When I was a wee nipper I could play the violin. I was actually good enough to get myself into the 1st violins section of the school orchestra... that’s right, 1st violins, not 2nd but 1st. I was lost in music (caught in a trap) and my mother was proud.

After a while, a mate of mine (we’ll call him Martin) also decided to take up the violin... or he may have been forced by his, perhaps jealous, mother - I’m not sure which. Anyway, we used to practice together in his spare bedroom and piss round in the park afterwards. We were both lost in music (caught in a trap) and both our mothers were proud.

Then, Martin purchased a copy of Atic Atac for £5.99 and somewhere, my own personal butterfly started flapping its wings.

‘It’s going to piss it down’

At first the effect was minor. We would continue to practice but the playing-in-the-park was replaced with Atic Atac sessions. We just couldn’t stop playing it. At the time I never really analysed it but with my more developed, beer damaged mind I can now see why:

- The variety of creatures: Die octopus thing, die!

- The sound effects: They may have been simple, but the quiet ‘pop’ of a creature expiring couldn’t be more satisfying. The solid ‘chink’ as you collected and dropped keys and objects was good as well.

- Limited inventory: Four keys but only three inventory slots. This was the height of strategy to my young mind.

- Multiple characters: Each character had its own secret doors and unique maze configuration. What replay value!

- Optional objects: Crucifix to keep Dracula away, the spanner to destroy Frankenstein.

Anyway, with each following practice we found ourselves more and more eager to put the instruments down and switch on the Speccy. The practice times became shorter and the mother’s became saddened. But our love of the game only increased.

‘Let’s see Nigel Kennedy get through that door’

Not so long later Martin moved away. My passion for Atic Atac went with him but the damage was already done. My skill with the violin had never been so low and I was forced to mime during orchestra practice. I had played games before Atic Atac but it was this title that started my hobby / obsession. It wasn’t too long after Martin moved away that I gave up on the violin completely, my mother’s dreams in tatters.

I’d forgotten about all this - until last week. I loaded up Atic Atac on my Nintendo DS and these old memories were awakened from the dusty corners of my mind. The image of the butterfly has sprung back into my mind and all I can see is a hurricane on the horizon...

April 2006

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