The player is sitting on the living room carpet, hunched forward with wide eyes and intent concentration. The 8-bit protagonist on the softly glowing screen is running across the pixelated landscape, dodging projectiles and defeating enemies with ease. Every glorious beep and bloop serves as an overture to what feels like inevitable victory.
“Honey,” a female figure suddenly, quietly interrupts from the hallway in a halted, raspy tone. “It’s late. You should go to bed,” the player’s mom gently urges, her silhouette barely discernible against the dim backdrop of the walls behind her.
The player’s focus is unwavering. Thumbs flit from button to button, leaning on precise directional angles, the controller softly clicking and slightly angling with each press. The hero persists, champion of another realm, bent on saving the world and rescuing the princess, on triumphing over evil, on fulfilling a noble purpose no mere mortal could ever appreciate.
“Just a minute mom,” the player sharply hisses in return; not meaning any disrespect, but honed in on the mission at hand. Lives are in the balance. “Just one more castle…”
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Remember that?
We do.
To put it in simple words: We love old video games.
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