My goodness computer games are linear. The old ones I mean. On consoles previous to the PlayStation you basically spent your time dancing up and down in a straight line.
The one exception was this game based by the sea. I cannot quite remember the title, but it was definitely a Master System game. I remember the lines on the cover.
You played a scuba diver exploring coastlines, finding caves, and fighting monsters. In retrospect this was still fairly linear, but at the time this felt like an infinite ocean. That you actually were exploring an unknown underwater landscape.
I was about four levels deep when I found the gap. Six pixels wide between two rocks. Enough to squeeze through. The water was a darker shade of blue on the other side. The music changed from airy bleeps to a deep pulse of panic.
And my diver met mermaids for the first time.
Writing this down has been useful. Now I understand why I cannot remember the name of the game. Why things have been so difficult since then. Why I am happy to have deep, cold baths with the lights off, and let the evening darkness creep in.
