Let me prepare for the summer… by throwing up everywhere.

Tech Support suggests I should maybe just stop eating things that are visibly rancid, but he vastly overestimates my sense of self-preservation while equally underestimating the complicated relationship I have with food.

Besides, it isn’t as though my appetite for mouldy strawberries is at all diminished during the winter months, so do forgive me if I’m unwilling to lay blame solely on diet.

Point is, it’s been kind of a bad time recently.

So a few weeks ago, when a friendo messaged with a link to a GDC talk by John Romero regarding the history of id Software, that was exactly what I needed. Classic id Soft feels never don’t bring me joy. Heck, my first VR experience was playing Doom with my brother in the mid 90’s on what I’m fairly certain was a Forte VFX1. Though the memories are hazy at best (Where were we? Who did it belong to?), I distinctly remember the handheld “Cyberpuck” controller, thought that shit was the wildest mouse I’d ever seen. Blew my heckin’ mind. Wish I could show 7yr old me a Cintiq, the concept of a stylus would probably put that kid in cardiac arrest.
But that’s neither here nor there.

What a delight, when the popularity of the Commander Keen series is mentioned around the 6-minute mark, to see a handful of cosplayers pop up in the accompanying slideshow, and find my own emo trashpanda face amongst them.

_{It’s these selfies I took before PAXAUS’13.}

Tears of Real Emotion™ just about pooled in my cold dead eyes. Okay, maybe not quite that far, but I was rather chuffed.

In any case, if you’re down for some PC gaming history I highly recommend giving it a watch: