old fart

Sotamom · Post by **Sotamom** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 9:10 am

A Tandy CoCo 16K?
Blimey, that is going back a bit.
My first games were on a Tandy TRS-80, think it had 4k to start but I upgraded to 16k.
First games I bought were in the form of a book & spend many, many hours typing them, even more hours debugging (lousy typing mainly) only to find out most of them were rubbish & not worth saving to cassette.
I guess that must put me firmly in the nerd grouping, oh dear.
I also played Elite, but on the BBC model B. Got to be one of the all time great games, otherwise why are people still doing rewrites of it?
Must also have to mention Dungeon Master on the Atari ST. Actually played this game non-stop from a Friday night straight through to Sunday. For it's time it was mind blowing!

Ubik · Post by **Ubik** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 9:36 am

Oh my! The very first thread I have spam... err, posted in, is back to life!

Well, hello to all newcomers!

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 10:58 am

Let's just say I'm over 40 and write for a living, and leave it at that.

Satyr · Post by **Satyr** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 11:03 am

I'm pushing forty... although my wife swears I haven't matured a day since my 18th birthday. (I'm taking that as a compliment)

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"Pain heals,
chicks dig scars,
glory lasts forever."

Hazim ibn Gorion · Post by **Hazim ibn Gorion** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 11:21 am

Actually, the first computer RPG that I played was some text-only adventure (of the "face to the west" variety) that I played on my first computer, a Commodore 64 with a tape drive. Talk about your long load times. I can't remember anything about it except that it wasn't really very fun. Once I got my 5" floppy, it was Winter Games and Karateka all the way.

Blobbas · Post by **Blobbas** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 11:37 am

Hmm... tons of oldtimers here I see.

I'm only 15 years old, and has been playin RPG since I was 9 or 10.

Sir Percy · Post by **Sir Percy** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 7:39 pm

I notice Sotamom used to own a Trash-80, which was pretty much the same as my old System-80 from **** Smith.

Co-incidentally, I also vividly recall some great gaming on the BBC (whatever it was) with Elite, as well as a really good hack'n'Slash game on the C64 which may have been the precursor to the Ultima series.

My next machine was a Sinclair QL with the little micro-cassettes. That one had a 2x16-bit processor and was so advanced (for its cheap price) that Apple bought out the company and closed it down. Gee, capitalism is soooooo good for the consumer, eh?

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 9:13 pm

Heh, Percy, you bring back memories. My wife's first machine was a Kaypro 2. It finally got left behind (accidentally, but thank the gods) two moves back, about five years ago--the thing was only good for being a boat anchor by then.

My first machine was an old Tandy with a tape drive. I seem to recall it had a memory of 48K, but I'm not sure. An Atari 800 followed in a while.

The Outsider · Post by **The Outsider** » Fri Mar 16, 2001 5:25 pm

Well, if we're all sitting around pulling on our beards, I'll join in. Mind the sheddings.

I'm currently 24, working on a degree (in religious studies and comparative lit, as i mentioned in another topic). Been playing computer games since 1988 or so... holy cripers! That's more than half my life! I've been playing computer games longer than I've been able to have sex! <um wait that was tasteless>

Next person's turn to embarass themselves.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Fri Mar 16, 2001 11:32 pm

That's me...

Hi everybody! I'm new here. Me and my husband (yes, I got him addicted too, hehe) recently finished BG2. I've looking through several BG message boards, and found this one the best, covering relevant topics and very good and to the point information. After reading the postings in this area, I think I understand why. I really appreciate the surprisingly broad variety of people writing here, and I need not feel like an overage gameplayer, turning off the sound of my computer when my friends and collegues phone me ;-) I'm 30, clinical psychologist and Ph D student in neuroscience. Haven't played computer games since the old SSI gold box series, but I just I adore the BG-series and have the time to play it too, since my lab is down due to changing technical equipment.

About the sex and computer game issue: I have the ideal solution. Just get your partner hooked on the game too, and then, every now and then when you like a little break in the gameplaying...

gooser · Post by **gooser** » Sun Mar 18, 2001 12:53 am

I am 23 years old and this is my first post here. BG2 is the first single player RPG I have tried(I played Asheron's call for a few months before i dropped it) and so far i love it. I'm still only in chapter 2 because i can't stop taking every little side quest i run into. at this rate i'll still be playing the same game come fall!

As for background i work as an auditor for an inventory service, we are the ones you see running around retail stores with oversized calculators strapped to our thighs counting everything. I have been spending the last few years trying to find both the time and money to back to school but i never seem to have them both at the same time.

I feel i must issue a warning to anyone considering following the advice of the posters suggesting that you show the game to you wife/girlfriend. I made that mistake twice before with Warcraft II and The Sims, and both time i couldn't get near the computer for months afterward, so this one i'm keeping to myself, at least until i beat it!

Loredweller · Post by **Loredweller** » Sun Mar 18, 2001 11:01 am

Hi,
seems i'm oldest one here so far, if i haven't missed somthing - 50, DBA, 26 years in programming

I remember even kling shooting (there were such a game for IBM/360 on 24x80 terminal -does anybody else here remember?). There is sometimes long waiting in my job, so RPG are handy

Though they are time consuming indeed, BG takes even my free time.
In RPG only from M&M III and Betrayal at Krondor, though. At least i cannot recall more early RPG for me for sure. Oh yes, there have been some might be pretending to be early RPG, but, if i even do not remember their titles, it is not important.
Best wishes,
L.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Mar 18, 2001 12:17 pm

At 50, you beat me by a year. I'm a writer, a onetime public radio manager and producer, and have been playing these games (and complaining about the bad fiction they produced) since Gygax's first books showed up.

whitelight666 · Post by **whitelight666** » Sun Mar 18, 2001 1:14 pm

hey now fable, that "bad" fiction is what started me on rpgs and reading in general. I think its a valuable introduction point for the younger generations.
Long Live the Forgotten Realms!

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Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and start slitting throats.
-H.L. Mencken

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Mar 19, 2001 2:48 am

Whitelight, I never meant to challenge your taste in fiction. Besides, many people have become interested in various fields on the basis of having their imaginations stirred by mediocre material.

But there were tons of good fantasy years before Gygax came along! If anything, his AD&D Fantasy Machine has forced a lot of good fantasy out of the bookstores, since he can pay less, and churn it out faster. Quality isn't a concern, unfortunately.