NationStates Jolt Archive

Hi, my name is James, and I'm a video gameaholic. It started when I was a very young child, playing "Adventure" on the Commodore Vic-20, and it grew from there into an obsession with side scrollers like Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, and the old PC game "Jump Man". From there it spawned into plugging what must have been hundred of dollars in quarters into laser disc games like "Dragon's Lair" and the original First Person Shooters like "Star Wars" - where you actually sat in a "cockpit" to play.

For me, however, the definitive moment in video game history came with the advent of Castle Wolfenstein, an insane FPS that my uncle brought me - he worked for Compaq and had all the cool PC games. That was the beginning of a movement that brought on Quake, Doom, Call of Duty, and Halo.

Anyone else have a truly defining moment in video game history they'd like to share?

Is this about a deifinitive moment in video game history, or a definitive thing in my history with video games?
Either way I'm going to go with the original System Shock. It was pretty crappy, but what was nifty was the amount of stuff that they tried to do. For instance, they had a basic version of the mouse look system and even put together a plot of sorts, that made sense and developed.
But mainly I like it just because they combined dinosaurs, robots, cyborgs, ninja stars, armaggedon viruses, crazy 3D cyberspace "hacking", and light sabr- oops, light rapiers.

EDIT: And they had logic puzzles, which was just bizarre in a 1st person shooter.

Anyone else have a truly defining moment in video game history they'd like to share?

Yes! Several!

I think I learned how to read playing "King's Quest," the original.. you know.. "Pick up stick," "walk East," and all those things.. back in the day.. Then, one day, we got that sweet 64k machine, and we played Dig Dug.

Other milestones would be the very first Lemmings game, and the first console game I ever played, Mario Bros. for NES, naturally. :)

Is this about a deifinitive moment in video game history, or a definitive thing in my history with video games?
Either way I'm going to go with the original System Shock.

Either your personal or what you perceive as global. I'm indifferent.

System Shock! Yes! Mouse look was an awesome innovation.

I think I learned how to read playing "King's Quest," the original.. you know.. "Pick up stick," "walk East,"

Ahaha yes. I mentioned Vic-20's "Adventure". It was very similar, only nowhere near as complex. "Go West", "Enter Door", "Put Honey in Jar" ... good times. :D

King's Quest was some nice stuff.

I just remembered playing a cool FPS type game based on AD&D on a Tandy machine at a friend's house when I was about 10 years old. I recall grey scale, outlined creatures and switching floppies every 10 minutes or so. I wish I could remember what that game was called. I bet, however, it was the precursor to the SSI game series (Pool of Radiance, Pool of Darkness, etc etc)

My first "console" was a Calico Vision. *coff*

Either your personal or what you perceive as global. I'm indifferent.
Indifference kills!
System Shock! Yes! Mouse look was an awesome innovation.
The whole game was awesome innovation. First FPS I remember that actively had a story, rather then simply dropping you at one end of a maze filled with badguys.

Indifference kills!

Nuh uh ... Difference kills! ... wait ... that's not right ... damn you! Foiled again!

The whole game was awesome innovation. First FPS I remember that actively had a story, rather then simply dropping you at one end of a maze filled with badguys.

It was a pretty cool game. That came out in, what, '93 or '94? I remember it preceded the massive Quake craze.

Hi, my name is James, and I'm a video gameaholic. It started when I was a very young child, playing "Adventure" on the Commodore Vic-20, and it grew from there into an obsession with side scrollers like Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, and the old PC game "Jump Man". From there it spawned into plugging what must have been hundred of dollars in quarters into laser disc games like "Dragon's Lair" and the original First Person Shooters like "Star Wars" - where you actually sat in a "cockpit" to play.

For me, however, the definitive moment in video game history came with the advent of Castle Wolfenstein, an insane FPS that my uncle brought me - he worked for Compaq and had all the cool PC games. That was the beginning of a movement that brought on Quake, Doom, Call of Duty, and Halo.

Anyone else have a truly defining moment in video game history they'd like to share?

Bless you Keru. The defining moment for me was WingCommander and the very first SW FPS game involving Kyle Katarn - Dark Forces.

I think the definitive moment was when my friend and I were playing Goldeneye for the N64 and we came to the realization that we had become so good at the game...... so much so that whoever got the first headshot in an encounter (we played with -4 health on the scale so it didnt take forever and a day to kill someone) would win.

