Early Gaming Memories

[Lord British]

11. First Game finished:

Super Bomberman, on the SNES. Fun fact, I beat this game in coop mode, with my younger brother. So the first game I've ever finished was also his first game!

Played that to death in college. That was really the only game I ever played w/3-4 players consistently. And that's the best Bomberman too IMO.

[Marc]

1: Intellivision
2: The same. The Uncle that had bought it got bored and passed it on to me.
3: Tron Feadly Discs, Super Cobra, Triple Action, Cloudy Mountain, Night Stalker, Bowling.... the fam would sll gather round and play Bowling and Tennis. Happy memories.
4: Nothing really, I've owned everything that interested me at some point.
5: n/A
6: Check Man or Galaxian
7: Burger Time
8: I remember a local chippy having Omega Fighter for a while, put a lot of time into that.
9: Always SF2
10: Dead Dance on SNES
11: ah man.....

Pissing my pants aged about 7, because I was playing Deadly Discs and about to hit a million points, where it starts spawning electric prod 1HK baddies.

My parents selling my Speccy because I got caught shoplifting Lego aged 14.

Playing G-Loc in the R360.

Getting my release day SNES, it blew my mind. SF2 on that machine is still my most played multilplayer game of all time.

Owning a Neo. Still physically my favourite machine ever.

Not realising that using a UK formatted memory card in my Panasonic Q would erase the fucking thing completely.

Machines that could FINALLY deliver a perfect port of OutRun. Also finally getting a sequel, and it being bloody amazing.

Trading in my Saturn and 25 games, PLUS a hundred quid, for the N64 and Mario.

Ducking work for two days to play Deus Ex on PS2.

Staring longingly at screenshots in C&VG for the Atari ST version of Street Fighter. The original machine was a huge love of mine and this looked so close.....

Custom soundtrack racing on Project Gotham.

I could go on all day.....

[Lord British]

Trading in my Saturn and 25 games, PLUS a hundred quid, for the N64 and Mario.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

I think the first video game I played was an arcade machine at an Italian beach (we didn't have many in Germany and they were 18+), I remember they had Pac-Man, Galaga and Snake or whatever that game is called in its arcade version.
My dad soon got a CPC in the middle of the 80s, used to play quite a lot on it. Had to beg my parents for quite a while until they got me an Atari VCS for Christmas in... '88? We played the shit out of that machine. A year later, the Gameboy was released, another two or three years later the SNES, and in between my parents bought me a used C64. The last console I got - I think in '95? - was the Neo Geo CD. I only ever got two games for it, it was still worth it since they were Samurai Shodown 2 and Pulstar. SOmehow, I lost interest in videogames around the time the Playstation was released; I remember I hated the shitty 3d graphics and the floaty gameplay and tank controls ("they took ma pixel graphics!!").

[Lord British]

I think the first video game I played was an arcade machine at an Italian beach (we didn't have many in Germany and they were 18+), I remember they had Pac-Man, Galaga and Snake or whatever that game is called in its arcade version.

(Nibbler?)

That's interesting. I've seen arcades in German films but now that you mention it they're always in bars.

Somehow, I lost interest in videogames around the time the Playstation was released; I remember I hated the shitty 3d graphics and the floaty gameplay and tank controls ("they took ma pixel graphics!!").

I was right there with ya. My first buys for the PS1 were Rayman and Suikoden and i thought the 3D games looked like shit.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

I think the first video game I played was an arcade machine at an Italian beach (we didn't have many in Germany and they were 18+), I remember they had Pac-Man, Galaga and Snake or whatever that game is called in its arcade version.

(Nibbler?)

Yeah, that's it, Nibbler. Problem in Germany was that our politicians have always been dreadful old farts that've had a hard time understanding that arcade cabs that charge you a coin for letting you play an awesome video game are not the same as gambling machines. Consequently, there's never been a market for dem cabs, you sometimes came across one in a video rental or a bar but that's it.

Somehow, I lost interest in videogames around the time the Playstation was released; I remember I hated the shitty 3d graphics and the floaty gameplay and tank controls ("they took ma pixel graphics!!").

