Generation Gaming

[Avanarius]

YouTube - Dan Bull - Generation Gaming

In spirit this gentleman's history of gaming I've created this thread in hopes of hearing yours.

Post your history of gaming starting from when you were a wee-little-one. Please only include games of which were the next notable step up for you (and not every single game you ever enjoyed). This does not necessarily imply better graphics.

Organize them by the year which you played them (not when they were released).

Feel free to include a story to go along with your time line.

[BRP]

pretty much super marios and then the halo

graphics are cool what about content final fantasy 11 got a good game when you get halo and you got halo and the battle rifles

[Katlan]

You make my brain hurt BRP

Oh, gotta contribute... SMB

[Jicent]

He sounds like the orbit gum big pak guy lol you brits

[Avanarius]

Alright, I guess I'll start then.

1991 - First introduction to gaming With the NES but true gaming didn't take off until 1995'ish

Mario 3 - Game that came with the NES me and my brother got for christmas.
Duck Hunt - Purchased after Mario 3 / Was amazed at using the gun controller (pretend to shoot my dad because it was funny)

1995 - PC / SNES era

Ceaser II - Came with first IBM computer and it was first notable game that I personally conquered beyond belief. Who could ever forget 'we need more plebs'
Myst - Visuals were freakishly amazing at the time.
Mechwarrior - First 3D game that could remember....aside from maybe a few.
Some Seirra game which I can't remember that I played EVERY day when I came home from school (no save feature though, so the game would start over every time)

Link to the Past / Zelda - Can't remember how many hours I pumped into this game. To this day, I can still speed run it.
Super Metroid - Only reason I would see my cousin was to play this game at his house.


There was a dead area here between SNES and N64 that I remember which sucked ass. I went back to the NES for a good period of time with games I picked up from Garage Sales. Two of those were Final Fantasy I, and The Zelda game in the gold cartridge.


1997 to 1999 - Playstation / N64

Final Fantasy 7 - Obviously a huge step up graphically from everything else previously. I just remember seeing the commercial on tv, then wanting the game so bad. Me and my brother ended up renting a playstation, but no memory card....Made it to shinra HQ before dying and starting over.

Goldeneye - First true multiplayer experience for me. Many hours I spent in the vents in the facilities. Also, Odd Job is a hacker.

Zelda OoT - Was a christmas present during winter 98? I believe.

2000 to 2004 - Playstation 2

SSX - was the first game I owned.
Summoner - I believe it was the first game I rented for PS2 (not very good, but I remember every bit of it lol)
Devil May Cry - Was the first big switch to the future of the PS2 for me. As well as Action games. I played the demo that came with Resident Evil Code Vironica at least 10 times.
Silent Hill 2 - First game that ever officially scared the crap out of me.

2005 to 2007 - Return of PC

During this time, my playstation 2 failed multiple times (disc read error) and my parents had bought a new computer. I found a game store which rented PC games, so I considered it the birth of my piracy. Wednesdays were a sweet day, 2 for 1 Games. Nothing like two brand new PC games for $5.99

Neverwinter Nights - First RPG I got for the new computer had to upgrade the graphics card to play it, which costed me $150 for a fx5600 I believe.
Morrowind - Not to mention this graphics card made the water in morrowind so pretty.
FFXI - Not even going to comment.

Joined BG Forums

Played More FFXI
FFXI
Counterstrike-Source
FFXI

2008 - ? - FPS era

After fading interest in FFXI, FPS found a new place in my heart and I spend more time on my computer now then I do my slimeline PS2 (which I bought from a friend in 2007ish). I have yet to buy an xbox 360 or PS3 but my brother bought a PS3 which I rocked out MGS4 on; Shit was phenominal.

[Cantih]

Let's see

To give a general timeline for this, I'm 24. This is also not a full list, I rented a LOT of games.

Started out on NES, played random stuff like Metroid, Karnov, Kirby, Star Tropics, the Mario's, bunch of rentals. Back then, it was more a toy, didn't play much. Only games I got all the way through, were Kirby and SMB3.

