• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

What was your first online gaming experience?

Quake, back in 1996/1997 when Gamespy was called Quakespy.

As a kid, I had a notepad of server ips written down so I could keep track of the best servers.
 
Quake on a 14k4 modem. I read about QuakeWorld in a magazine and how it made playing with lag using a dial up modem acceptable.
Once I installed it, a world of custom skins, maps and mods (Team Fortress and Capture the Flag) opened up. This was mindblowing for me at the time and it's probably the period I have the fondest gaming memories of.
 
Modus Operandi, a mystery MUD set on a fictional Caribbean island that you could access through AOL. I dug text adventures back in the day and this was that with real people role playing different jobs and completing objectives, kind of blew my mind.

It still lives on in some form, though it's been years (decades?) since I've messed around in there: http://www.play.net/mo/
 
World of Warcraft (2007)
I was in complete disbelief that I was interacting with so many other players in real time. It was something amazing to me.
 
March 23rd, 2004, when Final Fantasy XI first launched on PS2. Add-on-HDD, USB keyboard and all. Still the best online experience I've had in gaming.
 
fedexpeon said:
Warcraft2+%283%29.jpg


Became a PC gamer because of WC.
And also got my online name from WC series.
Click to expand...

Warcraft 1 for me as well! Recall fond memories of calling my friends incessantly to deliver modem dial-up codes for matchmaking for each game back then. Battle.net wasn't a thing yet.
 
Some Starship Trooper Pizza hut (or some other pizza joint) promotion in 1997/1997, honestly forgot the details. My first good online gaming experience was with Americas Army 2.0 in 2003/2004. I had memorable experiences with being the last one left, this was against a few others by avoiding players in caves to complete objectives.
 
My first online gaming experience was playing that children's MMO Wizard 101 when I was but a wee babby. Unless my eyes are tinted by nostalgia, it was actually a pretty cool game. Only game I've spent money on, besides Team Fortress 2.
 
Interesting question. I've literally been sitting here pondering for 5 minutes trying to remember.

I think my first online experience ever with a game was with Diablo 1 in a friend's house. Such innovation I couldn't believe my eyes.

My first online console experience probably was Final Fantasy XI on PS2. I played the hell out of that game and was completely addicted to it for 2 years and mostly played it on console. I almost never played other PS2 games online since it was such a hassle, not easy to do since I had to drag a long cable across my house and generally just not that good of an experience.

Unlike Sony who didn't got online right until the PS3, Microsoft got it right from the start and I do remember playing lots of Halo 2 online with my friends. I've never owned an Xbox console of any type to this day.
 
On PC the original Doom dialing directly to another friend's modem at his place. It was a pain to set up but it blew my mind. I probably was like 12 years old or something...

On Console it was Quake 3 on the Dreamcast.
 
My first online gaming experience I believe was when my friend a few cities over and I played some Diablo I on the PC.

Besides gaming, I remember working the bulletin boards back on our Commodore 64, and we wanted Inspector Gadget. The user who had it wanted something in return - which we had nothing - so we didn't end up getting it.
 
Socom was the first I actually invested time in, I didn't play much with PC back then.

It came with a microphone and everyone actually spoke, it was cool.

daqEBvm.jpg
 
Some Diablo back in the late 90s. Then nothing until Halo 3. Oh, a little bit of one of the NFL2Ks on dreamcast. Otherwise I didn't really get into online gaming until the 360. I had an Xbox 1, but never paid for Live.
 
I had some before but the first one I really got into was Rainbow Six Vegas on the 360. I played that nonstop and I loved it.

I never play online anymore...
 
It was about 4 years ago when I played Battlefield Bad Company 2. I had avoided online gaming for a long time but was finally curious to try it out after hearing how Battlefield is well known for their superior multiplayer. Started it up got shot over 10 times by the same sniper and never played that game again.
 
Command and Conquer Gold Edition over dial up if it counts.

Otherwise Age of Empires 2 on the MS game zone or whatever it was called
 
PC - MapleStory in 05 I think or Runescape in 04
Console - Gears of War 2 execution on Blood Drive, in February 2009
 
1994 I played Ancient Anguish which is a MUD. It was fascinating to young me that entire worlds existed to explore and interact with other people.

What I miss most is the overall warmth of the mud community. A one of a kind, formative experience that still helps define a huge part of me. I regret some games I've played but not a single minute of any MU*.
 
PES6 X360.

Yup. Late online gamer. I was so happy when I followed the guide of ethernet from pc to 360, opening port and it working.
 
Halo 2 at a buddy's house. I was so bad I was instructed to hide behind sniper tower on Lockout. I defied orders and died. And died. And died. So much fun.
 
