Loom

Loom is a video game in the adventure genre developed by Lucasfilm Games LLC and published by Lucasfilm Games LLC originally released in 1990. It is currently playable on DOS.

The Era of the Great Guilds arrived. Communities and states formed by people united by a common craft were created. The Weavers' Guild had achieved such mastery of their craft that they discovered the secret of weaving the very fabric of reality. They were treated with suspicion by other guilds, who ended up accusing them of practicing witchcraft and expelled them to a secluded island, which they called Loom.

Bobbin Threadbare is a young man of the Weavers' Guild. He is an outcast from the guild and is blamed for the lack of prosperity in recent times, though he does not know why. On his seventeenth birthday he is summoned by the Guild Elders, who intend to decide his fate. However, shortly thereafter all the villagers, except Bobbin, turn into swans. Bobbin discovers that he is the son of the Great Loom, found by Lady Cygna, who attempted to use the powers of the Loom to save the guild. Bobbin's stepmother, Dame Hetchel, teaches him the art of magical fretwork weaving, and Bobbin embarks on a journey to find the lost flock, and the answers to his questions.

Loom is an adventure game that is distinguished from other titles in the genre by its unique gameplay system: the player character does not carry objects, but instead manipulates objects through the use of spells (called 'drafts' in the game). Drafts are woven by playing magical notes on a special instrument called a 'spinning wheel'. All puzzles in the game are solved by learning and correctly applying these drafts.

Each puff is a sequence of four notes within an octave. The player learns new drafts by exploring the environment and interacting with it through a simple point-and-click interface. Once a draft is learned, it can be applied in a different situation to solve a problem. Drafts range from simple general actions (such as open) to more specific and complex commands, e. g. , turn straw into gold. Drafts can also be 'reversed', i. e. , played backwards, to execute the opposite action (e. g. , closing something instead of opening it). As the game progresses, Bobbin learns to play higher notes on the spinning wheel, giving him access to more drafts.

The game features three levels of difficulty, which are differentiated by a change in how the interface works. The easiest level shows the note names and marks the corresponding areas on the spinning wheel; the Standard level shows the spinning wheel with the marks at the bottom of the screen, but no notes written; while Expert does not show the marks at all, requiring the player to memorize and play the drafts by ear.

The DOS CD version of the game has improved 256-color graphics, audio tracks, and full voice acting. However, it also removes some foreground scenes and conversations. The FM Towns version retains these scenes and includes similar graphical and musical enhancements, but has no voice acting.

Loom is available at a reduced price on the following websites and is no longer abandonware.