What Got You Hooked on Games?

[WhiteTiger]

Another site I visit on occasion had a question of the day that got me thinking. They asked:

"What was the first video or computer game you ever played? Did you love it or hate it, and why?"

So I started thinking about it. The first few games I can remember were way, way back on my parent's Commodore 64. My dad's buddy copied a couple hundred games onto floppy disks for us and off we went. I don't remember much about those games, but I do recall playing one a lot called Jumpman. It was most likely my favorite, and likely due to the challenge at the time.

I've pretty much been hooked since. I got my hands on a Nintendo as soon as I could (saved up my allowance and money from shovelling walks and mowing grass...) and pretty much haven't looked back. I don't do console's much these days, I tend to game pretty much exclusively on my PC, but I'd have to say that I got hooked way back in those Commodore days.

[Jbo]

My first game system was the Sega Master system. My dad bought it for me when I was about 3 (more for the amusement he would get out of it) living in Toronto.

First game I ever owned was Shinobi. The game that made me behave for one straight month? Space Harrier. I wanted that game so bad I thought about it 16 hours a day.

[BlackArcher101]

1st ever was Birds of Prey, followed by Armored Fist

[Nammer403]

i think one of the first video i played was tetris/super mario on the original game boy but i was still young and didnt really understand much,
we also had the Nintendo and i think thats what did it for me, games like felix the cat and kirby and duck hunt!, along with blowing the cartridge when the game didnt work,
i think my favourite systems growing up was probably the super nintendo virtual bart was one of my favs

[Devils'Advocate]

First game I ever played was Pong on my uncle's Intellivision.
First game I ever owned was a tie between Pac-Man and River Raid for the 2600.
Loved all 3, but just the concept of "interactive television" would just blow the mind of any 10 year old boy. Heck, I played E.T. and was enthralled (often cited as the worst game of all time).

However, I didn't get "hooked" until high school when I got Bard's Tale for the C64. Follow that up with Wasteland and Dragon Wars, and I was hooked. Any game that has a party of characters that you build up by fighting random enemies, and I'm there. My grades dropped when Final Fantasy came out for the Nintendo. And then my favorite game of all time is Baldur's Gate II. Well, maybe it's a tie with Final Fantasy Tactics. I'm spending my free time this Easter Weekend replaying Final Fantasy 9 for the 4th time in my life.

I think back and I believe my parents should have done what today's parents do: limit how much time your kid spends playing video games. In the days of the C64 and original Nintendo, I was absolutely hooked like a drug. My usual A+/95 average sunk to B-/80 average. Still good enough to pass muster with the parents, but less than I really could have accomplished.

University kicked my ass.... I figured the same gliding I did in high school would be enough to pass my classes and boy was I wrong. After getting a smattering of C's and a D and losing my entrance scholarship, I put off all gaming to the summer months and really cracked down on the books.

[sclitheroe]

Hunt the Wumpus, Adventure, and Star Trek.

None of them had graphics.

[kipperiggy]

Although the first game I probably played was Pong at my Grandma's house, playing Duck Hunt at a cousin's house when I was barely 3 is definitely what hooked me in!

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Super Mario for NES.

There was also a game for PC that I can't quite remember the name of. It was about a kid/teen who was basically abducted out of his bed and had to fight these aliens. Pretty sure it was a sidescrolling game. Then at the end you beat the game, the aliens went away and the kid went back to bed.

NHL94 for SNES and Mortal Kombat 2 for SNES both ring a bell as monumental achievements in video games when I was yougner.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

There was also a game for PC that I can't quite remember the name of. It was about a kid/teen who was basically abducted out of his bed and had to fight these aliens. Pretty sure it was a sidescrolling game. Then at the end you beat the game, the aliens went away and the kid went back to bed.

Commander Keen?

[Cheerio]

First ever? Either Super Smash Bros. for N64 or NHL 2000 on computer, loved them both.

[Mtt48]

Space Quest I when it first came out. Loved it!

[FanIn80]

Combat on Atari 2600.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Combat on Atari 2600.

I was playing this on the iPad the other day...lol

[MickMcGeough]

Mutants on the Atari 2600 was the first video game I remember playing outside of an Arcade.

Doom shareware was what really got me hooked though.

[secol]

first game was 7up "spot" on a dos computer. also had an old racing game on the dos computer

[Professor Successor]

A Galaga arcade machine on the ferry to Victoria did it for me. I was barely tall enough to see the screen or reach the controls--and I died a lot since I think I was four--but my grandpa kept giving me quarters.

I like to pretend it was filial love and a desire to see his young grandson happy, but I've come to realise that it was more likely his desire to keep me glued down in one spot for the remainder of the trip so that I didn't bother anyone.

Next winter, my dad traded our dusty pool table to my uncle for his his atari 2600 and a bevy of games. The ones I remember playing most were Stampede, Ms Pac-Man, Warlords, Breakout, Kaboom and Dodge 'Em. These were the first games I can recall where I unsderstood objectives, but Galaga was still what blew me away.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Commander Keen?

YES! I googled it and based on the screenshots that is definitely the game. I can't seem to locate exactly which version I was playing but that is it.

[rubecube]

Think I was about 3 or 4 when I started playing this on the PC.

[iggnuef]

The original Techmo Bowl and Mike Tyson's punch out!!

[Inferno]

Super Mario Brothers. My parents left me and my sister with our grandma to go on a shopping trip to Thompson one Friday and came back with an NES.