LOOM
Encyclopedia
Loom is a graphical adventure game
originally released in 1990. It was both developed and published
by Lucasfilm Games (now called LucasArts
) and was the fourth game to use the SCUMM
adventure game engine. The project was led by Brian Moriarty
, a former Infocom
employee and author of the classic text adventures Wishbringer
(1985), Trinity
(1986) and Beyond Zork
(1987).
In 2009 the game was released for digital download on Steam content delivery system.
in many senses, Loom is based on a serious and complex fantasy
story. With its experimental interface, it eschewed the traditional paradigm of graphical adventures, where puzzles usually involve interactions between the game character, the environment, and multiple items the character can take into their possession.
Loom gameplay centers instead around magical four-note tunes (drafts) that the protagonist, Bobbin Threadbare, can play on his distaff
. Each draft is a spell that has an effect of a certain type, such as "Opening" or "Night Vision". Drafts can be learned by observing an object that possess the qualities of the relevant draft; for example, examining a blade while it is being sharpened gives the player the "Sharpening" draft.
Some drafts can be reversed by playing their notes backwards, so the "Dye" draft played backwards becomes "Bleach", while others, such as the "Terror" draft, are palindrome
s and can not be reversed in this manner. The player's abilities increase over the course of the game, with more and more powerful drafts. At first, only the notes C, D and E are playable, but by the end of the game F, G, A, B, and C (high C) are also available.
Loom was also the first game to follow the LucasArts Game Design Philosophy, which states that the player will never be killed or forced to restart the game and won't have to "spend hours typing in synonyms until [they] stumble on the computer's word for a certain object" (see guess-the-verb
).
The game can be played at three difficulty levels, each with slightly different hints. For example, the "Expert" level does not mark the distaff and is played solely by ear
. In the original version, the expert player is rewarded with a graphic sequence that does not appear in the two other levels. The DOS CD-ROM
version, however, shows a much shorter version of this sequence to all players.
do in traditional adventure games, but with the caveat that Bobbin can use them as often as he pleases, so long as he is in possession of his distaff (for spinning the threads that make up the draft) and the object or creature being affected by the draft is susceptible to it.
Drafts take the form of musical note sequences on the C major
scale. The note sequences of most drafts change each time the game is played, and thus have to be learned as part of the game. Bobbin is initially capable of spinning drafts with the notes C, D and E. Often, drafts can be heard by Bobbin, but he cannot repeat them as he lacks the necessary notes. As the game progresses, further notes are added in order, finally reaching C D E F G A B C'.
Bobbin learns the note sequences for drafts in several different ways, for example by reading books or listening to others spin. The sequence of notes used in the draft can be played in reverse, which often provides the opposite effect of the original draft.
The great Loom on Loom Island is capable of echoing the last draft spun in its presence, with the sole exception of any drafts Bobbin spins himself, which was a necessary game device in order to ensure the player does not become stuck by forgetting a recently heard draft. There are quite a few drafts Bobbin can learn.
The events of the game are preceded by a 30 minute audio drama, included with the original versions of the game on audiocassette tape. It is established that the Age of the Great Guilds arose when humans once again tried to establish dominion over nature. The world of "Loom" is not defined in relation to ours, but many hold that it happens on Earth in a greatly distant future, since the game takes place in the date 8021.
People banded together to form city-states of a common trade "devoted to the absolute control of knowledge, held together by stern traditions of pride, and of fear". The humble guild of Weavers established themselves as masters of woven fabric, though they eventually transcended the limits of cloth and began to weave "subtle patterns of influence into the very fabric of reality". They were persecuted for these acts of "witchcraft", and purchased an island far off the mainland coast, which they called Loom, after the great loom
that was the symbol of their Guild.
Lady Cygna Threadbare is introduced as a bereaved mother who begs the Elders of the Guild of Weavers to use the power of the Loom to end the suffering of the Weavers. Their numbers are failing and their seed is barren. The Elders, Atropos, Clothos, and Lachesis, who are named after Greek mythology
's three Fates
, reprimand Cygna, telling her that it is not their place to play gods.
