Back in the day, in 1982 (when I was 13), I got introduced to RPGs (role playing games). This was long before personal computers were everywhere. We're talking pencil and paper here. Pencil because your character would grow and change; getting stronger, smarter, better looking and richer as "their" adventure continued.
The obvious favorite of the time was "Dungeons & Dragons" (aka "D&D") from TSR (later bought by Wizards of the Coast, eventually a subsidiary of Hasbro) and I loved it. I had my official Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Fiend Folio. In junior high, I'd head over to a female friend's house (boy, was that relationship a disaster) with a couple other guys and we'd play for hours. Eventually (once the relationship with that "girlfriend" died), I'd end up staying home and just rolling up characters in the living room and put them in an arena, fighting random monsters that I rolled up from the encounter tables in my Dungeon Master's Guide. So. Much. Fun.
However, I also played a couple other RPGs from that time. The first (which was my least favorite) was Traveller, from Game Designers' Workshop. I had the 3 mini-books (8-1/2" x 5-1/2") which contained the core rules and specifications for everything from characters to gear to vehicles to space craft. I eventually even bought the hard-backed rule book, similar to the books from D&D. My biggest complaint about Traveller was the amount of rules. So. Many. Rules. Rules for everything from Non Player Character (aka "NPC") encounters, to Creature encounters to Space encounters. And the rules for combat were insane. Too much to track for someone under 16. Which leads to my second biggest complaint about Traveller. None of my buddies played it. It was just too hard for our tiny attention spans to focus on *and* have fun. But it was interestingly different from D&D.
The next one (second only to D&D) was Gamma World, also from TSR. I owned the first edition rule book, black and white cover and all. This RPG was like a cross between D&D and Traveller; all the mutants and space ships (plus swords *and* laser rifles) but not so many rules to worry about. A few more of my buddies played this one and it was sweet. The only thing that left this one short of D&D in playability was the lack of official "modules" or "scenarios". But the environment was loaded with potential. Good stuff.
I also had lead (as in "Pb") figures for all three of these RPGs. I tried my best to paint these like I'd see in the hobby shops but my attempts were pathetic. I specifically remember having a set of D&D figures from Grenadier Models Inc (Set #2013 - Adventuring Party). So cool, if only I could have been able to paint worth beans.
All of these were a launching block for my video game habit. Zork on a teletype "computer" (dialed in, via modem, to the local MUD) was probably first. Soon I was into "Castle Wolfenstein" on the Apple ][e from high school or "Dragon's Lair" at the local 7-11 store. Next were classics like Auto Duel, Bard's Tale, Castle of the Winds, Dark Sun, Diablo, Doom, Dungeon Hack, Gothic, Heretic, Hexen, Might & Magic, Neverwinter Nights, Nox, NetHack, Quake & Ultima (just to name a few) and all of their descendants and variants. There are literally hundreds and I've probably played a big majority of them. Some were great (Diablo, Doom, Neverwinter Nights) and some were not-so-great (Castle of the Winds, Planescape Torment) but all were fun to some degree and worth playing.
Now, with a 4 year old son of my own, I hope to be able to pass along the joy of using my imagination and help him to learn the values of honor, integrity and determination (beyond what he'd normally pick up from me, of course) through the awesome-ness that is RPG gaming.
Links -
Dungeons and Dragons on Wikipedia
Dungeons and Dragons at Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Traveller on Wikipedia
Game Designer's Workshop on Wikipedia
Gamma World on Wikipedia
TSR on Wikipedia
