Lemmings Forums

I recently watched this interesting video by a chap known as "techguruuk", which was about his very first computer, and I must admit, it damn near brought a nostalgic tear to my eye as it made me recall my own first computer. I've always had an enthusiasm for this sort of thing, and that machine helped it along immensely. So, this in mind, and having looked around both this section and the Video Games section just to be sure that it hasn't been done already, I figured that I'd put the question to everyone here: What was your first computer? No consoles or anything like that - just the first computer that you had.

In my case, it was a Commodore 64 C (the "C" is the slightly revised later version of the Commodore 64 that came in an off-white coloured casing instead of having the brown breadbox look, and in which the internals had been made more compact and packed into one chip), which I got for Christmas when I was five or six years old. (Technically, anyway. The machine that I actually got on Christmas Day was an Amstrad CPC 464, which was a revised machine that did not work with a lot of the software that was on the market for its predecessor - it was exchanged for the C64 after this came to light.)

It was my main, and only, computer until early 1996, though it still saw regular use until roughly a year later.

I felt it a great privilege that my parents trusted me to have a computer of my own at that age. In retrospect, I also feel honoured and privileged that they spent so much on one gift in order to give me a good start with the technology that was fast becoming a part of everyday life back then, *especially* considering how the economy was at the time. Though I'm not an especially "techie" type (at that age and in that economy, I wasn't especially predisposed to reverse-engineering things or modifying them ), it gave me a decent understanding of how things work and how to figure out and operate their software, and gave me the golden opportunity to learn portable skills that still serve me well today.

For those too young to be familiar with it (I'm sure that, with how long Lemmings has been around and with how many systems it's been ported to during that time, the forum populace here probably has a fairly wide age-range), with the C64 (and, indeed, the other home microcomputers of its day), games and softwere were typically loaded from (and saved to) cassette tapes. Perhaps more so over here in the UK, since the disk drive add-on was almost unheard-of with most people. Better yet, this was back in the days when most software and games cost £10 at the most, with the vast majority being £2 to £5, and many magazines giving away several formerly-commercial games each month as cover-mounted freebies as well, which is quite different to how things are nowadays! It was a very affordable time for computer games and other software, and one could have a lot of fun and get a lot of work done at pocket money prices.

I only ever spent close to £10 on a game once (upon looking it up, it was £7.95), and it was so bad that I never felt inclined to buy what was referred to at the time as a "full-price" title again, so I avoided them all like the plague. It was an early lesson in spending wisely, though, so I can at least credit it with that positive outcome; I've barely bought any terrible games in my life partly because of that incident, as that game represented almost twenty weeks of saving (I think that my pocket money was 50p per week at the time).

I never had the C64 version of Lemmings (my start with the series was when a relative bought the Game Gear port in 1993), although I do very strongly remember seeing a full-page ad for it in 1991 in one of the C64 magazines of the time*, and wondering how on Earth the cute little creatures could cause loss of sleep, hair, and sanity (I was sometimes quite literal as a kid ), and why the publisher didn't want to take any responsibility for this behaviour.

*(This was probably Commodore Format, since I recall buying that regularly as it had usually-very-good cover-tapes; Infuriatingly so, when buying the magazine whilst away on holiday, and then having to wait all week until I could try out the contents of the tapes!)

I still have my C64 and all of the stuff that I bought for it, though admittedly it is stored safely in a box at the moment as it's not particularly practical for everyday use these days. That said, I'm planning on getting it out again sometime soon so that I can attempt to rip all of my tapes to my main computer for emulation usage, assuming that most of them have retained their data. Though certain to be time-consuming (as digitising old tapes invariably is), I'm very much looking forward to it, because I know that I had more tapes than I can currently remember, and am anticipating experiencing some forgotten gems through fresh eyes.

I know that I can't possibly be the only one who has fond memories like this (indeed, the video linked to at the top of this post proves it), so, guys, would you mind sharing a bit about your first computer?

Wow, I think you may have just dated yourself as the oldest active member on this forum.  I think some of us here might not even have been born yet when the C64 came out.

Unfortuantely I just don't remember much about the first computer I got to use, other than of course playing Lemmings, Chip's Challenge, and a whole bunch of other games that I've long since forgotten.  Oh yeah, and for a few years we used AOL and 56K modem to get online, that might be closest thing I can get nostalgic to.  I also owned video consoles like Nintendo etc., so I guess I might have spent more times on them than the computer back in those days.

In any case the computer was shared by the whole family, until I got my own laptop when I left home for college.  I do have to say you're quite special and lucky to have gotten a computer that (based on your description) you wholly owned at so early an age.

Wow, I think you may have just dated yourself as the oldest active member on this forum.  I think some of us here might not even have been born yet when the C64 came out.

