quantum dots; nano science.

Day 1 – Very First Video Game.

and

DooM/Jeopardy

(This post is gonna be a bit tl;dr so apologies in advance.)

Anyone but me remember a thing called shareware? I remember because it was my introduction to the wonderful world of videogames. When my Windows 3.1 machine finally kicked the bucket, my family, not knowing much about consumer computing, went down to Golden Tech computing downtown and got us a shiny new Pentium C machine. It had a SoundBlaster soundcard and a power button reminiscent of a golf ball.

But most importantly, it came with a demo CD. There were so-called “edutainment” games, puzzles… and then there were the Adult Violence games.

Even though my dad played Wolfenstein and Duke Nukem 3D as well (and would go on to purchase pretty much every Duke Nukem game on the market), DooM sticks out to me the most because I got to sit and watch him play it night after night.

I would bring my Barbies and Stacey doll and sit fiddling with their cowgirl getup as I helpfully cried out to my dad over his shoulder to SHOOT THE DEMON DADDY! Every nightmare and sleepless night I got from that game was worth it in my mind, because the world of Hell-ridden Mars had me and so many others in its thrall, taking over the world in an entirely different way than intended. It’s still a sentimental favorite of mine, and I still play it sometimes. And you know what? It’s still as great as it was in 1995.

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(The first game I actually got to play myself, however, I never really thought of as a videogame when I was a kid, and that’s an 8.5-inch floppy version of Jeopardy. It, too, has a special place in my heart, but not quite as special as that of DooM.)