Too Old to play

[gonzo_for_civ]

I'll be 45 two days after Bush is kicked out of office, and I've been playing since the original Civ came out, which was, um, what? 1989? Some of these kids weren't even born yet!

Well since I won't see you, happy 41st birthday!

But seriously how pathetic are you if you can't even post in a civ3 forum without including a political comment?

 

[LLXerxes]

Well since I won't see you, happy 41st birthday!

But seriously how pathetic are you if you can't even post in a civ3 forum without including a political comment?

Gonzo's Back!

Erm, I'm 11...

 

[doc mabuse]

I accidentally voted for 20-30 but i'm 34. That's what 7 years of civ gaming does to you... makes you younger

 

[AA-battery]

I'm 14 and I got hooked on civ3 when I was 12. Both my little brothers play civ3 as well but they never appear on my scoreboard!

 

[rf9381]

I'm 56 & started playing approx. 2-1/2 yrs. ago. I only wish I'd started earlier. I've never enjoyed any game as much!

 

[wilbill]

I'm 56 & started playing approx. 2-1/2 yrs. ago.

'48 was a good year, wasn't it?
I started playing computer games before they had graphics -- just text. Civ has kept my attention far longer than any other game.

 

[punkbass2000]

Did you ever play any of the Infocom teext games? I got a collection of like 25 of them about a decade ago.

 

[wilbill]

Yeah, I started out on the Zork series. In a way, they were more challenging than a lot of the newer games. They certainly took more imagination. I still have a couple of the originals around, but no 5-1/4" drive to run them on -- if they'd even run on a Window machine.

 

[punkbass2000]

I got my collection on a CD. The Zork ones were... interesting, to say the least. I liked the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy one a lot, as I love the book, but it was too similar to the book itself. They claimed having read the book wouldn't help you in the game, but I didn't find that completely true. Did the originals come with all those maps, etc?

 

[Artillery]

I'm just 12, who cares?

 

[wilbill]

I liked the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy one a lot

I had Hitchhiker's but don't remember much about it except it seemed like a letdown after the Zork games. About the time graphics started to take over gaming, Infocom released a "Zork IV" or "Beyond Zork" - forget exactly what it was called. It did the mapping on screen for you. Not a bad idea, but the game itself sucked IIRC.

Did the originals come with all those maps, etc?

No. It came in a ziploc bag with the disk (5-1/4" or 8" !!! and a sheet of instructions. I remember having hundreds of pages of hand-drawn maps stacked all over the place while I was playing.

Remember?

Welcome to Zork.
This version created December 8.
West of House.
Your are in an open field west of a big white house with a boarded front
door.
There is a small mailbox here.
>GO NORTH
North of House
You are facing the north side of a white house. There is no door here,
and all the windows are barred.
>EAST
Behind House
You are behind the white house. In one corner of the house there is a
small window which is slightly ajar.
>OPEN THE WINDOW
With great effort, you open the window far enough to allow entry.
>GO IN
Kitchen
You are in the kitchen of the white house. A table seems to have been
used recently for the preparation of food. A passage leads to the west,
and a dark staircase can be seen leading upward. To the east is a small
window which is open.
On the table is an elongated brown sack, smelling of hot peppers.
A bottle is sitting on the table.
The glass bottle contains:
A quantity of water

 

[punkbass2000]

Quaff the water!

 

[Strontium_Dog]

Yes, I remember text only adventures, or "Type-ins", as we used to call them

I even wrote one once, in BASIC, it's simple enough;

10 PRINT "I'm sorry, I don't understand"
20 GOTO 10



I had some on cartridge, for a Vic-20. Later on tape for a C64. Ahhhhhh, memories

 

[Praetorian]

I think that I am now in the last age group!!!

 

[Heat Miser]

I've been playing civ and all of its descendants since I was in the Navy. Regarding Zork, never played, but I did play Adventure on my VIC20. Also, I remember when my uncle got a Pong console for his TV (couple of years before the Atari 2600?). As for Age groups, I now have my 11 y/o son hooked on Civ III.

 

[gmaharriet]

I turned 63 last month and I discovered Civ last November. I thought I'd be the oldest person on this board, but I can see that's not the case.

My whole reason for even buying a home computer 6 1/2 years ago was that my son let me try playing Zork Nemesis on his computer, and I got hooked on that. I've used a computer at my office since 1981, but it never occured to me to use one for fun until I found out about games. I can't wait to retire so I have more time to play.

 

[Chinghis]

I think that I am now in the last age group!!!

Yeah, it's funny - I saw that you were 38 when you started this post, way back when... Thought to myself, "Heck, if his wife thought he was too olnd Id back then, what does she think now?!"

Luckily, my wife encouraged my addiction - bought Conquests for me, after I was apparently getting bored with Civ 2....

Oh, and I'm 45, by the way.

 

[Daghdha]

I bought the game one month ago, 38 yrs old. I've stayed out of strategy games because I knew it would get me hooked and I figured I don't really have the time to sit up to 4 am when there's work/studying/family to do. Starting up would be a very bad move. Well, I was right on all accounts. I do sit up til 4 am and it was a very bad move and I don't have time with it...and I love it! Old n wise huh

 

[Arachnaphobia]

16. Which makes me feel old, because I don't fit into the 11-15 age bracket any more, as I was when I started playing civ.

 

[wilbill]

I think that I am now in the last age group!!!

Welcome aboard, old-timer!
BTW, thanks for starting this thread back when we were all younger. It's been one of my favorites.