I have to go back to the first game I was ever hooked on, and that was soldier of fortune II.
My buddies were all playing quake and unreal tournament… And I wanted something that was more modern and realistic. I picked up sof2 on a whim and played it a little bit. I was still fairly young and didn’t understand online multi-player. It was this thought that it was very involved and clumsy, and could be a pain. One night I went to the multiplayer tab, which generated a list of servers. I double clicked on one and the game started to load. I remember being blown away! “Is that it?! Am I really loading in to play other real people?!”
I was instantly hooked. That whole experience was really something.
I know, it probably sounds lame to the younger people here… But growing up, the internet didn’t exist… At least until I was about 8.
My neighbors dog is Wayland. He’s a good boy!