We’re back! After taking a few weeks off to get caught up on production, Everly Heights Tales returns for a brand new episode! Zoo of Zero Tolerance is based on three facts from my pre-teen years:
- I was into a game creation system from Epic MegaGames called ZZT. You can read about my “ZZT company” Ultraware here.
- I entered a contest to go to Space Camp at Riesbeck Food Market. By “entered”, I mean I took several pads of entry forms home and filled them out. I was a finalist, tasked with writing an essay about why I wanted to go to Space Camp, which I thought came out pretty good.
- While I was out roaming the neighborhood, my mom hung up on a grown up who called me on the house phone.
I always had a sneaking suspicion that the call in Point #3 was Riesbeck’s calling me to let me know I won, then moving on after my Mom hung up. This week in the aftershow, I put on my “investigative journalist” hat and try to find out for sure.
EVERLY HEIGHTS TALES: Zoo of Zero Tolerance
It’s the late 90s, and the World Wide Web is turning Everly Heights into a digital minefield. Tina Infantino is heading for Space Camp, while her best friend Ken Sako is stuck in the Rust Belt channeling his grudge into the hit Game Creation System ZZT from Epic MegaGames. From the cash register at Convenience Market to the pixelated infamy of Princess Puke and the sickening spin of a Space Camp, this digital tragedy explores the roles we play to fit in, the buffers that can overflow if you don’t clear the cache, and the tragic ease with which we can delete our truest friends just to survive.
After the story, stick around as creator Bill Meeks reveals the real-world “Space Camp kerfuffle” at Riesbeck’s Food Market in the real Everly Heights (Wheeling, WV) where a missed phone call from a “strange man” may have cost him a trip to the star simulators of Space Camp. He also discusses the legacy of ZZT, the ASCII-based ancestor of Fortnite, and how its “digital clubhouse” offered a home to the weird, the queer, and the homeschooled creators of the 1990s.
NEXT TIME: Ken and Tina try to make amends in INFINITE TINA PART 1: WORLDS APART.
LINKS
Web
Apple Podcasts
YouTube
Spotify
I recommend checking out the YouTube version for the aftershow if you want to see some of my old games as I talk about the impact ZZT had on my development. Also, I search for an answer on that Space Camp contest. Investigate journalism… in an audio drama!
This episode is led by the fantastic Mandy McCullough, who plays Tina Infantino, Ken Sako, the Space Camp Instructor, and Mrs. Infantino. I gave her a little help with effects on Ken’s voice, but otherwise Mandy’s fantastic vocals are all over the place! If she sounds familiar, it is probably because she played 2/3 Sparkles in two Season 1 episodes. She’ll be back for the next three episodes as Tina, among other characters. I’m pleased as punch to be working with her again. Honestly, this batch of episodes is 90% Mandy, and she killed it.
Play My 90s ZZT Games on Modern Computers with the Ultraware ZZT Game Pack
$1.99
Step back into the mid-90s golden age of the Ultraware ZZT era. This curated collection brings together four classic adventures crafted by teenage me. Originally distributed as individual shareware titles, this Windows-native “Game Pack” provides a seamless, full-screen experience for modern systems without the need for manual DOS configuration.
The Games:
- Mario Bros. 1.0/2.0 Two versions of my first big ZZT game, featuring classic ZZT logic puzzles, graphics by Optimatic, and a big Koopa fight at the end.
- Tim-City A sprawling urban adventure that showcases the narrative ambition of of my ZZT games. The about screen says it is 1 of 7, but no more were ever made. Explore the streets, talk to the colorful (and often dangerous) citizens, and uncover the mystery of the city in a world where every purple key counts.
- ULTRAWARE:Origin of Buzz Ultra The definitive “brand” adventure. Learn the true story of how astronaut “Buzz Ultra” picked up a 14-year-old kid in West Virginia and took him on an adventure and died.
- Plus a couple more!
Infinite Tina Begins
If you enjoyed Tina Infantino, the girl who goes to Space Camp in this episode, buckle in! Next week, we’re rolling out a three-part full cast audio drama adaptation of our first Everly Heights novela Infinite Tina: Worlds Apart, which picks up mere days after Zoo of Zero Tolerance ends and sends Tina and Ken into a sci-fi adventure through the multiverse!
Infinite Tina also sees the return of Nosloo the Great, Jim Colvin, and the rest of the W.E.I.R.D.E. crew from our first two Season 2 episodes to help Tina and Ken make amends… Maybe?
If you hate spoilers, run. Infinite Tina is a concept I’ve had in my head since 2016. The concept: Quantum Leap, but in the multiverse, where the hero “leaps” into alternate universe versions of themselves, and can tap into skills and abilities from other versions to aid in their fight. Yes, a bit “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” but I came up with this long before that project showed up. In fact, after our 3-part Infinite Tina saga, I’ll be publishing a bonus episode with a full cast table read of the Infinite Tina TV pilot I wrote ten years ago that we also recorded ten years ago. It’ll be fun!
Okay. That does it for this week. Get ready for three weeks of multiverse fun coming up!
I Never Did Go To Space Camp,
Bill Meeks
everlyheights.tv
billmeeks.com