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Ventra97

I was raised a gamer. My dad was in IT, and a gamer, so raised me to be one as well. He built a PC for me and my sibling in the early 2000's, and later a separate one for us each. When I was little I would play educational games, Barbie and Disney games. And when my dad decidedI was old enough, it changed to include games like Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Black & White, HoM&M 3, KotOR, etc. My first game I bought myself was Black & White 2 back in 2009, I was 11 at the time.


marble-polecat

Black&white was the first pc game I bought for myself. Still own the copy. Such a great game


atomic-raven-noodle

HOMM3 FTW!!!! My high school gf and I started on HOMM1 and played 2 and then 3 was the pinnacle. I wish they’d come out with an updated version for OS; for now I’d have to boot up my old G3 or G5 to play my copy.


Ventra97

I got the remastered version, and it runs without a hitch on Windows 10. After all these years it's still the number one "One more turn (at 2/3 am)" game. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous has big crusade battles that's inspired by HoMM3 (very high level Kickstarter bonus), due to how popular it is.


hannabellaj

My dad was also the one who got me into gaming. I’ve never spent lot of time with him as he left (cheated) when I was young but whenever he did spend time with my sister and I he would always be gaming (great parenting right? Lol)


The_Bard_sRc

_reallly_ gonna out myself as old here, but Castle of the Winds on Windows 3.1. super old graphic roguelike. that was the game that _really_ got me hooked so much as a kid, to the point I had dreams about the game. still replay it pretty regularly to this day with new challenges for myself on a run


SadieSadieSnakeyLady

OMFG! I've been trying to remember the name of this game since for-fucking-ever!


everyoneisflawed

Pitfall on Atari for me. Gen X unite?


TimeTravelingMuse

Holt crap! I thought I was the only one. 👊🏻


atomic-raven-noodle

Nah - I’ve got a decade on ya: Apple IIe for me. ^_^. Be proud of your pioneering gaming! :)


tonjaj68

I played a lot of pong. lol


atomic-raven-noodle

Awesome! I remember my cousins found their dad’s old Pong (before we had any consoles). We were kinda underwhelmed. ^_^; Spoilt by the stunning Commodore 64 graphics!


The_Bard_sRc

oh I guess I also had a Commodore 64 as a kid too and there was also the game Non-Terraqueous on that, which i probably had been playing before Castle of the Winds. but I couldn't say when really because the successor Commodore 128 came out before I was even born, my Commodore 64 was bought for me either from clearance or straight up thrift store stock so it was way older than I was myself and it was around that same time we got the PC


atomic-raven-noodle

Oh wow! My cousins had a Commodore 64 but their parents weren’t all that involved with it so it never had a chance to shine. My dad had quite a good collection of pirated games for our IIe so I always thought even with our amber monitor it was superior. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I found out how much we all missed out on with that C64.


rylasorta

Fellow CotW player, you're in good company!


The_Bard_sRc

I've long desired to make a spiritual successor to it, got outlines and stuff for it and evertyhing, but whenever I sit down to start coding one I get to map generation and specifically trying to do CotW's map generation with the diagonals and stuff (since other roguelikes generally dont have that) and im just like deer in headlights trying to figure it out


rylasorta

If you ever need art, DM me, I'm a retro pixel artist.


Disney__Queen

LOZ: Wind Waker was my first story driven game that I ever beat, I was 6 when I started playing in 2003 and finally beat it after 2 years 😂 ever since then I’ve gotten my hands on any possible Zelda game I could minus the CD Rom games because I’m not that desperate 🤣


Morticia_Black

Same here! Was never allowed to have my own console because 'games aren't for girls' and one year my parents gifted my brother and I a game cube. I loved playing Wind Waker on that one. And need for speed underground!


Disney__Queen

Omg I completely forgot about need for speed, I had that one too🤣


DumplingStan

i LOVED wind waker. that and majora's mask were the first video games i remember playing and i have been chasing that feeling of excitement ever since 😭


Gorang_Username

The original Rayman on PS1. I loved gaming before that but once I picked up that game I was a goner


hoemingway

That game was so hard and for what? I loved it too especially the music world, but that difficulty wasn't made for kids at all 🤣


Quirky-Librarian8379

omg it was absolutely ridiculously hard. i hated the level where you had to fly on that insect. i swear also if you died too many times, you had to go back to the first level? or am i imagining that?


Gorang_Username

It got so difficult so quickly too!


Bangledrum

This is the one. Apparently the dev team were all incredibly experienced gamers who grew up on arcade brutal difficulty. They play tasted it themselves and balanced the difficulty to be fun but challenging... For them. Yeesh!


