Yes, we had a few Dragon 32 owners (featuring the first 8/16 bits microprocessor, the mighty MC6809) . It was a time of great computer diversity. Not only those, at my computing club, i had friends with DAI, Vic20, C64, Apple2s, BBC Micros, Sinclair ZX81, Mo5, Goupil, Atari 800, japanese MSX and more (forgive me if your favorite 8 bit model is not here). And yes, of course we played the first RPG computer games on them: Ultima, Might & Magic, Dungeon Master, Phantasie, Alternate Reality, etc. Lots of cases of (mad) computer geeks turned (insane) role-playing freaks
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Great topic to see here, along with peopleās individual stories.
Iāve been DMing in NWN (1, 2 now EE) since 2002. I was active on the old Neverwinter Connections, DMing single modules and some limited-run campaigns, along with playing in several others. Most of my DMing effort over time has been dedicated to what is (as far as I can tell) the longest-running weekly NWN campaign, originally started in 2004: The Westgate Campaign
I did a bit of PnP DMing in the 1980s (from the Basic and Expert sets) and also collected 1st edition AD&D sourcebooks, including entertaining classics like Deities & Demigods. I upgraded to a new computer to run Baldurās Gate when it came out, because it seemed like it actually could translate the magic of D&D into a CRPG. I wasnāt disappointed.
NWN in contrast I found somewhat disappointing initially in single-player mode, but the profusion of multiplayer mods and persistent world projects more than made up for it. Eventually the SP experience leveled up, thanks to a lot of well-crafted community mods, but a DMād game (especially a campaign) of NWN is about as good as it gets for me, being a hybrid of CRPG and old school D&D goodness.
Well, I remember my parents giving my younger brother and me the original set in the mid-seventies, but we never actually played it. I was around 12. It wasnāt until around 1990 that I finally tried AD&D 2e, and I was quickly absorbed. I was 28. I began DMing for friends and relatives, and continued in that role (along with playing occasionally) pretty much non-stop until around 2010, when moves and distance made it too challenging to continue. Along the way, circa 1995, I discovered MUDs, notably Faerun (the best rp game I ever experienced, both as a player, builder, and DM, bar none), and recruited many friends to those immersive games. I eventually worked at my own codebase modifications, to try to develop a similar experience, but my skills were sub par and I moved on from that goal.
Later, as word of NWN development became known, I determined that would be another way to DM and play, even with growing distances between some of us. And it has been, too. I bought the game the instant it was available in 2002, along with a new computer, and have really stuck with the ole gal all this time, with a few breaks here and there. So, despite being (probably) one of the greybeards, I suppose I only have around 30 years DMing.
JFK