About Loom

Fantasy adventure by LucasArts. This is one of their earlier adventure titles, and it's fairly short, but it's a fun story. You play Bobbin Threadbare, apprentice Weaver, a young man caught in the inevitable pull of destiny. The graphics use only 16-colors but are very well drawn (they're the kind that sold systems back then). The interface is simple, and the puzzles utilize the interesting concept of magic through a musical sequence. Certain actions cause magical notes to resonate through Bobbin's staff, and if he can memorize the sequence he can use it to invoke the action in another object. Some of the more ingenious puzzles also involve reversing a sequence to cause the opposite reaction. I think there should have been more throwaway animations for using the wrong sequence instead of just one generic 'wrong sequence' animation, but even without that the game is worthwhile, if short. The setting reminds me of Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy for some reason. Of special note is the fine musical score, adapted from Tschaikovsky's ballet 'Swan Lake.'