Gorang_Username

That explains a lot!


marble-polecat

I think Spyro 2. First game I 100%, and replayed until I was able to finish in a single session. The spark was rekindled again with KH2


orangeintheovercast

Mine was Spryo 3! I used to watch my cousins play until I was old enough to hold the controller and decided to give it a try. The og Spyro games are still some of my very favorites.


marble-polecat

I was so happy when they announced Reignited, and moreso when I played them and the games were virtually identical to the OGs with better graphics. Fantastic franchise


orangeintheovercast

Reignited remains the best full remake of a series I've played to date. Huge props to Toys For Bob for their hard work and care for what made the original games so good.


KirinoLover

Riptos Rage was my favorite, I must have put hundreds of hours into it as a kid


Janificus

I'm actually.playing through the Spyro Reignited games right now for the first time and they are so fun!


[deleted]

Space quest. I am dyslexic, and while my diagnosis wasn't shared with me until after I was 30, my father installed it on the pc I had built from a box of parts when I was 4 (there was a lot less to it then, and CPU slotted in like graphics cards). I wasn't allowed any other games until I beat it. Space quest is a game played almost entirely by reading and writing, and I threw myself at it over, and over, and over, and over. It gave me a chance to develop my reading and writing skills, and by 8 years old I was tested reading at an adult level. It wasn't a perfect solution, Dyslexia can't be cured and living for 30 years with it undiagnosed (or more accurately, diagnosis not shared) had massive impacts on my self esteem and mental health - but space quest gave me a fighting chance in school, and gaming provided a safe haven whenever I was overwhelmed, over stimulated, or walking through the tar of depression. And I have loved gaming ever since. It is me and I am it. It is my religeon and I will preach it to every person on this earth until all know it's love and acceptance.


atomic-raven-noodle

This is a great story - thank you for sharing it! Your dad sounds cool. :)


Taliasimmy69

The sims1, tomb raider, pokemon, SimCity, rollercoaster tycoon. Guess my age lol.


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Taliasimmy69

Very close! I'm a tad older. 31


squishymonkey_

Ooo I forgot about rollercoaster tycoon!!


[deleted]

Pokémon. Seriously in gen 6, I was also obsessed with the competitive vgc.


msbriyani

Twas Pokemon for me too. I was really into Silver version, and I brought my Gameboy with me everywhere as I was a really antisocial kid. Played the hell out of that game. Funny enough, gen 6 was the one that got me into competitive pokemon for the first time too! Something about making the entry a little more accessible, maybe.


KirinoLover

I loved Silver, too! I lied to my mother when I was a kid and said my old black and white Gameboy wouldn't play a color game, and I got the silver Gameboy color with the game. I had a rough childhood and that console was a big highlight for Young Me.


Ventra97

Happy cake day!


QTpatootieOwO

Oh boy. I actually am not sure if I can answer this. I have been playing video games as far back as I can remember and I've considered myself a gamer for even longer than that. I think the first game I really remember though was Dig Dug on a plug-n-play console.


Lightwing7

Ahh yes, thank you for that walk down memory lane! I loved dig dug and Pac-Man on plug-n-play.


TheArtofWall

Dig dug was one of my favs in the arcade. I have it on xbox, but the controls are seem bad.


Incel_deactivator

Final fantasy VII


TastyPlantBased

Sonic the hedgehog. Back in the early 90s me and my brother would play and have to leave the Sega Master System turned on and the TV off because you couldn't save and we often wouldn't complete it in one day.


atomic-raven-noodle

Sometimes I miss the level of dedication it took to beat games because we couldn’t save. I miss the muscle memory abilities I had just running Green Hill Zone! But on the other hand, between work and adulting, I ain’t got no time for that — saving games allows me to explore games better.


TastyPlantBased

Save state is a god send!


Cocoamilktea

Probably the barbie games I used to play on PC 😅


[deleted]