Next was the Genesis, this is when I really got into games. I played things like the Sonics, Stargate, Bubsey. The big games for me though
Shining Force 1 & 2, Phantasy Star 2-4, Shadowrun, Beyond Oasis.
I also got the Sega CD add-on, and played through Lunar 1 & 2, and Vay.
(Maybe this is how I can handle SE & FFXI. Better than good ol' Working Designs)

I've always regretted not having a SNES and all the RPGs on it. Fixed that when emulation came around though, but that's later.

I did get a Gameboy though, mainly played Link's Awakening though.

The next console was the Playstation. Got it because I was at a friends birthday, and someone was playing through (that's the kind of people I know, "Sure I'll be at your party, but I'm bringing this RPG, gotta get though it") Final Fantasy 7.
So, played that, and got the other FFs as they were released, Metal Gear Solid, Ridge Racer 4, Breath of Fire 3, Legend of Legaia, Legend of Dragoon, Alundra, Tales of Destiny, Chrono Cross, Star Ocean 2, Thousand Arms, Vandal Hearts, Arc the Lad, Broken Sword.

My FAVORITE though, is Legend of Mana. To this day I will attest that not for the job system and avatars, FFXI would be Legend of Mana Online, many game mechanics are very close.

Ever since I've been with Playstation and it's RPGs. Grandia 3, Wild Arms 3, etc. I've also played stuff like Ratchet & Clank, Mark of Kri, Monster Hunter, Kingdom Hearts, just random stuff.

At the same time, I had my first brush with MMOs, with the professional. TEXT based Gemstone 3. There was only one server, but at peak it had thousands of players, so it felt a lot like nowaday's MMO servers. Also, I think Simutronics is the only MMO company in the world that can give SE competition in customer trolling/abuse.

Also during the PS2 era, I was able to emulate old NES and SNES rpgs, so got through those.
Also got a GBA, so some stuff there. Zelda, MGS GB, re-releases.
Then the PSP, more RPGs, Monster Huntan, MGSan, etc.

And as obvious as I'm here on BG, and the fact I've poured 5 years into it, you could say FFXI is pretty major.

Currently on PS3. Own Folklore, LittleBigPlanet, MGS4, Orange Box, Ridge Racer 7, Valkyria Chronicles. (Rented Ratchet & Clank)

My PC gaming is weak, mainly because my pocketbook is, but it's mainly point & click stuff. Journeyman Project, Broken Sword, Monkey Island, Myst. Also, Warcraft/Starcraft, Mechwarrior.

[Jaybar]

Going to be hard giving accurate dates, but here is the best I can come up with (note: I was born in 1987):

1991 - Enter the NES and Atari (the former being played much more). I wish I could remember some of the non-mainstream games that motivated me to play video games more. Sadly the names escape me. Otherwise, there was your generic Marios at the time.

1992 - SNES made it aboard among the household. Along with the console came Super Mario Kart, Super Mario Land, and later Donkey Kong Kountry (or as I spelled it at the time). These games, and a few others, had permanently created a niche in my life. If video games were like a tree, the SNES and its games would be the base of the trunk. Note I have never touched an RPG until later.

1993 - With the addition of the Sega Genesis, I had started to branch out from simple platformers (although only a few I had been able to acquire). Games such as Mortal Kombat and Castlevania added new depth to my playstyle (i.e. more mature). I enjoyed the level of difficulty (at least at the time) I had with most of the games. Other great games include Sonic's 1 & 2, Vectorman, Primal Rage (for me, at least), and others that escape me.

Around this time I started getting into PC games, obviously DOS for the most part. The most famous for me was DOOM and as well as Duke Nukem. Perhaps not in this year, but three other's that really captivated me were Wing Commander, 7th Guest, and Sim City (2000).

