The game and its 2D game engine (the Nth Dimension Engine), were written entirely in C++ by the academy interns: many of whom hadn’t written a line of C++ before they applied to the academy. Level data was ported over from the original 90’s developer archives of the game code and painstakingly reconstructed for the remake. Yet it quickly became apparent that the game’s difficulty curve hadn’t aged well, and the interns set about making a range of sympathetic modifications to the game mechanics and level design to address this. The additional screen space made available by modern monitor resolutions also provides the player with a much-needed wider view of their surroundings than in the original game – and so Zool “Redimensioned” was born.

Nearly all the artwork, sound effects and music for Zool Redimensioned come directly from the original versions of the game, but the team were joined by a graduate intern from Sheffield Hallam University for a few months to create some additional artwork for the front and back ends. The entire product has been lovingly restored by this passionate young team and purchasing it will help to support future generations of new talent in the academy.