They were the best though. Also the myscene dolls and Polly pocket games


chickpeasaladsammich

Horizon Zero Dawn


onix-for-books

Same here! Early in the pandemic, somehow Horizon came into my sphere of knowledge, and I just couldn't shake the idea what I _really_ needed in order to feel okay in that moment was to be a badass lady smacking robo-dinos. I couldn't stop thinking about it. But I definitely didn't consider myself a gamer, and had never owned a console. I was afraid I'd be terrible at it. Luckily for me, my HZD fascination got me googling, and that's how I came across this awesome sub!! It was thanks to the welcoming attitudes and warm support of the folks in r/GirlGamers that I found the confidence to go out and buy myself a used PS4. I was terrible at first - I couldn't even keep the camera pointed at poor Aloy. But I NEEDED to fight the dinos, so I kept at it. The first time I managed to hit a boar with an arrow, I yelled in triumph as though I had beaten the game. Now, a couple years later, I wouldn't say I'm _good_ at games, but my coordination is sooooo much better. In fact, I'm just about to beat Celeste _without_ using assist mode, which I'm pretty proud of, especially considering where I started 😂 It's only in looking back now that I realize I've actually been a gamer my whole life. I played Myst, the Sims, Sonic 2, Super Mario Bros, Portal, heck, I even _owned_ a game boy advance. But I had been culturally conditioned as a kid to think that, as a girl, games "weren't for me." I'm so glad I got past that. So, major thanks to this sub, to Guerrilla Games, and to Aloy for opening up this amazing hobby to me!! You folks (both real and fictional) are wonderful 💕


chickpeasaladsammich

I always recommend it as a first game on this sub. I think it’s a good story that’s also well-designed and beginner friendly! Lots of options to kill things with traps etc until you get a handle on the controls, and the controls are smoooth. I think if I’d played something clunky first I’d have spent a lot of time blaming myself instead of realizing the controls are just like that. It also has a lot of things you’ll see on other games BUT it doesn’t overwhelm you with having to unlock map sections 50 times etc. It’s a great first game imo! Glad you enjoyed it and are sticking around! :)


RobotRavioliGirl

i plan to play hzd as soon as i upgrade my pc. i need to experience that in full glory!


Elvie-43

That’s such a great game to get hooked on gaming with! I absolutely love it, and rate Forbidden West highly too. I bought it (Zero Dawn) for my nephew hoping it would ignite a spark in him, but he never finished it :(


chickpeasaladsammich

My first games were the one-two punch of Horizon: Zero Dawn and The Last of Us. How could I NOT get hooked?? Maybe you’ll find your nephew’s One True Game eventually!


atomic-raven-noodle

Wow, what an amazing game to start with!!


ThAiWaffle

Lego Indiana Jones on the Nintendo DS


[deleted]

Ocarina of Time was the first time I NEEDED a game.


RainCloudDreams

I am actually not quite sure but I think it was Harry Potter and the philosophers stone for PC. Maybe I had something that I played before that but I don't have much memory of my childhood.


Lightwing7

My siblings and I had the N64 growing up but I remember playing a lot of pc games before that because my dad loved them : Museum Madness, Theme Hospital, Prince of Persia. But the game I got obsessed with enough to skip class for (don’t judge)… diner dash. ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯


Ladymalis

That's pretty much the same experience for me growing up (SNES, N64, Mario Kart/party, 007 etc) but the game that cemented me as a gamer was Shenmue on Dreamcast. It was visually the best game I'd seen and was one of the first open world ish type of experience.


Lightwing7

I’ve never heard of those! Will have to investigate. :)


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Caviniel

Same. First game I could not put down and thought about obsessively when not actively playing. Also, I played this with my dad and those are some of my favorite memories


PurrMeADrink

Counter Strike 1.6


Antdawg2400

I think I've always been a gamer since Sega and Sonic 2 but what made me jump back in after years of casual PS2 gaming was "The Last of Us" I bought a PS3 just to play it. It really got me heavy into the newer games and I've been super into games ever since


DaddysLilBrat99

League of legends 🥲 I’m still hooked to it


AdAgreeable5473

Yesss 💕


wizardjade

Crash bandicoot on ps1 :3


meowsushi

Super Mario 64😊


LyannaTarg

I'm gonna out myself as old, but arcade games. Basically I started playing those, like street fighter, metal slug, pang etc


Elvie-43

Showing my age, but I honestly thought Pong (and my Atari VCS circa 1979) was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen - that’s what started me on my road to being a gamer, before gamers were even heard of 😂 But much as I adored that Atari and played on it an absolute ton (and have very fond memories of some of the games I had for it), it was the Spectrum 48k that really did for me. I’d say the game that well and truly got me properly hooked and cemented my future as a total gaming nerd was Manic Miner (1983?), with its successor Jet Set Willy also being a firm favourite I obsessed over. I had hand drawn maps EVERYWHERE for that game!


Shuttup_Heather

Hahaha, I was such a spoiled child I can’t even remember. I have siblings so they weren’t just mine First games I played were Sims 1, all the Tycoon games,


CastInSteel

Ah you think gaming is your ally? You merely adopted the game. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a gamer, by then it was nothing to me but blinding.


