\/#ZZT_The_Editor_Is_the_Game\" >ZZT: The Editor Is the Game<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game\/#ZZT%E2%80%98s_Influence_Lives_on_in_Unreal_Engine\" >ZZT\u2018s Influence Lives on in Unreal Engine<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game\/#Epic_Is_30_Too\" >Epic Is 30, Too<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game\/#How_to_Play_ZZT_Today\" >How to Play ZZT Today<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Before Fortnite, There Was ZZT: Meet Epic\u2019s First <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a>&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-713578\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zzt_hero_4.jpg\" alt=\"Epic Games ZZT Logo\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Thirty years ago\u2014on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/museumofzzt.com\/article\/515\/zzt-and-epic-newsletter-scans\">January 15, 1991<\/a>\u2014an American college student named Tim Sweeney released <em>ZZT<\/em>, a low-key adventure game with a revolutionary element: It shipped with a free, built-in game editor. <em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> success spawned Epic Games, Unreal Engine, and most recently, <em>Fortnite<\/em>. Here\u2019s why <em>ZZT<\/em> was special.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_a_%E2%80%9CZZT%E2%80%9D_Anyway\"><\/span>What\u2019s a \u201cZZT,\u201d Anyway?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gamasutra.com\/view\/feature\/132426\/from_the_past_to_the_future_tim_.php\">Tim Sweeney\u2019s<\/a> passion for programming began on his <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le II when he was a kid. After getting his first IBM PC in 1989 during his freshman year of college, he dove head-first into programming the new machine. While creating an MS-DOS text editor using <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Turbo_Pascal\">Turbo Pascal<\/a> in 1990, he decided to make the project more fun by adding game-like elements. That evolved into <em>ZZT<\/em>, which was released as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shareware\">shareware<\/a> in 1991.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-713662\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zzt_main_screen.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"642\" height=\"402\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The genius of <em>ZZT<\/em> in the early 1990s was that it wasn\u2019t just a cute ASCII-based adventure. With every copy of <em>ZZT<\/em> downloaded, players also got an in-game world editor for free. That\u2019s because <em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> text editor roots meant that Sweeney created the game engine and editor first and then built his game worlds within it.<\/p>\n<p>Like a text editor, <em>ZZT<\/em> only uses text-mode characters. That means a zero might represent the segment of a centipede and a small circular degree symbol might become a bullet. In fact, in <em>ZZT<\/em>, you typically play as a generic,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vintagecomputing.com\/index.php\/archives\/790\/the-ibm-smiley-character-turns-30\">smiley-faced protagonist<\/a> who must navigate a world of traps, puzzles, and peril while collecting keys, torches, and gems along the way.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-713628 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zzt_screenshot_5150_1.jpg\" alt=\"The ZZT Title Screen\" width=\"650\" height=\"462\" data-credittext=\"Benj Edwards\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>ZZT<\/em> running on an IBM PC 5150. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Benj Edwards<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the time of <em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> initial release, Sweeney called his one-man business \u201cPotomac Computer Systems,\u201d but he changed the name to \u201cEpic MegaGames\u201d in October 1991 to make it sound like a big, successful company. (Epic dropped the \u201cMega\u201d in 1999 after the success of <em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Unreal_(1998_video_game)\">Unreal<\/a><\/em>.)<\/p>\n<p>Since it was a shareware title, players could get <em>ZZT<\/em> and one world called <em>Town of ZZT<\/em> for free\u2014usually by downloading it through dial-up bulletin board systems or CompuServe at the time. If they liked it, players could <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vintagecomputing.com\/index.php\/archives\/964\/retro-scan-of-the-week-buying-from-epic-games-in-1996\">send money to Sweeney<\/a> to buy more levels to play. After people began ordering several copies of the game per day, Sweeney realized he had a bankable business on his hands.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Remember BBSes? Here&#8217;s How You Can Visit One Today<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-713660 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zzt_newsletter_issue_1.jpg\" alt=\"The first issue of ZZT Newsletter from 1991\" width=\"650\" height=\"370\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/museumofzzt.com\/article\/515\/zzt-and-epic-newsletter-scans\" data-credittext=\"Epic Games \/ Museum of ZZT\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The first issue of \u201cZZT <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>letter\u201d from 1991. <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/museumofzzt.com\/article\/515\/zzt-and-epic-newsletter-scans\">Epic Games \/ Museum of ZZT<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The shareware element is key to understanding the nature of <em>ZZT<\/em>. In fact, <em>ZZT<\/em> doesn\u2019t stand for anything\u2014it was Sweeney\u2019s clever way of always appearing at the very bottom of alphabetical file listings on dial-up BBSes back in the day. It\u2019s a marketing trick.