Cygna, despite their warnings, secretly assumes control of the Loom and plants one gray thread. She inadvertently draws an (unforeseen) infant out of the Loom, incurring the wrath of the Elders. She surrenders the child to Dame Hetchel, the old serving woman, and accepts her fate. The Elders cast the "Transcendence
" draft on her, transforming her into a swan
and banishing her from the pattern (the name Cygna is the feminine form of swan in Latin
). Hetchel names the child Bobbin, and cares for him as her own.
Bobbin grows up ostracized from the rest of the Guild. The Elders note that the presence of his gray thread has thrown the pattern into chaos, and the Loom foresees the very unraveling of the pattern. For these reasons, the Elders ban him from learning the ways of the Guild until a decision can be made on Bobbin's seventeenth birthday ("until his coming of age seventeen years hence", as it is described in the game's Audio Drama). Hetchel, however, defies the Elders and secretly teaches him a few basics of weaving. This is where the game begins.
Hetchel, who is now a cygnet
, tells Bobbin that the swan who visits him every year on his birthday came to save the Weavers from the Third Shadow that is about to cover the world. Bobbin then moves on to find the flock. On his way, he meets other guilds and has several adventures. Eventually, he encounters a Cleric who is after the Scrying Sphere of the Glassmakers, the swords of the Blacksmiths, and the products of the Shepherds. The Cleric claims the Weaver's distaff
to rule the world with an army of the undead
, thus fulfilling the prophecies
. By playing the draft of "Opening" on a nearby graveyard, he tears the fabric of the universe apart and allows an entity called "Chaos" to enter. Chaos kills the cleric and summons an army of undead to destroy the earth. Bobbin reclaims the distaff from the dead cleric and heals many of the tears in the pattern, along the way helping many of his previous acquaintances, who were hurt or killed by Chaos's army. Finally, he battles Chaos, who is striving to take control of the great Loom on his native island. The battle ends as Chaos kills his stepmother using draft "Unmaking." It is hinted, however, that it is still possible to save Hetchel, as "one feather still remained intact."
Bobbin then destroys the great Loom using the same draft. He is joined by his mother and the other Weavers and is told that one half of the world will be ruled by Chaos while the Weavers will stay in the other half, and that with time, they may gain enough power to challenge Chaos again. Bobbin casts "Transcendence" upon himself, and with the aid of his mother and the other villagers in their swan forms, he flies away, carrying the ripple across the world. His friends watch the flock of the swans fly away; it remains unclear whether Bobbin has left them in Chaos's realm or has saved them.
' s original development team were now all working on other projects, and as Lucasfilm Games was a small company at that time, no one else could be found to do it; and so, they were cancelled. In a letter to the abandoned fan-made Loom sequel Chaos, Brian Moriarty detailed the following regarding his intended sequels:
It should be noted that Brian Moriarty gave a somewhat different account of potential sequels in the 2006 ACG interview
on floppy disk
with EGA
graphics and was later ported to the Amiga
, Atari ST
, Macintosh and TurboGrafx-16
systems. While the TurboGrafx-16 port held slight graphic improvements these versions remained much the same.
Loom was re-released on CD-ROM
for the FM Towns
computer in 1991 with enhanced VGA
graphics and a new digital soundtrack. This included vastly improved 256-color graphics. Dialogue and scenes remained unchanged from the previous version. In addition it featured a digital audio soundtrack with alternate versions of tracks played (and looped) after the regular versions had finished.
The third and final version of Loom was released on CD-ROM for DOS in 1992. The graphics were largely a continuation of those used in FM Towns version but with some minor improvements in some areas of the game. It also featured an entire re-recorded musical soundtrack and full voice over; this was the first "Talkie" SCUMM
game made. However this version had largely revised and rewritten dialogue. According to the designers, the dialogue was edited for lack of space—a single CD-ROM can only hold about 80 minutes of uncompressed audio data. Some features were cut from the previous FM Towns version, such as multiple solutions to puzzles, many of the close-ups during dialogue and some sections of cut-scenes. Brian Moriaty has stated that he believes the FM Towns version to be the definitive version of Loom but fans of the game remain divided.
A rather persistent and common misconception about Loom is that author Orson Scott Card
helped make the original version, based on the fact that his name appears in the credits. Card says on his website that this is untrue, and that Moriarty put his name into the credits based on a brief conversation they had prior to the release. Card did, however, help Sara Reeder shorten and revise the game's dialogue for the 1992 CD-ROM re-release.