Haha, hey! I'm not THAT old! The C64 was released before I was born, also. (I'm not even in my 30s, yet! Come on, there has to be someone older than me here! Does this mean that I have to paint some grey streaks into my avatar's hair?)

I'm 30 in two months 

My first computer was a BBC Micro -- it had a cassette loader as Prob Lem described, though we had a disc drive as well, for which I'm very thankful, as loading software on the cassette took ages! I played games and also made my first forays into programming. The Repton series was my main passion, and now that the games have been re-released on the PC, I'm still designing and testing levels for them. I still have all my old discs, but not the computer itself -- recently I sent my Repton discs to another fan to get my levels converted for the PC version. Seeing them again was certainly a nostalgia bomb Repton: The Lost Realms, a "lost" game of the series, was rediscovered in 2010, and I was part of the team that designed levels (using emulators) to get it ready for release, so I got a genuine copy of the disc version as a keepsake even though I can't play it

In 1992 my dad got a Macintosh LC II, and I was given his old SE/30, on which I played Lemmings for the first time (This is the black-and-white version on which Mayhem 14 is impossible, though it was a couple of years before I got that far!)

1993, Macintosh Performa 600.  From a technical standpoint, this computer was totally junk compared to other Macs of the time.  But it worked for us and we used it until 1999 as our only computer.  I give it a lot of credit for shaping me as a person, giving me a nice creative outlet and having lots of cool games on the included demo CD (you might have heard of this one called Lemmings).

I still have it, but the power supply died a few years ago and I've been too lazy to fix it because I've since picked up some slightly newer classic Macs that are a little more adequate to use than the kinda sluggish Performa 600.

My first computer was a Packard Bell from 1992 or 3. It had Windows 3.1 and DOS. That's the computer I first played Lemmings on. I only had the first game. The only two other DOS games I ever had was Pole Racer (or whatever that racing game is called) and that game where you have to shoot down bombs/planes that slowly come from the sky from your base at the bottom of the screen. Both of which I thought were incredibly boring compared to Lemmings. I also had one other game but it never worked so I don't even remember what it was.
Windows 3.1 is so old, but it's really memorable. One thing I did a lot back then was (using "paintbrush") making drawings of my favorite Lemmings levels and some of my own. The paintbrush program was odd to me because I remember if you zoomed in on a color purple for example, you'd see pixels of red and blue.
I kept it and continued using it for a long time after we got other PCs but I finally gave it to a friend a few years ago. Maybe it was more like... 5 to 10 years ago (time goes fast!). I think something broke like the motherboard.

Another memorable thing was after that computer my next was a Compaq that had that version of Windows which instead of a regular desktop it was a 3D model of the inside of a house. The 'living room' was where the games were and the kitchen was maintenance things I think (like services and device options). I can't find a picture of this anywhere... I can't remember what it was called though. Anybody else ever have this or hear of it? [I could be wrong-and maybe it wasn't even Windows. But if it wasn't I have no idea what it was called]
This computer came with the big big Microsoft entertainment pack that had chips challenge.

My grandfather had a Commodore 64 but he only ever used it in conjunction with his Ham radio to type messages.

I had a game boy, Super Nintendo, my cousin had Nintendo and Sega Genesis, but we never knew Lemmings existed on those consoles. And my cousin used to ridicule me for playing Lemmings on my PC saying it was a boring game!

Interesting replies thus far - thanks, guys.

Another memorable thing was after that computer my next was a Compaq that had that version of Windows which instead of a regular desktop it was a 3D model of the inside of a house. The 'living room' was where the games were and the kitchen was maintenance things I think (like services and device options). I can't find a picture of this anywhere... I can't remember what it was called though. Anybody else ever have this or hear of it? [I could be wrong-and maybe it wasn't even Windows. But if it wasn't I have no idea what it was called]

It wasn't Microsoft Bob, by any chance, was it? (More information here.)

Interesting replies thus far - thanks, guys.

Quote from: möbius on 2012-10-07 13:22:57

Another memorable thing was after that computer my next was a Compaq that had that version of Windows which instead of a regular desktop it was a 3D model of the inside of a house. The 'living room' was where the games were and the kitchen was maintenance things I think (like services and device options). I can't find a picture of this anywhere... I can't remember what it was called though. Anybody else ever have this or hear of it? [I could be wrong-and maybe it wasn't even Windows. But if it wasn't I have no idea what it was called]

It wasn't Microsoft Bob, by any chance, was it? (More information here.)

thanks for the link! That's close but not exactly what I had. Plus I don't remember the name Microsoft Bob. Whatever mine was it was a little more realistic and less cartoonish. But it was the same idea. It also came with some unusual games, like one where you had to match musical instruments with a country around the world.
I also could be mistaken and the Compaq was my first computer and Packard Bell was the second.

