No, it's a new engine. None of the old 8 bit engines have these particular design quirks. The quirks are my own doing For worse or better.
BEGINNERS: Don't be scared. This kind of thing isn't required.
Is there a better place for me to suggest code additions/tweaks than in the jam community?
Maybe the reddit?
https://www.reddit.com/r/adventuron/
Thanks! Full disclosure, I'm also making a textbased game engine (called IFFY) - mine is in JS and JSON. Part of taking on this jam was seeing the process from a different perspective.