Loom Radio Drama
Wow. I am awesome. How awesome? Lemme tell you. I was recently inspired by a crazy nostalgia kick to hunt down the first video game I ever played to completion. That game was LucasArts’ Loom. (The second and third games I played to the end – over and over again – were Mad Dog McCree and Street Fighter II.) Anyway, after a long bout of searching, I found the version of the game that I used to play, which runs perfectly on the ScummVM emulator.
To quickly convey the story of Loom is difficult. It’s a point and click adventure game, with you controlling a character called Bobbin Threadbare. He’s a member of the great guild of Weavers. They used to do cloth and stuff, but they became so good at it that they weave directly in the fabric of reality by wielding light and music. This basically means that you’re gonna point at a lot of stuff with a stick and then play 4 notes and hope something happens. It’s magic, see. It’s cooler than I make it sound. Anyway, if you follow along and keep reading, you’ll get more than just the gist of the game.
During my searching, I came across a few sites that mentioned a radio drama that was included with boxed editions of the game back in the day. Being a colossal nerd, I had already collected duplicates of the documents that came with the game. The manual, the hint book, and the Book of Patterns (a place to collect sequenced musical notes called patterns), to be specific. I looked around, and sure enough, I found the audio tracks. I first nabbed the English version and the official transcript. Then, on this site, I scored – I found the original audio drama in Japanese! (Ogg Vorbis format audio files, English language PDF only.) There was no transcript, though, so that’s my goal – to create an accurate transcript of the audio drama. If you’d like to come along for the ride, I’m more than happy to have you. Read on for the introduction to the drama in English and Japanese.
The full drama is approximately 30 minutes long. This introductory piece is about 6 minutes long. I’ve got the audio for the equivalent piece in English here too, for those who want to share in the fun without sweating the Japanese. If you’d like to visit the source sites for the following, please visit this site and find the PDF download, or this site for plain text (this is just the Prologue in this post; background music may bug the crap out of you). The English text is also provided below. Future installments will be in significantly smaller chunks, I think. Maybe 2 or 3 minutes each. Once I’ve complete transcribing the drama, I’ll put it up for download. For now, get in the mood! It’s time to venture to that mysterious little island, shrouded in mists, which ancient maps call LOOM.
Japanese Audio Intro—>
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English Audio Intro—–>
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序文クロトス（ナレーターとして）：黄昏の空を龍達が支配し、無数の星が光輝いていた、あの第二の闇の時代が過ぎ、遥か長い年月が経った時、人類は再び世界を支配しようと考え始めました。
その目的達成の為に人々は勤勉さという素晴らしい武器で懸命に働きました。その営みが進歩するに連れ、この世界の不思議が一つまた一つと明らかになってゆき、人々は傲慢にも自分達の行く手を阻む物は何も無いと確信するようになりました。
こうした日々にあって、生産競争は激しく、熟練した働き手が重宝がられたのです。そして、人々は職種ごとにギルドと呼ばれる組合を作り、団結して自分達の利益や技術の秘密を守ろうとしました。このようにして出来たギルドは人数が増えるに連れ、力を増して行きました。ことに鍛冶屋のギルドや聖職者のギルド等は広大な領地を用し、それを守る為の兵達を持つほどでした。
大ギルド時代の始まりです。このような大ギルドは都市国家を形作り、代々受け継いで来た自分達の仕事に誇りと恐れを持って取り組みました。そして、幾世代かの後には世界の交易を手中に納めるまでになったのです。
中にはそんな野心を持たないギルドもありました。例えば、織物氏ギルドの人々はただひたすら仕事に専念したいと思っていたんです。彼らは国の政に関わることを望まず、税の取り立てや戦争等は他の人々に任せていました。
その為に、織物氏のギルドは羊飼いやグラス職人のギルドのように成長はしませんでした。仕事はその子供にだけ伝えるという厳しい掟があったのです。又、他のギルドの者との結婚は認められず、敢えてすれば追放されました。
他のギルドの者たちはそんな閉鎖的な織物氏のギルドを嫌っていました。しかし、織物氏の優れた技は親から子へ、子から孫へと受け継がれ、磨きに磨かれてゆきました。偉大な織物氏が精魂込めた織物のこの世の物とも思えぬ美しさには世界中の人々が目を見張るまでになったのです。そして、織物氏のギルドの紋章が付けられた織物には高価の値段が付くようになりました。お陰で、織物氏はこの時期にかなりの富を築き、密かに蓄え続けたのです。
他のギルドと同じように織物氏のギルドは仕事場の道具や用語に基づいた彼ら独自の哲学を作り上げてゆきました。彼らはルーム、即ち機織り機に心理を見、そして自分たちが織り成す布地の上に不思議な力を持ったパターン、つまり模様を織り込む方法を見出したです。
やがて、彼らの織物は美しさよりそれが持つ不思議な力で知られるようになりました。病気を直したり、厄払いの力を持った布など様々でした。
