I used to love the sounds and graphics on the early arcade machines. Still do. I've made multiple MAME arcade cabinets to get that realistic feel for the games. The first PC game that did it for me was UT99 then followed a few years later by GTA3. I'm retired now and write new retro arcade games as a hobby.
Which game made you a gamer, and what technology made you a lifelong enthusiast?
- Thread starter Julio Franco
- Start date
Colonel Blimp
Posts: 96 +80
Some old home console that had about 6 blocky games, pong style ones.
Then my dad did some work for Dragon Data and came home with a Dragon32, essentially a UK version of the Tandy TRS 80.
After that, c64, Amiga 600, Amiga1200 which I had right up until my first PC, AMD K6-2-450 I think.
Then a Duron based with Geforce 2 mx 200, then Athlon with Ti200 then a Ti4200. A GeForce 6800 after that.
My Phenom 965be with a 280x lasted me until the Ryzen 1600/Vega56 combo that is now a Ryzen3600/7800xt on the same b350 board
Then my dad did some work for Dragon Data and came home with a Dragon32, essentially a UK version of the Tandy TRS 80.
After that, c64, Amiga 600, Amiga1200 which I had right up until my first PC, AMD K6-2-450 I think.
Then a Duron based with Geforce 2 mx 200, then Athlon with Ti200 then a Ti4200. A GeForce 6800 after that.
My Phenom 965be with a 280x lasted me until the Ryzen 1600/Vega56 combo that is now a Ryzen3600/7800xt on the same b350 board
KnightSayNI
Posts: 80 +69
I had that exact handheld and the green one later and basketball and baseball whatever JCPenney's had lol.
amghwk
Posts: 1,870 +1,885
I was a gamer from Day 1. Seeing any computer game excites me since I was a kid. My cousin brother had the Pong machine with levers to change the ball speed for difficulty levels. That machine only played pong.
Later at school I saw King's Quest 1 being played with a green Hercules monochrome monitor. I was intrigued by it. Then played all the games of that time - Karateka, Zaxxon, Dig-dug, etc.
I later had the Atari 2600 console with all the classics - River Raid, Gopher, Boxing, etc.
My first PC was an XT clone with a CGA monitor. Played most CGA era games on this PC. Had a blast with Test Drive II and Karateka and Starflight.
Later got a 286 clone with Sound Blaster 1.5 and a VGA monitor. This is when I played all the Sierra and Lucasfilm Games/Lucasarts classics. The Secret of Monkey Island is my all-time favourite game, along with Monkey Island 2 and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. And all the Quest games from Sierra.
Enjoyed Microprose's simulations and SSI's RPG games.
For me graphics are not as important as the gameplay. I still enjoy playing EGA and even CGA games.
On the console side, after the Atari 2600, had Sega Megadrive, and later Playstation 1.
Later at school I saw King's Quest 1 being played with a green Hercules monochrome monitor. I was intrigued by it. Then played all the games of that time - Karateka, Zaxxon, Dig-dug, etc.
I later had the Atari 2600 console with all the classics - River Raid, Gopher, Boxing, etc.
My first PC was an XT clone with a CGA monitor. Played most CGA era games on this PC. Had a blast with Test Drive II and Karateka and Starflight.
Later got a 286 clone with Sound Blaster 1.5 and a VGA monitor. This is when I played all the Sierra and Lucasfilm Games/Lucasarts classics. The Secret of Monkey Island is my all-time favourite game, along with Monkey Island 2 and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. And all the Quest games from Sierra.
Enjoyed Microprose's simulations and SSI's RPG games.
For me graphics are not as important as the gameplay. I still enjoy playing EGA and even CGA games.
On the console side, after the Atari 2600, had Sega Megadrive, and later Playstation 1.
guillejp
Posts: 306 +309
DAAAYUM, someone knows that ABSOLUTE BANGER!!!
guillejp
Posts: 306 +309
Nah nah nah nah nah, tell us a bit more about that session with John Romero!
alexnode
Posts: 251 +118
Populous was the first game that made me see gaming seriously, in the 80s. For technology... I will go retro and say the IBM PC and the compatibles, the invention of the personal computer... More seriously … The idea of a GPU from a CGA to an NVidia RTX, eye candy... and from gadgets I will say contemporary gamepads - controllers PS and Xbox.
Melkor Unlimited
Posts: 364 +335
You are not (old enough).
Yet.
Melkor Unlimited
Posts: 364 +335
1979: Pong ... one-game Pong-clone console
1982: ZX Spectrum ... Manic Miner
1986: Sharp MZ-821 ... Pac-Mac, Floppy, Saboteur, ..... Turbo Pascal
1990: Atari 520ST ... Dungeon Master, Defender of the Crown, ...
