By Karen Whaley

Wizard needs weekend plans, badly. Clever wizards know that the place to be this Friday and Saturday (June 27-28, 12–5 p.m.) is Evolution: 30 Years of Computer Games at InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre (9 Ossington Avenue). 20 PC games are on display and available for play on their original consoles, showing how gaming technology has evolved since 1978.
The games and PCs are on loan from the Personal Computer Museum in Brantford, Ontario, a not-for-profit organization founded by Syd Bolton that preserves obsolete systems and software. Some of the revolutionary games on display at Evolution are Zork, King’s Quest, and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy text adventure. If you’re too young to get nostalgic about 8-bit games, they also have hits of mid-1990s like Quake and Half Life.
For a more modern treat, check out Flight Simulator 10: where the world is your playground, literally. FS10 uses satellite photography to map the planet, and fills in 3-D versions of major landmarks. Torontoist was able to fly an ultralight from the island airport over the SkyDome, through the financial district to Bloor Street, and then back down the Don Valley to our house. We gave those nosy neighbours a fly-by a la Top Gun for good measure.
Photo by Karen Whaley.