Gaming Discussions

[Wally_AMD]

One discussion topic that my friends and I bring up every couple of months when we take a trip down PC gaming memory lane is: The game(s) that really kicked off our interest in PC gaming.

For me, and likely many of us I'm sure, I can date my first adventures into the gaming world with the help of an Atari 2600 or NES system. But I’m talking about PC gaming in particular – the game(s) that might’ve pushed your PC and FPS to the limits and made you think, “maybe it’s time I start looking into building a computer…”

I didn’t seriously start PC gaming until around my early teens. Games like Warcraft 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Doom 3 were a few of the games that really kicked off my interest in PC gaming. My uncle even helped build my first PC that had a whopping 4GB of memory, but a generic, integrated GPU. Still, I was over the moon!

You can almost make out what's going on here in Unreal Tournament 2004!

This was also during a time before I knew of any voice chat software, so my friends and I would just call each other on the phone to game together. (Yes, my mom used to yell at us to get off the phone since we had hogged the phone line all day.)

I can remember playing custom games like “Footman Wars” and Tower Defenses in Warcraft 3 that really pushed my frames to the limit (so much FPS lag during larger battles that I would just disconnect from the game; example below), and UT 2004/Doom 3 looking like a bunch of pixels (UT 2004 pictured above / Doom 3 not pictured because it still gives me nightmares 😅).

Example of Footmen Wars in WC III. This kind of scenario would have lagged me until I most likely DC'd, lol.

That PC lasted me throughout high school until I got a laptop for college – which essentially became a World of Warcraft machine for years (which also brought back the FPS lag during larger raids, LOL).

I could go on and on about other games that were part of my “PC gaming movement”, but I’d love to hear about your stories of games and PCs that kickstarted your passion as they did for me!

[mengelag]

I feel old saying this, but as a kid I used to play the hell out of Joust and Where is Carmen San Diego on an Apple 128 off a floppy drive. That's what started it all

[reutech]

The very first proper gaming PC I ever built was a 500MHz Celeron with a Radeon 7000SE.  That card came with a copy of a win 98 game called Recoil.  The amount of time I put into that tank of triangles was the start of something really special.

[Eudicots]

For me, it would have to be the GOAT, Math Blaster! At primary school, every desk had an eMac right underneath and I would play this game and others like it throughout class time. 

[Ashellus9]

The first Baldur's Gate is where PC gaming started for me. 

[DrCheeze]

Minecraft will always be my first and one of my favorites. Started playing it when I was 9 and I still play it every once in a while over a decade later.

[Hiramabiff]

I was on Windows 3.1 and it was a cheesy RTS turn based game I think called civil war where you built up your troops and killed the enemy. 

[kalykagnes]

In terms of of PC gaming Interplay & Bullfrong studios. Fallout and Dungeon Keeper.
My gosh why there is no continuation of those games as they were (isometric cameras).

[Lauricimo]

Ohhh that was so long ago 😄 I got that Zhiliton consol with a one cartridge (9999 in 1 games). First game I started was Space Invaders, still love that game.
But as for PC games it was Doom, Duke Nukem and later first Diablo 🙂 

[zhembree]

I started PC gaming early on enough that I was too young to have properly formed long-term memories. The first I can remember clearly are Age of Empires I/II and Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds.

[discoryne]

UT99 Facing Worlds

Ridiculously simple and campy, but a first of it's time and an excellent showcase of skyboxes' potential.

[Wally_AMD]

A legendary map.

[ZsilentsaintZ]

MineSweeper lol and the old sonic game i borrowed from school, A.O.E., Starcraft,

[Ryan220]

Games like Rise of the Triads, the original Mechwarrior and Doom  got me into PC gaming using iirc an AMD 486 DX4-100. 
I did play some games on an old 386 DX 40 but I can’t remember their names

[RockBottomBasement]

My brother built up a modest pc in the early 2000s, and I remember playing Swat 3 when I was too young and not understanding anything about it. But then he got his hands on Diablo 2, and I immediately fell in love with the game.

[BigTacious]

Road Rash dude! What a game!

[uncleswaggrenade]

I miss this game. Last played it around the time Need For Speed: Underground released!!

[uncleswaggrenade]

Watching a long lost friend of mine play Quake inspired me to get a PC in 1998 on which I didn’t end up playing Quake much, but got into SimCity 2000! 😉

[Mikediam]

It's Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade for me! 😁

[venaur]

My first PC game was Diablo. I still enjoy the original game ^.^

[lowteck]

[pswfps]

Wolfenstein 3D shortly followed by the original Doom. Running on a 386SX with 4MB RAM. I was blown away by what a computer could do 🙂