<\/p>\n<p>While <em>ZZT<\/em> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gamasutra.com\/view\/feature\/132426\/from_the_past_to_the_future_tim_.php?page=4\">only sold about 4.000-5,000 copies<\/a> total, Sweeney\u2019s unassuming ASCII adventure has had a massive stealth influence on the game industry due to its innovative design\u2014and the lessons Sweeney himself learned from <em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> success.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ZZT_The_Editor_Is_the_Game\"><\/span><em>ZZT<\/em>: The Editor Is the Game<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>With <em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> in-game editor, anyone with a copy of <em>ZZT<\/em> can create their own <em>ZZT<\/em>-like adventure games. And thanks to a built-in scripting language called ZZT-OOP, creators can even stretch the game engine in novel ways to produce games in unexpected genres, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/museumofzzt.com\/\">from turn-based text adventures to space shoot-\u2019em-ups<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 642px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-713661 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zzt_oop_screenshot.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"642\" height=\"402\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ZZT Editor interface, including an example of the ZZT-OOP scripting language.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Back in the early 1990s when easy game creation tools were rare, <em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> world editor empowered a new generation of upcoming game designers. Dr. Dos, who runs the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/museumofzzt.com\/\">Museum of ZZT website<\/a>, recalls how it felt. <span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">\u201c<em>ZZT<\/em> let me feel like an adult computer programmer. As a kid, I\u2019d constantly be doodling stages for <em>Mario World<\/em> and <em>Mega Man<\/em> sequels that I wanted to make, and just always assumed that actually creating games was something kids couldn\u2019t do. You had to be an adult and go to college and learn how to program. <em>ZZT<\/em> let me skip all of that. As a child, being able to tell your friends \u2018I make video games\u2019 is incredibly powerful.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p>The ease at which people could just jump into making a game without any thought of intensive programming (or even needing to create graphics) spawned a loyal community of <em>ZZT<\/em> game makers that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/museumofzzt.com\/\">continues to this day<\/a>. It also opened up future careers in the game industry. In fact, a repeated winner of Sweeney\u2019s <em>ZZT<\/em> level design contest named <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classicdosgames.com\/interviews\/allenpilgrim.html\">Allan Pilgrim<\/a> ended up joining Epic and developing games for the firm several years later.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ZZT%E2%80%98s_Influence_Lives_on_in_Unreal_Engine\"><\/span><em>ZZT<\/em>\u2018s Influence Lives on in Unreal Engine<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Today, one of Epic\u2019s key products is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Unreal_Engine\">Unreal Engine<\/a>, a rich game engine and real-time graphics environment. Using that engine, developers can create complex video games with relative ease. It prevents them from having to reinvent the wheel with every new game.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-713976 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/unreal_engine_graphic.jpg\" alt=\"Unreal Engine Logo\" width=\"650\" height=\"372\" data-credittext=\"Epic Games\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Epic Games<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After shipping as a high-end commercial product for years, Epic decided to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2015\/3\/2\/8134425\/unreal-engine-4-free-epic-games\">release Unreal Engine 4 for free<\/a> in 2014. Although few industry pundits noticed at the time, the move echoed the release of <em>ZZT<\/em> itself 23 years earlier, putting free game creation tools into the hands of thousands of people.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the parallels between the two game engines, old and new, go far beyond zero upfront cost. In 2009, I <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gamasutra.com\/view\/feature\/132426\/from_the_past_to_the_future_tim_.php\">interviewed Tim Sweeney in depth<\/a> about <em>ZZT<\/em> and the history of Epic for Gamasutra. In our interview, he spoke about how the concepts of <em>ZZT<\/em> directly translated to Unreal Engine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s really a huge amount of similarity between <em>ZZT<\/em> and Unreal, if you look at it,\u201d said Sweeney.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-713672 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/unreal_engine_level_editor.jpg\" alt=\"The Unreal Engine 4 Level Editor Interface\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" data-credittext=\"Epic Games\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Unreal Engine 4 Level Editor interface. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Epic Games<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a structure that we\u2019ve been copying and pasting into ever-more-advanced game engines ever since,\u201d he said, referring to the <em>ZZT<\/em> model. \u201cYou have this editor, you have this game runtime, they use the same display environment, same programming language.