On Permanence part II: Software
Monday, March 23rd, 2009Those early computer-using days, from the final months of 1982 on, were good times for me. I spent many hours on the TRS-80 Color Computer playing Klendathu and Dungeons of Daggaroth, on the Atari 800 playing Rescue on Fractalus and The Last Starfighter, and on the early DOS computers playing Rogue, A-10, Red Baron, F-19 Stealth Fighter, numerous other flight sims, Tetris, and Mahjongg, and well into the 1990s with Mechwarrior 2 and iPanzer ‘44.
I still play some of those early games from time to time on one of the half-dozen ancient DOS and Windows 95 computers littering my house.
If you’ve read my earlier postings on keeping all these time-worn games alive, you’re probably wondering why I cling to these old klunkers. Yeah, I know there are lots of great new games coming out all the time, but truthfully none of them have really curled my toes. I’ve gotten into the Battlefield 1942 series quite a bit, but not nearly to the degree of obsession that keeps me playing iPanzer ‘44 over ten years after its initial release.
Why? They’re fun. That’s all.
Those early computer games had a certain type of primitive fun to them that I just don’t see in the newer games, despite the better graphics. The old games are comforting in their familiarity.
So why am I so obsessed with keeping alive these memories of my deep dark past? Am I trying to cling to my college years? Is it some sort of subconscious attempt to bring back the years when I was in my twenties? Is it the same reason I like to listen to a lot of 80’s music?
It’s because I enjoy it. It’s fun. Do I need more reason than that?
I do have one redeeming grace in this regard: at least I’m not still obsessed with Tank Pong.