Obligatory "I've been gaming since..." Thread

[giftfish]

We must have had this on the old forum, but I don't remember.

So, I'll start

Gaming since: 1981
First platform: Arcade/Atari 2600
Other platforms owned: NES, Super NES, various Game Boys, Wii, PC
Favorite platform: PC
Favorite Genre: RPG
Favorite console game: tie between A Link to the Past and Twilight Princess
Favorite game in favorite genre: Skyrim or ME2
Other favorite games/series: The Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, DAO, Trine, Torchlight
MMOs Played: WoW (hardcore 2006-2010), Guild Wars 2 (for about 2 minutes), SWTOR (for about 2 minutes)


This is just what I came up with on a whim; feel free to add more fields to your posts

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About me as a gamer
I like RPGs, action/adventure, puzzle games, and dungeon crawlers. I don't do any game that's exclusively first person perspective. Ick. Lots of games on my list to play: The Witcher series, Portal series, Shadwen, many others. Too much modding, not enough time. I'm working on my first PT of a fully-modded Morrowind right now, which has been great. Also working on my first mod for Morrowind, lol.

I'm old school. I prefer my games on disks. I want to own my game, not rent it, and I don't want a 3rd party between me and my game. If only a digital download is available, I don't do DRM. I buy from GoG and Humble Store, in these cases. I hate the entire concept of distribution platforms like Steam and Origin, and own only one title on each. Origin: ME3, Steam: Skyrim. I won't be buying any additional games for Origin. I'm hoping Bethesda gets their heads out of their asses for TES6 and distributes without Steam. Especially after how Valve screwed them with Steam Workshop for Skyrim. We shall see.

I played WoW hardcore for 4 years, so I've officially had my fill of playing with others. For me, gaming is not a social activity. I don't multiplayer and I don't use social aspects of distribution platforms. None of my friends game and I value my online privacy.

I'm also an admitted PC gaming snob. I don't understand the attraction of consoles. Inferior graphics, platform lock, and a forced upgrade every few years. No thanks. Buy a game for PC and you can play it on the same platform virtually forever. Plus, you can mod it. My other problem is that since consoles are more lucrative (partially due to that whole forced upgrade thing) games are developed for consoles. Which means they are developed with lower graphics and memory requirements in mind (among other things). They are then ported to PC, typically in an utterly horrible manner. This results in poor UI design, small textures, and less than optimal implementation of the game in its entirety. It's all completely backwards. Why develop for the inferior platform? Develop for the more robust platform, and then pare things down for the inferior platform. We'd all be playing much stronger releases for the PC if games were developed for the PC, and then ported instead to consoles. But, of course that won't happen, since: money. Until the PC gets the lion's share of the market, we're out of luck. Which makes Gift a sad panda. Boo

[kfreon]

Never seen this before, but I like the idea.

Gaming since: 1995-ish
First Platform: Amiga (old PC)
Other Platforms: New PC, Xbox, SNES, occasionally PlayStation for Exclusives (games being held prisoner)
First Game: BOWEP/Doom/Descent (not sure which was first, since I barely remember the Amiga)
Favourite Platform: PC, no contest.
Favourite Genre: RPG/FPS/RTS, dunno. Just no 2D, no Japanese, no racing, etc
Top Games: FreeSpace 2 (Specifically Blue Planet, seriously play that game. Singularly epic.), Mass Effect, Assassins Creed, Life is Strange, Halo, DAI, Starcraft, Bioshock Infinite, Mirrors Edge, Jedi Academy, HL2/Portal, The Witcher 3.
But seriously, Blue Planet - Freespace 2. My love of epic music (Two Steps from Hell) came from this series. Fan made. Go support them. Epic epic epic.



Cough
Um where was I...
MMO's: Not my style, but SWTOR was great. I guess Destiny but it's not really an MMO, cos it's not really anything.


Story, action, gameplay/graphics are what get me going. A game with excellent gameplay can stand up (Doom), a game with excellent story can stand up (Life is Strange, screwed Arcadia Bay too ), but games with both (Mass Effect, Freespace) are the ones that get my blood rushing. A few bars of the epic music in Freespace, or the Normany Reborn is enough to get me bouncing in my seat because I remember what it was like to hear them for the first time while playing.

Started out being hardcore disk collector, must have games on disk. Then I started living in a town where the nearest games shop was an hour away...cured me of that pretty fast. Steam, Origin (ick), even uplay (dry heave) are the way of the future.
I'm super antisocial, despite not wanting to be, so multiplayer never really caught me. I'd play MP games singleplayer for the most part, even SWTOR.

PC Master Race they say, and exclusives don't make sense to me. I hate them since it's basically the console developer holding a game I want for ransom (Yahtzee quote).
Consoles are past their time now. They were good for parties and joint gaming, split screens or fighting games. Now you can't, so why chop off the games legs to squeeze it into a box that doesn't even lift bro?

