The Bard’s Tale
As I’ve spent the last 5 days sick as a dog, trying desperately to focus enough to accomplish even the most basic tasks, I’m taken back to my childhood in the ’80s. Back then, a sick day was a careful balancing act between not feeling well enough to go to school and feeling good enough to do something more than lie in bed all day. If the weather were nice, you might be able to get some time outside. But in Minnesota, more often than not, the sick day occurred in the middle of winter, which meant spending the day inside. When I was finished watching the daytime gameshows that I couldn’t watch otherwise, I would often find myself in front of the 13-inch television hooked up to our Commodore 64 for the day. And when I did, I went for a few staples, depending on how I was feeling.
Well enough to be cerebral? In that case, I would go for one of the RPGs or adventure games I was currently playing. Often this ended up being one of The Bard’s Tale games, Ultima IV, or a LucasArts adventure like Maniac Mansion. The great thing about having such extended time at the computer was being able to spend uninterrupted time immersed in one of these worlds, completing missions, upgrading characters, and just generally enjoying the story. The day flew by without a thought for how I might be feeling.
Pac-Man
Too twitchy to sit still? There were plenty of options for times when I just couldn’t concentrate on one thing for more than a few minutes. I would often choose one of the AtariSoft arcade conversions for the computer, such as Pac-Man, Pole Position, Galaxian, or Moon Patrol. These were perfect for quick play sessions when my attention span wasn’t much longer than the time it took to load the game from disk. Another good option for the twitchy brain was a shoot’em up, such as Gradius or Alcon. Really, any good arcade experience would satisfy the ping-pong fashion of my focus during those times. Even to this day, I’ll go for a good arcade port for a quick, satisfying gaming experience.
Then there were the days when a creative bug would show up alongside the icky bug of the day. Those days were reserved for sessions with titles like Shoot ‘Em Up Construction Kit, Arcade Game Construction Kit, or simpler experiences like Fast Tracks: The Computer Slot Car Construction Kit or Pinball Construction Kit. These were great when I was feeling up to spending the day focused on one or two things, but I didn’t feel the urge to play an RPG. Some of my best SEUCK games and pinball tables came from those long sick-day sessions. That being said, a flu-addled brain could also lead to some truly trippy titles. Never Llamasoft-levels of trippy, but enough to make you wonder what you were thinking when you were in the midst of the fever.
Well, those days may be long gone, but an extended illness as an adult can make your brain revert to that time and seek the experience that got you through the nastiness. The next time you end up calling out, boot up your favorite nostalgia machine and convalesce like it’s 1985.
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