The nostalgia started with Judy Blume, but it hasn't ended there.
Remember DOS? Remember typing 'c', 'd', 'backslash' and then a folder name? I do.
Life was different back then. Games took forever to load and you needed to make sure you had a sound card (which you'd slot right into the sound card sized hole in the back of your computer). When prompted, you'd select 'Super VGA 16 Colour' to describe your monitor's capabilities (and that was pretty hot stuff in the world of graphics cards) then a quick verification of software ownership before *whoosh* off you were swept into a dazzling world of intricately composed MIDI music and highly nuanced 'open door', 'look wall', 'talk lady' commands. I cut my teeth on this stuff and I remember details of facial expressions and fashions that today's over-pixelled brain could no longer detect from the 8 bit graphics.
Well, i've gone there. I am once again the proud owner of Kings Quest 1, The Colonel's Bequest and, perhaps best of all, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards. So far, I've completed Leisure Suit Larry, with a spree of meaningless sex and R rated themes, and am half way thought Colonel's Bequest. I assume I am about halfway... I don't actually know because I never completed the game 'in the day'. What's amazing is that it all comes flooding back - I find that I have a compulsion to 'sit on the swing', to 'climb into the bin', to 'move the cupboard', but don't really know what the consequences will be... and it's AWESOME. The above picture is a screen shot from one of my favourite moments of Larry: Larry has just managed to get through a lengthy exchange with an Indian convenience store attendant to secure himself a coloured, smooth, lubricated, striped, spearmint flavcured condom... or 'lubber'. Oh, how I used to laugh!
And what is the disk space pennance to pay for this dip into gaming nostalgia? 765kb. For fewer kilobytes than a digital photo, I gained a couple of hours of entertainment and, perhaps more importantly, a pleasant sojourn down memory lane... slash back alley.
I know you're not supposed to post a blog commnet just to say "this does not interest me", but since we're friends...
ReplyDeleteI know it 's there, but I stil can't believe you have this gaming side of you. I scarely remember Leisure Suit Larry. I think I only know it at all becuase a naughty boy at primary my school had it. I played Alex Kid and Wonder Boy about twice and that's it. Video games have just never been my thing. I cannot share this nostalgia with you.
More Judy please?
I'm halfway through Superfudge and making slow progress... but it will come.
ReplyDeleteMeantime, I feel I have had my come uppance for my comments about your search for a quality vegan boot. I dip my toe into gaming, you dip your toe into urban hippydom and never the twixt shall meet.
I remember, I remember... Love it... my mum had her heyday in the era of DOS. Curious to whether you can remember the BEST childhood game, EVER. I can't remember the name of it, but it was in a house, and you have to beat all the bad guys to get to the next level of the house.. and find treasure along the way and it wqas awesome. maybe it was called something GOLD? The GOLD house? I don't know... HELP.
ReplyDeletePS If you drankl 2Ls of water a day. You wee a lot. Who wants to be a supermodel if you wee all the time?
ReplyDelete