And in closing:
Graphics don't make a game, but they do make a good game great.

[viper]

Gaming since: 2000
First platform: PS2
Other platforms owned: PSP,PS3,PS4,PC
Favorite platform: PC
Favorite Genre: RPG
Favorite console game: The Last of Us
Favorite game in favorite genre: Mass Effect 2-3
Other favorite games/series: Dragon Age(Origins only),WWE2K,The Elder Scrolls,Grand Theft Auto,Mass Effect,Call of Duty(till BO2),Saints Row,The Sims,Need For Speed(if you don't count all the games after NFS:Pro Street),Jade Empire,Deus Ex,Bully,Spider-Man games,Batman Arkham Series
MMOs Played: Metin2,SWTOR

About me as a gamer
I am lazy.

[neph]

Gaming Since: Uh, sometime in the early-mid 1990s.
First platform: An old Windows 3.x PC, unless we're talking the original Super Mario Bros. - then the first answer is 1985 (though I did play some Atari but not seriously) and platform is the original NES
Other platforms owned: Super NES, various PCs over the years, original Xbox (I still have this bastard), Xbox 360
Favorite platform: PC
Favorite Genre: RPG
Favorite console game: Either KotOR or LotR: The Third Age - both are the reason I will never give up that old bastard of an Xbox
Favorite game in favorite genre: KotOR I & II and ME1-3
Other favorite games/series: Yeah, that's pretty much it, I mean, unless we're talking Lego games which I have a sad addiction for, and Myst, if that sort of tells you how long I've been playing 
MMOs Played: I tried SWTOR but the story kept HURTING me, probably because I'll never forgive it for not being KotOR III. If I had an ounce of dev ability, I'd make that myself. As it stands, I'm not that great a modder, let alone a dev.
Me as a gamer: I will replay the same game millions of times and alter my characters only slightly each time and yet be utterly satisfied. Because it's the story I'm after.

[kingferaligatr]

Gaming since: Since I was about 5
First platform: PS2/PC (I think)
Other platforms owned: various computers, several PS2s, Xbox 360, PS4, Nintendo DS (regular, DS Lite, DSi, 2DS, New 3DS), GameBoy Advance SP, etc.
Favorite platform: PC
Favorite genre: N/A, though I usually play shooters or RPGs
Some favorite games: Morrowind, Skyrim, Mass Effect 1, Pokemon (Gen 2, HGSS, B2W2), Planetside 1, Halo Custom Edition, Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2 (the old ones), KotOR 1 and 2, Fallout New Vegas,  Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds, Deus Ex 1, etc.
MMOs Played: Planetside 1 and 2 (how I miss you Planetside 1), Old School Runsecape, Roblox
Misc: I tend to prefer single player games, with the only multiplayer game I gave a dam about was Planetside 1 (and that's gone now). I strongly prefer PC gaming for the ease of customizing, modding, getting games, etc. I also tend to be more old fashioned and quite hard to impress with newer games.

[crazyrabbits]

Sure, why not. Can't remember if I did this on the old board.

Gaming since: 1994
First platform owned: SNES
Other platforms owned: NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, PS1, Gamecube, PC
Favorite platform: PC
Favorite Genre: RPG
Favorite console game: Either Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker or Super Mario World. Both are very near or at the top of their respective franchises. I'd give the slight edge to SMW because it's the first video game I ever played.
Favorite PC game: The original Deus Ex, by a long shot. I estimate I've played at least 500-600 hours across the last 16 years, when I bought the physical game (which I still own) for Christmas. Religiously do multiple playthroughs every year - did 3 so far in 2017 with various mods. Still the best hybrid of FPS/RPG elements you can find anywhere. A masterclass in demonstrating how to effectively capitalize on every possibility within the plot.
Favorite game in favorite genre: Baldur's Gate II or Fallout: New Vegas
Other favorite games/series: Deus Ex, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, System Shock, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid
MMOs Played: Only flash MMO's (Kingdom of Loathing, Dawn of the Dragons)

Me as a gamer: Heavy PC focus for the last two decades, love to install mods, love the classic RPGs (and don't mind using emulators for them), 3,500+ games on Steam, went on a tear of RPG/action titles last year, still love gaming.

[deager]

Gaming since: 1985
First platform: Family: Adam (yes, it was a thing) Personal: Sega Genesis
First game: Probably DamBusters on the Adam. Which had a permanent glitch so you couldn't destroy the dam.
Other platforms owned: AppleIIC, AppleGS, Compaq x386 first computer of my own, Nintendo 64, Wii, XBox 360, Xbox One, PS3 (for 2 days)
Favorite platform: PC
Favorite Genres: Simulations, single player shooters, RPG elements in shooter games, and creation games
Favorite console game: Forza 4
Favorite games/series I play today: Mass Effect, Kerbal Space Program, Cities: Skylines, Far Cry 4.
Favorite games/series of all time: Battlefield 1942, the original Sid Meier's Pirates, Mass Effect trilogy, FSX, GTAV
Favorite co-op games: FIFA World Cup (whichever is most current.) Far Cry 4.