That or when my friend played on stack with proximity mines against 3 people and died 3 times and ended up with a total 74 kills.

I guess I've never had a defining moment. I do have a lot of good memories of Super Mario Bros. 3, though.

I think the definitive moment was when my friend and I were playing Goldeneye for the N64 and we came to the realization that we had become so good at the game...... so much so that whoever got the first headshot in an encounter (we played with -4 health on the scale so it didnt take forever and a day to kill someone) would win.

All I have to say to this is: NEEEERRRD!! :D

Wait ... was there Mt. Dew involved in any way?

How about definitive online multiplayer games?

I remember playing games over BBS back in the early 90's.. and Rise of the Triad.. but it wasn't until Summer of '98, with Starcraft that I really got hooked on a game online.. Starcraft and Tribes.. those two are the opium of online games.. :p

I guess I've never had a defining moment. I do have a lot of good memories of Super Mario Bros. 3, though.

SM3 is something I discovered during the summer after my father died (1989) and my uncle (his brother) took me with him on business to Roswell, NM. The guy we were staying with had a Nintendo, but the only game he had was SM3.

I played that thing constantly because, well, there is absolutely fuck all to do in Roswell, NM.

Yeah there was mountain dew or some other carbonated beverage. It really hasn't stopped either, just evolved.

SM3 is something I discovered during the summer after my father died (1989) and my uncle (his brother) took me with him on business to Roswell, NM. The guy we were staying with had a Nintendo, but the only game he had was SM3.

I played that thing constantly because, well, there is absolutely fuck all to do in Roswell, NM.

Ehh, those memories would totally ruin it for me. :p

It was a pretty cool game. That came out in, what, '93 or '94? I remember it preceded the massive Quake craze.
According to Wikipedia it was '94, I thought it was earlier then that.

How about definitive online multiplayer games?


I think Trade Wars on an old Houston BBS called "Media One" was my first real MMORPG. Then I got into MUDs for a while, working a lot with Renegade, and now if I want the MMORPG experience, I actually play (and pay for) World of Warcraft.

It depends. I've pretty much played them since time immemorial, starting with the NES Console and Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. Even in that early age, I was drawn to the great light of the P.C. however, and soon I was shooting down enemy fighters in a title by the little upstart EA called "Yeager Air Combat." I guess its harder to use real life aces to sell game titles than very loud sports announcers, as I haven't seen a successor title to it since. However, the DEFINING game came when I was in seventh grade, when I was introduced to a game called Civilization. It was old at the time but it didn't matter, and when I got my first computer - our old 386 - the first thing I did was plug in Civ for Windows. That was the "golden age" of the TBS, so to speak. When I next upgraded my computer to a 166 Pentium, I brought Civ with, but soon got Civ II for Christmas one year. The next computer upgrade brought the next revolution - the role playing game. Introduced in early high-school to the superb role-playing classic, the Baldur's Gate series, BG dominated things for years afterwards. The next revolution came when my family, late to the scene, got the internet. I stumbled onto a link on a BG modding forum to this odd webgame called NationStates, and of course, the rest is history. NationStates is now the defining game, as since nation creation September 19, 2003, I've made a website, joined three seperate roleplay alliances, seen the rise and fall of countless nations, and even received my nation's flag as a birthday present. Though I'm also reaching back to my roots, in a sense, as I am busy at work for a Civilization II based on NS.

According to Wikipedia it was '94, I thought it was earlier then that.

It was definitely before '94, because Doom came out in '93.

Remember: Wikis can be written and altered by anybody, regardless of their "experience" and knowledge.

Ehh, those memories would totally ruin it for me. :p

Nah ... I had a good time with my uncle.

According to Wikipedia it was '94, I thought it was earlier then that.

Hrmmm ... well a bigger geek than I should do the research on that one. My booze and pot ruined brain could never come out with exact dates.

I played everquest and logged roughly 57 days into the game. That should encapsulate my nerdiness ;)


I suppose I have more than one definitive gaming moment.

It was definitely before '94, because Doom came out in '93.
*coughcoughNERDcoughcough*
Remember: Wikis can be written and altered by anybody, regardless of their "experience" and knowledge.
Then you can sort through the archives of assorted fan sites looking for the exact date. In matters such as this, laziness>scholarliness.