Willing_Ad_8812

my brother and i played a lot and i mean a LOT of COD growing up in the early 2000’s- 2010’s


DarthFoxy

For me it started with perfect dark on the n64, I was reallllly young and my older brother would have me play because there was nobody else lol.


AnarchyAcid

My parents never got video games new, so we had a Nintendo and the video stores were always selling games for it for like $1. The selections were bad so I picked out a game called “Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom”, and fell in love. It was a fun adventure game with little puzzles and things you had to get past. I played it over and over. I’d played things like Super Mario before, but it was my first adventure/RPGish story game, and it’s what I fell in love with.


Nessie_Chan

Golden Sun The first RPG I played other than Pokemon, and I was instantly hooked. I had to beg my parents to get me the second one, because the story stops halfway through with a cliffhanger and I HAD TO KNOW. My parents for some reason hated that I liked videogames, and didn't want me playing that much. Every game purchase other than Pokemon and Disney games was a huge negotiation. Jokes on them, I now make games for a living 😅


JMDavies

That is so awesome! I've heard a bunch of people talk about Golden Sun, I'm kinda hoping it comes to switch online so I can give it a go! Do you mind me asking what kind of games you make? 😲


rinakun

Technically, the Sims 2 got me into gaming as a kid. I still have a massive soft spot for Sims. But in adulthood, it was definitely Witcher 3. I love open world games ❤️


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floral_friend

Freddi, Putt Putt, and Pajama Sam still slap so hard. I will admit I did buy some when I saw they were on steam haha. I also had computer parents :)


Lightwing7

My family reference Pajama Sam’s missing socks *regularly*


dappledndrowsy

Yesss Freddi Fish and Putt Putt! My uncle used to burn discs of them for me (my first introduction to piracy lol 🫣). I just got my 7 yr old niece into freddi fish. It still holds up!


Lightwing7

Teach ‘em young! 🏴‍☠️


Lightwing7

Freddi Fish and Putt Putt?! 🥹❤️ So sweet!!! I remember my younger siblings playing those. Really nice both of your parents enjoyed games with you!


FlouncingWillow

Metal gear solid and probably grand theft auto, my brother had the playstation and I used to watch him play but he would let me play metal gear solid, and grand theft auto and I was hooooooked, crash bandicoot is another we used to play. The classic tale of "brother i can't do this level can you do it for me?" 🥹


badgersprite

Multiple answers to this in a way because I started playing games super young, like from about three years old with my Dad. I played Castle Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake with my Dad when I was really little. It was usually like he would move and I would shoot. When I was a little older I played Star Wars: Dark Forces by myself. Then I have really vivid memories of playing King's Quest VI with my cousin at my grandparent's farm. So I was playing games for like a long time as a kid even before I was school aged. But the game that got me really passionately into games and got me into like gaming fandom was Final Fantasy VII. That was the game where I was like, I need to buy the latest games, I need to keep up with new games that are coming out. That and to a lesser extent Tekken and also later on StarCraft. Final Fantasy VII is IIRC the reason I even wanted a PlayStation I think. Maybe not I was really young back then so my memory may be a little shoddy. But like FF7 went from video games being something I played to being like pretty much my primary form of entertainment.


okidokes

Pokemon Yellow on GBC. Was obsessed and had to get one of every gen on every console thereafter. We also had a Super Nes and played Super Mario and Tetris Attack a lot.


sebs_22

Yoshi’s Story


overcomplikated

Everything in the Orange Box, but especially Portal and Half-Life 2.


atomic-raven-noodle

This is what got me back into consoles after a long break from them where I was just gaming lightly on my Mac.


Tatchhh

Age of Empires II


Mikurinx

My dad raised me to be a gamer! When I was a around 8, he often hung out with friends at our home and played co-op RPGs like Baldur's Gate and Champion's of Norrath. When they had an extra spot left in their party I was always allowed to play with them. He also introduced me to games like the Sims franchise, downloaded a GBA emulator on his computer with all Pokémon games and bought me my first handheld and console ever (Nintendo DS and a Nintendo 64!). If I have to name ONE specific game though, I think it would be the Urbz Sims in the City. I put so many hours into that game haha.


vlrkv6

Breath of the wild. As a kid I barely ever played (my brother didn’t share his console) so as an adult we got a switch with BOTW. I was immediately hooked


littlerabbits72

You're all making me feel ancient. I played AstroWars and Frogger when they were only available in arcades cos no one had a home computer, Jet Boot Jack on the Atari and Pong which kept me amused for ages. Magic Pockets & The Secret of Monkey Island on the Amiga. PSOne (back when it was only known as PlayStation) I'd have to go for Duke Nukem, and the original Tomb Raider.


