How Did You Become a Gamer?

[TWEWYFan]

When I was little I would watch my father play computer games like Baldur's Gate and Dark Forces and those were among the first I played myself. As the first game that was "mine" rather than inherited, that would be Pokémon Blue. Even now these are some of my favorite games.

 

[Jakub324]

I became a gamer at age five, when my dad bought me a PS2. It came with several games, but the only ones I really liked were FIFA 2001 and Timesplitters.

 

[Stormwarning2872]

I remember buying a Sega Master System with Sonic the Hedgehog game and then telling my husband it was my Christmas present from him. Been playing since then, on every console I could afford. Even the family pc was bought primarily for gaming. Now that the kids are all grown up I have plenty of time to nostalgia game, and I'm getting a PS4 for Christmas, although I still play Dungeon Keeper 2 when I need to feel omnipotent .

 

[Ldude893]

DIsney Interactive learning games on the Windows 95. Also, we had a PS1 at home from our uncle, though most of the games were pirated bootlegs of Japanese games (we lived in Hong Kong).
As for my current PC gaming tastes, you can thank my Dad for that. He had a whole library of PC games in his house, and I loved trying out his different games whenever I visited him.

 

[Barbas]

I got a pocket Gameboy when I was little and played Tetris on it for hours in the stiflingly hot afternoons during the distant summers. That game was a thing of beauty, such a simple concept and yet so absorbing and satisfying. I eventually got a Gameboy colour and played Pokémon on it for years, then started playing Solitaire, Pinball, Minesweeper and anything else I could get my hands on once I started learning how to use computers. The old PC games like Corridor 7, Rise of the Triad and Tank Wars fascinated me in the years before the really visually impressive titles like Dungeon Keeper II were released. I remember the day I got a Nintendo 64 and played Super Mario 64 for the first time. It was a wondrous, joyful experience that reduced me to tears when it came to an end, even though the game was entirely in Japanese. Some of the old Rareware classics deserve mention as well, namely 007 Goldeneye and Donkey Kong 64. We shan't see their like again in this lifetime.

Half-Life deserves a paragraph all of its own. Oh boy, that game was the stuff when it came out of the blue. I remember my brother picking up the bulky orange box and saying "Wow, look at all these recommendations. This looks like it should be fun." That game was the knees of the bees. It was difficult but rewarding and was fast-paced enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. I remember every fire-fight with the HECU marines and every deadly acrobatic clash with the Black Ops Assassins. It was terrifying when the Gargantua showed up and the soundtrack sent chills down my spine. Games like that were what cemented VALVe's place in my memory as the dream team of game design.

 

[Mister K]

I was bitten by another gamer. Since then, during every full moon, I launch Steam and play DOTA2.

Okay, okay fine! The truth. It all started when I was about 5 or years old and my father bought a PS1. I used to watch him play Crash Bandicoot, Resident Evil and may other games.

Then PS2 came out. My father bought this one too. He played a few games, then he played FFX, finished it and said: "No one will make anything better than this" and kind of graduately lost interest.

I didn't play with PS2 much, only booted Tekken once in a while. Then I decided to understand what is the big deal with this FFX thingy. And this is where this story becomes mine.

 

[Candidus]

I don't remember my first few games, but I started on my Dad's Vic 20 and carried on from there.

The first games that I remember are Operation Wolf on the Master System and Desert Storm on the Amiga.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Imagine, a young child with a drug-using mess of a dad, a pregnant, 15-year-old sister, and a mother who has a mental breakdown every other day.

It was pretty inevitable that I'd try to find some kind of escapism.

 

[Zeraki]

I had a Commodore 64 when I was little, but I never used the thing much because I didn't know how to type in the commands to load the games. I didn't start to become a gamer until about 1991-92 when the SNES came out(I was about 6). First game I had for the SNES was Super Mario World, because that's what came bundled with the console. It was a fun game and built up my limited understanding of how video games worked.

Then I got Mega Man X... this was the game that completely indoctrinated me into the hobby. Up until Mega Man X I had only really played Mario, so it was definitely a huge difference in what I was used to. At first I thought you had to jump on enemies like in Super Mario World, but when I took damage I started experimenting. The intro stage of Mega Man X does such a great job of teaching you the mechanics and rules of the game,

Spoiler: but that has already been explained in depth by others.

