Overview
In the Age of the Great Guilds, the reclusive Guild of Weavers has isolated themselves on an island, guarding a magical Loom capable of weaving the very fabric of reality. When the Elders of the guild are suddenly transformed into swans and fly away, a young outcast named Bobbin Threadbare is left completely alone.
Armed only with the mysterious Elder's Distaff, Bobbin must travel across the world, meeting other guilds (like the Glassmakers, Shepherds, and Blacksmiths) to stop the power-hungry Cleric Mandible from tearing the universe apart with an army of the dead.
Visual Archive
Behind The Scenes
A Radical Departure from Adventure Norms
Designed by Brian Moriarty (who previously worked at Infocom), Loom threw out the entire established rulebook for adventure games. There was no text parser, no standard "verbs" (like Pick Up, Talk, or Push), and no inventory system. In fact, Bobbin never carries a single item.
The Magic of Music
Instead of using items to solve puzzles, the entire game revolves around music. Players learn four-note musical sequences called "Drafts" by observing the world (e.g., listening to a dying flower to learn the "Heal" draft). By playing these notes on Bobbin's distaff, players interact with the environment. Brilliantly, playing a draft entirely backwards reverses its effect—so the "Open" draft played in reverse becomes "Close."
- The Cassette Tape: Because floppy disks didn't have enough space for high-quality audio, the game included a phenomenal 30-minute audio cassette tape that set up the entire backstory before the player even booted the game.
- A Tchaikovsky Soundtrack: The entire game's gorgeous MIDI soundtrack is adapted from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet, perfectly matching the game's melancholy, magical tone.