1994 - By now my parents had afforded me a Gameboy, my first ever (and as I'm sure most others as well) handheld. Sadly since I was oblivious still to the gaming market and my parent's blindness to platforming games only, I was still playing simple games. By now I was getting aggravated with the same games over and over with very little reinvention. It wasn't until later that I hated myself for losing my fat gameboy.

1995 - This year was definitely one I will remember. This year was the first time I had laid my eyes on a Playstation. The only person that owned one at the time was my neighbor, and we would always go over to play (along with their NES and SNES games). Some of my all-time favorite games are on this console, and rightfully so. I still have every single one of my original games (the only console that I own to have this right). It was now that I had branched fully into the mature rated type of games (even though I was only 10 years old). I wont' give a full list of games, but here's a small sample:

Myst
Twisted Metal
Jet Moto

There was a long stint between 1995 and 1999 where development really didn't occur to me. I was playing better games, but it was still all the same genre (Fighting, Racing, Platform).

1999 - This year I think it was that I had picked up on Pokemon. I can't explain how much I loved this game. My three closest friends in grade school all loved it, and it was almost all we talked about during Lunch. To this day I still have a fondness for it, if only for nostalgia's sake. I had owned a Nintend 64 by now (probably earlier, but definitely not at release). Computers started to get more powerful and cheaper, and my father finally upgraded his archaic 1980's Windows 3.1 Compaq to something up-to-date.

During this time I began my climb into RTS gaming while pushing away platforming games I had grown tired of (Mario 64 being an exception). By now I've played or owned so many games on so many different consoles, it's only worth noting the ones that have changed my direction of playstyle (like I pointed out earlier). Command & Conquer had brought me that change in pace I needed.

2000 - And so it began. The final limbs of the tree branching out to bask in the blazing sun. My first ever purchase with my own money. What better item to buy with it than a Final Fantasy game. Which one, you ask? Well it was a simple choice, and it was Final Fantasy IX. It was my favorite, so far (VI being close behind, having recently played it). This was the beginning of my RPG career.

2002 - Ah, Highschool. So many new friends, so many new games. I had already been immersed in online gaming in Red Alert 2 while modding it as well (Voxel editors ftw). It sure was fun making a French Grand cannon tank. I had also convinced my mom (divorced parents by now, living with mother, but this had no effect on my gaming life, but figured I'd put this out there now) to convert to a cable internet connection. I thank one of my friends (who also got me HOOKED on Counterstrike and Team Fortress) for that.

I have owned a PS2 by now, with very limited amount of games. This console also holds the most amount of games that I had originally up until now, although not as much as PS1. I still remember my first purchase being Test Drive over at our local Best Buy.

2004 - October 1st, 2004. Jaybar is created. My MMO career begins. Not much to say. Dragoon 4lyfe :3

2005 - Freshman in college, and guess what - this was the first time I ever played Final Fantasy VII. BLASPHEMOUS! I loved the game, and I saw why others felt the same way, however I didn't find it the most amazing game in the world, especially for a Final Fantasy series. FPS gaming had run its toll on me and I got burned out. When Halo 3 had come along I didn't want any of it. My RTS days had ended as well (mainly due to the difficulty of modding) and its appeal had finally worn off.

To date, these are the consoles I have owned (in parentheses if played) -

Atari (unknown model, whereabouts unknown - possibly destroyed)
Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Sega Genesis
(Sega CD)
(Game Gear)
(Virtual Boy)
PlayStation
Gameboy
Gameboy Advanced
Nintendo 64
PlayStation 2
(Nintendo DS)
Sega Dreamcast
Xbox
Xbox 360
GameCube
PlayStation Portable (unmodded 1000 series, sorry to disappoint)


Thanks to FFIX I had immediately found the only genre that I love today. Because of it I went out of my way to find the games I missed (while most I had to find illegally, but wish I had not). And so ends my series. The tip of the branches have sprouted into what I play today, while I still keep in touch with my roots.

TL;DR
Didn't play RPGs until I was in High School. Grew up playing Mario, Sonic et al. As I matured so did my views on games. To date I have experienced several generations worth of games and consoles, and I don't regret a thing.