I was right there with ya. My first buys for the PS1 were Rayman and Suikoden and i thought the 3D games looked like shit.

I didn't play much more than Mario and Donkey Kong Country 64, which I thought were well done games. But all in all I just missed pixel graphics and 2d gameplay too much. Tuned out for a decade or so, and when I got back into video games in the early to mid 2000s, mind was blown by the fact that emulators and roms were freely available on the internet and you could suddenly play all the games you missed as a kid.

[Lander]

Had a forgotten Master System favourite rush back to mind the other night: The Ninja!
Otherwise known as Sega Ninja, or Ninja Pricess for its non-gender-role-reversed arcade release.

Likely my actual first exposure to Japanese culture, and a good one; 8-way run and gun with Ikari-ish perspective and a smoke bomb invuln-dodge. Good amount of sneaky tricks to the enemy roster (Kunoichi diving out from behind buildings is a particularly pointed memory,) nicely-defined variety in its Invade Ohkami Castle! stage structure, and a tricky ninja twist to getting the ending. Don't think I ever surmounted the river stage BITD, let alone reached the evil John Woo magistrate, but what I did see was mystery enough for wide-eyed kid Lander

Notably short for an experienced player in spite of its 10+ stage length. Can be crushed in 9 minutes - less if you discount the opening and closing text scrolls.

[Lemnear]

Let’s go way back here! You will show your age here, but tough titties. You can use my survey-style template or completely ignore it and make your own:

1. First Console Played: Amiga 500 (but is a...PC) so the first is Sega Master System from a friend.
2. First Console Owned: Playstation
3. Games of #1 and #2 that made the biggest impression: Shadow of the Beast III, Jim Power in the Mutant World (and Apidya), Oddworld 1&2, Riven the Sequel to Myst. G-Darius.
4. Console (or PC) you most wanted but couldn’t get: Dreamcast/GameCube
5. Reasons for #4: i was a teen
6. First Arcade Game you remember playing: Metal Slug
7. What Arcade Games do you remember being in your hotel or on vacation that you got to spend extra time with because you only had several available?: It was in a beach bar, always Metal Slug, otherwise one whose name I don't remember but it worked with 2 levers on a single track, for 2 players, SO MUCH FUN!
8. Arcade machine you could ride your bike to play: maybe a Rail Shooter with a pistol.
9. Game you remember having the longest line to play: nobody, there's never anyone in these places XD
10. First game rented: I think it was I don't know why but a Duke Nukem that my father took
11. Other/Miscellaneous Arcade/Console memories: A 13:42 hour speedrun of FF IX in co-op, a 400 hour run on FF VIII unlocking a lot of secrets (secret entrance to the final castle avoiding the 8 bosses, selectable Grevier and even a Grevier vs Grevier duel), lots of tournaments with friends with games for 4-5 players together.

[Daytime Waitress]

1. First Console Played:
Atari 2600.

2. First Console Owned:
Atari 2600.

3. Games of #1 and #2 that made the biggest impression:
Midnight Magic. I initially thought that maybe that was just because it was the first game we had for the system, alongside Pole Position, and because it instilled a love of both virtual and actual pinball in me from the age of 4 or 5. But on consideration, I realised that it left an even bigger mark because it ran contra to all my experiences with games from then on. It was so novel that everyone in the household had a crack at it, everyone trying to one-up each other's scores: mum quickly decided that she didn't want none of this vidya gaem business, but nan got in on the action, as did the older sister. And while the latter would eventually "grow up" and move away from video games, leaving me as the designated saddo that spent too much time in front of the TV/PC, for the brief moment after unwrapping Magic Midnight, the entire house was into gaming as much as me.

Shout out to River Raid for being the first shmup that I played, too - over three decades on and that refueling SFX still lives in my head rent free.

4. Console (or PC) you most wanted but couldn’t get:
Neo Geo.

5. Reasons for #4:
Poor!

6. First Arcade Game you remember playing:
4 years old, attending an uncle's birthday party at a family restaurant and I become physically attached to a tabletop cab of Moon Patrol. Legit one of my earliest childhood memories was begging the grownups at my table for 20 cent pieces ('Straya) to sink into the bloody thing. Uncle saw how stupidly happy it made me and bought the aforementioned A2600 for my next birthday. And I'm still playing vidya 37 years later. So yeah... it made an impression

7. What Arcade Games do you remember being in your hotel or on vacation that you got to spend extra time with because you only had several available?:
Had a flight delay on the return leg of a holiday, and fondly remember hogging the Puzzle Bobble cab whilst my brother-in-law played through Sega Rally multiple times.