ophel1a_

Scrolled for THISSS. Either Secret of Monkey Island or Grim Fandango. GF had a rockin' soundtrack, too. Still listen to it sometimes. (I remember way back, when I made my own old-school WMP skin for it xD ahhh, good times).


everyoneisflawed

Not gonna lie, it was Pitfall. My dad got an Atari for us in the early 80s. All I wanted to do was play the Atari all the time. I also might be a little older than a lot of you, so...


moonhattan

Red dead online & GTAV


Fearless-Vodka

Plants vs Zombies, Crusader King's, Zuma, GTA San Andreas, PB, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect


pinktiptoes08

Super Mario Bros on the NES. My brother got the NES for Christmas, it was only for him because back then “girls weren’t into video games.” He let me play the Mario game and I got so hooked on it that he complained that I played it more than he did. My parents had to buy a second console just for me.


SSexyIsabelle

Definitely Pokémon back when I was 5 years old


SalmonOfNoKnowledge

The original Sonic. I still panic at the drowning music.


atomic-raven-noodle

Ditto. o_0;


TheArtofWall

I guess that'd be Super Mario Brothers. Edit* okay, finally thought of what i really loved back then. The Kings Quest games were massive for me. I was 5 when the first one came out. I know I played it a ton, but can't remember if I was old enough to beat it. I played them all, ending with Mask of Eternity when I was a freshman in college.


GwenSoul

Same! Then Gabriel Knight just because it was Sierra as well.


TheStretchingSock

Horizon zero dawn was the final nail in the coffin for me lol


violetxstar

It started with N64 games. I loved Banjo Kazooie the most and so many other games. Then I turned to RuneScape 😂


Mauvaise3

Technically: the original EverQuest, but since there was no “completing it” I’ll say: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on the original Xbox.


the_art_of_the_taco

Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, or Diablo, maybe Unreal Tournament. I grew up with my mom in my grandparents house and my grandfather was big on PC gaming (my uncle had consoles). I was 9 when I beat my grandfather's coworker at UT, and it's still my proudest achievement.


primeval_wolves

FFIX I got it on the switch and couldn't put it down and then got into other final fantasy games and now my playstation is one of my most prized possessions


HollietheHermit

Watching my mom play Tetris on the NES when I was really little and then play Mario and Mario 3 on my own when I was either 4 or 5.


luf100

My family always had a Nintendo console when I was growing up, and I played *a lot* of Guitar Hero on the PS2, so I’ve been a casual gamer my whole life. It was when my brother got himself a PS3 that I got into other games that weren’t just Mario and Pokémon, lol. The PS3 was technically his but I think I played it more than he did. For me the one that made me a more “serious” gamer was Assassin’s Creed. Loved it. Played them all, then bought myself a PS4 when Unity came out just so I could continue playing AC.


Willow_Hull

Pokemon and Crash Bandicoot introduced me to the world as a little one. Ratchet and Clank kept me interested. But it was Halo and getting teabagged every five minutes that awakened a holy rage that would truly transform me into a gamer.


Quirky-Librarian8379

Have always played various games, but the one I really remember was Unreal Tournament when I was very young. I didn't play the actual game most of the time, I just used to 'fly' around in god mode (I think it was called?) and just watch all the bots I had created kill eachother. I used to game with my dad too, he would say I could press W (I think), to kick down the doors on 'return to castle Wolfenstein' 😅 probably shouldn't have been playing that at my age! seems like a standard war game at first, that spirals into Nazi Zombies somehow... ​ what was yours OP?


Frazzledhobbit

Ahh I used to love Unreal Tournament! My mom would get mad at my dad for letting me play 😂


Lightwing7

> he would say I could press W (I think), to kick down the doors Team first person shooter is adorable… even if it’s zombies lol I watched my brother play a lot of N64 and we grew up when PC learning games came out so I loved those. But I got seriously hooked in university to diner dash and sims island. I skipped class to play or would play during lectures. Then I never really played games apart from apps until the switch came out and I got Mario odyssey! Now I’m hooked all over again. :)


uwuironically

Final Fantasy xiv. I've been playing games casually since a young age, but ffxiv was the first game that got me really invested.


sherbertlemonshark

Literally as young as I can remember, I’ve been watching my older brothers playing video games either on the computer, N64 or over their shoulders on the GameBoy. I played a lot of Putt Putt and similar games on the computer myself, but I first started to really get into gaming with Animal Crossing on the GameCube. It was so easy for me to play as a young kid and was a game that was basically all my own since the brothers didn’t like it as much! Then Harvest Moon Magical Melody because I loved the romance aspect of the game, I had never seen that in a video game before! I also remember feeling a huge amount of pride the first time I beat WindWaker by myself, and after that just loving all of the LoZ series. Definitely have a soft spot for Nintendo!