Due to a licensing agreement with (now defunct) Mindscape
, the DOS CD-ROM version is no longer available; until 2006, the DOS floppy disk version could be bought from LucasArts and then patched with a download from Home of the Underdogs
, an abandonware
website. Unfortunately there are currently known issues with the Underdogs' patch and audio synchronization. All of these versions of Loom can now be played on a variety of different platforms using the ScummVM
virtual machine
, although the FM Towns version currently suffers from a few audio-related problems and has several graphical glitches.
The voiced CD-ROM version of Loom was re-released for digital download on Steam in 2009 and Mac in 2010. Steam community members have since provided a simple method to play the FM Towns version with a Steam copy of Loom.
ballet by Tchaikovsky
, as arranged for MIDI by The Fat Man. These are played from the disc on CD versions; other versions having sequenced music. While supporting the PC speaker and AdLib
, the original EGA game originally lacked built-in Roland MT-32
support. A form included in the package could be mailed to Lucasfilm Games as an order for an extra game disk providing MT-32 support which was later also released as a downloadable patch. This disk also came with an additional overture which was played prior to the opening cutscene.
with a 30 minute audio drama that explained the nature and history of the Loom world, and the circumstances of Bobbin's birth. The game is a direct continuation of the story. The drama was enriched by original music composed by Jerry Gerber. Most of the actors of the audio drama reprised their roles for the "Talkie" version of the game. It was the first commercial cassette to employ Dolby-S noise reduction
. Side A of the tape was encoded for standard Dolby-B playback; side B had the identical program encoded for Dolby-S.
The package also offered an illustrated notebook, The Book of Patterns, supposedly belonging to apprentice weavers in the game world. Its purpose was to optionally note there the drafts that could be learned, as well as describing some that were not seen in the game, with interesting tales related for each draft. Each description also included a staff and four spaces in which to record the four respective notes of the draft. Due to the random nature of the drafts, however, it is highly advised that any noted drafts be written in pencil, since their exact threads changed from game to game.
#159 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.
Game Rankings gives Loom a combined rating of 75% based on six professional reviews. The most repeated criticism of Loom is the short length of approximately two and a half hours of game-play.
As was typical for LucasArts
, several other games referenced the Loom characters and storyline. A character from Loom (Bishop Mandible's assistant, Cob, spelled Cobb in Monkey Island) is inside the "Scumm Bar" in The Secret of Monkey Island
, dressed as a pirate with a badge on his shirt that says "Ask me about Loom", and will happily divulge marketing information when so asked. An identical seagull appears in both games (as well as LeChuck's Revenge), and Guybrush can say "I'm Bobbin. Are you my mother?" on two occasions. This seagull also makes an appearance in Day of the Tentacle
. In the third Monkey Island game, The Curse of Monkey Island
, Guybrush can mention Loom' s supposed unpopularity after being captured by LeChuck.
In the VGA remake of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
, a painting in the vault of the Brunwald castle features a beach that appears as scenery in Loom.
A broken record found in the fan remake Maniac Mansion
Deluxe is labeled as the "Loom Soundtrack". When the player puts it on, the Weavers' theme music is played, although it "skips" constantly. The NES
version of Maniac Mansion also has this record in it, only it plays the Crystalgard theme.
Space Quest IV features a computer store where Roger Wilco can browse many real-life game parodies. One of them is "Boom", "The latest bomb from master storyteller Morrie Brianarty
, Boom is a post-holocaust adventure set in post-holocaust America after the holocaust. Neutron bombs have eradicated all life, leaving only YOU to wander through the wreckage. No other characters, no conflict, no puzzles, no chance of dying, and no interface make this the easiest-to-finish game yet! Just boot it up and watch it explode!"
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
originally released in 1990. It was both developed and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Lucasfilm Games (now called LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
) and was the fourth game to use the SCUMM
SCUMM
Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion is a scripting language developed at LucasArts to ease development of the graphical adventure game Maniac Mansion....
adventure game engine. The project was led by Brian Moriarty
Brian Moriarty
Brian Moriarty is an American video game developer who authored three of the original Infocom interactive fiction titles, Wishbringer , Trinity and Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor ....