8. Arcade machine you could ride your bike to play:
Dad decided he didn't want me pissing money away on arcade games willy-nilly, so every other month he took me (and occasionally a mate) to arcade "lock-ins": two/three hour free play on all machines for a (I want to say $20) cover charge. Dad wasn't much into games, but also not keen on leaving the kiddo alone, so he'd park his arse on the skeeball machine and read the paper, whilst 12-year-old me would try to play all the games in the allotted time. On consideration, that "sample everything, stick with nothing" habit was something that I actively had to work hard to shake with regards to arcade games - the notion of sticking to one game, with a limited budget, until you got good at it was just... alien to me for the longest time.

9. Game you remember having the longest line to play:
I'd say Mortal Kombat 1/2, and NBA Jam were the biggest draws at said lock-ins - me and my mate would get a game in when we could, but more often than not we'd be scurred by all the older kids hogging the machine and "decide" we'd absolutely rather play something else

10. First game rented:
I rented any and everything, rather than saving up to buy one or two games.
But I can't for the life of me recall what my first rental was.
It was definitely for the older sister's NES, after we'd played the arse of SMB1 and borrowed a friend's copy of Duck Hunt, though.

Most memorable rental was definitely Mega Man 2, because we completed it 10 minutes before the return deadline.
I distinctly recall that the five minute drive to the video store was completed in three that evening

11. Other/Miscellaneous Arcade/Console memories:
- Queuing up for burgers at the airport with my old man, and stepping directly into pedestrian traffic* to get a better look at Street Fighter II. I'd only played A2600, SMS and NES games up until that point, so my tiny kid mind could not believe the size of those sprites and HOLY SHIT DID THAT STRETCHY-LIMBED BLOKE JUST SET FIRE TO THAT ARMY MAN?!!

*

For the foetuses among you, airports used to be busy places with many things and people inside them, instead of the barren liminal deadzones patrolled by glorified roombas that they are now.

Crikey, Lord British - that was a bit too much like therapy, unpacking that lot!

[Lord British]

Crikey, Lord British - that was a bit too much like therapy, unpacking that lot!

Great stuff DW!

[BareKnuckleRoo]

but more often than not we'd be scurred by all the older kids hogging the machine and "decide" we'd absolutely rather play something else

Oof, this hits right in the feels. I've been there too. Going back to arcades as an adult with actual confidence was nice. It was fun hitting up HEY in Japan and chatting with someone from the USA who had only played Mushi on his Switch and was trying out the sequel for the first time. Poor guy hadn't noticed that laser deals like 3 times the damage on bosses and is the Correct Way To Murder Bosses in keeping with standard Cave conventions, unlike Mushi or Progear where rapid fire's still pretty strong. Showed off a 1CC of Futari BL too, got to watch a businessman Ura clear DFK on his first credit like a badass, etc.

Most memorable rental was definitely Mega Man 2, because we completed it 10 minutes before the return deadline.
I distinctly recall that the five minute drive to the video store was completed in three that evening

[-Fish-]

I'm old. Earliest gaming memories are playing Adventure and Pac-Man on 2600 and also Choplifter on Apple IIe. I would of been around 5-6 years old.

Greatest gaming memories are far too many to list but I will mention a handful. (sorry for not following thread format)

1. My neighbor bringing over his PC so we could play Doom deathmatch/co-op around 1993. We connected our PC's using a null modem cable. This was pure magic I remember thinking considering the time period. I was in awe that we could actually play a 2-player game and not have to view the same screen. My friend left his PC at my house for a couple weeks and we'd play daily after high school.

2. Beating Super Smash TV (SNES) with a friend a few days after release and unlocking the turbo mode. Neat how the devs made the game appear to "glitch" and lockup then reboot even showing a screen with fake system RAM being counted. We literally thought we had broken his SNES.