The first computer I ever had was an old IBM-PC from the late 1980s.  My dad bought it sometime around 1987 (I was too young to remember), and it got passed down to me in 1994 when he upgraded to Windows 3.1.  I used it primarily to play old arcade games from the 5.25-inch floppy era.  Some of the games I had include Digger, Pac-Man, King's Quest, and GATO.

My first computer was the same computer I played Lemmings for the first time: Atari ST. It's been a while. I think it was in 1989 or 1990. We received it for Christmas. Today, the computer is in my brother's apartment in Montreal.

Interesting replies thus far - thanks, guys.

Quote from: möbius on 2012-10-07 13:22:57

Another memorable thing was after that computer my next was a Compaq that had that version of Windows which instead of a regular desktop it was a 3D model of the inside of a house. The 'living room' was where the games were and the kitchen was maintenance things I think (like services and device options). I can't find a picture of this anywhere... I can't remember what it was called though. Anybody else ever have this or hear of it? [I could be wrong-and maybe it wasn't even Windows. But if it wasn't I have no idea what it was called]

It wasn't Microsoft Bob, by any chance, was it? (More information here.)

I finally found it!  I was wrong; it was a Packard Bell. So my first computer was a Compaq (or a Apple I honestly don't remember)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqZpvOPI_aI

aww man... nostalgia 
This is the computer I played DOS Lemmings on. I wish I still had all my old computers!!

I finally found it!  I was wrong; it was a Packard Bell. So my first computer was a Compaq (or a Apple I honestly don't remember)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqZpvOPI_aI

aww man... nostalgia 
This is the computer I played DOS Lemmings on. I wish I still had all my old computers!!

Wow, what a find! I never even knew that this existed.

I wonder why the house metaphor came up for Microsoft Bob and Packard Bell Navigator? An extension of the belief of that time that Virtual Reality was the future, perhaps?

I've actually never had any manner of console. All my gaming has been computer gaming, so leaving consoles aside is quite easy for me!

The first computer I used, much like all of our computers before and since, was assembled from various parts in our basement (up until a few years ago, we always had the parts on hand to build several extra computers at once). It ran DOS, had a rather small, square, and highly domed CRT monitor which I was perhaps irrationally fond of, and kept on trucking through various upgrades until the mid nineties. We always had multiple computers around when I was growing up, because both of my parents have worked with computers for a very long time.

Sadly, there isn't anything left of that computer any longer, although it was the one which I played many favourite games on first (Lemmings, Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, Hocus Pocus, pretty much every DOS game I've played). The monitor gave out after many years of constant use, I wore the relevant gaming keys on the keyboard out at a similar time, and the mouse didn't survive an accident involving a soft drink at one point. The internal components lived on for a time as the record machine for a local theatre company, still with DOS, but that was dismantled a good eight years ago now. I don't know for sure how old that computer was, but I started using it in '91.

The first computer I consider to have really been mine, however, was the first one I built myself around '95. It ran Windows 95, and spent some time dual-booting Linux, but finally fell victim to a string of viruses and a freak CPU meltdown around 2004. That was the computer that I spent the most time gaming on, too, when I still had massive amounts of free time. I still had it when I first joined Lemmings Universe, in fact, though it wasn't to last more than a year or so past that time. Despite its problems, I have good memories of that computer. It was called Vanemonde (traditionally we name our computers after cities, but it was fitting in with my brother's computer, which was Shalmirane at the time, and our Linux machines which were Lys and Diaspar). The next incarnation of my desktop/gaming computer was named Tanelorn, and so they have all been since then, since in a way they are all the same computer (my laptop computers have been Imrryr and Gondolin).

Right, that was kind of a tangent there with the names. The slave hard drive from Vanemonde survived until just a few years ago, in fact, but other than that the only thing which remains of it is the trackball, which does not really count for much, and the sound and network cards which I've not had call to upgrade yet. I only took the floppy drive out of my computer in the very last upgrade, because my newest motherboard no longer supported it. So, that hung around until 2011, and was the same one I'd had since '95.

Wow, those are some long-lived machines! It was the case that x86-based hardware wasn't relevant in the UK home computing market until around 1996 (I mentioned way back in my original post that my C64 was my only computer until early 1996 - that was when our first x86 box came along), so I always find tales from places where they were more commonplace to be interesting - especially since DOSBox now allows me to catch up on games* that I missed out on at the time!

*I must say, this isn't the first time that I've heard Hocus Pocus mentioned, but to date haven't tried it. What's it like?