Me as a gamer: Well, I'm into the immersion thing, to a point. Music matters to me and if it's at least "ok," and then the game becomes awesome, I then love the music. I can live with a crappy story but please publishers, make better stories. The setup of ME1 was sooooo cool to me.

History stuff: I think the thing I waited for a long time was being able to do multiple disciplines in a game. To drive a car, then jump into a plane, then run around...and then Battlefield 1942 happened. I guess Trine was before that but I didn't care about that game. This is why GTAV is on the list, despite its being crass, rude, and inappropriate; it lets you do a lot of stuff. Far Cry 4 also fits this mold.

Creation is super fun too. So that's why games like city builders and Kerbal are super fun to me. Heck, I would build entire neighborhoods in The Sims 3. I didn't actually "play the game," I just built stuff.

Immersion can be really fun as well. With FSX, I did a virtual flight around the world in a twin engine prop plane. Sped up time of course, but without a plan and just guessing where I could get fuel, I actually made it. That's when I also flew over the Black Hills in South Dakota, thought it looked interesting in the game, and my wife and I then went on a vacation there.

So many hours in gaming. I still get my real life stuff done, but I do like my games.

[nicolejon]

Gaming since: ...I could hold a controller! Does it count if my dad didn't actually plug it in? I *THOUGHT* I was playing. I do have clear memories of soloing Frog Bog by 1986, for sure.
First platform: Intellivision II
Other platforms owned: NES, SNES, GameBoys, PC (starting with a 486 in '91), Xbox
Favorite platform: PC (Does anybody feel otherwise??)
Favorite Genres: Action/Adventure, Puzzle, RPG
Favorite console games: Nightstalker, FF VIII, ...Jack and Daxter?, Fable
Favorite game in favorite genre: The Witcher: Wild Hunt
Other favorite games/series: Myst, King's Quest, Tomb Raider, Sims, DA, TES, ME, Witcher Series
MMOs Played: um, no. Have logged hours spectating, tho. Is that worse? haha

Me as a gamer: I'm a narrativist, for sure. I love it when my game's universe includes tasty novels, I DEVOUR them, and I lean to the Fantasy side. That's probably why Witcher III is my absolute favorite game, ever, but I think that's evidenced by my other favs, too.  I am Lawful Good and simply CANNOT play Renegade or Rivalry or Bandit or evil. I have tried, really TRIED. Just can't. I spend...hours? in character creation. It's bad, and embarrassing, and a compulsion, but I don't think any of us would be HERE if we weren't a teensy controlling, right? Okay, well, maybe you artistic types.   With chagrin I note the irony that my girlhood hero, Lara Croft, was a mature 30-something throughout my childhood adventures with her...and now that I'M finally a mature 30-something, she's been rebooted to a younger model. :/  The adjectives "Disney" and "Nintendo" have both been applied to me in derogatory fashion but I can't say they are inaccurate, haha. I own it, I guess. Treating myself to a beefy gaming machine a few years ago started me on the path to modding the crap out of my games, which has eventually led me here. Cheers!

[Deleted]

Gaming since: 1994
First platform: does arcade game count? if not, then PC.
Other platforms owned: GB/GBC/GBA/GBA SP/PS2/360
Favorite platform: PC
Favorite Genre: RPG
Favorite console game: does pokemon count
Favorite game in favorite genre: This is up in the air right now, but probably mass effect? maybe DA2. idk i'm kinda burnt out on dragon age due to fandom wank.
Other favorite games/series: DAO & DA2 (no thanks on DAI), ME1-3, League of Legends, Tekken, Elder Scrolls, Pokemon, Sailor Moon: Another Story
MMOs Played: WoW, SWTOR, TESO, GW2, ArchAge, Aion, Rift, FFXIV

About me as a gamer

My earliest memories of gaming are playing in the arcade at my dad's grad school (tetris and pacman), playing "educational" games on MS DOS (though how that Beauty and the Beast game was education beats me), and playing the Lion King game and some sort of Sonic game on SNES. My first experience with an RPG on a not-Gameboy console was Ocarina of Time on the N64. Man, did camera angles confuse the heck out of me, I left and re-entered that opening room a dozen times before I figured out how it worked. Also platform jumping is hard

From then on out it's basically pokemon and various PC games (Duke Nukem was my first PC game that my parents didn't know I played lololo. Not good when you're a 12 y/o girl) until someone introduced me to Kingdom Hearts and Tekken in college. Shortly after that a boyfriend introduced me to WoW and Elder Scrolls, and whoops bye bye all my free time ever.

