Adventure Games

As a young child I was fortunate that my family got a computer. It was extremely simplistic compared to modern standards, for example the internal hard drive was less than 100 MB, Yes megabytes. We also used actual floppy disks to play some of our games. A lot has changed since then and thinking about it is very nostalgic.

One of the primary activities that involved my early childhood on the computer was playing adventure games. Adventure games were different than many other games at the time, whose goals were getting points or killing monsters. Adventures games were problem solving games told in an interactive storytelling setting. I played a number of different Sierra adventure games series including Space Quest, Quest for Glory, but my favorite series was King’s Quest.

So in a blog that deals mostly about spirituality, why am I talking about computer games? Adventure games taught me a lot of important lessons and helped set the stage for my faith journey. King’s Quest follows the journey of a young knight named Graham, who belongs to a declining magic kingdom ruled by a dying King, Edward the Beloved. King Edward having no heir, promises Graham the throne if he recovers 3 magic treasures that had been stolen that will help heal the kingdom. What makes Graham and the story of King’s Quest special is that it rewards intelligence and creativity for solving problems instead of hacking apart monsters. Graham isn’t the brawny meat-head knight that carries a mighty broadsword, he is smart and kind. As someone that was clumsy and not physically coordinated, Graham became a model for my life of someone who could be kind, smart, and someone who got his happily ever after.

As I said the game helps the player develop creative and critical thinking skills. These skills would benefit me as I grew up and played a role in my spiritual journey, and these were honed playing these games. In the game, Graham recollects the advice of his father, a retired knight. He gives his son this advice, "If I have learned anything in my life, I have learned this: When in doubt, or in trouble, pick up anything that is not nailed down, and if it is, look for loose nails or boards. Check carefully into, under, above, below, and behind things. Read everything; you might learn something. Wear clean undergarments, brush after meals, and always remember: nothing is as it appears." Though it clearly has a little humor mixed in, some of this advice is very sound. The essence of this message has become one of the maxims that have guided my life.

For those interested in checking out the games I will include some links. The series of games were made over a number of years, so some fans decided to remake the earlier games in the style of the later ones, to find these fans remakes of the first 3 games check out: http://www.agdinteractive.com/. If you want to play the originals, the entire series can be purchased on http://www.gog.com/. The series focuses on Graham and his family, two of the games even feature a female main character, which was pretty unique for the time. They are a lot of fun to play and highly encourage you to check them out.

So what games or activities from your early childhood helped shaped you as you grew into maturity? What lessons or values did they instill in you?