{"id":381354,"date":"2021-12-15T15:00:45","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved\/"},"modified":"2021-12-15T15:00:45","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T12:00:45","slug":"the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved\/","title":{"rendered":"#The First and Only Video Game I Loved"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e55e97b8be\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e55e97b8be\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved\/#Why_Did_I_Have_This_Game\" >Why Did I Have This Game?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved\/#Blue_Jeans_and_Candy_Bars\" >Blue Jeans and Candy Bars<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved\/#Evil_Mushrooms\" >Evil Mushrooms<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved\/#Reconnecting_With_an_Old_Friend\" >Reconnecting With an Old Friend<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved\/#The_Power_of_Nostalgia\" >The Power of Nostalgia<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#The First and Only Video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a> I Loved&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone size-full wp-image-774104\" data-pagespeed-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Keen-4.png?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Keen-4.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Keen-4.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Commander Keen\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not a gamer. I don\u2019t own any video game consoles. Video games are not part of my identity. One game, however, holds a special place in my heart\u2014<em>Commander Keen: Secret of the Oracle<\/em>. It\u2019s a strange story.<\/p>\n<p>A lot has been said about the Commander Keen <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> and the role it played in changing PC gaming. I\u2019m not here to give another history lesson, though. My relationship with Keen is an unlikely one. There\u2019s really no reason why I should have ever played the game. But I did, and it has stuck with me ever since.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Did_I_Have_This_Game\"><\/span>Why Did I Have This Game?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-774303 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021-12-14_13-36-49-e1639508585347.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Commander Keen splash screen.\" width=\"650\" height=\"403\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p><em>Commander Keen: Secret of the Oracle<\/em>\u00a0was released in December 1991\u201430 years ago\u2014but I didn\u2019t play it until much later. When I think back on it, Commander Keen was a weird outlier.\u00a0My family isn\u2019t into video games. I never asked for video games for birthdays or Christmas. The games we did have were purely educational. So why did we have this one?<\/p>\n<p>After a little family investigating, I discovered that the game was included for free with the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gravis_PC_GamePad\">Gravis PC GamePad<\/a>\u2014that\u2019s how Commander Keen made it into my home. Strangely, no one can remember why we got the GamePad in the first place. I only remember using it for Keen 4.<\/p>\n<p>As a kid who had very little exposure to video games, I was im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely hooked on Commander Keen. I vividly remember putting the floppy disk into our Gateway 2000 desktop and starting the game from the DOS command prompt. I think it\u2019s the only thing I ever used DOS for. The string of commands to start the game are still seared into my brain.<\/p>\n<p>Without ever intentionally seeking it out, Commander Keen entered my life. The rest is history.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>PCs Before Windows: What Using MS-DOS Was Actually Like<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blue_Jeans_and_Candy_Bars\"><\/span>Blue Jeans and Candy Bars<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-774305 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021-12-14_13-40-54-e1639508575895.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Commander Keen level.\" width=\"650\" height=\"402\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Without the nostalgia, <em>Secret of the Oracle<\/em> is not that super unique. It\u2019s a pretty standard side-scrolling platform game. However, as someone with very little video game experience, I found it accessible and charming.<\/p>\n<p>For starters, Commander Keen himself is just a kid and the game reflects that. He wears sneakers, blue jeans, and a purple t-shirt. For armor, he dons a green and yellow football helmet\u2014sans facemask. His gear includes a pogo stick for high jumps and a stun gun.<\/p>\n<p>The levels are chock full of collectible items, most of which are food. Candy bars, soda, jawbreakers, donuts, gum, and ice cream cones. As a snack lover, that immediately made sense. Collecting snacks is a lot more fun to me than coins and rings.<\/p>\n<p>The game has an irreverent charm that really speaks to me. If you don\u2019t move for a few minutes, Keen will sit down and read a book while he waits. When you rescue the Council Members\u2014the main goal of the game\u2014Keen says things like \u201cno sweat, oh bearded one.