the IFTF is doing a
study and want to know your personal video gaming history.
And without much of an introduction, here is mine:
I first got into video games when I turned 6. I remember the turning point quite clearly. My Uncle Brian tossed me a bag of quarters. This was one of those life changing moments that just never leaves your brain. From this was born one of my primary obsessions (just ask my wife). I quickly fell into Pac-Man. That Christmas, we got our very own Atari 2600 from my Grandparents, and that was it. We were lost.
Some of the memories I cherish with my father are when on weekends we would go to the Arcade: "Illusions". It was a dimly lit, smoky affair, and I often wonder what was going on inside his head as he followed his hopelessly obsessed 6 year old son. At this point, I was all about Pac-Man and Q*bert, because they were the ones most heavily marketed. But I wanted to play EVERY game, so I also got hooked onto Gyruss (where I almost made it to earth, and got a high score), Star Wars, Mappy, Spy Hunter, Roc and Roll, and Aladdin. I also got into the Raiders of the Lost Ark game, and through playing that, I got heavily into Ancient Egypt. I almost became an Egyptologist.
During the great video game crash, I still played but not nearly as much. In 82/83 Our family got an Adam computer, and I started to learn how to make it go. Once I learnt that I could ... make my own games ... I was in heaven. I spent a lot of my time programming in SmartBasic and SmartLogo. I never really finished any of my games, but It was fun. It was because of this I got into programming. I almost became a Game Designer.
As I grew older, so did the Atari 2600, but I would still play, but much less then I used to. I got more into tabletop RPG's (D&D and TMNT being my 2 favourite) then video games. When I was 11, I learnt about the NES, which had an exact copy of Super Mario Bros. I was so all about Super Mario Brothers... I had to have one. Lo and behold, I managed to save enough money for one, and I was in heaven. And then I found Zelda. At that point the trips to the arcade gave way to trips to the game sales/rental store. Same mall, opposite corner.
When Dragon Warrior came out, I was instantly hooked. When I found that one of the kids from my junior high had Dragon Warrior (Quest) 2, and Dragon Warrior (Quest) 3, I was In heaven. I quickly made friends with him, and we had this agreement where I was learning Japanese, and he was learning English, and we were hanging out lots. I still have all of the old Japanese video game mags, and my notes. Through this, I got a little bit into Anime. I almost became Otaku.
When I was 14, I got my own computer, an Amiga 500. I got into Psygnosis games (Lemmings, Killing Game Show, etc.) and Bullfrog (Populous, Powermonger and Flood). I also got into music. I became a techno musician. (All though, that road was long and full of interruptions). When I got a modem, I got on a BBS "door" game stint. 'Global War', a risk-play-a-like was my favourite. It was also through BBSing that I first got exposed to the Internet. It was mostly UUCP at that time.
I also got a super Nintendo, and played and enjoyed Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda: A link to the Past, Final Fantasy 2 and 3. When I was 15, I finally started growing out of Video Games. In fact, it wasn't until my mid 20's that I revisited Final Fantasy 3, and finished it. Between the ages of 15 and 22, I basically stopped playing video games. When I was 22 however, I got employed as a web designer, and started playing Quake at the Friday afternoon LAN parties, which I still play today.
Today my gaming diet consists mostly of romps through nostalgia, playing all those games I loved; with the occasional new game highly recommended by my friends or brother. With the birth of my baby daughter, I have purposely stayed away from new games (the only new one being Evil Genius). I just don't have time for a new obsession. A perfect example of this is World of Warcraft. All sings point to "you will love this game!". Most of my friends have a WoW obsession, but I just can't afford to take a hit from that crack pipe.
