The Comfort Blanket of Retro Gaming in the Face of Tragedy

My last post began with the title "Surviving 2025". This one is going to be even tougher to write, I think. But I'll give it a go anyway.

At the time of writing, the final month of January is nearly done, and last week I had the worst news; someone who I was very close with has sadly and tragically passed. As one might imagine, this has put extraordinary pressure on me and my family, but I know I will get through. Time is a great healer. But mostly, I am concerned greatly for my child, and angry at a system that failed the departed.

Before I continue (as I must: writing is cathartic for me), may I remind you, dear reader, that if you are feeling low or are at risk to yourself, it is never too late to seek help. You are enough, and there is always someone to talk to. Help is only a few clicks away: https://www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts/ - I also believe that these hoodies send a positive message too: https://live2lives.org/

The comfort blanket of video gaming has again been a companion for me this week, but this time I went to the Amiga, or, more precisely, THEA500 Mini from Retro Games Ltd. With some WHDLoad magic, there was quite a few games to play through. And I found one that I was still good at: Turrican! This classic game from the great mind of Manfred Trenz is probably my all time favourite. I got to that bit where the platforms are vertically stacked (Level 1-2 from memory). This took me an age to learn back in 1990, but I got there. I was struggling though in the here and now. What was I doing wrong? The issue wasn't my skills at this fab game, but that I was using as a controller. I just couldn't get on with this and the bundled A500 Mini control pad for this piece of entertainment software specifically. So I got out my joystick from THEC64 Black Edition. And that was much better. Progress became easier. And my mind, for a short while at least, was distracted.

Back to reality though: life, like many video games from the 1980s and early 1990s, well it isn't always fair. You're not able to switch to easy mode, and there is no walkthough, except the daily one that we all experience. Please look after yourselves, and look out for anyone who might be in crisis. Your actions could be the difference to make someone's life a little easier.