*coughcoughNERDcoughcough*

Then you can sort through the archives of assorted fan sites looking for the exact date. In matters such as this, laziness>scholarliness.

Meh, I can't be fucked, and for the most part, I hate fansites.

Ahaha yes. I mentioned Vic-20's "Adventure". It was very similar, only nowhere near as complex. "Go West", "Enter Door", "Put Honey in Jar" ... good times. :D

King's Quest was some nice stuff.

I just remembered playing a cool FPS type game based on AD&D on a Tandy machine at a friend's house when I was about 10 years old. I recall grey scale, outlined creatures and switching floppies every 10 minutes or so. I wish I could remember what that game was called. I bet, however, it was the precursor to the SSI game series (Pool of Radiance, Pool of Darkness, etc etc)

My first "console" was a Calico Vision. *coff*


Most likely the game you mention is Zork

Meh, I can't be fucked,
I feel so sorry for you.
and for the most part, I hate fansites.
Although normally the people who can't be fucked are the ones who love fansites, but I am letting my pedantry get away with me.

Most likely the game you mention is Zork
Zork didn't have any pictures, as it was purely text based, just like the other games in the original trilogy. Beyond Zork and Zork Zero both involved some images, but Beyond Zork's graphics went as far as a minimap and Zork Zero very rarely used its pictures for anything more then framing for the text.

*cough*
Not that I'm obsessed with that sort of . . . I, er, yes.

According to Wikipedia it was '94

so does everywhere else. and it won some awards in '94. so '94 it is.

Most likely the game you mention is Zork

NOPE! I got it ... it was called "Dungeon Adventure". They also made a version for the Apple IIe.

Dune 2... no doubt about it. that was the first game i ever really played on the old Amiga. It basically started of all the games like command and conquer and such like.

Remember: Wikis can be written and altered by anybody, regardless of their "experience" and knowledge.

and yet they are right about stuff in general more often than not. amazing, no?

and yet they are right about stuff in general more often than not. amazing, no?
I still wouldn't trust one on anything that seems even the slightest bit controversial or important. For looking up frivolous things and nostalgia bits Wikis are fine.

I still wouldn't trust one on anything that seems even the slightest bit controversial or important. For looking up frivolous things and nostalgia bits Wikis are fine.

well, no, of course not. never trust any non-specialist encyclopedia for anything beyond what could be considered 'general knowledge'. and don't trust the specialist ones much further.

The first game that I got totally hooked on was (the first) Gran Turismo on the PS. I spent an easter long weekend at a friend's place who had only just purchased it himself. We spent the entire five days hooning around various cars tracks in various cars. The following weekend I went out & bought a PS, simply for GT. I bought the PS2 for the same reason & now have four versions of GT. I'll probably do the same when GT5 is released on the PS3.

Zork didn't have any pictures, as it was purely text based, just like the other games in the original trilogy. Beyond Zork and Zork Zero both involved some images, but Beyond Zork's graphics went as far as a minimap and Zork Zero very rarely used its pictures for anything more then framing for the text.

*cough*
Not that I'm obsessed with that sort of . . . I, er, yes.


Hmm could have sworn there was some basic animation. But hell that was in the 80's and I had it on an Epson laptop that was a encyclopedia thick.

I remember the day my Dad bought a NES for me. He showed me how to play Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt. I have since been addicted to Video Games of all sorts. Another Game I had a lot of fun with was Warcraft 2. I used to spend hours playing that game and making maps for my friends.

Though I had the ADAM ColecoVision as long as I can remember, my defining moment in gaming would be either Duck Hunt or ExciteBike.

I occassionally had dreams where I was walking through the woods and that dog would stand up in the grass, laughing at me in that 8-bit bark. I still hate him til this day. I wasted many bullets in Duck Hunt trying to kill the dog but he never seemed to die.

