My first game was Seafox, a submarine game cartridge for the Vic20. And that was it, I was glued to the computer. I tried some Basic, but I liked playing games more than programming. I didn't have to type as much!
I really wanted an NES, but my parents wouldn't shell out for something that just played games, so my dad bought a new gen, white Commodore 64 with 1541-II floppy drive. That broke the seal for a world of games. I knew a lot of people with C64s, and copying games was easy with Fast Hack'em. I still remember a lot of the games: Space Taxi, Epyx Games (summer, winter, etc...), Impossible Mission, Maniac Mansion, 1949, Commando... It's all in boxed away in my parents' basement, now.
I remember begging my dad for a IBM PS/2, but they were really expensive. We ended up getting a 286 clone, and bought a math co-processor from Future Shop for around $300 bucks. My dad needed it for AutoCAD. The piracy continued with the 286: Wing Commander, Ultima, Simcity, Prince of Persia, Syndicate, Woflenstein....
Once I bought a Sound Blaster Pro, I was in computer heaven. Games that only beeped, now had substance. Shortly after, I got a 2400 baud modem, and had some fun on BBSs, playing online games, like Barren Realms Elite, Lands of Devastation, and the Pit. I recall a time where my friend's BBS played BRE against other BBSs, and he came up with a plan that would maximize our income, and allow for Gooey Kablooies to be deployed daily.
We've had some consoles: NES, SNES, Genesis, and Dreamcast, but the computer was still my weapon of choice. Without gaming, I don't think I'd know nearly as much about computers as I do today. You learn a lot when you pirate games.
