1.0The Escapisthttps://www.escapistmagazine.comSean Sandshttps://www.escapistmagazine.com/author/sean-sands/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="awMPu8wQFb"><a href="https://www.escapistmagazine.com/recreating-christmas-1985/">Recreating Christmas 1985</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.escapistmagazine.com/recreating-christmas-1985/embed/#?secret=awMPu8wQFb" width="600" height="338" title="“Recreating Christmas 1985” — The Escapist" data-secret="awMPu8wQFb" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,d){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(!(t.secret||t.message||t.value));else if(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret));else{for(var r,s,a,i=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),l=0;l<n.length;l++)n[l].style.display="none";for(l=0;l<i.length;l++)if(r=i[l],e.source!==r.contentWindow);else{if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(s=parseInt(t.value,10)))s=1e3;else if(~~s<200)s=200;r.height=s}if("link"===t.message)if(s=d.createElement("a"),a=d.createElement("a"),s.href=r.getAttribute("src"),a.href=t.value,!o.test(a.protocol));else if(a.host===s.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(o);else{o=!0;for(var e,t,r,s=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),i=d.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<i.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cf78eed88dc566c7cb7cb60a6d5488f236f35e1aeae87f84c9cdde185ec68985.jpg?fit=710%2C443710443The best Christmas I ever had as a kid was in 1985. I was 12, a gangly only child whose days were largely defined by playing video games, watching cartoons after school, and dealing with the devastating psychological nightmare that is seventh grade at an upper middle class public school just north of Dallas. That was the Christmas that my parents bought me an Apple II along with The Bard’s Tale and Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. These twin classics went on to monopolize my attention for months to come and eventually would help define the kind of gamer […]