Horace goes Skiing-why did the gamer cross the road?
There are many fascinating characters in the world of Sinclair Spectrum gaming, Sabreman, Jetman, Magic Knight, Monty Mole, Miner Willy. But let me introduce you to this little chap.....Meet Horace.
Now Horace and I go way back, we've known each other since 1983 ( about a year after he was created by William Tang) . My story of getting to know this handsome wee dude started when I met him trying to cross a very busy road, on a very dull Saturday afternoon in my parents living room.
At this stage in my gaming life I had never played Frogger , so playing 'Horace Goes Skiing' was a completely new experience to both me and my father. The game is in two parts, first part ,with $40 burning a hole in his pocket , our hero must cross a very busy road. He then must hire his skis , then return across the busy road before he can ski down a ski course. Should poor Horace get into an accident on the road , an ambulance comes to his aid and for the princely sum of $10 carts him off.
It sounds so simple doesn't it and also very plausible. There are no jetpacks, aliens, bombs or guns, in fact poor Horace doesn't even get traffic lights (if I was him I would have written to my local councillor to complain.) The first part of this game was a scene that could be found in any High Street in most towns (and the running across the road with no traffic lights could be found anytime you crossed the road with my father!)
It sounds so simple doesn't it and also very plausible. There are no jetpacks, aliens, bombs or guns, in fact poor Horace doesn't even get traffic lights (if I was him I would have written to my local councillor to complain.) The first part of this game was a scene that could be found in any High Street in most towns (and the running across the road with no traffic lights could be found anytime you crossed the road with my father!)
It was rumoured there was a knack to this, to slide over to the side of the screen and then belt across the road. Certainly standing there and waiting made life even more difficult as the road got busier and busier. Should I take the chance and belt blindly across without stopping to watch the road for a pattern ? Or should I wait and watch the traffic build and Horace's dreams of skiing freedom evaporate. As you can see from the above graphic, I shouldn't have waited! But once you had crossed the road and then crossed back again with your skis, freedom beckoned, the screen changed from the black of tarmac and carbon monoxide to....
The whiteness and purity of a snow covered forest and the exhilaration of free falling down the screen and weaving in and out of the trees. Of course danger still lurked and a collision with a tree could mean that your skis were broken . But after all that tension of crossing that road, this part of the screen was a wonderful release. You shared with Horace that genuine joy of movement as he had , albeit only briefly, escaped from the traffic and the city.
At the time of playing this game in the early 80's it was the character of Horace that fascinated me , just what was he? Regardless of his appearance , he was appealing, he looked friendly , possibly down trodden , you just wanted to help him ( I think it was the big eyes). As someone who never fitted the 'norm ' of what fashionable was I felt a kindred spirit in this wee strange looking guy. It was worth the torment of the road crossing stage just to get to that impossibly white ski slope and let him speed off through the flags. You could imagine him whooping for joy.
But as all good Spectrum games did, this game came back to me in my 'adult' life , with another meaning. I suddenly realised why the two parts of this game appealed to me. I had to experience the drudgery of part one, to fully understand the exhilaration of part two.
At the time of playing this game in the early 80's it was the character of Horace that fascinated me , just what was he? Regardless of his appearance , he was appealing, he looked friendly , possibly down trodden , you just wanted to help him ( I think it was the big eyes). As someone who never fitted the 'norm ' of what fashionable was I felt a kindred spirit in this wee strange looking guy. It was worth the torment of the road crossing stage just to get to that impossibly white ski slope and let him speed off through the flags. You could imagine him whooping for joy.
But as all good Spectrum games did, this game came back to me in my 'adult' life , with another meaning. I suddenly realised why the two parts of this game appealed to me. I had to experience the drudgery of part one, to fully understand the exhilaration of part two.
Most of us have to cross that road everyday, for some people it's a dead end job, or a mindless commute , loss of individuality that comes with working for a faceless corporation, or knocks to the ego that no $10 ambulance trip will fix.
But there is always that ski slope. Survive that road crossing and look forward to that ski slope my friends. Let that funny little , big eyed , long legged Horace be your guide .
Why did the gamer cross the road? To meet Horace and to escape.
But there is always that ski slope. Survive that road crossing and look forward to that ski slope my friends. Let that funny little , big eyed , long legged Horace be your guide .
Why did the gamer cross the road? To meet Horace and to escape.