Pong! My dad got it as soon as it was available. I'd never even heard of it.

I learned I had fast reflexes and was competitive. It also got me spending lots of time in our basement, which eventually resulted in first cleaning it up, and then remodeling it.

http://www.pong-story.com/intro.htm
Permalink | Report

Oregon Trail...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oregon_Trail_(computer_game)

Spent too much time hunting and wasting my bullets.
Permalink | Report

My favorite PC game of all time is X-Com: UFO Defense (aka UFO: Enemy Unknown, in the UK). I'm not sure if it counts as pre-Windows, as I remember Windows did exist at the time, but it was a DOS game for sure when it came out. The humor was a big part of what I liked about it: the wink that the guy with the minigun gave during the opening sequence, the death-screams of the Sectoids as you killed them, the horror/hilarity that resulted when one of your Squaddies panicked or became mind-controlled and started to open fire on his squad-mates. And the horror was there too, even though it wasn't specifically a horror game. That first mission with green troops was always scary, no matter how many campaigns I played. And being stuck in a smoke-filled building with tight corridors while a Chryssalid was scurrying about, ready to infect and turn your Squaddies...brrr!

And you got attached to those Squaddies, too, because you could rename them, and their stats improved over time. I always named my best ones after my friends or celebrities, so when they died I could shout, "Oh no! Not Patrick Stewart! NOOOOOO! He was almost finished with Psi Training, too!"

I hear that the game is now available on Steam, wrapped in an emulator that lets you play it on modern computers. For some reason, though, it's not available outside North America. Dammit. I wanna zap me some aliens!

Hey, maybe an iPhone app version...
Source(s):
http://www.strategycore.co.uk/xcom/pg/ufo

Permalink | Report

Star Raiders - First computer game I ever played. Ahh... the Atari 400. I remember you well...
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Raiders

Permalink | Report

asteroids.

in high school, I worked at a game room. asteroids and tempest were the two games i loved to play the most.

after college, I bought an asteroids machine for just under a hundred dollars. THAT was great to have.

it's long gone, but i still have MAME.
Source(s):
http://mamedev.org/

Permalink | Report

Three words for you: Prince of Persia. Dont care much about the new ones but the original was captivating. I spent hours playing that game. Not only was it extremely challenging but it was intense too!
Permalink | Report

Missile command!

http://www.sys2064.com/pic/single/mcomm02.gif
Permalink | Report

Since I use a Mac, every game for me is pre windows.

Asteroids, tetris, warcraft, goldeneye, myst. . . where do I start? Some changed my life more than others, but tetris is the only one that I continue to play.
Permalink | Report

"SLAG" for the TRS-80 model I, published by Adventure International in 1980. Mainly because I wrote it. Of course I enjoyed play testing it with my friends, and I made a few (very few) dollars from it. But it mainly changed my life because it was the start of my career in computing. It was a hot seat multiplayer game of building, strategy, and war, but combat was by video type subgames. It was way ahead of its time, if I do say so myself. But, it would seem very primitive today.
Permalink | Report

When I was a kid we had a Commodore 64 with hundreds of games, if not thousands. The hours I spend on the commodore are probably why I work online now, 20 years later...the graphics are a bit better now.

I remember many games from the Commodore era, Jumpman, GI Joe, Beach Head etc... none stand out more than.

Space Taxi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuRyiFg6FBY
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Taxi

Permalink | Report

Lemmings.
Permalink | Report

I was originally going to say Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge but while doing research on that game I remembered my Amiga and then realized that a little game called

Crystal Hammer

had captured my heart when I was younger. This game has influenced my life in ways that I never realized until reflecting upon it just now. Because of this game I developed an appreciation for demoscene music and artwork. Later, I became interested in composing music because of the intro song for this game.

Crystal Hammer is an arkanoid / breakout clone but it is the only arkanoid / breakout clone that I will ever play. It has all the elements; Paddle, ball, bricks, power-ups and slimy jelly-like things that float down the screen and alter the trajectory of your ball.

I remember playing this game for hours at a time. Occasionally I would have a sleep-over (I was only 9 or 10) and we would play the two player version all night. There were times when I would get so frustrated with the game. I was very emotionally invested in it.

This game may not have blatantly changed my life but it has subtly changed who I am and who I have become gradually. Partly because of the memories and the feelings I associate with the song when I hear it. It takes me to a different place and I think that counts as life-changing even if it is not something monumental.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EiXBh21DNs

For your listening pleasure - a remixed version of the opening song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSQR7Y9KgKY


If I remember correctly, the composer for this song, Karsten Obarski was instrumental in helping the demoscene and mod-tracking scene take off. This game not only changed my life, but it has changed your lives as well even if you didn't know it.

Because of his contributions to the mod-scene and tracking, many artists were able to grow and produce music in ways that they never had before. This made content creation accessible to many people, a good example is Moby. Without the developments we have seen from this forgotten scene we never would have had such awesome 3d rendering or club music.

I honestly think that without this game, our current popular culture would have been subtly different than it is now.
Source(s):
Childhood
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga
http://www.mobygames.com/game/crystal-hammer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karsten_Obarski

Permalink | Report

So pre-windows, it was in the days when we actually had to ride our bikes to the Arcade at malls, and in the bad parts of town. I present..
DRAGON'S LAIR
Permalink | Report

Pong. I think it was the first cpm game I played on my Kaypro, and I was addicted! It helped me become comfortable with the notion of having a computer--I could also play games on it!
Permalink | Report

The pre-windows computer game that changed my life was Monkey Island. I have beaten every game in the series at least once, and Monkey Island is by far the best adventure game series of all time. I hope they come out with Monkey Island 5!

http://www.4colorrebellion.com/media/pics/jul/monkey_island.jpg
Permalink | Report

This one is easy. Wolfenstein. I think it also revolutionized the shareware model of selling software.

I remember the first time I ran it on my 386 machine. At first I saw a wall with a light blue door in front of me. So what next? Is something going to pop out on my screen? No. Then I moved the mouse... in an instant computer gaming changed before my eyes. Because now I was "in" the game.

After that was Doom, Duke Nukem, Quake, and a whole bunch of other RPGs. But Wolfenstein was the granddaddy of all of them.
Permalink | Report

Tie Fighter!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cozXQbUh4U8
Permalink | Report