Kq1 - 1984.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hy29KoBnGY
Jet Pac, 1983

Donkey, 1981

it's really hard for me to pick favorites, there's been a few games that just stuck with me forever.

most notably is probably Monkey Island 1 and 2
other favorites of mine are Descent 1 and 2, Duke3D, Lemmings, the Crusader games and Carmageddon 1 and 2.

Tyrian2000 gets a honorable mention, played that a lot ^^

I know these are all pretty "mainstream" and there's probably a lot of less popular examples, but those are just the games that have stuck with me and I'd count as my all-time favorites.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something though, probably a lot of older games, but none of them seem to have stuck as much.

so what is the oldest then... I guess it stays with Monkey Island ^^
coincidentally that is also around the time when I got my first PC in 1989/90

edit: one really old game I can think of is Sokoban I enjoyed back then, but wouldn't really call it a favorite.

Spacewar!
Originally created in 1962 for PDP-1, and there's some fascinating story behind it - http://www.wheels.org/spacewar/creative/SpacewarOrigin.html

I first encountered it in the form of a PC variant by Bill Seiler, from 1985/86.
Back then I had a PC with Hercules graphics, not really suitable for games, as they were mostly for CGA and didn't look good with CGA-emulation on Hercules.
Spacewar, however, was different - there was native Hercules version, and the game in general was well suited for high-resolution monochrome graphics - even the CGA version used the 640x200 mono mode, as opposed to vast majority of CGA games.
I had a lot of fun playing it against a live opponent - unfortunately, the game's AI was plain dumb, playing against the computer was rather boring...

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (PC 1984)

I listed the PC release date above, as that's the version I played, though the game was originally released in 1981 for the Apple II according to Mobygames.

I actually only played & finished this game a couple years ago, as I had previously just assumed it was too ancient to be enjoyable. My plan was to explore a few levels and then skip right to Wizardry 7. However, I got seriously addicted and ending up completing not only Wizardry 1, but transferred my party and went on to complete 2, 3, and 5!
It's just a fantastic game. The dungeons have really smart layouts and aren't just seemingly random corridors and rooms (a major criticism I had with the Bard's Tale series), and the game is balanced surprisingly well; by the time you have completely mapped a floor you are typically just around the right level to being exploring the next. It's also quite fair, though I did back up my save file as I played.

"Wizard of Wor" on the C64, as its 2 player mode still triggers nostalgic memories....

I guess Zork is the oldest game I enjoyed quite a lot. I especially liked drawing maps to avoid getting lost in the game's world.

Wizard (C64, 1984) / Ultimate Wizard (1986) is an absolute all-time favorite. (Ultimate Wizard is the same game with an expansion pack.) I literally have a framed boxed copy (EA record-sleeve style) of it on my wall. A lot of C64 games of that era are really awkward or clunky, but these hold up. Fluid controls, good sound effects, nice sprite art for the time. Plus, a fully-featured built-in level editor and yes, I do still have all the old levels I made as a kid. Love this game, I still come back to it at least a few times a year to this day.

Lazy Jones is another 1984 game that I still come back to. It's objectively not as good of a game but I have lots of fond memories of it & still give it a playthrough every now and then. It was actually made as a tech demo for David Whittaker's dynamic music system, so the soundtrack is pretty cool.

This is more of a recent thing, but Space Station Oblivion / Driller (1987) just blew me away. I've had an original C64 copy since the early '90s, but I never beat it until recently, and didn't really realize how impressive it was until I started digging in. It's not perfect, but the technology behind it is mind bending for a 1987 game that came out on 8-bit platforms (64, Spectrum, CPC.) To be fair the 8-bit versions are nearly unplayable now (1-2 FPS), but the Amiga/DOS/ST versions are exactly the same game, run way better, and are a fascinating romp through early 3D world building.

Hmm... I still fire up Alley Cat and Burger Time (1982/3) every so often. I wouldn't call them all-time faves but they're really solid arcade-style games from the era.

