A Cat-Pope Calendar

What is this?

Enjoy a selection of ASCII portraits of cats dressed up as popes alongside some historical information on the popes they're posing as. All created using the DOS-era game creation system ZZT, which still has a small but active community

This started out as some fan art based on the "last-minute-Christmas-shopping-simulator" BUYSO where you could buy a "calendar of cats dressed up as popes and other religious figures." One thing led to another, and I drew twelve such cat popes to fill a bona fide calendar. 

I provide more information on the choice of popes in the ZZT world itself.

It's very niche, isn't it?

...

How to play

After clicking 'Run',  ZZT will ask you to configure input. Select (K)eyboard and (C)olor, this is the standard configuration that works best. Press Enter to pass through the 'About ZZT' information scroll, and then P to start browsing the calendar.

Once in the game, press any arrow key to unpause it. Controls are listed in the sidebar: use the arrow keys to move. between pages of the calendar.

Viewing the Calendar offline

The zip file 'CATPOPE.zip' contains the ZZT file for the calendar, as well as a file with some alternate cat pope designs and sketches I did not use. I recommend a ZZT editor like KevEdit or Loom to view the files.

Alternatively you can use the standalone package which includes the appropriate executables to play the calendar world. Download, unzip and and run 'CATPOPE.BAT'.

What do I do next?

You should also check out the other games made in ZZT on Itch! 

If your curiosity was piqued by this selection, do visit the Museum of ZZT to learn about ZZT's past, present and future. And peruse these curated lists of recommended worlds:

• A list of beginner-friendly worlds.
• 20 recommended ZZT worlds that span the whole community's history.
• A list of modern (late 2010s-present) ZZT worlds worth playing.