September 1st, 2006 at 11:37 am
I love reminiscing, especially with technology of the yesteryears. 
Thanassis blog reminded me of my very first PC game i.e. King’s Quest and with that, my very first PC as well. Looking back on when the game was released, it was in the year 1984.
Gosh, it seems like just yesterday that I was playing that game on my IBM Compatible XT computer with the following specs: 8 Mhz speed, 64k memory, 5 1/2 inch floppy, no hard drive with a one color CGA monochrome video adapter (green). The computer booted on a DOS floppy (I believe it was DOS version 2.0) and everything was command prompt based - without the fancy looking Windows we have today. Back then, I remember getting mad at my parents for not buying me an IBM AT 12 Mhz/128k memory computer with an EGA 16 Color video adapter and a 10 Mb hard drive. “It is too expensive and you’ll be just fine with this one!” they said (Sorry mum and dad for the tantrums). I think mum kept my old computer and 5 1/2 floppy disks filled with games and other software at her house until only a few years ago, and (without knowing anything about computers) asked me whether it was still workable - I just chuckled. Looking back, I should have asked her to keep it for nostalgia sake and would have loved to see whether that old antique fired up.
Some other memories:
- My word processing software of the time was Wordstar 3.0.
- My first printer was an Epson Dot matrix printer
- I used Printmaster 1.0 to print cards, calendars etc.
- BASICA was the first programming language learnt.
- PASCAL was the next.
- My other favourite games at the time were Alley Cat, Ancient Art of War, Pitstop II, Summer Games II and Lode Runner. Frogger and DigDug gets an “honorable” mention too. What classics!
(Alley Cat: Courtesy of Abandonia)
(Ancient Art of War: Courtesy of Abandonia)
(Pitstop II & Summer Games II: Courtesy of Cybergoth)
(Lode Runner: Courtesy of Abandonia)
18 Responses to “My first computer and computer game”
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Angela K said: @ 12:48 pm
September 1st, 2006
Remember the game “Oregon Trail”? It was text only and would ask questions about what you’d like to do so that it could give you another paragraph about your story. That (and programming my dad’s mini insurance rate computer for a game) were my first experience with computers in the early ’80s. Wow. What a flash back.
Angela K said: @ 12:51 pm
September 1st, 2006
Okay, curious cat had to go and look up the link, only I remember it without the graphics, just text only.
http://www.classicgaming.com/rotw/otrail.shtml
The Foo said: @ 12:58 pm
September 1st, 2006
No way… “Oregon Trail”?? What an uncanny coincidence! Well I didn’t know about that game until two weeks ago when my wife said she wanted to buy Oregon Trail for herself and her classroom kids (she’s a teacher). We went out to buy it at the store but that darn thing just won’t load up on our computers - even went back to exchange it without success. It is now sitting on the table downstairs waiting to be returned. :-(
Angela K said: @ 2:15 pm
September 1st, 2006
Isn’t that funny? What grade does she teach. (I’m a used up English teacher. LOL!) 7th grade was my fave. I’m sorry to hear that it won’t load up. What a drag. :( I really did love that game as a kid. That one and one where you had to go through the dungeons of some mideval castle and collect things. Couldn’t tell you the name of it to save my life, though. It was along those same text-only lines. As to OT, sell it on ebay if you have to. :)
Shelli said: @ 2:15 pm
September 1st, 2006
BlogMad hit! I love those old games!
Angela K said: @ 2:16 pm
September 1st, 2006
Ack. I hate typos — I *would* out myself as an English teacher and then grammatically screw up the post. Oh well. Gotta let some stuff go, I guess. :(
Frances said: @ 2:21 pm
September 1st, 2006
I found you on BlogExplosion - your post reminds me of my first ever wordprocessor. It was an ATT state of the art machine with a dot matrix printer and the ability to save onto floppies - it cost nearly 800 dollars. Four years later I replaced it with a fantastic Brother Wordprocessor with an inkjet printer for less than 400. Within 18 months it was totally obsolete!
Take care,
Frances
Angela K said: @ 2:27 pm
September 1st, 2006
Okay, TALK about coincidental!! Too funny. Read number 15.
http://www.cybertoad.us/blog/?p=1546#more-1546
Oh, mah gawd, Brother Wordprocessors! I still have my Brother TYPEWRITER that I used all the way through college (didn’t actually OWN a computer until 2000). Too funny!
The Foo said: @ 2:32 pm
September 1st, 2006
Angela K: “That one and one where you had to go through the dungeons of some mideval castle and collect things.”
Castlevania! is it Castlevania??
Typewriter? What’s that? ;-)
The Foo said: @ 2:41 pm
September 1st, 2006
Angela, I just read #15. Pretty funny! That is a good post.
Frances: 18 months is pretty good to be obsolete… nowdays, it’s obsolete the day you buy it ;-)
Yes, computer stuff were much more expensive back then. I remember laptops were at least $3000-4000+ and only used by businessmen because they were so expensive. Now the average high school kid has one and you can get a Dell laptop for $399!
Angela K said: @ 2:44 pm
September 1st, 2006
OMG, it IS Castlevania!!!! Thank you SO much for the throw back. I have not been this excited since I thought I won the lottery a couple of months back (just kidding!). Fourth grade. How fun! I hope she likes it and that the parents and school are good to her. The politics drove me mad. I hate having jobs where I feel like I am the character in a Dilbert comic!
I know it is Castlevania because I recognize these symbols, but I *think* I remember it pre-1987. (I had a car and a boyfriend by 1987 and was out and about, not playing the computer games I did in middle school.)
http://www.80stees.com/product.....-shirt.asp
The Foo said: @ 2:59 pm
September 1st, 2006
That is too funny! You really have to stop with the introductions of shirts … going to burn a hole in my pocket. :-P
Yeah I used to like Castlevania too but not as much as the rest because it came much later to the PC after they converted it from Nintendo.
Flashbacks! I think I sparked an 80s revival thingy. :-)
Yes of all the grades, that\’s the grade she likes the best. I can\’t be a teacher, I don\’t have enough patience for it.
blueyes said: @ 10:26 pm
September 1st, 2006
I actually still have a copy of Kings Quest :)
kristarella said: @ 12:06 am
September 2nd, 2006
I’m afraid I don’t know any of those games. I was bit girly when it game to games, not that the games I played were especially girly I just didn’t have many. Just what my dad got me. My most remembered, which I still have and still works, is Commander Keen. Did you ever play that?
My mum used to be amazed at me being able to use the computer, I have no idea what it was but I remember the DOS command prompts :)
JM Snyder said: @ 8:23 pm
September 3rd, 2006
OMG Lode Runner! I used to love that one!
My favorite game though was a text-based RPG called “Alter Ego” for the Commodore 64. Now that’s a blast from the past!
Mr. Fabulous said: @ 9:39 pm
September 3rd, 2006
You know, you remember your first computer like Mrs. Fab remembers our first date!
The Foo said: @ 11:05 pm
September 3rd, 2006
Didn’t really dwell into C64s. Yes, Lode Runner rocks!
Mr. Fab: Yes, unfortunately us men are made that way - it seems that our priorities are set differently ;-) but that doesn’t mean we love our other significant half any less. ;-) By the way, I do remember my first date :-)… don’t think she’ll let that one slide.
The Foo Logs » Blog Archive » Remember Pong? Pinged With: @ 1:20 pm
September 5th, 2006
[…] How coincidential that I was talking about my very first PC games that I used to play and American Express comes up with a “my life” tennis TV advertisement that features Andy Roddick vs. Pong. Everyone remember Pong? I love that game! […]