Diablo and Age of Empire on PC. I spent wayyyy too much time on these, it was awesome and mind blowing just knowing i was playing with real people. Good times!

My first online experience with console was Quake III : Arena on Dreamcast.
 
Ahh that would be the original Saints Row and the classic Protect the Pimp game mode. There was something so satisfying about taking down a whole team of four with nothing but the back of your overpowered hand.
 
Descent around '95, me and a buddy would play 1 vs 1 over a dial up connection, fun as hell, we played it all the time until we discovered Warcraft

0.jpg
 
I think it was Tony Hawk Underground. I don't think I won a single game because I didn't have the gameshark thing. Still fun as hell, though.
 
Herne said:
Habitat never made it out of beta, did it? And when Club Caribe showed up, it was a much reduced version, wasn't it? Or am I remembering incorrectly... in any case, I got my first modem for my C64 only a few months after Q-Link died, so I missed out on it by a gnat's wing :(
Click to expand...

it was the 80's, they may have promised big, but I mean, this was before AOL and Prodigy even, so their customer base and profit potential was greatly reduced. It was the first of its kind, and so much went into the dev, I guess they realized their ideas were bigger than the reality at the time. They wanted to make adventure modules and all sorts of shit for it, but ended up with chatroom hottubs and an online gameshow and avatar bars and stuff.

(I couldn't find a cool graphic box for Club Caribe, so had to use the original. Also you really missed out. Q-link was amazing for years. Oh my god the user created freeware and shareware games, it was a gamer paradise.)
 
BrunoM said:
I would say consoles
Beta tested the Socon game

Months and months before it came out and the network adapter

It was amazing there was something to socom online that not many games have been able to go ever again

Socom ftb on psp too was able to do that



The game was able to really create that feeling of teamwork and that one shot was enough if done right clans and all

Damn I miss that feeling where did it go
Click to expand...


The man has spoken pure truth!
 
For PC it was either Starcraft or Jedi Knight. I've got a mate who I still play against one of those games every Christmas as a tradition because of it.

Console, it'd be Phantasy Star Online for the Gamecube (which is also where i get my username from).
 
Online as in 'non local' multiplayer?

Dial up on my 386 playing via modem against my neighbors in Doom, Warcraft 1 back in ~92.

Online as in connecting to a centralized server rather than direct peer to peer?

Same, Doom in school lab. If that server would need to be 'online' rather than local push that up to Quake in 96.
 
Playing the MotoGP 2 demo that came with an Xbox Live Starter Pack back in 2003. I remember my dad (that never really got into games) played the demo and was amazed that you can play a game with someone from around the world and have a vocal chat with them.

Around the same time I also got Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow and joined up with a group that consisted of guys a bit older than me, I felt like such a badass that I could play like them and not be judged because I was too young. It was a defining moment for me as a kid that loved video games.
 
Ram Raid on the CD-I. It was incredible playing a fps against people worldwide on consoles for the first time instead of being restricted by region.
 
My neighbor spent over a week trying to get Doom to work over dial-up. I'm not sure if we ever figured it out. We definitely played Duke Nukem though.
 
akira28 said:
it was the 80's, they may have promised big, but I mean, this was before AOL and Prodigy even, so their customer base and profit potential was greatly reduced. It was the first of its kind, and so much went into the dev, I guess they realized their ideas were bigger than the reality at the time. They wanted to make adventure modules and all sorts of shit for it, but ended up with chatroom hottubs and an online gameshow and avatar bars and stuff.

(I couldn't find a cool graphic box for Club Caribe, so had to use the original. Also you really missed out. Q-link was amazing for years. Oh my god the user created freeware and shareware games, it was a gamer paradise.)
Click to expand...

I know, I was gutted when I found out they'd shut down only a few months before I got my modem... but then I was in Ireland and already in trouble with my parents for ringing up huge bills by calling UK BBS', and I doubt my calling Q-Link would've helped the situation any! Still, what an amazing, pioneering system it was. Incredible stuff. I know there was something vaguely similar in the UK called CompuNet, but it wasn't anywhere near as advanced nor as ambitious a service. It, too, died before I got my modem, way back in 1993.

1793.jpg


Are you aware of Q-Link Reloaded?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

What was your experience with Star Wars Galaxies?
13
623
Ziglax replied
  • Poll
What is your favorite gaming time?
21
413
Robb replied
  • Poll
What was your favorite 90s console?
Opinion  2 3
109
855
Isurus replied
What’s your favorite video game console unboxing memory, and what was the very first game you played on it?
2
89
950
GreatnessRD replied
What's your gaming routine right now?
2
64
206
MaestroMike replied
Top Bottom