やがて、織物氏たちの技が単なる布という次元を超越するようになりました。糸と染料を用いて布を織る代わりに光と音を操るだけで、布が持つ不思議な力を発揮できるようになったのです。他のギルドの者達はこれを恐怖の眼差しをもって眺め、彼らを魔法使いを呼ばわりしました。そして織物氏のギルドの人々は迫害され、縛り首になる者もいたのです。
そうした迫害から布の秘密を守る為に織物氏たちはその蓄えを費やして、大陸の沖遥に浮かぶ岩ばかりの小島を買い取り、そこに移り住みました。彼らは機織り機から糸巻き棒まで、必要な物を全て島に移し、布織りの技を更に完成させる為に俗世間との関わりを断ち切ったのです。
その後、大陸では戦乱と疫病が起こり、様々なギルドが滅びたり立ち上がったりして、ギルドの勢力図が目まぐるしく入れ替わり、織物氏のギルドの存在など忘れられてゆきました。元々霧に包まれたこの神秘の島には荒くれた船乗りたちでさえ近づきたがらなかったので、余程の事がなければ、訪れるものとてなかったのです。古代の地図によれば、その島の名はLOOMと記されています。
INTRODUCTIONClothos (as Narrator): It was long after the passing of the Second Shadow, when dragons ruled the twilight sky, and the stars were bright and numerous, that humankind began to thirst again for dominion over nature.
Their weapon was industry, and they wielded it with confidence. One by one, the mysteries of light and darkness fell before the engines of progress. Whole nations came to believe that nothing lay beyond the power of their own arrogance.
Competition was fierce in those productive days. Skilled labor became a valuable commodity. And so the tradespeople of the land banded themselves together to promote their common interests, and to protect their secrets. These professional societies swelled in power as their membership grew. A few, such as the Blacksmiths and the Clerics, acquired vast territories, with private armies to defend them.
Thus began the Age of the Great Guilds: vast city-states devoted to the absolute control of knowledge, held together by stern traditions of pride…and of fear. Within the span of a few lifetimes, the commerce of the world was in their hands.
But not all of the Guilds were equally ambitious. The spinners of thread and weavers of fabric wished only to pursue their labor without interference. They did not involve themselves in the politics of the day, and left the administration of taxes and wars to others.
So the Guild of Weavers never attained the prominence of the Shepherds or Glassmakers. Their number was small, for their strict rules forbade membership to any but the child of a member. Marriage outside the Guild was discouraged, and eventually outlawed.
Outsiders regarded the Weaver’s ingrown society with distaste. Yet their customs were not without benefit. The natural talents of their membership were nurtured and purified, generation after generation, until the greatest among them wove fabrics of such extraordinary beauty that the whole world wondered at their achievements. Goods bearing the Seal of the Guild commanded a premium price, and the Weavers amassed considerable wealth in this period, which they quietly hoarded.
Like the other Guilds, the Weavers had evolved a philosophy of living based on the tools and terminology of their handiwork. They beheld in their great frames of wood and metal a symbol of universal truth, and found ways to work subtle patterns of influence into the fabrics they wove.
The cloth of the Guild soon became known for virtues other than mere beauty. Certain weaves seemed to possess remarkable powers of healing. Others held a charm against ill fortune.
In the fullness of time, the art of the Weavers transcended the limits of physical cloth. They abandoned the flax and dyes of their ancestors to wield the very stuff of light and music, and spun new patterns directly into the fabric of reality. The ignorant looked upon these works with fear, and called them witchcraft. Many of the Guild were persecuted. A few were hanged.
To protect their heritage, the Weavers expended a small fraction of their wealth to purchase a rocky island off the mainland coast. They packed up their spindles and skeins and shuttles, and retreated from the company of men to refine their arts in solitude.
Many wars and plagues followed. Mighty Guilds fell into ruin. Others rose to surpass them. The exhausted world all but forgot the humble Guild of Weavers, and few found reason to visit their home, an island of mystery shrouded in perpetual mist, shunned by sailors, which ancient maps call…LOOM.”
I hope you enjoyed it! I’ll be posting the next portion whenever I’ve transcribed it. 
Stay tuned.