, a former Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
employee and author of the classic text adventures Wishbringer
Wishbringer
Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and published by Infocom in 1985. It was intended to be an easier game to solve than the typical Infocom release, and provide a good introduction to interactive fiction for inexperienced players...
(1985), Trinity
Trinity (computer game)
Trinity is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and published in 1986 by Infocom. It is widely regarded as one of the company's best works....
(1986) and Beyond Zork
Beyond Zork
Beyond Zork was an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and released by Infocom in 1987...
(1987).
In 2009 the game was released for digital download on Steam content delivery system.
Gameplay
A departure from other LucasArts adventure gamesLucasArts adventure games
From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, LucasArts was well known for their point-and-click graphic adventure games, nearly all of which received high scoring reviews at the time of their release. Their style tended towards the humorous, often irreverent or slapstick humour, with a few exceptions...
in many senses, Loom is based on a serious and complex fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
story. With its experimental interface, it eschewed the traditional paradigm of graphical adventures, where puzzles usually involve interactions between the game character, the environment, and multiple items the character can take into their possession.
Loom gameplay centers instead around magical four-note tunes (drafts) that the protagonist, Bobbin Threadbare, can play on his distaff
Distaff
As a noun, a distaff is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly used to hold flax, and sometimes wool, but can be used for any type of fiber. Fiber is wrapped around the distaff, and tied in...
. Each draft is a spell that has an effect of a certain type, such as "Opening" or "Night Vision". Drafts can be learned by observing an object that possess the qualities of the relevant draft; for example, examining a blade while it is being sharpened gives the player the "Sharpening" draft.
Some drafts can be reversed by playing their notes backwards, so the "Dye" draft played backwards becomes "Bleach", while others, such as the "Terror" draft, are palindrome
Palindrome
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....
s and can not be reversed in this manner. The player's abilities increase over the course of the game, with more and more powerful drafts. At first, only the notes C, D and E are playable, but by the end of the game F, G, A, B, and C (high C) are also available.
Loom was also the first game to follow the LucasArts Game Design Philosophy, which states that the player will never be killed or forced to restart the game and won't have to "spend hours typing in synonyms until [they] stumble on the computer's word for a certain object" (see guess-the-verb
Guess-the-verb
Syntax guessing, also known as guess-the-verb, guess-the-noun and the syntax quest, is a problem sometimes encountered in text-based video games, such as interactive fiction games and MUDs...
).
The game can be played at three difficulty levels, each with slightly different hints. For example, the "Expert" level does not mark the distaff and is played solely by ear
Absolute pitch
Absolute pitch , widely referred to as perfect pitch, is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference.-Definition:...
. In the original version, the expert player is rewarded with a graphic sequence that does not appear in the two other levels. The DOS CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
version, however, shows a much shorter version of this sequence to all players.
Drafts
Drafts functioned in much the same way magic spellsMagic (gaming)
Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...
do in traditional adventure games, but with the caveat that Bobbin can use them as often as he pleases, so long as he is in possession of his distaff (for spinning the threads that make up the draft) and the object or creature being affected by the draft is susceptible to it.
Drafts take the form of musical note sequences on the C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
scale. The note sequences of most drafts change each time the game is played, and thus have to be learned as part of the game. Bobbin is initially capable of spinning drafts with the notes C, D and E. Often, drafts can be heard by Bobbin, but he cannot repeat them as he lacks the necessary notes. As the game progresses, further notes are added in order, finally reaching C D E F G A B C'.
Bobbin learns the note sequences for drafts in several different ways, for example by reading books or listening to others spin. The sequence of notes used in the draft can be played in reverse, which often provides the opposite effect of the original draft.
The great Loom on Loom Island is capable of echoing the last draft spun in its presence, with the sole exception of any drafts Bobbin spins himself, which was a necessary game device in order to ensure the player does not become stuck by forgetting a recently heard draft. There are quite a few drafts Bobbin can learn.
Prologue
People banded together to form city-states of a common trade "devoted to the absolute control of knowledge, held together by stern traditions of pride, and of fear". The humble guild of Weavers established themselves as masters of woven fabric, though they eventually transcended the limits of cloth and began to weave "subtle patterns of influence into the very fabric of reality". They were persecuted for these acts of "witchcraft", and purchased an island far off the mainland coast, which they called Loom, after the great loom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
that was the symbol of their Guild.