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Over the past two decades, Unreal Engine has powered <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_Unreal_Engine_games\">dozens of blockbuster video games<\/a>, including the <em>Gears of War<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a>, <em>Bioshock<\/em>, <em>Batman: Arkham Asylum<\/em>, and many more. Increasingly, companies are using Unreal Engine in commercial marketing applications and as a real-time visualizing aid for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unrealengine.com\/en-US\/blog\/forging-new-paths-for-filmmakers-on-the-mandalorian\">big-name TV shows such as <em>The Mandalorian<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In a way, all of that started with <em>ZZT<\/em>, a humble, text-based shareware game released in 1991. That\u2019s a massive legacy for a game that many people still haven\u2019t heard of.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Epic_Is_30_Too\"><\/span>Epic Is 30, Too<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The 30th anniversary of <em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> release means that Epic Games is 30 years old as well. It\u2019s rare that a company of Epic\u2019s size and success is still privately controlled\u2014Sweeney still personally owns over 50% of the firm, and that gives Epic leeway to pursue bold actions, like its <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2020\/8\/17\/21372119\/fortnite-apple-google-sued-epic-games-lawsuit\">ongoing tangle with Apple<\/a> over App Store fees.<\/p>\n<p>How does he manage it? Surely there\u2019s pressure to sell out or go public. \u201cWe just try to adapt the company to be the right size and shape for the opportunities available to us over time,\u201d he told How-To Geek via email. \u201cAnd this is an unprecedented time of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-713664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/fortnite_season_5.jpg\" alt=\"Epic's Fortnite Seaon 5 Promotional Graphic\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>With the company\u2019s anniversary at hand, we also asked Sweeney about his favorite Epic Games project. He picked the first Unreal Engine, a massive effort for him personally that opened up Epic to blockbuster success.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWriting the first Unreal Engine was a 3.5-year, breadth-first tour of hundreds of unique topics in software and was incredibly enlightening,\u201d Sweeney wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that engine complexity now requires so much specialization that few programmers understand all facets of a modern engine, as was possible in 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And of course, Epic\u2019s success story continues in 2021 with <em>Fortnite<\/em>, a battle royale FPS game that shares some amusing similarities to <em>ZZT<\/em>. Both games debuted as free-to-play games with players buying features later, and both utilize game engines that allow people to create similar games for free (in the case of <em>Fortnite<\/em>, that\u2019s Unreal Engine).<\/p>\n<p><em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> influence lives on, and in some ways, the <em>ZZT<\/em> ethos still represents Epic\u2019s core values today\u2014empowering creators with open and easy-to-use tools. Not taking success for granted, Sweeney still runs Epic with the heart of an underdog, even though its industry clout is now mammoth.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Play_ZZT_Today\"><\/span>How to Play <em>ZZT<\/em> Today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to jump into <em>ZZT<\/em> these days, most <em>ZZT<\/em> fans recommend <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/museumofzzt.com\/zeta\">using Zeta<\/a>, a compact and reliable MS-DOS emulator that can run <em>ZZT<\/em> worlds on a modern Windows PC. Or if you\u2019re looking for a quick fix to see what <em>ZZT<\/em> is like, you can try it out using <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.chriskallen.com\/zzt\/ZZTUltra.php\">this neat HTML5-based emulation<\/a> created by Christopher Allen that runs in most modern web browsers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-713662\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zzt_main_screen.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"642\" height=\"402\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>According to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/zzt.org\/\">zzt.org<\/a>, fans created more than 50 new <em>ZZT<\/em> games between 2017 and 2020, so there\u2019s still a small but dedicated<em> ZZT<\/em> community out there. You can find tons of <em>ZZT<\/em> games to play at <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/museumofzzt.com\/\">Museum of ZZT<\/a>, too.\u00a0The Museum covers <em>ZZT\u2019s<\/em> history with a passion fitting for such an influential yet underrated game.<\/p>\n<p>Happy birthday <em>ZZT<\/em>\u2014and happy birthday, Epic Games!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/713532\/before-fortnite-there-was-zzt-meet-epics-first-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Before Fortnite, There Was ZZT: Meet Epic\u2019s First Game&#8221; Thirty years ago\u2014on January 15, 1991\u2014an American college student named Tim Sweeney released ZZT, a low-key adventure game with a revolutionary element: It shipped with a free, built-in game editor. ZZT\u2019s success spawned Epic Games, Unreal Engine, and most recently, Fortnite. Here\u2019s why ZZT was special&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":182859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/zzt_hero_4.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-182858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}