We asked your lot about the first time you got obsessed with a game.
It was definitely Doom on the PC. My mates had Doom on the proper consoles and I was so jealous. It looked really spooky, but also had some mystery to it. I was rubbish at coordination and kept dying all the time, and so I had to ask my friends if they knew of any tips to help me. A pal’s wise older brother told me two cheat commands; IDDQD and IDKFA – one put you on ‘God Mode’ (unkillable) and the other gave you unlimited weapons. I then spent three years hammering monsters and finding secret levels without fear and I bloody loved it. I would go to sleep and still see the little gun swaying left and right in my mind's eye. It was the best time ever.
Female, 35, Sherwood
My first game console was a Master System 2. Before that, I would play on my dad’s Spectrum and watch my mate’s older brother playing on his Nes. I was a bit obsessed with the game Alex Kidd since it was my first console; I didn't understand how it worked though. I switched my Master System on, and was shocked to see a game boot up with my name – since my dad did a bit of bedroom programming, I assumed he’d made a game for me! I used to get jealous after seeing my mate’s brother playing Mario, knowing I couldn’t play it because I didn’t have a Nes. But Alex Kidd was my Mario for a long time. It's not an easy game to go back to, but back then I would play constantly.
Male, 34, Long Eaton
My first game was Fable 2 on the Xbox 360. It had really brilliant humour. The best part was how wonderfully fleshed out all the characters were, and it even had a dog. There were also these beautiful locations with lots of secrets to discover each time, a stellar voice cast. It was so good, I could go on and on about that game forever. I’ve completed 100% of it, and have regularly played over the years (including, I will admit, late last year). Though the first and third games are also really good, the second game will always be really special to me. You could easily say I’ve put hundreds of hours into that game.
Male, 33, Long Eaton
I was introduced to the Commodore 64 back when I was around infants school age, and I had become obsessed with strange sounds and the small animations in the background of games – like in Wizball and IK+. I later found myself spending hours and hours on ‘shoot-em-up construction kit,’ where I’d be making paths for enemies and different sounds with mad echo. After hours and hours, I can remember proudly showing my mum the game I made. It was one where you controlled a poo that shot smaller poo at other poos. It was an amazing sea of brown. With the most ‘pekawowoow’ sound effects you had ever heard. I now work with videogames, where I’m making and curating them for the public, and I secretly wish I could change my snowball-based game to throwing poos for old time’s sake.
Male, 39, Basford
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