Lady Cygna Threadbare is introduced as a bereaved mother who begs the Elders of the Guild of Weavers to use the power of the Loom to end the suffering of the Weavers. Their numbers are failing and their seed is barren. The Elders, Atropos, Clothos, and Lachesis, who are named after Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
's three Fates
Moirae
The Moirae, Moerae or Moirai , in Greek mythology, were the white-robed incarnations of destiny . Their number became fixed at three...
, reprimand Cygna, telling her that it is not their place to play gods.
Cygna, despite their warnings, secretly assumes control of the Loom and plants one gray thread. She inadvertently draws an (unforeseen) infant out of the Loom, incurring the wrath of the Elders. She surrenders the child to Dame Hetchel, the old serving woman, and accepts her fate. The Elders cast the "Transcendence
Transcendence (philosophy)
In philosophy, the adjective transcendental and the noun transcendence convey the basic ground concept from the word's literal meaning , of climbing or going beyond, albeit with varying connotations in its different historical and cultural stages...
" draft on her, transforming her into a swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
and banishing her from the pattern (the name Cygna is the feminine form of swan in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
). Hetchel names the child Bobbin, and cares for him as her own.
Bobbin grows up ostracized from the rest of the Guild. The Elders note that the presence of his gray thread has thrown the pattern into chaos, and the Loom foresees the very unraveling of the pattern. For these reasons, the Elders ban him from learning the ways of the Guild until a decision can be made on Bobbin's seventeenth birthday ("until his coming of age seventeen years hence", as it is described in the game's Audio Drama). Hetchel, however, defies the Elders and secretly teaches him a few basics of weaving. This is where the game begins.
Plot
On his birthday, Bobbin is summoned by the Elders in order to determine his fate. But after they punish Hetchel with the "Transcendence" draft for educating Bobbin, a swan comes. She casts the "Transcendence" draft on all the villagers, transforming all the Weavers except Bobbin into swans who leave through a rift in the sky.Hetchel, who is now a cygnet
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
, tells Bobbin that the swan who visits him every year on his birthday came to save the Weavers from the Third Shadow that is about to cover the world. Bobbin then moves on to find the flock. On his way, he meets other guilds and has several adventures. Eventually, he encounters a Cleric who is after the Scrying Sphere of the Glassmakers, the swords of the Blacksmiths, and the products of the Shepherds. The Cleric claims the Weaver's distaff
Distaff
As a noun, a distaff is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly used to hold flax, and sometimes wool, but can be used for any type of fiber. Fiber is wrapped around the distaff, and tied in...
to rule the world with an army of the undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
, thus fulfilling the prophecies
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
. By playing the draft of "Opening" on a nearby graveyard, he tears the fabric of the universe apart and allows an entity called "Chaos" to enter. Chaos kills the cleric and summons an army of undead to destroy the earth. Bobbin reclaims the distaff from the dead cleric and heals many of the tears in the pattern, along the way helping many of his previous acquaintances, who were hurt or killed by Chaos's army. Finally, he battles Chaos, who is striving to take control of the great Loom on his native island. The battle ends as Chaos kills his stepmother using draft "Unmaking." It is hinted, however, that it is still possible to save Hetchel, as "one feather still remained intact."
Bobbin then destroys the great Loom using the same draft. He is joined by his mother and the other Weavers and is told that one half of the world will be ruled by Chaos while the Weavers will stay in the other half, and that with time, they may gain enough power to challenge Chaos again. Bobbin casts "Transcendence" upon himself, and with the aid of his mother and the other villagers in their swan forms, he flies away, carrying the ripple across the world. His friends watch the flock of the swans fly away; it remains unclear whether Bobbin has left them in Chaos's realm or has saved them.
