> The Arcade Signal

Do you want to know what makes you feel old?

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a rich lunch and, apparently, my body couldn’t handle it. I got sick more than a few times. Of course, having Wednesday off and then calling in today probably makes me look like a drunken bum, but let me assure you that is not the case.

Still, it got me thinking. I’m not twenty-one anymore. I’m forty-one now, and apparently a platter of nachos is enough to put me over the edge.

It sucks, yeah. But you know what? I washed my face and got back up. Now I’m having chicken soup and sparkling water, because I head back to work tomorrow and I know I won’t hear the end of it.

Lately I’ve been playing a ton of old games and have found myself completely lost in classic computer RPGs. Being able to stretch out on the couch and enjoy games from over forty years ago has honestly been a lot of fun. If this is the downhill part of life, I’m thankful for it. It really puts things into perspective, you know?

Playing old computer games and watching reruns of The Middle has become my new routine. I never saw it during its original run, but now I’m on my second watch through, and it’s the perfect companion while playing Ultima. Honestly, it pulled me right back into the fantasy RPG genre. There’s something about it that truly fires up the imagination, and I’m having a great time with it.

Nothing spells fun quite like pretending to be a knight and setting out to rid the world of an evil magic that threatens all life. Stuff like that is just cool. We need more stories like that. More games that take the player back to a sense of adventure, a sense of wonder, and even a bit of terror.

You could say I’m a bit of a Renaissance man in that way. I love playing as a knight, slaying dragons, battling trolls, and stealing their gold and hot cooked meals. That’s the sort of thing I’m plotting out right now. I’ve got a seed of an idea that I want to grow into something neat and fun to play, because honestly it’s one of the greatest genres in computer history.

Zork.
The Bard’s Tale.
King’s Quest.
Ultima.

I could go on forever.

Sometimes the greatest thing a game can offer is the power of imagination. The chance to step away from the modern world and transport yourself to a time of magic, danger, and wandering knights.

And honestly, that sounds like a pretty good way to spend forty-one.