This game meant a lot to me. Way back when, when my friend Lance introduced me to computer games through late night sessions at his place with FTL's Dungeon Master, I didn't even really know what a computer was except in the most general way. After just a few hours at the controls of a new game of DM, I was hooked. I just had to have my own computer.
So, I did the reasonable, responsible thing and blew my entire student loan check for that semester on a brand new Amiga 2000 (year: 1989/90, I think. price: $2,200 [!])
Either right then or shortly thereafter, I bought Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge. It came on floppies, around 8 or 9 of them. I devoured the rule book, got a handle on the classes (one of the charms of the game was like 1st Edition ADnD: you can't always get an elite class character) and started the journey. I kept a journal and a graph paper pad that I drew exacting maps on. You simply had to do this to have any hope of figuring out what to do next, let alone survive.
The combat was tough, especially in the early levels. But that made the rewards that much sweeter. When I defeated the first really tough monster in the game (zombie, one of the keep's central spires) and found a chest loaded with goodies, I *felt* like my party had accomplished something.
It was a very hard game. I'm not ashamed to admit that on more than one occassion I had to call Sir-Tech's hint line (believe it or not: you actually talked to a real human being on the other side of the call!) to move forward. There is a button sequence puzzle connected to a bridge that had me stumped for days. *Days*.
When I won that game, and the prize was snatched out of my hand after months of effort, I was stunned. My end game save file sat on my Amiga and awaited Wizardry 7.
Wizardry 7 allowed me to import my characters, continuing the story, even making a half-way plausible excuse for lowering them in power. I loved every minute of that game and found it just as difficult and rewarding as Wiz 6.
Then, the ending. Again, my end game save file sat there. In time, I moved on to an IBM format PC, making sure to copy of endgame save file over to a floppy, which was then copied itself. One copy went in my "sir-tech" box, the other in my library.
And there it sat. For *years*. I had almost forgotten about it when the buzz for Wizardry 8 began to pick up in a serious way. And when I finally got it, installed it and it gave me the option to import my characters, I just couldn't believe it! Here these guys were, my virtual adventurers, frozen in time for 10 years awaiting the next stage!
There they were! Iuchi, the Samarai. Hilde, the dwarven Valkyrie. Drogo, the halfling Ninja. Arwen, the elf Bard. Molin, the Bishop. And little Firinia, my pixie Magess. I couldn't believe it.
So much time had passed between the completion of Wiz 7 and my first spin of Wiz 8 that my life had completely changed. Instead of playing alone in a studio apartment, Del Taco burrito at my side and a full ashtray of spent Marlboro Lights, I was playing in my house in Oregon, after my wife and children had gone to bed.
I began to explore the beach area, moved around, made it into the monestary, fought my first battles, solved my first puzzles. After so many years!
And then my baby boy poured a glass of water onto my computer box, detroying it, my hard drive.....and the old floppy with my old save game file on it, left in the drive and long-forgotten.
I never did find my spare, nor the heart to ever load the game again on my old computer.