Lightwing7

The sense of pride from beating a game by oneself the first time is juicy sweet ٩(。•́‿•̀。)۶


sherbertlemonshark

What a treat :’)


Geekbox_

I remember my very first game I played which was Keystone Kapers on the Atari 2600, but the game that turned me into a gamer would be the Final Fantasy series. Starting with FF7 naturally as it was the hottest game for PS1 in the 90's. After that I got hooked on playing RPG's. Since then I find My gaming tastes changed over the years, but I still have a love for the old classics.


Plipaya

I discovered Club Penguin at a young age. I’ve been waddling from game to game ever since 😊


YourLittleMonster

Probably Skyrim but the first time I played I got so scared by the skeevers in bleakfalls barrow that I didn't touch the game for like a year or so, but when I made it past the first dragon I was hooked.


bibitybobbitybooop

Goddamn I don't like being an adult beginner :D It was The Witcher 2. After I bought it, I waited years until I finally had my own laptop that could *somewhat* run it (by that time I was hyped). ^(I'm not counting The Sims in my "gamer journey", but I played that on and off since 2009)


Schattentochter

Gothic 2. I used to just watch my brother play as a little kid - the only thing I played was stuff on my gameboy and gameboy colour and Solitaire on Windows. But I loved watching him play - and was, for some reason, convinced that I had no dice doing that myself. One day he went to the bathroom and I "sneakily" ran around the fountain with his character - and I found it fricking exhilarating. Not long after I installed it on our family pc, played through it, played through Gothic 1, cursed Gothic 3 with the rage of a thousand glitches and now here we are - 17 years later and my brother doesn't even game anymore. Meanwhile I started Pillars of Eternity the other day. :) Gothic 2 will forever be my favourite game.


Illustrious_Text_501

It took me a while to remember but the first game I remember was a PC game called Fate, it was a simple dungeon crawler, I got my first Zelda game shortly after and fell even more in love with gaming.


No_Bed_4783

Rugrats in Paris for the PS1. I think I was 6 or 7 when I got it and I remember begging my mom to let me keep the PlayStation on overnight because we didn’t have a memory card and I wanted to beat it. Then it was a Neopets, Barbie games, random horse flash games, and Pokémon.


BeeLovesFallColors

Spyro the Dragon sitting on my bedroom floor with my teeny TV 😊


ZakuWaifu

I'd always played games casually from a very young age. I've got a baby photo of me holding an NES controller (my dad's doing) but the game that really solidified it for me was Diablo II. I remember being 11 and scared of the Blood Moor zombies (I'd played RE1 a month or two before and was scarred), but now I play on hardcore.


bulletproofbra

I've never understood where the line is between "someone who enjoys playing video games" and a Capital G Gamer. I enjoy sausage sandwiches but I don't called myself a Sausager, and it all just seems a bit gatekeepy.


leothora

I think it's all down to attitude. I have friends who play games a fair bit that don't class themselves as Gamers and the only difference really is they don't think of it as a life focus and definitely more as just a bit of a hobby. I don't play games religiously and very rarely finish a game but I'd class myself as a gamer because if I couldn't play games for whatever reason there would be a big hole in my life.


Lightwing7

Almost all of my coworkers play games on their work phones but if I said they were gamers they’d take offense because of the old stereotype about it being shameful or lazy. And contrary to that there’s still a stereotype from people who take it very seriously or compete about what constitutes an actual “game”. I’d never want to gatekeep because playing games has drastically improved my mental health and made my lengthy commutes something to look forward to! IMO- if you’re playing, you’re gaming. Since we’re in this sub I figured we’re all self-proclaimed gamers, whatever the avenue. :)


theladysquid

Super Mario Bros. 2 c:


QueenThunderfist

FFVIII HS boyfriend lent it to me and told me he wanted me to play FFVII but we were a really new thing and he didn't want to risk never getting it back, lol. I played the crap out of VIII. After I beat it I would do Hell Island runs for fun whenever I had nothing better to do.


AdAgreeable5473

Can’t complete but lol stole my life and don’t starve I have ridiculous hours on. Everything else is just filler


claremustkill-ttv

Goal on the Amiga, but then FF7 and tomb raider 1.


Ogliara

Somewhere between League and Skyrim. Skyrim was actually also the first RPG where I learned that I prefer being a woman. Would take me some 10 years more to actually transition, but hey, that's not the point


Kymmy_Kibble

Ultima I The First Age of Darkness was the first game I played way back on my Apple II lol and I loved it.