Interesting topic. I find a lot of the stuff from the early '80s to be really awkward and just don't offer much to a modern player, but there are some real gems from back then that still stand out. I'll probably think of more later.

I love Alley Cat but it's more of a nostalgia thing because it was the first computer game I have ever played

^^ Yeah, it's hard to find DOS/PC-booter games from that early on that hold up very well (aside from text adventures, but those are kind of their own thing.) Alley Cat has a level of polish that wasn't common for another couple years at least.

Thought of another one: Impossible Mission (1984.) I think I like the sequel from 1988 a little better, but the original is an excellent game and still plays well.

Re: Ultimate Wizard - this isn't the best pic but this is what I have on display above my couch. These really are the only two items of "nerd art" I have hanging up anywhere, but I like them.

C64 - Delta - 1987
https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/Delta

Looks like crap on a screen without scanlines.

Looked absolutely awesome on a Commodore color composite monitor.

PC - Mechwarrior 1 - 1989

As a kid I found paratrooper to be a lot of fun, in its green screen glory on my uncles then new 5150 with upgraded graphics.

I also found the games from the Channel F to be fun as a kid, one of the games looked like you were flying a spaceship in the first person, sadly the game cart burnt up.
It was likely from the late 70’s

The original DOS Tetris still gets regular play thanks to dosbox.

I can't pick just one, so here is a list with the year each game came out.

1982 - Parsec -- I had this game on my TI-99/4A home computer, had an arcade game feel to it from what I remember.
1986 - Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter -- I played this on an Apple IIe computer at school, unfortunately I cant remember too much.
1989 - DOS 1993-94 - The Adventures of Robbo -- I bought this game at the local Walmart, I played this too much.
1990 - Microsoft Solitaire -- I have likely played this more hours than any other game - 🤣
1990 - Microsoft Taipei -- Another game I spent countless hours playing.
1992 - Galactix -- I liked this game but only ever had the Shareware version
1992 - Wolfenstein 3D -- I had a few different paid and Shareware copies over the years
1993 - Doom - Another game I got at the local Walmart, this was the first game I played over a network, "Linksys LNE2000 Ether16 LAN ISA Card"
1993 - SimCity 2000 -- I spent way too much time playing this.
1996 - DX-Ball -- I loved this game
1996 - Quake -- I like this game a lot - I got it at Walmart -- I made a better computer just to play this game
1997 - Quake II -- I like this game a lot - I got it at Walmart
1997 - Interstate '76 - I played this multi-player with a dial-up modem - everyone was cheating, they had flying school buses covered with machine gun nests, it was amazing!
1998 - Unreal -- I loved this game
1999 - Unreal Tournament -- I sometimes still play this

The original Karateka on Apple ][, I remember being so proud I figured out how to beat that one when I was in elementary school. Also love the original 2d Escape from Castle Wolfenstein, though I never beat that one while I was in elementary school.

Star Raiders 1979 Atari 400/800.
Elite Acornsoft 1984 BBC Model B.

rmay635703 wrote on 2020-06-01, 02:09:

As a kid I found paratrooper to be a lot of fun, in its green screen glory on my uncles then new 5150 with upgraded graphics.

Agreed although I was in the IIe and doesn't rate as my favorite

Our first computer was a Apple IIe from 198? - 1995
My 2 all time favorite games on that were both released in 84 for Apple
Conan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan:_Hall_of_Volta
Moon Patrol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Patrol
But as Moon Patrol is a port from a 82 game I guess that wins?

PC side of things would be either of the 1989 titles
Street Rod https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Rod_(video_game)
Super off Road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Off_Road
Although Super off road wasn't ported to dos until the following year

Stunts (1990). There is something about games that come with editors (an awesome track editor in this case) that tickles my fancy. My mate introduced me to this one in early high school and I was hooked immediately. We made tons of tracks and swapped them back and forth. Good times...