Sequels
Originally, Loom was to be the first game of a trilogy. Aside from the "cliffhanger" ending, the game contained several other hints pointing toward a sequel—for example, one of the "scrying spheres" the player can find shows a scene of a volcanic eruption, which does not occur in the game, but can be caused by Temblor, one of the several unused spells listed in The Book of Patterns. The two sequels planned were titled Forge and The Fold, starring Bobbin's friends Rusty Nailbender and Fleece Firmflanks. These sequels would wrap up open plot-threads and bring closure to the open ending of the original game, with Chaos eventually being defeated. However, LoomIt should be noted that Brian Moriarty gave a somewhat different account of potential sequels in the 2006 ACG interview
Technical overview
Loom was originally published for DOSDOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
on floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
with EGA
Enhanced Graphics Adapter
The Enhanced Graphics Adapter is the IBM PC computer display standard specification which is between CGA and VGA in terms of color and space resolution. Introduced in October 1984 by IBM shortly after its new PC/AT, EGA produces a display of 16 simultaneous colors from a palette of 64 at a...
graphics and was later ported to the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, Macintosh and TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
systems. While the TurboGrafx-16 port held slight graphic improvements these versions remained much the same.
Loom was re-released on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
for the FM Towns
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...
computer in 1991 with enhanced VGA
Video Graphics Array
Video Graphics Array refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution...
graphics and a new digital soundtrack. This included vastly improved 256-color graphics. Dialogue and scenes remained unchanged from the previous version. In addition it featured a digital audio soundtrack with alternate versions of tracks played (and looped) after the regular versions had finished.
The third and final version of Loom was released on CD-ROM for DOS in 1992. The graphics were largely a continuation of those used in FM Towns version but with some minor improvements in some areas of the game. It also featured an entire re-recorded musical soundtrack and full voice over; this was the first "Talkie" SCUMM
SCUMM
Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion is a scripting language developed at LucasArts to ease development of the graphical adventure game Maniac Mansion....
game made. However this version had largely revised and rewritten dialogue. According to the designers, the dialogue was edited for lack of space—a single CD-ROM can only hold about 80 minutes of uncompressed audio data. Some features were cut from the previous FM Towns version, such as multiple solutions to puzzles, many of the close-ups during dialogue and some sections of cut-scenes. Brian Moriaty has stated that he believes the FM Towns version to be the definitive version of Loom but fans of the game remain divided.
A rather persistent and common misconception about Loom is that author Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
helped make the original version, based on the fact that his name appears in the credits. Card says on his website that this is untrue, and that Moriarty put his name into the credits based on a brief conversation they had prior to the release. Card did, however, help Sara Reeder shorten and revise the game's dialogue for the 1992 CD-ROM re-release.
Due to a licensing agreement with (now defunct) Mindscape
Mindscape Group
Mindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with EA . As of 2004, the group has offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. It has an annual turnover of €38 million and employs 150 people. Mindscape...
, the DOS CD-ROM version is no longer available; until 2006, the DOS floppy disk version could be bought from LucasArts and then patched with a download from Home of the Underdogs
Home of the Underdogs
Home of the Underdogs was an abandonware archive founded by Thai Sarinee Achavanuntakul , aka: Underdogs or Fringer on her own blog, in September 1998, and grew to be one of the most significant abandonware websites on the Internet, despite losing its domains to cybersquatters and then briefly...
, an abandonware
Abandonware
Abandonware are discontinued products for which no product support is available, or whose copyright ownership may be unclear for various reasons...
website. Unfortunately there are currently known issues with the Underdogs' patch and audio synchronization. All of these versions of Loom can now be played on a variety of different platforms using the ScummVM
ScummVM
ScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
virtual machine
Virtual machine
A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software...
, although the FM Towns version currently suffers from a few audio-related problems and has several graphical glitches.
The voiced CD-ROM version of Loom was re-released for digital download on Steam in 2009 and Mac in 2010. Steam community members have since provided a simple method to play the FM Towns version with a Steam copy of Loom.
Music
The in-game music consists of excerpts from the Swan LakeSwan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
ballet by Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, as arranged for MIDI by The Fat Man. These are played from the disc on CD versions; other versions having sequenced music. While supporting the PC speaker and AdLib
AdLib
Ad Lib, Inc. was a manufacturer of sound cards and other computer equipment founded by Martin Prevel, a former professor of music and vice-dean of the music department at the Université Laval...
, the original EGA game originally lacked built-in Roland MT-32
Roland MT-32
The Roland MT-32 Multi-Timbre Sound Module is a MIDI synthesizer module first released in 1987 by Roland Corporation. Along with its compatible modules, it established an early de-facto standard in computer music and was the first product in Roland's ミュージくん line of Desktop Music System packages...
support. A form included in the package could be mailed to Lucasfilm Games as an order for an extra game disk providing MT-32 support which was later also released as a downloadable patch. This disk also came with an additional overture which was played prior to the opening cutscene.