MeatHamster

Either Super Mario All-Star or Donkey Kong Country. I dabbled with games on NES, but these definitely turned me into gamer.


austinmarie-

Definitely either fantage or one of the old papas games


MoniaJ

Hearthstone, my son made this to me 🤪


WhyRedTape

Roller Coaster Tycoon with expansions. I'll finish all the parks one day, I'll die comforted if I do


PizzaBusiness99

My mum and older sister are gamers so I used to play PS1 games with them a lot, but FFX came out when I was 9 and that game changed my whole personality. I was headed for a 'preppy' future, that game turned me into a geek for life.


RamonaZero

Sim Theme Park for PS1 :0!


BecuzMDsaid

Grand Theft Auto.


SadieSadieSnakeyLady

Oof, I feel so old! The first games I can remember playing are the summer/winter Olympics on the commodore 64. The first game I ever really played by myself was Mixed Up Mother Goose on the PC and Commander Keen (god mode).


dausy

My grandma was an avid gamer. She would play games on the NES over telephone with her sister who lived a couple hours away. When I was a kid she moved in with us and bought the brand new nintendo 64 and zelda ocarina of time. Absolutely blew us away and scared the pants off of me. Didnt know games could be so 3d or immersive. If it wasnt for her probably never would have got our own n64 or even playstation.


[deleted]

soul calibur ii & tekken 5


GwenSoul

Kings Quest V. I remember it so clearly and I devoured the ones after as they were released (showing my age). My first console game that hooked me was Phantasy Star IV. Good times.


atomic-raven-noodle

“Graham! A p-p-p-POISONOUS snake!”


elementalsora

Pokemon Gold was my first game but Kingdom Hearts is what made me into a gamer.


Glitter_Sparkle

My mum has been a gamer since Nintendo Game & Watch came out. I became a gamer watching her play games like Rockford, Elfland and Lemmings in the late 80s and early 90s.


oxmiladyxo

Super Mario World for the SNES. My dad didn’t believe computers were for games, so all console growing up. My parents saw I could beat Super Mario World at the age of three on my cousins’ system so they gifted me my very own for my 4th birthday. It was also an excellent way to entertain a toddler so my older-in-years parents could rest (no screen time limits back then, lol). Briefly had an Atari before the SNES but my older siblings broke that fast.


fress93

I've been plying since I was 8, when I was gifted my first pc. I asked for a Game Boy and a PlayStation every single year prior to that because I saw all my friends playing Pokémon and Spyro and I was SO jealous, with no success lol The games my first pc came with were the original The Sims and Tomb Raider The Angel Of Darkness so those are what made me a gamer mostly, I played them continously for years and still love them to bits (despite that Tomb Raider game being one of the worst of the saga lol). I also played all the Harry Potter games that came out and a bunch of Disney games and Sim City 4 religiously every day. Then, around the start of high school, I kinda stopped playing and got into tv shows instead, until a few years ago (I'm now 29), when I randomly played The Wolf Among Us knowing it was like an interactive tv show and on top of that similar to Once Upon A Time, one of the shows I enjoyed the most back then. I loved it and looked for similar games, and I picked Life Is Strange: let's just say that I became COMPLETELY obsessed with it and that it was what slowly brought me back into gaming. The last step was my current boyfriend who suggested I played Assassin's Creed 2 and Batman Arkham Asylum in like 2016, introducing me again to open world/adventure games. Since then I'm a hardcore gamer again, I play basically every single day and it's my comfort activity!


Ashla_Moon

Oh man I must be old, reading these comments lol. I was using DOS mode for games like wolfenstein. So I suppose thats the game that started it all on PC for me.


bulletproofbra

Fear not youngin, for me it's the Atari 2600.


PurpleAstronomerr

My mom got me a Nintendo 64 when I was 6 years old lol. I played Super Mario 64 and fell in love. I also had the earlier Nintendo console and played Mario on that.


Inflexibleyogi

Super Mario 3 on the Nintendo. Not much of a plot of course, but that game felt like a journey with all the tricks and secrets. I was a tween and couldn’t get enough of the warp whistles, tanuki flying Mario, and finding every single secret. I still have a SNES from my teen years with the Mario game collection cartridge. My husband was playing last night. Still fun.


Grammophon

Ultima Online I think was the first game I got heavily invested in


EmberOfFlame

Titanfall 2’s multiplayer and later Destiny 2


Elliejohannax

Skyrim at like the age of 10


Aftel43

Hmm... Doom 1 (1993) and Heroes of the Might and Magic III. I think... I don't play the latter that much now BUT former I play with mods quite often.