\u201d It doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Evil_Mushrooms\"><\/span>Evil Mushrooms<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The enemies in the game are very silly as well. The most common inhabitants are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/keenwiki.shikadi.net\/wiki\/Poison_Slug\">yellow slugs<\/a> that literally poop out puddles of poison. Others include a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/keenwiki.shikadi.net\/wiki\/Dopefish\">derpy-looking fish<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/keenwiki.shikadi.net\/wiki\/Mimrock\">sneaky rocks<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/keenwiki.shikadi.net\/wiki\/Skypest\">deadly dragonflies<\/a>. There is one enemy, however, that especially tormented me\u2014the Mad Mushroom.<\/p>\n<p>It has big pink eyes that stare into your soul. A huge tongue flops out of its cocky grin. It doesn\u2019t chase after you, it just hops in place and dares you to run underneath. The Mad Mushroom is the cyan embodiment of pure evil. At least, that\u2019s how I saw it.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m really not sure why the Mad Mushroom gave me such trouble. There are more difficult enemies in the game, but the mushroom is particularly maddening. It <em>should<\/em> be easy to get past, yet it\u2019s not. I guess that\u2019s where the name comes from.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve played a few levels to re-familiarize myself for this editorial and the mushroom <em>still<\/em> gets me sometimes. My least favorite food is mushrooms. Did the Mad Mushroom scar me for life? Is that why I don\u2019t like mushrooms? I can\u2019t rule it out.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Reconnecting_With_an_Old_Friend\"><\/span>Reconnecting With an Old Friend<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-774304 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021-12-14_13-39-32-e1639508563652.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Commander Keen 4 level.\" width=\"650\" height=\"406\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not exactly sure how old I was when I played Commander Keen, but I don\u2019t remember it being a long period. Most of my memories are from one particular Christmas vacation; probably the year I got the GamePad controller. After I finished the game, I didn\u2019t play it for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>Sometime in high school, I was reminded of the game, so I had to look it up. Before this, I had only ever known it as simply \u201cKeen 4.\u201d The DOS command to start the game was \u201crun keen4.exe,\u201d so that\u2019s what it was in my mind. As a young kid, I never made the connection that the \u201c4\u201d meant it was the fourth game in a series.<\/p>\n<p>I was shocked to find out that this seemingly random, obscure game I had played as a kid was actually kind of a big deal. There were four other games in the series, and it had some pretty big names attached to it. Of course, I wasn\u2019t the only person who had ever played it, but that\u2019s how I had felt.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, my mom had never gotten rid of our old Gateway 2000 PC, the Gravis GamePad, or the Keen floppy disk. So I hooked it all up in my room and played <em>Secret of the Oracle<\/em> again for the first time in years. It was like putting on a perfectly broken-in pair of jeans.<\/p>\n<p>I remembered how all the levels worked, I knew where the secret passageways were, I didn\u2019t need to re-learn the controller buttons. It was like being transported back to our cozy computer room on a cold post-Christmas winter day.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Power_of_Nostalgia\"><\/span>The Power of Nostalgia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-774308 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021-12-14_13-44-43-e1639508553281.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Commander Keen speech box.\" width=\"649\" height=\"406\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Eventually, I played the other four <em>Commander Keen<\/em> games, but they never could live up to Keen 4. That\u2019s the power of nostalgia. The feelings around the thing become more powerful than the thing itself. It\u2019s not just a video game anymore.<\/p>\n<p>I am far from the type of person who should have a nostalgic connection to a Commander Keen game. It just so h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens that by some random string of events I had the opportunity to meet Keen at a time in my life where it made a lasting impression.<\/p>\n<p>You never really know what experiences will stick with you. I still sneak in references to Commander Keen whenever I can. My <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tallshmo\">Twitter cover photo<\/a> is items from Keen 4, and the favicon on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pizza.tallshmo.com\/\">my pizza blog<\/a> is from the original Commander Keen game. It\u2019s a part of what makes me who I am.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve played plenty of games over the years, but none will ever compare to <em>Commander Keen: Secret of the Oracle<\/em>. The next soda is on me, Keen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Why I Loved Microsoft Bob, Microsoft&#8217;s Strangest Creation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/774094\/commander-keen-4-the-first-and-only-video-game-i-loved\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#The First and Only Video Game I Loved&#8221; I\u2019m not a gamer. I don\u2019t own any video game consoles. Video games are not part of my identity. One game, however, holds a special place in my heart\u2014Commander Keen: Secret of the Oracle. It\u2019s a strange story. A lot has been said about the Commander Keen&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":381355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Keen-4.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-381354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}