Bloody Bard's Tale

The Bard's Tale series followed me through high school. I lead my party of characters through Skara Brae and the dungeons, carefully mapping my progress on graph paper. Two of my classmates, Brendan and Leeroy, also had the game and were adventuring with teams of their own.

I don't remember finishing the game, but I must have and started a fresh team, or gotten stuck, or simply had an idea of searching for my character's save files on disk by using the hex editor contained in a Fast Load cartridge. I scoured through meaningless sectors of the disk looking for words or patterns when I recognized the names of my characters, then scanned forward for numbers and hexidecimal entries that matched their ability scores and gold. A few well-placed "FF"s did the trick. Soon, my HAXOR3D characters were striding through hordes of evil minions with sideward waves of their hands.

My thoughts were consumed with applications of my new-found power the night I discovered the trick, and I fixed a flat on my ten-speed before going to bed that night.

The next morning I got a slow start but was out the door and at the street in no time. I vaguely remembered changing the tire the night before as I crossed South Bascom Avenue, pulling up the front wheel to clear the curb. I hopped off the next driveway curb as I always did at Woodard and Starview in Campbell, CA, and out of the corner of my eye saw the wheel drop out of the bike's front forks in slow motion. Needless to say, the front wheel came down and the bike and I stopped almost instantly. Then I was flung over the handlebars head first and attempted to prevent the oncoming pavement from hitting my face with my hands. SMACK! With a surge of adrenaline, blood, and sweat I surveyed my injuries: horrid gash up my shin to my knee, and asphalt nuggets embedded in my palms (as usual). What was worse was my bike was mangled and I couldn't ride away from this one and had trouble walking.

I figured I wasn't hurt too badly and decided to limp me and my bike the rest of the way to Brendan's house (why I didn't choose to return home I can't remember) down the street off Calico Ave. His dad answered the door. Brendan had already left on his bike and was probably just arriving at Leeroy's. I believe his dad helped me clean up, then drove me to school in his green VW Beetle.

I must have wrecked on my bike a few more times out of the hundreds of trips I made those first few years going to Leigh; I remember the reaction from my teachers and classmates getting less and less shocked at the gashes, bandages, and scrapes I'd walk into class wearing. I remember once having enough fresh blood to compose a journal entry, and more than enough to take a blood-type test in Biology: AB positive!

Of course, the news of my buffed characters steeled my nerves until I could share my triumph with my two friends. I don't believe I continued hacking hex in Bard's Tale II and III, but the sequels still inspired fierce competition between Brendan, Leeroy, and I.