I didn't get into the modding scene til DAO though, I got it for PC and then I saw a pretty hair mod someone used on tumblr and I started learning how to mod games. I haven't yet crossed over into making my own mods but it did start me on the path to learning programming and getting a BS in CompSci (which is unfortch currently on hold d/t health reasons).

Uhhh I guess also I really like playing League of Legends even though I have absolutely no competitive streak whatsoever. I'm just pocket heals for my buddy and my fiance. ;x

[arianrhod]

Gaming Since: 2004
First Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
Other Platforms Owned: Ps2/Ps3/Xbox 360/Wii/Ps4
Favorite Platform: Ps2
Favorite Genre: RPG
Favorite Console Game: Mass Effect 2 TIED with Dragon Age Origins

I started gaming when I was seven years old; my mother - who had previously been nervous about buying video games, probably with mental pictures of gory violence and near naked women - was told by my cousins to get a GameCube. My first game was Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - chosen for my be my father because he was a pretentious prick who wanted me to play something SOMEWHAT decent. I was an imaginative kid. I had no idea that were limits to what was programmed into a game world. I thought I could break through bounds and go on new adventures; kind of like how at five I thought that if I smashed the glass of my TV screen, I could jump inside with the characters. One time, while playing the Gamecube Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which - like 99% of movie tie in games - was rushed and, thus, glitchy. Once, while running through an ice-themes dungeon, I came upon a glitch in a wall that allowed Hermione to wander outside the map, into a black void. I could see orange lights from the distant parts of the map and knew how to access this kind of glitch from various places in the glitchy game. I showed my sister; we called it "the secret city", I can't remember what we named it, except that it sounded like "Pompeii". Told stories about it like it was a real place. There was a huge, inflated, feminine face texture that - for some reason - showed up on the top of the "city's" sky. I said that it was the city's patron goddess. Got more fun out of that glitch than the game itself.

Up until 12 I played games like Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Scooby Doo, and Starfox Adventures. Then, I got into horror: Fatal Frame, Haunting Ground, and Silent Hill. HG I couldn't play for a couple weeks because I found out that the main heroine gets her womb RIPPED OUT if she dies and I HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT. Then I grew a pair and played it. It was terrifying until it delved into really weird Japanese cartoonishness. A game that started off as an homage to gothic horror with subtle implications of alchemy, ressurection, and the synthesis of homunculi set in a brilliantly designed castle devolved into a bizarre chase through a melted house with a 80's rocker looking alchemist, with a mullet, who laughs with his mouth closed, teleports, and declares
"I'VE FOUND YOU!!!" while running in the opposite direction. Still loved 50% of that game, though. I was stuck on it for a few years, trying to re-create its beautiful environments in the Sims. Found Silent Hill, next. Came up with my own interpretation, atheistic, in which everything that happens in the town is a result of delusions of the characters - and the deluded beliefs of the cult - being given reality. Then that series went down the drain.

Found Dragon Age: Origins at 16; fell madly in love with it. It - aside from ME2- was THE most immersive, powerful gaming experience I had ever had. Far superior to any ME game, in my opinion. Then DA2 and DAI popped up, and it did not feel like the same series anymore. Nothing I did mattered. I didn't feel powerful, even as the inquisitor. If I WERE so powerful, like the game told me I was, then why am I the worst dressed character in the game? Why do I see no meaningful consequences for anything I do. WHY DO I SIT AROUND LIKE A MORON TAKING VIVIENNE'S CRAP?! WHY CAN'T I EXECUTE HER!?! WHY CAN'T I HAVE THAT DRESS?!

In my opinion, Mass Effect - though none of its entries reach DA:O's level for me (though ME2 came very close) - maintained itself through 95% of its trilogy, and in regards to the ending, that was modded. I don't believe there is much that can be done with Dragon Age at this point. I have no faith whatsoever in MEA; I am working on a tlk mod to effectively write it out of my personal canon (which I call the EMS canon... no, not "Effective Military Strength", "Ems", as in "Emma", as in my sister - who still plays with me). I do not buy the star brat B.S. about "Synthetic-Organic Conflict". I believe that was last minute thrown into the game, completely contradicting its earlier themes. The EMS canon is my little way of still enjoying the series. It doesn't count Andromeda, Star-brat, or Leviathan as canon. I'm going to have the Geth Array be a Reaper trap, meant to ensnare any sentients trying to flee the galaxy. After all, since my canon does not recognize the Leviathans and Sovereign claimed in ME1 that the mass relays were THEIR technology, why would that tech make it possible to map dark space in an escape attempt. A codex entry is going to say that the Andromeda Initiative floundered after the crew investigating the array were indoctrinated/wiped out. Garson would later die in London when the Reapers reach earth. (And Tali has an actual alien face! )