What got you into gaming?

[MattchuLeroy]

I'm really surprised that this topic isn't stickied or anything seeing exactly what this forum is about, but I must know...
What got you into gaming/modding/anything of this scene?

Seeing how I'm a gamer and know nothing about modding or anything, mines simple (and the fondest moment in my life) was when I was in Wal-Mart one day as a child and seeing a booth set up by electronics. They had a competitive version of Donkey Kong and after I played, I was hooked

 

[x65943]

Being nearly the youngest of a very large family, like most things it came from my older bros.

Basically as early as I can remember we had an NES, SNES, multiple gameboys, PS1, a dreamcast and an N64. Some of my earliest memories are playing N64 games as a kid. I never had a chance ;A;

 

[MattchuLeroy]

Being nearly the youngest of a very large family, like most things it came from my older bros.

Basically as early as I can remember we had an NES, SNES, multiple gameboys, PS1, a dreamcast and an N64. Some of my earliest memories are playing N64 games as a kid. I never had a chance ;A;

Tbh, still to this day, I will pick old school over new school.

 

[x65943]

Tbh, still to this day, I will pick old school over new school.

Absolutely agree. Just recently got a gbc and n64. What classic games are you playing?

 

[MattchuLeroy]

Absolutely agree. Just recently got a gbc and n64. What classic games are you playing?

I've been hooked on Skies of Arcadia for Gamecube, but my kids just got here to visit for awhile. So, I've been on the simple ones Like Super Mario 3 and those. My son, who is 4, always has to be playing.

I've also been weighing the pros and cons of starting up a file on Digimon World 1 for the PSX. I don't know if you've played it or not, but I think it's worth it

 

[x65943]

I've been hooked on Skies of Arcadia for Gamecube, but my kids just got here to visit for awhile. So, I've been on the simple ones Like Super Mario 3 and those. My son, who is 4, always has to be playing.

I've also been weighing the pros and cons of starting up a file on Digimon World 1 for the PSX. I don't know if you've played it or not, but I think it's worth it

Never played that game but heard good things. Don't have a ps1 myself so I'd have to play it on an emulator.

You can't go wrong with the original mario games. Still really fun today. Especially if you are booting them on an SNES.

 

[tech3475]

I had older brothers with an NES, Megadrive and Amiga 1200, so I’ve basically been playing games as far back as I can remember.

 

[FAST6191]

Gaming itself was just a thing kids did. I can't even remember my first game as I was probably just old enough to hold the controller/joystick.

Modding wise then had an Amiga which introduced me to the world of trainers, cracktros and such. Had some cheat devices for things as well.

Had a PC and most things came on floppy discs that were shared so installing cracks when CDs came along was just another step.
Emulation I covered in https://gbatemp.net/threads/what-was-your-first-formative-emulator-experience.620486/ and was a computer fayre CD full of megadrive ROMs and a copy of genecyst in the late 90s.
Modding consoles in earnest though would come with the PS1 where mod chips were the standard order of the day*. Got a CD writer around the same time/as part of that. The N64 and a PC cheat making setup (sold in game shops, even had a little parallel port dongle) being where I learned to make cheats, some of the PC games we looked into which might be said to be my earliest forays into ROM hacking (I don't really count the messing with level editors and installing duke nukem mods and Heroes of Might and Magic 2 user made maps) but that mostly consisted of listening to the carmaggedon audio clips and opening save files in text editors. Said vintage PC games are also why I know networking (ew IPX networking) and also part of why I can build computers.
Emulation continued on throughout but I got a flash cart (I don't count the N64 region adapter) later in the GBA era, downhill ever since really.

*might also note that learning to be someone else for the purposes of a rental shop card was a good start in social engineering.

 

[caipora]

I had a famiclone CD console with weird hack roms when i was like 4, there was a SMB version where Goombas had beard and wrinkled. Shit was weird, but it was very fun. I'd also play some Flash games online and in some kid's consoles, like Dreamcast or PS2.
When i was 6 my dad gave me a hacked PS2, Matrix chip. I instantly felt a connection with it, the first game i played was Naruto and, somehow, right after turning on the console i already knew what buttons to press, what each one of them would do, i was a virtuoso on the damn thing, i played that motherfucker like a pro - actually like a dumb 6 year old, the O button pressing in God of War 2 was too much for me to handle, i did not have the speed BUT yeah i was doing great.
Shit ruined my braincells.

 

[AncientBoi]

In a nutshell

BORDOM

 

[duwen]

Pong clones, Atari, and arcade machines in the late 70's and ZX Spectrum and handheld LCD/LED games in the early 80's.

 

[Panzerfaust]

Started gaming with the Mega Drive, Master System and (S)NES (at friend houses) in early 1995.

My family got their first PC on christmas '98. In '99 I already got in touch with warez and those cool installer (CLASS, MYTH, Razor1911, Fairlight, etc.) with amazing chiptunes through a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend. Those burned CDs (the first I ever saw) went through many hands until they reached my cd ROM drive. Back then I felt like a 1337 pr0 h4xX0r, cause my brother always told me, that this is illegal and I should never tell anybody about what we're doing.

In the end I learned a lot about PC usage at my young age (~10y) by trial and error (no internet back then).

 

[Dust2dust]

Started gaming with the Mega Drive, Master System and (S)NES (at friend houses) in early 1995.

My family got their first PC on christmas '98. In '99 I already got in touch with warez and those cool installer (CLASS, MYTH, Razor1911, Fairlight, etc.) ...

How could you forget DEViANCE?
Yeah, those were the days. It was hard to download full isos with that crappy 56k modem. That's where CLASS and MYTH rips came in handy. My first console was a Sega Genesis, still dear to my heart. But I started gaming way before that, on the Atari 800 home computer. Star Raiders is still awesome to play (on emulator, nowadays).

 

[JuanMena]

Two main factors:

Nostalgia and Depression.

tee-hee nikoniko-niii

 

[The Catboy]

Got into gaming by growing up with a SNES and N64.
Got into modding by getting annoyed with Apple because I couldn’t sync my iPod with Linux, so I installed Rockbox on it

 

[WJLIII3]

Link's Awakening on the original game boy was pretty formative

 

[slaphappygamer]

ROCKBOX was awesome!!! I had it on my Archos3000. I had swapped the HDD from 30gb to 120gb. It ROX’D!!

I got into gaming from when my dad brought home an Atari2600. Keystone Cops, Dragster, Tank. Then one year, my and my other 3 siblings got an NES for Christmas…to share. The full kit with R.O.B. From gaming, I’ve learned to share and be patient. I’ve learned how to manage money. I learned when to grind and when to run. Gaming brings me back to my childhood. Even though I’ve grown out of childhood, I can always have an escape back to that time. Music does this too. Ill never stop!

 

[GeekyGuy]

That'd be my guess. Probably stuffed animals after that.

 

[MattchuLeroy]

Man, most of you are lucky. Like I said, I had fond memories on my SNES and NES of course, but I never owned any rom hacks or anything back in those days. But I DO remember as a little child, we had a PC that only ran on floppy disks. LOL. And of course, I remember the good ole dial-up connection (and glimpse of Sega Channel at a friends house ONCE. It was the most amazing thing ever)