I’ve just been on a fascinating link-hop starting with a BoingBoing post on the old video game Gauntlet:

The doomed, infinite quest is filled with pathos…

I followed that “doomed, infinite quest” link over to TvTropes’s Gauntlet entry. That led me to open all sorts of links on TvTropes including Hot Chick With a Sword, They Just Didn’t Care, and Obvious Beta.

It was the Obvious Beta write-up that led me to what sounds like the most awesome video game of all time: Big Rigs Over The Road Racing which TvTropes describes as going beyond Obvious Beta: “It’s not even an Obvious Pre-Alpha.” Just listen to this incredible description of the game:

• For example, although supposedly being a racing game, there are no opponents, no timers, no obstacles, and no clipping. Trying to drive over a bridge causes you to fall straight through to the valley beneath, but that’s okay because you can drive straight up the vertical cliff on the other side of the valley without even slowing down. You can drive over mountains, through buildings, off the sides of the map, etc. In fact, the only possible way to lose is for the game to crash…
• To be exact, there ARE opponents. It’s just that they stop right before crossing the finish line. And that’s if you downloaded a patch— if you didn’t, they wouldn’t even move from the start! You get the win message regardless.
• …The promised main campaign, which the back of the box claims involves evading police on public highways, does not exist.

When you do inevitably win you’re treated to this incredible message:

YOU’RE WINNER!

Brilliant.