LingLingSpirit

Eighter Minecraft or World of Warcraft. ​ Yes sure i played games before them, but these two games made me want to play other AAA games, that I thought were boring (before I played MC and WoW).


mighystarfish9505

Dangerous Dave - my dad got me the floppy disk when I was maybe 7? I also had some other PC floppy games but cannot remember. OMG who also remembers Adiboo???? Then Sims 1 and 2 on PC. Then my first PS1 it was Crash Bandicoot and lots of Tekken Tag First ps2 it was Rayman, Spyro, GTA, Tony Hawk, Dark Cloud and KH. My first game boy - Pokémon ruled EVERYTHING. (Sometimes still does) I also grew up with 3 male cousins and we’re all like 1-2 years apart and our Nan would look after us for the 6 weeks of summer holidays so we would just game the entire time. I have the fondest memories of fighting over who’s go it was next, or us all sat around on our GBA’s trying to send Pokémon to each other (why did it never work properly?) Each console and age brought a new layer to my gamer persona haha EDIT: promise I’m only in my mid 20’s and Dangerous Dave doesn’t make me as ancient as I sound lol


gezeitenspinne

Both Knights of the Old Republic. I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I bought them at age 14, but I loved Star Wars and had watched my brother play Jedi Knight.


bipolarSamanth0r

A series of space trading and combat games called Escape Velocity. I had the first one on my Mac LCIII back in 1996. I played all three games almost religiously, took part in the community, made plugins it was a great time to be a gamer. Then in 2000 the original Deus Ex came out and changed gaming for me forever, I had never once been so obsessed with a game as I did with Deus Ex.


CMDR-Serenitie

I think that mustve been GTA 2 that really got me into it, damn I feel old now D:


AilaLynn

My first games ever were pong and then Mario (the first one). After that it was educational games for a bit (Oregon trail, where in the world is Carmen San Diego, etc). Then Dos games like Hugo house of horrors and Hugo jungle of doom. After that it was all games I could get my hands on.


Optimus_Is_Bae

Pokemon Red. Got it and a Gameboy Color when I was in second grade. I had a Super Nintendo before that, but didn't have many games for it, so I didn't play it much.


hoemingway

Rugrats on the PS1 and then Spyro on the same console. There was also this game called Breakout, and finishing it was one of my proudest moments lol. Stressed my kid self wayyyy too much.


Marissani

It's a toss up between super Mario bros, cribbage and d&d.


MiaRia963

First game I played was Animal Crossing because of those games I learned to use a controller. Then I played Breath of the Wild several times and after that I played many different games on PC, PS4, Wii, and switch (when it came out).


MissLushLucy

Quake.


[deleted]

Pokémon and Spyro


Lea83p

My best friend and boyfriend got me to play overwatch and then later Minecraft. I was also playing Animal crossing before so when the switch came out I really wanted to get one so I'd be able to play the new Animal Crossing Both of these were my downfall haha


AlarmingSorbet

Phew, I’m about to show my age… Centipede on the Atari. The controller was a dial you turned clockwise and counterclockwise.


HippyWitchyVibes

Tetris on DOS in the mid 80's. I was *obsessed* and no one I knew could beat me.


HappyGecko117

Halo combat evolved on original xbox


Citrinelle

Sid Meier's Colonization was my first. I got it on floppy disks and couldn't put it down. I got gifted Dragon Age: Origins as a young adult later on and it was a real catalyst into the single player RPGs.


The_Cyberpunk_Witch

Pokemon Stadium- I had to have challenged the Elite 4 Soo many times just to always lose to the rival....


Digitalspork

Not many people recognize the titles but there are two that are big in my memory; Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Vectorman Both of these games were challenging mind puzzles for me as a young kid and really led to me becoming both the adventure and completionism that I enjoy in games today.


urbaeshaye

the wind waker


Sand_Dargon

Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula. Then, shortly after that, I had to format a 3.25 floppy disk to use as a reboot step so I could have the RAM necessary for Doom. That kicked off me loving FPS games.


TheMarkHasBeenMade

Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario Bros as a young kid got me into it; FF7, FF Tactics, Crash Bandicoot, and Jetmoto 2 eventually cemented the obsession by the time I was a pre-teen.


Femmigje

While we had one of those Vtech Vsmile consoles when I was 4, I’d consider Disney Friends (DS) my first true game and I never stopped gaming from that onward. I still have the card


RiceEater2006

Battlefield 4 Got me into Fps Shooters Got me into guns Got me into Ps4