My own little computer person (LCP) was called Thomas. He took his sweet time to show up at the house that had appeared on the screen after the game loaded. He briefly looked around, brought in his tiny dog that toddled about and made farting noises, and plonked himself in front of the telly. He looked happy with his lot.

And why not? Every little computer person got to live, rent-free, in a palatial three-storey home that must have made older players green with envy. As I soon found out, though, you could turn an LCP green, too.

Interaction with LCPs happened by typing requests or using key commands to perform actions like delivering food. When left alone, an LCP would go about their business, eating, drinking, and eventually running out of food if you, say, happened to be out at a party.

On my return, hours later, I found Thomas in bed, his skin the shade of avocado. The cupboards were bare. And because progress was saved, this couldn’t be fixed by ‘turning it off and on again’. To my parents’ bafflement, I then spent a while nursing a tiny digital person back to health.