1991: PC AT 286 .... Dune 2, Eye of the Beholder 1,2,3, Wizardry 7, Might & Magic 3+, Civilisation, ...
1992: 386SX ... QNX, C++, Pov-Ray, ...
1982: ZX Spectrum ... Manic Miner
1986: Sharp MZ-821 ... Pac-Mac, Floppy, Saboteur, ..... Turbo Pascal
1990: Atari 520ST ... Dungeon Master, Defender of the Crown, ...
1991: PC AT 286 .... Dune 2, Eye of the Beholder 1,2,3, Wizardry 7, Might & Magic 3+, Civilisation, ...
1992: 386SX ... QNX, C++, Pov-Ray, ...
lol, in 1979 I was 13..... what was the oldest game you played wasn't the question.
Which game made you a gamer, and what technology made you a lifelong enthusiast?, That was the question
Last edited:
What made me an enthusiast was the TI-59. The idea of a calculator that you could program and save the programs on magnetic cards is what got me into computers. In terms of later technologies I found exciting, one was the Commodore 128. That had two CPUs with different architectures and two display chips with completely different abilities, so it was very interesting. Then there was the Amiga A500. After I regrettably moved to "IBM compatibles", the most interesting technology was 3D accelerators.
As for games, my first experience was probably home Pong, but here are some Commodore 64 games I remember fondly:
- The Sentinel was the first non-wireframe 3D game. It ran at times at 2 FPS, but I found it incredibly addictive. I got to about level 5000 (IIRC it jumped randomly between levels, so that was probably like playing 300 levels).
- Nine Princes in Amber was a pretty amazing text adventure. I was an Amber fan already, and it was nice that I could fight and walk in Shadow and converse with people, and that it was quite open ended. It also had images, and they contained little bits of animation, which was unique for the time. I still have that game.
- I also remember Zork 2 for a specific scene, where you have to draw a dragon after you by hitting hit (but not enough to make it hurt you) until it gets to an ice wall, sees its reflection, breathes fire on it so it melts, and IIRC drowns. That was an incredible puzzle and piece of writing. (I don't think I ever finished that game.)
On a friend's ZX Spectrum I enjoyed playing Deathchase, which was amazing because it was like the speeder bike chase from Return of the Jedi. I remember spending many hours on that.
Also, on the Amiga one game I particularly enjoyed was Knightmare.
I also enjoyed some more "standard" games, classics like Uridium and others, but the above are the special standouts for me.
As for games, my first experience was probably home Pong, but here are some Commodore 64 games I remember fondly:
- The Sentinel was the first non-wireframe 3D game. It ran at times at 2 FPS, but I found it incredibly addictive. I got to about level 5000 (IIRC it jumped randomly between levels, so that was probably like playing 300 levels).
- Nine Princes in Amber was a pretty amazing text adventure. I was an Amber fan already, and it was nice that I could fight and walk in Shadow and converse with people, and that it was quite open ended. It also had images, and they contained little bits of animation, which was unique for the time. I still have that game.
- I also remember Zork 2 for a specific scene, where you have to draw a dragon after you by hitting hit (but not enough to make it hurt you) until it gets to an ice wall, sees its reflection, breathes fire on it so it melts, and IIRC drowns. That was an incredible puzzle and piece of writing. (I don't think I ever finished that game.)
On a friend's ZX Spectrum I enjoyed playing Deathchase, which was amazing because it was like the speeder bike chase from Return of the Jedi. I remember spending many hours on that.
Also, on the Amiga one game I particularly enjoyed was Knightmare.
I also enjoyed some more "standard" games, classics like Uridium and others, but the above are the special standouts for me.
Missile Command, around 1980. There was a local pinball arcade with the latest computer games. It cost a quarter per game. I spent a lot of money shooting down missiles. LOL. Then it was the Commodore 64 and Atari 800.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_Command
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_Command
Elite, Commadore64.
Don't ask how many times I died before I managed to dock at the first station. I still remember buying that first docking computer.
Don't ask how many times I died before I managed to dock at the first station. I still remember buying that first docking computer.
Strategy:
Dune, Command & Conquer, Dark Reign, Warcraft & Starcraft, Total Annihilation.
MMO:
Everquest, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
Dune, Command & Conquer, Dark Reign, Warcraft & Starcraft, Total Annihilation.
MMO:
Everquest, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
JaymondoGB
Posts: 44 +18
Elite on the BBC Micro (Acorn)
Classic arcade like Bubble Bobble, Arkanoid, r-Type. A lot of Amstrad CPC and Amiga games...
Overclocking virus took me by surprise with a Phenom II 955BE.
Overclocking virus took me by surprise with a Phenom II 955BE.
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