First Computer Game

Bored as I have been today, I've been spending sometime playing games on the net. One of my favourite waste away an hour sites is coffeebreakarcade, here I found the classic space invaders. As I was playing this so simple but totally engrossing game, it made me think of probably the very first time I actually ever played a computer game or got my hands on a pooter (excluding my dad's red l.e.d. calculator).

Again my first time was courtesy of my dad. I've no idea how old I was but probably 6 or 7 (nowadays kids come born with fingers clutching at a game controller). It was a Saturday and he took me into work with him for the morning. I can't remember the company but it was in Watford (bottom end nr the what is now the Jag garage). Anyway what I do remember was being sat down in front of this tiny little green screen and told to sit there and play (5 1/4 floppy drive .... not sure probably). I'm not sure how long we were there but I didn't care, it was awesome - it was just totally for me, that I was sure of.

So I don't know for how long, it seemed like many Christmas' and Birthday's passed, I was promised a computer of my very own. But with both myself and my dad wanting the best, we waited. The CommodorePET and VIC20, Apple II's, Sinclair's Spectrum ZX80 and ZX81's all were released, then it happened the Commodore 64 ..... a proper keyboard for starters (but I still can't type), 16 colours, a decent sound chip and wait for it 64 KB of RAM *gasps

I was a happy boy for a very, very longtime with that 64KB.

I can still remember the bundle of games that came with it: Super Gridder, Super DogFight and Hunter. Soon to be followed up by the joystick breaking Daley Thompson's Decathlon - which led my dad to making me a joypad or joybox as I named it (if only he patented the design - basically a box with 5 button/switches: up, down, left, right and fire (if you pulled the fire button up you had auto fire)). Ah the hours I spent waiting for the cassette to load and only to have it syntax error - bliss! To tell you the truth I still have them all in a small suitcase, but I fear the good old C64 has died, I wonder if it could be fixed?

How much fun I had with a £1.99 game bought in WHSmith and Woolworths, come on nowadays how many kids would be over the moon with a cheap game as a present - I was always well chuffed.

So what I want to know is what were your first memories of computer contact, what computers, where, what games etc.......