 

[Rad Party God]

I honestly don't remember wich one was my first videogame, but I do remember my family already had a NES and an Atari 2600 and I played them now and then, also my dad had a Commodore Amiga, until my parents bought a SNES to my sister for achieving high grades in elementary and well, the SNES practically became mine over time

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

1. How did you become a gamer?-When I was younger, I had problems with my legs and had to wear casts, so I couldn't really go outside in the snow a lot, and for christmas, my uncles got a playstation and a few games. My parents only lived, like, a few minutes away so I was always over hanging with them. So they taught me how to play Playstation and a few games. Funny thing is, my uncle now asks why I'm so addicted to gaming and always forgets it was there fault

2. What was the first game that you owned?-System was Playstation and game was Spyro the Dragon. Hell, I still go back to play that sometimes.

 

[Tanis]

1. How did you become a gamer?
My father was a single parent with two jobs and need something to entertain me because he rarely could.
-I also had lots of better off cousins who gave them their 'old stuff'.

2. What was the first game that you owned?
My cousin game me his NES with ALL the classics (Mario, Zelda, Star Wars, Contra, etc).

First game I ever BOUGHT, with my own money, was probably Chrono Cross.

 

[Snotnarok]

First game device I owned was the Genesis where my library of games went from good to amazing with Sega Channel, a download service for the Genesis. Yes, you downloaded games to play on your Genesis.
Got a Game Gear and would play that when out and about, things like Sonic and NBA Jam.

This is what always amuses me because many seem to get into some kind of nostalgia based brand loyalty, which I didn't follow suit with because right after the Genesis I jumped on to the PSOne, got a 64 late into that gen to play Conkers Bad Fur Day.

From there other devices from PC, Xbox, GCN, Wii, PS2, PS3, 360, GBA, PSP, PSV, 3DS.

 

[COMaestro]

My first system was an Atari 2600, but I was so little when I started playing I have no idea what the first game was. I know I had Pac Man, Centipede, Asteroids, most of the old arcade classics. There was also a Smurfs game that I enjoyed playing for it. Had the Atari until I won a NES in a school raffle in 4th grade. Started playing pen and paper RPG's with some friends in 6th grade. Got my first PC for my first year of high school and started gaming on it as well. Everything just kept advancing, so now I play video games, board games, RPG's, card games, whatever. So in one form or another, I have pretty much always been a gamer. I just like gaming in all its varieties and I don't see that ever changing.

 

[J.McMillen]

While I had played video games (Atari 2600) before this, the thing that truly made me a gamer I got for Christmas 30 years ago. The red box Dungeons and Dragons set. That's what started my real gaming obsession. It led to not just other RPG's, but also miniatures, board games, and even some war games (Battletech, Warhammer).

 

[Evonisia]

My Dad was a gamer before I was even born, so I've always been a gamer to some extent. I used to play on his PC constantly at the age of 3, so I was mostly either playing crappy nerve wreckingly difficult 'cartoon' games or late 90's FPSs.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

My parents had a SNES that I played for hours on end as a child, twas my first gaming system and I still remember the games I played fondly.

My father had a collection of games, the one I truly owned for myself was The Lion King for it, I was a big fan of the movie (surprised the tape hasn't worn out, watched that thing constantly) and I wanted to play the game, the game was hard as balls, seriously, that game is one of the most challenging I have ever played, truly a hard platformer...

Oh man The Lion King.... That game was insane. Especially that level where you had to jump on all the animals heads (level 2 or 3 I believe). I'm still amazed that 6 year old me managed to beat it.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Classic tale. Our family got an N64 when I was 5, and proceeded to play Star Fox 64 and Mario 64 with my older bro. I then started playing a lot more often than him, and I quickly became entranced by games. I'd almost constantly play them. Nothing too special to tell, but that's about it

Edit: I guess if I can spice this post up a bit... Our family actually never got anything that wasn't Nintendo until the previous console generation with me taking the helm and buying a 360. And promptly got bored with the options. I enjoyed the games I played, but it just didn't feel the same. Maybe that's why I still prefer Nintendo more often than not, and the games coming out for their platforms. Don't get me wrong though, I like the PS2 I have now, and I adore my Vita when I find a game to play on it

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

In terms of playing games:

I played True Crime Streets of LA, my 1st proper game.

In terms of community:

Yahtzee, which led to The Escapist, which led to the forums, which then led to the news.