I started out as a snes gamer but I became a real gamer during my n64 days. Starfox 64, I remember doing no hit campaign runs on hard mode when I was only 8 or 9 yrs old lol. Super Smash bros, I got so good at the game I would challenge myself by fighting against 3 cpus at max difficulty and handicap lol. I think that’s when I started to really challenge myself in games. I’d go to Eb games and they would have a demo station with smash bros and I’d go and play against other randoms lol.

You know, there was a similar question a few days ago about gaming background, and I did my usual semi-essay length ramble.

But this specific question reminds me of something I didn’t add into that because of that terminology, gamer.

See, I played games. I even played arcade games as a fairly dedicated hobby, but I can’t say I was a gamer. Same with the early Nintendo or even later console games. I played a lot, but I wasn’t a gamer because it was something I really only did occasionally.

It was mmorpgs that turned me into someone that would buy a dedicated gaming PC, spend entire days playing, and run guilds and shit.

But the one that started that wasn’t even one I played.

I had a friend/patient back in the early 2ks. Patient first, became a friend. He was dying, so we kinda did whatever the fuck he wanted. Dude was in his twenties, and fucking dying, so I ran him a d&d campaign, made sure that if he wanted to party, he could. I even got him laid a couple of times.

Anyway, he played this game called “Kingdom of Istaria” (iirc, it may have been spelled different). He’d play while music was blasting, and I’d keep his pills in order so he could just play as long as his stamina would let him.

Anyway, I hadn’t done much in the way of gaming in years at that point other than the occasional mariocart insanity with my sister. Seeing what could be done with graphics, the crafting and the mmo aspect drew me in. But, by the time I got around to setting up a PC, checking things out, the game was dead. So I tried other things and did so for long enough to meet the woman that became my wife while gaming.

But if it hadn’t been for that game, I might not have gone looking at all.

Mario 64 sealed it for me. First game that absolutely blew me away.

Shit my earliest memories are with a controller in my hand so I can’t say I remember, but the top 5 games that meant the most to me around ages 3-4 were sonic adventure 2, smash melee, crash 3, Mario duck hunt combo, and here’s a deep cut, Grabbed by the Ghoulies. That last one is a little unknown but it’s the first Rareware game to come out after Microsoft bought them. I still remember my dad walking in with the Xbox and joking he forgot to buy the games which were stashed in his jacket.

Astrosmash.

Metal Gear Solid

Super Mario World

Sonic the hedgehog 2/Mortal Kombat 1/streets of rage 1/ golden axe.

Got them all my hand me down sega. Best childhood ever

Frogger on the Acorn Electric

Rogue, Shadowgate, and Wizardry.