Your games education
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Aug 26th 2005 at 11:00AM }
Which games educated you? Which games have had a disproportionate effect on your tastes as a gamer?
Jim Rossignol answers this question from his own perspective in the latest edition of online games magazine The Escapist. He writes, "There are a few games that stand out as bright psychic landmarks in my personal history, the high-water marks of my education. While there are too many to mention in an article as brief as this, there are three in particular which I want to talk about, because they have direct relevance to the opinions I have about games today."
Which three games have influenced you most and why?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
vladimir cole @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Here are my three games:
1. Action Quake 2 (PC): I played AQ2 (a mod based on Quake 2) in college with a group of gaming buddies known as clan.elay. This game opened the FPS genre for me and taught me that competitive team-based gaming is as much a sport and is as much about teamwork as any other physical sport.
2. Combat (Atari 2600): This game was a joy to play. It was my first multiplayer experience and allowed me to dominate my two younger brothers in ways that were not purely physical, so I'm sure they were thankful for that. To this day, I still remember the tank duel in max ricochet mode fondly.
3. Populous (Sega Genesis): I played this for hours and hours. I can still hear the thudding soundtrack of Armageddon echo in my head when I recall the game. What satisfactory closure in Armageddon!
This was really tough! Games that I wanted to include but couldn't: Starcraft, Super Mario Brothers, Zaxxon, Joust, Qbert, SFII, Civ, Altered Beast, Sonic. Each of these games had effects on me that go beyond my tastes as a gamer. Some of these games affect my outlook and perception of the world.
Sean O. @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
1) Sonic 2 for the Genesis- I got this and a Genesis as a gift even though I didn't ask for it. It was the first game I owned and it's still a great game to play.
2) Diablo- First online game I played... stayed up through the wee hours of the night looking for Obsidian rings of the Zodiac and what not. The best times were had when I joined a legit guild that had a system of private games to keep cheaters out and as far as I knew it worked.
3) Mario 64- I played it at Blockbuster before the system even came out and I knew I wanted it. I'd played Playstation before that but I always preferred good 2D to the crappy 3D but the analog stick made it fun... which is why Sony was forced to copy it.
jc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
1. Wizardry (1,2&3) for the Apple //c
These games were what introduced me to computer gaming. They were a blast to play, and they were a step up from the text only games.
2. Quake (1) This game taught me to love online gaming. TeamFortress, GameSpy and Quake made multiplayer a blast. Some of my best online multiplayer battles were right here. MEDIC!!
3. GranTurismo (3) This game was the deciding factor for me buying a PS2 in 2000. The hours I spent in this game were well spent, as I can attest that my driving skills transfered to real life. (Just this week I was saved from a near fatal accident because of my mad skillz... now if only I could find a way to afford a Ruff Turbo.)
GlitchCog @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Super Mario Bros. - Got my hands and eyes all coordinated and working together.
Dragon Warrior - Taught me math.
Earthbound - Best game ever.
dslamngu @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Street Fighter 2 - Possibly my first competitive multiplayer experience, at around age seven or so. This, together with Power Rangers, probably made me a violent little bastard.
Final Fantasy 7 - At around age 12, possibly my first experience with death. Virtual, yes, but no less tragic in my pre-adolescent mind. (Aeris d- I mean, she lives and she's a critical part of the ending sequence.) I'm pretty sure that this was a critical game in many gamers' memories, though many found out later that it wasn't the best.
Counter-Strike - In about my early teens, this taught me the extent to which people can be committed to self-improvement in something as inconsequential as a computer game, as well as the extent to which shooting someone in the head makes you a hacker or "ghey."
dan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Soulblazer - first game I played that made it feel like there was really a living, breathing world going on on the other side of the TV screen.
Chrono Trigger - It's fucking Chrono Trigger you know you love it.
Half-Life - After we got my entire dorm building networked I don't think any studying happened for a month.
kevin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
oregon trail, qwerty, typing tutor
Jimmy McPaddles @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Zelda (the origional for NES)- The First game other than duck hunt and mario that i ever owned. I spent sooooo many hours as a kid after that christmas when i was 5. This game started off my life long love of gaming.
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II- Linked my love of George Lucas cinema with video games. This started off my love and adoration towards first person shooters, even though i rarely used anything but the lightsaber. Also, it introduced me to the online gaming community.
Final Fantasy VI or III, depending on how you look at it- Made me fall in love with RPG's. I have beaten it over and over, and have not yet to grow tired of it. I have it on my SNES, PSX, and computer. I am now a die hard Final Fantasy fan, no matter how crappy X was. (Please let XII be good, please let XII be good)
DG @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Street Fighter II (specifically, SCE on Genesis): This was the first game I had to rush home from school to play for hours and hours on end. M. Bison's intense cheapness on level 8 led me to many broken controllers, and come to think of it, I'm still not sure I ever beat him.
Daytona USA (Saturn): Daaaaaaaaaaaaaytooooona!! Has there been a better theme song to any video game ever? I'm sure there are many of you now that won't be able to get that out of your head the rest of the day. I had unlocked every bonus car and had terrific high scores on each track until my internal battery died. I never played it again.
Half-Life: This, beer and girls are my only memories from freshman year of college.
Dylan A. Nickels @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
1.) Mario Brothers, for the nintendo, which was the first video game I ever played.
2.) Baldur's Gate. This game demonstrated how I could spend hours and hours playing a game, and not grow bored of it but just want to play more.
3.) Command and Conquer - Holy crap, this game was awesome! Also, great sound track.
Art @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Planetfall-I loved the infocom text adventures and this one was my favorite. After graphics started becoming more important, LucasArts took over the role as the great adventure game maker. Now they are pretty much dead.
Red Alert-This game launched my interest in realtime strategy which peaked with Starcraft:BroodWar and has slowly eroded since then.
Half-Life-Sure I played Doom and it was great, but I was kind of bored with FPS until this came out. It blew me away and I had to have all the expansions and mods I could find. FPS games are my favorite to this day, although there are a lot of duds(Doom3) out there.
bouncicles @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Wasteland--Landmark CRPG and one of the best computer games ever produced.
Out of This World (Another World)--This is cult game that people either get or don't. Either way, it pioneered rotoscoped polygons and opened the door for their use in 3D.
Bionic Commando (NES version)--Just plain fun.
Lukino @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
1. FRONTIER - ELITE II (PC, 286): couldn't stop dreaming when I fly those infinite skyes, see thousands of civilized star systems, meet millions of people..
2. TETRIS (everywere, mostly on GameBoy)- just the most addicting drug human mind ever created. I still be unaviable for hours if only I sit in front of it!
3. Gran Turismo X (any version): me and the road. If only could I find some empty roads to drive on (no need for speed) like when I took my driving license.. our roads are stuffed of wheels today (over 100/Km average in italy).. oh, but this has nothing to do with games!
epobirs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Agent USA on the Atari 800. Strangely engaging geography game that require you to move around by train to push back the spread of a plague that turned its victims into zombie televisions that would get on trains at random to spread their afflicition. Knowing the locations of America's state capitals by memory was essential for getting around fast enough to save the day. Adults became seriously sucked into this little gem.