RuZZT

About

ZZT is a 1991 action-adventure puzzle game and game-creation system by Potomac Computer Systems for MS-DOS, later released as freeware, in which players guide a smiley-face character through grid-based boards using an in-game scripting language, ZZT-OOP. RuZZT is a from-scratch Rust reimplementation of the ZZT engine, built by observing the original running in DOSBox and verifying specific behaviors with a disassembler; it aims to replicate original ZZT behavior as closely as possible using only safe Rust, and includes a separate work-in-progress web-based world editor compiled to WebAssembly.

How it differs from the original

It faithfully reproduces most original ZZT behavior but has known gaps: no in-game speed control, no world editor in the main client, no high-score system, and a bomb-and-conveyor interaction that doesn't work as it did in the original.

Getting started

Building it requires the Rust toolchain plus the SDL2 library for your platform, then running it with Cargo. Players need their own original ZZT world files, obtainable from the Museum of ZZT, placed in the folder the game is run from so they appear in the world-selection list.

History

It began as a side project by the author and their spouse to see how closely they could replicate ZZT's original behavior, eventually using a disassembler to verify specific mechanics rather than guessing at them.

Known issues & limitations

• features: Missing game speed control feature.
• features: Missing world editor.
• features: Missing high score system.
• gameplay: Bomb+Conveyor bug does not work as in the original game.

Additional notes

Scope

The project deliberately avoids replicating ZZT's out-of-bounds memory-access quirks, treating them as out of scope.