Package contents
The original package offered an audio tapeCompact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
with a 30 minute audio drama that explained the nature and history of the Loom world, and the circumstances of Bobbin's birth. The game is a direct continuation of the story. The drama was enriched by original music composed by Jerry Gerber. Most of the actors of the audio drama reprised their roles for the "Talkie" version of the game. It was the first commercial cassette to employ Dolby-S noise reduction
Dolby noise reduction system
Dolby NR is the name given to a series of noise reduction systems developed by Dolby Laboratories for use in analog magnetic tape recording. The first was Dolby A, a professional broadband noise reduction for recording studios in 1966, but the best-known is Dolby B , a sliding band system for the...
. Side A of the tape was encoded for standard Dolby-B playback; side B had the identical program encoded for Dolby-S.
The package also offered an illustrated notebook, The Book of Patterns, supposedly belonging to apprentice weavers in the game world. Its purpose was to optionally note there the drafts that could be learned, as well as describing some that were not seen in the game, with interesting tales related for each draft. Each description also included a staff and four spaces in which to record the four respective notes of the draft. Due to the random nature of the drafts, however, it is highly advised that any noted drafts be written in pencil, since their exact threads changed from game to game.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1990 in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#159 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.
Game Rankings gives Loom a combined rating of 75% based on six professional reviews. The most repeated criticism of Loom is the short length of approximately two and a half hours of game-play.
Appearance in other media
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
, several other games referenced the Loom characters and storyline. A character from Loom (Bishop Mandible's assistant, Cob, spelled Cobb in Monkey Island) is inside the "Scumm Bar" in The Secret of Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island is a graphic adventure game developed by Lucasfilm Games and published by the same company after its name was changed to LucasArts. The game spawned a number of sequels, collectively known as the Monkey Island series...
, dressed as a pirate with a badge on his shirt that says "Ask me about Loom", and will happily divulge marketing information when so asked. An identical seagull appears in both games (as well as LeChuck's Revenge), and Guybrush can say "I'm Bobbin. Are you my mother?" on two occasions. This seagull also makes an appearance in Day of the Tentacle
Day of the Tentacle
Day of the Tentacle, also known as Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle, is a 1993 graphic adventure game developed and published by LucasArts. It is the sequel to the 1987 game Maniac Mansion...
. In the third Monkey Island game, The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island series. It was released in and followed the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge...
, Guybrush can mention Loom
In the VGA remake of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1989 , published by Lucasfilm Games . It was the third game to use the SCUMM engine.-Plot:The plot closely follows, and expands upon, the film of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
, a painting in the vault of the Brunwald castle features a beach that appears as scenery in Loom.
A broken record found in the fan remake Maniac Mansion
Maniac Mansion
Maniac Mansion is a 1987 graphic adventure game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It was Lucasfilm's first published video game, and it was initially released for the Commodore 64 and Apple II. A comedy horror parody of B movies, it follows teenager Dave Miller as he ventures...
Deluxe is labeled as the "Loom Soundtrack". When the player puts it on, the Weavers' theme music is played, although it "skips" constantly. The NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version of Maniac Mansion also has this record in it, only it plays the Crystalgard theme.
Space Quest IV features a computer store where Roger Wilco can browse many real-life game parodies. One of them is "Boom", "The latest bomb from master storyteller Morrie Brianarty
Brian Moriarty
Brian Moriarty is an American video game developer who authored three of the original Infocom interactive fiction titles, Wishbringer , Trinity and Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor ....
, Boom is a post-holocaust adventure set in post-holocaust America after the holocaust. Neutron bombs have eradicated all life, leaving only YOU to wander through the wreckage. No other characters, no conflict, no puzzles, no chance of dying, and no interface make this the easiest-to-finish game yet! Just boot it up and watch it explode!"
External links
- Loom - A Computer Game Masterpiece from LucasArts
- An interview with Brian Moriarty
- Brian Moriarty Interview, Adventure Classic Gaming, 2006
- Loom Game Guide
- FM-Towns screenshots, unused graphics and other miscellany from the game, via http://home.comcast.net/~ervind/