As For ExciteBike, this is my favorite game of all time. The customations you could do with the different types of ramp, walls, etc. I was awake once for more than 24 hours straight playing ExciteBike and not eating once. To my benefit, I was sick the next morning so I didn't have to go to school so I stayed home and played ExciteBike all day. I hate how the ruined the game by putting on modern versions such as the one on N64 (which was one of the worst games ever).

it all began with summergams and bard´s tale on the c64
then i bought an amiga, becaus "Eye of the Beholder"
my nect PC must able to run with Gothic 3 and Fear

Anyone else have a truly defining moment in video game history they'd like to share?

Wrecking a joystick playing elite. The first encounter with the tribbles (called trumbles) in the same game.
Oh and anyone remember where <color> <class> is now IT (like Red Wizard is now IT) was from :)

Can anyone say "Atari now has PONG!"?:cool: :D

2 defining moments.

The first was playing Iceberg home coded on an Atari ST by my dad.

The second was a friend showing me Sonic on the Mega Drive. I got addicted to that game, his mum got me a Mega Drive that Christmas...

it all began with summergams and bard´s tale on the c64
then i bought an amiga, becaus "Eye of the Beholder"
my nect PC must able to run with Gothic 3 and Fear

Oh my God, Bard's Tale and Summergames were the SHIT~! Some families play Cluedo, we played Summergames.

The early Microprose games...

I think every single one was a classic.

Civilisation, Railroad Tycoon, Pirates, F-19 Stealth Fighter, Gunship, X-Com, Master of Orion, Falcon 3, Silent Service 2....

Those rocked my world. I grew up playing them while everyone else was playing SNES and Mega Drive. They were intellectual games...and they had a soul. :p

And I still remember the first time I played Doom...i'd played Wolf 3D (and Catacomb Abyss, which predates it) before, but Doom was THE moment that a game felt close to real. Looking back, that seems odd considering the primitive graphics, but there was just something about it...

The only other FPS that has come close to that magic feeling (not counting RPG hybrids like System Shock and Deus Ex) is Half Life 2.

And...one I discovered a bit after its heyday, but no less a classic, Ultima VII. It was so immersive, you could even bake bread. Or if you were stuck in the widerness, hunt deer for food. (Or break into someone's house and raid their kitchen, but because you were this avatar of virtue, you weren't supposed to do that. Didn't stop me, though :p)

EDIT- And Warcraft II! Pure genius. :)

I remember the first time I played on a Megadrive (Ghouls & Ghosts) and couldn't forsee how graphics/sound/etc would ever get any better.

Toejam & Earl (the original) was a blinding game, I played that for weeks.

Anyone else have a truly defining moment in video game history they'd like to share?

Games:
Civilisation
Master of Orion
Monkey Island
Castle Wolfenstein

I started with the original Sonic the Hedgehog when I was 5. I've been hopeless ever since, but it's taken me a while to reach all gaming genres (I'm still not too big on MMORPG's). Other definitive games for me:

Command and Conquer: Red Alert - My first step into what could be considered serious gaming (back in Sonic I was a fairly casual gamer), and my first computer game and RTS game. Even though I was what, 10 at the time? My friend and I played that to no end. Age of Empires II, Empire Earth, Total War games, Civilization, etc are naught but spawn of my addiction to Red Alert.

Mario Kart 64 - First get-four-friends-in-front-of-the-TV multiplayer game I got into. Never really touched Goldeneye much, for some reason.

Starcraft - The game that got me on the long and terrible road of all-night LAN parties.

Diablo II - The game that opened up RPG/MMORPG types to me.

Dynasty Warriors II - Continuing addiction to Three Kingdoms-related games all goes back to this classic.

Battlefield 1942 - After playing this for heaven knows how many hours one summer, I finally admitted FPS games do not suck.

Games:
Civilisation
Master of Orion
Monkey Island
Castle Wolfenstein

nearly forgot!
Fallout 1 & 2
fantastic game:mp5:

Hmm. There're a number of games I've really loved. The original Civilisation, Star Fox 64/Lylat Wars, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Fire Emblem, the Monkey Island series, Megaman 3, Totally Rad, Septerra Core and many, many more.

But the definitive game for me would be Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

I was just a kid when I saw it being played over at a nephew of mine and I was hooked. Here was this huge fantasy world with... with monsters and creatures and towns and people and fairies and temples and... and... and the music! And Link was just so damn cool.

Later on, I realised that the second Zelda wasn't exactly the greatest game ever, but it single-handedly started my current obsession with games, so for me, it's the definitive.