Comment by Wowfunhappy
2 years ago
I love this for you. I love the image of a little kid spending the weekend getting immersed in the game world and systems, before finally sitting down at the computer, at once deeply prepared for what is about to happen, but also with no idea...
In the internet age, is it still possible to have this type of experience? When the final boss is always on Youtube, and a strategy guide is a click away? Sure, maybe you don't look it up, but the cultural knowledge will seep in.
This is how I play through the Ultima series with my eight-year-old. She doesn’t have a device of her own to look up spoilers, she takes notes and draws maps on paper, and looks through them when I’m not available to play with her.
It was a little like this with tape loading games - you had 10 to 15 minutes (an eternity when you were young) to do something, and that's if you were lucky with tape head azimuth and you didn't knock the joystick controller - if there was a manual you read that every time, I even remember reading the copy protection sheets over and over again.