[Sol-Blackguy]

I grew up on the NES mainly and plaid the hell out of Super Mario Brothers 1-3 Dr. Mario, Tetris, and Mega Man. Thankfully, I never heard of Final Fantasy until Final Fantasy VII.

When Sega Genesis came out, I switched to that for most of my childhood and never touched a SNES. I beat the hell out of all the Sonic Games, Streets of Rage 1-3, Fatal Fury, Battletoads and Double Dragon, Rocket Night Adventures, Street Fighter II Special Championship Edition, Maximum Carnage, and even got a copy of Gunstar Heroes from a yard sale. I had other games, but those are the ones I can really remember.
One Christmas, the aunt that usually gives me socks got me a copy of Shadowrun. At first I was like what the hell? But fell in love with the unique gameplay that was ahead of its time. I think I had a Gameboy too, but can't remember anything but Tetris.

When the Playstation and Sega Saturn came out, I wound up getting a Saturn. Not a bad system by far, but not a huge game library compared to when the Playstation hit the market. I got the first release Saturn that came with Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona USA and Virtua Cop. Also, I had a blast with Sonic R, Panzer Dragoon, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Clockwork Night, Virtua Cop 2, Fighters Megamix, and Thre Dirtry Dwarfs. At least I did until it got stolen.
I got a Playstation the next year and played the hell out of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Crash Bandicoot, Grand Turismo, the Resident Evil series the Tekken Series. Around this time Final Fantasy VII was being marketed like hell, and I asked for it the following Christmas. Never playing a RPG before in my life, I was like "WTF is this shit?" and didn't play it for a good 3 months. Finally, I picked it up again and really got into it. Later on I got into other Squaresoft games like Final Fantasy Tactics Parasite Eve, Tobal, Xenogears, Legend of the Dragoon and the rest of the Final Fantasy series but started to ignore other game genre I used to be into. Sometimes I wish I didn't, I missed out on some serious fun.

When the Ps2 hit, I remember Summoner being a big deal. I gave it a try, but god damn, that game was horrible and glitched. Any time you can pause the game use a bunch of scrolls, unpause and kill everything on screen... well... you get the idea. I managed to get back into other game genres since I beat Final Fantasy X a little earlier than others. GTA 3 was awesome if not difficult at times, but still fun as hell. I managed to play some of the titles I missed on Playstation so that was good too.
Biggest Mistake ever and I mean biggest was getting Final Fantasy XI when it first came out. Never playing a MMO before, I fell into it hook, line, and sinker. I lost interest in my other games and had what I thought was fun. Next to dropping out of College, Final Fantasy XI had to be the biggest mistake in my life. I even went back twice after quitting... /facepalm

So now, I play a bunch of games I wish I had played during my RPG ADD, and when I wasted all that precious time on FFXI, while throwing in some time on Diablo II. I don't own a Ps3 or a 360 since I'm basically broke. Sometimes I even think that I may be getting tired of games altogether. I don't know, maybe time will tell...

[Palom]

Man, I feel old.

My first system was one of those "Home Pong" things. I think I've traced it back to being "Super Pong."
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t.../superpong.jpg
So much shit from there, I don't even want to bother going into it. My first system "for myself" was an NES in 1985 or 1986. And PS2 era made me realize I'm too old for this shit and that I suck at everything, so I just stick with RPGs anymore^^

[Elcura]

Man, all these posts are long. I started out on Amiga games like R-Types, Lemmings and random platformers. I guess Sonic really got me into gaming and drawing, FFVII got me into RPGs, Pokemon was there as well... What else, I guess that's all that really mattered to me. PS2 generation and onwards didn't feel as significant as I grew up, but I guess it's fair to put FFXI as my first real MMO (RO doesn't count).

[Lebzile]

I remember my first favorite game was probably a "Maze" game on my Atari, was awesome fun even my mom would play it with me when I was like 4 or 5.