I enjoyed the naming tangent, by the way, and I'm now going to continue it. My computers (and tablet and phone) all use names derived from skills, difficulty ratings, and Tribes from the Lemmings games. Current devices are Turner, Polar, Runner, and Circus. Previous machines have been Space, Planter, and Thrower. Thrower was the computer that exploded recently - it lived up to its name in that I had to throw the wreckage out.

I remember my (family's) first computer being a window's 98 and memories I had with would be the cool 3D maze screen saver
and my first games (beside playing a little bit of the n64 & PS1) being
the living books
Pajama Sam
and of course Lemmings
ah the memories have flown by

I remember my (family's) first computer being a window's 98 and memories I had with would be the cool 3D maze screen saver

That screensaver was one of the awesomest things EVER. Even more so when you realised you could draw some crappy picture in MS Paint then set that as the walls. xD

I think that screensaver is seriously what got me into game design. The starfield one is good too; I just haven't been able to find a decent replacement for it.

I must admit, I don't even use screensavers nowadays, myself!

I do make up for it by having multiple separate workspaces with different desktop backgrounds, though.

You sound a lot like my dad Prob Lem by having multiple desktop workspaces. 

You sound a lot like my dad Prob Lem by having multiple desktop workspaces. 

Heh, neat!

He's a Linux or Mac user, I assume? Or has this feature finally been introduced to Microsoft Windows, now?

I used to use six workspaces, but nowadays I find four to be just right.

Hi Prob Lem

He's a Linux or Mac user, I assume? Or has this feature finally been introduced to Microsoft Windows, now?

This is his windows 7, I'm not quite sure how he got it. I remember one day he started showing me the feature.

He does the one where there are three different work spaces,

One other thing my dad tends to do when he is working, he usually has his computer screen up with the business stuff then he has the TV up but he's controlling both screens from the computer, basically he using the TV as another computer screen. I think it's the dual screen feature but then again I get confused with technology these days, I know it's shocking. 

The other thing he tends to do is he has the different workspaces up sort of like he would use the one screen, sort of like this example.

http://www.abctrick.net/2012/03/create-upto-20-different-workspaces.html (Is that not crazy 20 workspaces lol) 

It does help big time because in the past you are always having to open and minimize documents all the time.

Wow, those are some long-lived machines! It was the case that x86-based hardware wasn't relevant in the UK home computing market until around 1996 (I mentioned way back in my original post that my C64 was my only computer until early 1996 - that was when our first x86 box came along), so I always find tales from places where they were more commonplace to be interesting - especially since DOSBox now allows me to catch up on games* that I missed out on at the time!

Both of my parents have also been working with computers since the early days of computing, so not only did we always tend to have more computers and more computer hardware around than most people I know, but it's a rare computer problem short of actual component failure that one or another of them wasn't able to fix (and I got fairly good at taking care of my own computers, as well). I spent a reasonable percentage of my childhood, often one day a week, hanging out in the server room at my mom's work (she was a sys admin for the nearby college for the first ten years of my life). That was actually where I played both Quake and Doom first -- the server techs played those a lot on their breaks, and I joined in every now and then.

For similar reasons it's always interesting to me to hear about people who grew up mostly with consoles, as I never even saw one in person until I was fourteen years old, and I still don't own one. The only way I've ever played things like the Sonic the Hedgehog games is via emulator. Just as well, since the few times I have played on a console at someone else's house I've come to the conclusion that the controllers are never sized right for my hands, and are often seem a bit awkward for left-handed use (though that could just be my lack of familiarity).

*I must say, this isn't the first time that I've heard Hocus Pocus mentioned, but to date haven't tried it. What's it like?

It's a good deal like most side-scrolling platformers, with the theme of wizardry applied, so you're firing spells instead of guns. There are also often some puzzles in the levels, at least in order to gain the most treasure you can, and I always thought that the graphics were fairly neat. I don't like it as much as I do Commander Keen, for instance, but it's a fun game. I'm also clearly not very great at describing it!

I enjoyed the naming tangent, by the way, and I'm now going to continue it. My computers (and tablet and phone) all use names derived from skills, difficulty ratings, and Tribes from the Lemmings games. Current devices are Turner, Polar, Runner, and Circus. Previous machines have been Space, Planter, and Thrower. Thrower was the computer that exploded recently - it lived up to its name in that I had to throw the wreckage out.

Cool! I'm not sure exactly why the fictional-city naming scheming started in my house, but I've just stuck with it, since there are a good deal of names to choose from there and it's something of a tradition now. I don't know what scheme I would've picked to name my computers based on if that hadn't been the case.

I've never seen a computer explode, although I've heard tales. The closest I've come to that with my own computers is the one whose CPU melted down the first time it turned off after it had been running for years straight, but I once witnessed my brother's monitor fry itself in a moderately impressive fashion -- it emitted a horribly loud popping sound and then acrid white smoke billowed out of it all along the top of it.