3. Playing Rainbow 6 with my father using a PC LAN setup, around 1998. This is a good memory.

4. Playing Turrican 2 on our Amiga 500 around 1991. The sum of all parts (music/gameplay/graphics) made me view it as one of the greatest run n' guns ever made for that brief moment in time.

5. Playing Their Finest Hour on PC around 1989. Was absolutely obsessed with that one for a couple years. So obsessed, in fact, it took me down a path of learning everything I could about WW2 aerial warfare. I also remember being obsessed with Red Baron on PC as well shortly after.

6. Receiving Spy Hunter for Coleco Vision Xmas of 84' or 85'. I vividly remember removing the wrapping paper off the box. I barely remember playing it much ... just the opening of the present was more exciting I think. Funny how we retain certain memories.

[XoPachi]

Weird one. I remember watching something on G4. I think it was Cinematech or Icons. There was a clip they played of a prerendered cinematic from some mid or late 90's mideval PC game.

From a first person perspective you are watching someone lay down bricks, closing up a dungeon cell permanently. The person being locked away was screaming in terror while the brick layer silently did his work. I remember it looking quite surreal. Low framerate. Bit of motion blur so I dont recall making out faces. I was mystified by it but, I couldn't tell you the name of the game.

At the time, I thought for some reason that the guy laying the bricks was the one screaming. Like he was being controlled by a spell forced to lock himself away. I didn't realize it might have been a first person perspective at the time because there was no real indication of it.

[Lord British]

Weird one. I remember watching something on G4. I think it was Cinematech or Icons. There was a clip they played of a prerendered cinematic from some mid or late 90's mideval PC game.

From a first person perspective you are watching someone lay down bricks, closing up a dungeon cell permanently. The person being locked away was screaming in terror while the brick layer silently did his work. I remember it looking quite surreal. Low framerate. Bit of motion blur so I dont recall making out faces. I was mystified by it but, I couldn't tell you the name of the game.

At the time, I thought for some reason that the guy laying the bricks was the one screaming. Like he was being controlled by a spell forced to lock himself away. I didn't realize it might have been a first person perspective at the time because there was no real indication of it.

Sounds like Poe's Cask of Amontillado turned into a PC game

[Lethe]

And that's exactly what it is!

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

1. First Console Played: on eof those LCD handhelds that everyone had in the middle of the 80s? I'm not sure.
2. First Console Owned: Atari 2600
3. Games of #1 and #2 that made the biggest impression: Dark Chambers by far: in the middle of the 80s, as a kid, I was still used to single screen games, and Dark Chambers had many different levels as well - on an Atari 2600!!
4. Console (or PC) you most wanted but couldn’t get: Neo Geo, I did get a Neo Geo CD in the middle of the 90s though
5. Reasons for #4: it didn't match the design of our living room furniture obviously
6. First Arcade Game you remember playing: Yie Ar Kung Fu
7. What Arcade Games do you remember being in your hotel or on vacation that you got to spend extra time with because you only had several available?: Galaga, Nibbler, Pac Man; I was in second grade or something and my parents only gave me a couple of coins I could spend on these games since in their eyes it was a total waste of money
8. Arcade machine you could ride your bike to play: I grew up in Germany, there were virtually no arcade cabs, and those that existed were put in places no one under 18 could access (like the over 18 section in our local video rentals)
9. Game you remember having the longest line to play: NES games at a shopping mall my mum sometimes took me to.
10. First game rented: Aladdin/ SNES I think? didn't rent too many games, though, I usually preferred playing the shit out of my games and renting a game for 24 hours (effectively a lot less) never made much sense to my pre-teenager brain
11. Other/Miscellaneous Arcade/Console memories: I'll never forget seeing Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter (didn't play them, though) on a ferry to Britain for the first time. I was 12 and it was the first time I saw 3d graphics in a game and I was blown away by it. (That was at a time when SNES graphics were the pinnacle of gaming.)

[XoPachi]

And that's exactly what it is!

Yup. That's exactly it I got some details wrong but it's been 20 years. Surprised it wasn't some fucked up false memory entirely. That is....wow this game is unnerving as fuck.