Then I got into the NES/SNES, NES was duck hunt, an army game that I can't remember started with a J, and SMB obviously.

First RPG I ever played, excluding SMB on NES, was on my SNES which was Mystic Quest a FF spinoff game iirc. I also remember I'd always rent Kingdom of Fighters from our local rental store and play the shit out of that but would rage oh so hard when I got beat, broke at least 2 controllers from playing that shit, this was around age 7-8, lol.

Then came the 64 which I didn't end up getting till like 2 years after it came out, never did get a PS1, but I remember unwrapping that bad boy one Christmas, with Goldeneye 007 and Star Fox 64, fuck yes. Still have that shit packed up somewhere.

Then after that I think my gaming went down hill because I didn't get a Ps2 until like 8-9 years ago when I first started FFXI, yea sad right? Never wanted a playstation, what can I say? Oh and actually got a Gamecube before a PS2, don't judge me. I loved my Soul Calibur, Star Fox Adventures, and Luigi's Mansion.

Now I'm into the whole superior PC gaming generation since I'm tired of the console wars so I said screw it and just went with PC. Still want to buy an Xbox or Ps3 in the near future though. Q_Q

[rithridan]

Around 1986-1987
The furthest back I can remember I played with one of the first homecomputers made by Philips called the Philips P2000. It has a screen size of 40x25 with only 7 colors (according to wiki). You would have games like Pong on it.

1987-1995
The next gamesystem I played on was Philips MSX2 playing games like the Eggerland Series (1+2), Firebird, Kings Valley 2, The Maze of Galious, Metal Gear, Treasure of Usas, and many many more.

1996-1997
My first encounter with PCs around this time was when Quake was released. Although the PC that we had back then wasn't really capable of playing it rather well. Instead I played games like Doom, Dune 2 and Civilization. When I finally got a much needed upgrade on my system I really got into Quake and at that time Quake II was released and got a bit more into the whole online scene for games. I couldn't play online myself due to being restricted to a 56k and the subsequent phonebills so I was mainly learning the tricks from watching other peoples demos.

1998
Final Fantasy 7 got released for PC. It was the first time I really got into an RPG. It made a good impression on me and I think due to it I really became interested in other RPG. Other then that I still was very much into Quake 2 and especially since it was around this time the Gladiator bot which made me able to play a multiplayer like experience offline.

1999
This was the year the game was released which I've played the most and even now still occasionally play, Quake 3 Arena. Unfortunately I still didn't have a good connection which didn't cost me billions unless used conservatively. It wasn't until a year or so later that I finally got the ability to play online whenever I wanted without going broke. That pretty much changed the entire experience for me, to be able to play a game competatively against "the world". Before this all the human opponents that I had were my brothers and they gave up playing me in my games because it wasn't any fun for them.

2002
In this year I got the first MMO game I ever played, mainly because my brothers picked it up too and it looked nice. Asheron's Call 2 was a game similar to WoW in regards of skill trees and battle gameplay. I remember the game had a lot of issues with balance when it started out. A lot of the time you could change your entire spec because they change certain skills. I wasn't a very good player back then but the only thing I remember was I had a Lugian Tactician who could solo crap really well abusing those towers he could make. It was a very fun experience but eventually just died down for me.

2003
Around November 2003 I first got to see Final Fantasy XI. My brother imported from the US and was really stoked. It didn't take me long before I got my own version and made Rithridan on Gilgamesh. You could say this was the day I lost my life . I don't think anything really got my attention after it. I still played Quake 3 Arena back then but eventually I stopped playing it competatively so I could spend more time in FFXI.

2009
Recently my interest in the Quake series was kind of reinvigorated with the open beta of Quake Live a browser based Quake 3 Arena with some minor balance changes (weakened RG, LG). But I still mainly play FFXI due to my responsabilities as a linkshell leader, outside of events though I'm more offline then online. You can probably find me playing other games like Quake Live now.

(ding 500 )