I downloaded DOSBox, found a few abandonware websites (easily found on Google), and downloaded a game that changed the history of computer gaming: Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum.
Released in 1987, this game was one of the first (if not the first) dungeon-crawl/role playing games with graphics (most were text-based adventure games). I remember playing this game for hours with my brother and father. Eagerly I downloaded the game, started DOSBox and began playing. Bam. Blast from the past. My smile was 5 feet wide. It grew even wider when I realized that I could play the game in fullscreen mode (EGA graphics on a 20" monitor are awesome; there are less than 20 pixels per inch). And the music! What memories.
I quickly started the game, using the default characters. Running through the maze that is the town of Sorpigal, I had my first encounter with enemies: sprites! My group of adventurers was quickly destroyed.
I then remembered that this game could be difficult. So I started anew, ran through the town, and died again. But the third time, yes, the third time I prevailed! (The game is only hard until your characters get to the second level, and then your group is killed less often.)
Yilin saw me playing and stopped and watched. Then she said to me, "I feel so sorry for you. I want to buy you a Wii."
Pfft. I don't need a Wii, I have DOSBox!
*Technically it is a copyright violation, but most of the companies who produced these games are: a) out of business and therefore do not bring the rule of law into play; b) entities existing within some other larger company, and most of their older copyrighted work was probably long forgotten; c) unconcerned about any fool who wants to play a 20-year old computer game. It should be noted that some software companies actively release their older computer games into the public domain, making download and use completely legal.
