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How old is everyone here and what does everyone do?
I am 27 (soon 28), got hooked on DM when my dad purchased our 2nd computer (520ST), our first was a TI 994a
Still playing DM, I simply find it, entertaining, and memorized much of it. I made some cool characters in DM, (tiggy, wuuf, boris, gando), and now am working on CSB...
I do customer support at a small company in downtown Ottawa, Canada.
I found Dm on my Amiga 500. The first computer I purchased for myself. I worked two jobs over the summer that year just so I could get it sooner. I set up in the basement and I dunno if that was a good idea or not. I got sooo seriously creeped me out. Man.. sitting with stero headphones on.. in a dark cool basement.. I found myself trying to look around the corner by leaning up to the screen (LOL) and trying to peer around.. what was I thinking. The first time I ran into the dragon I heard him first.. then heard the "HERAAAAAAAAHG!" sound of him firing at me and then turning around to "BLAM" as it hit me then he took a step forward and all I could doo was nearly fall out of my chair and then try and turn my party around then I started pow tapping the forward key untill I realised I was running into the wall My nose was inches from the screen.. I could nearly feel his sulferous breath on my neck.. I didn't want to look behind me and I moved quickly and purposely up the stairs and stopped.. panting.. Oh my...
Yeah, it is an involving game..
(Oh, I teach in a Computer animation course at a local college. www.gradshow.com )
I'm 32. Been playing DM since it came out for the ST. The day I got it I turned it on and was still at it 2 days later. No sleep. I was also supposed to be at work. On the third day (still no sleep) I went to work but I was sent home because I looked so bad. As soon as I got home I played it again. Nothing has had me so hooked since.
I nearly shat my pants the first time I saw the dragon.
Also, it took me months to complete it the first time. Then I spent the next several years replaying it/building up strong characters. No other game has lasted nearly as long.
Hi there, Im Andy, 22 years old, male (how did you guess), and I work and live in London, UK. I work for the applications team (development/web/sql/etc) at a law firm in the city. Been very busy too recently at work, not particularly intersting stuff.
I am working on an editor for RTC in a DirectX based programming language called Blitzbasic and worked on the definitive guide to editing (using trusty notepad) a while back. I also have another personal programming project on at the moment.
im 24, student of econimics and dm was my first computergame ever and so has a special place. lucky me my first game was such a great one
i got it very short after release, i was about 7 or such. the worms frightened me literally to death. i was 11 when i completed dm for the fist time (and 19, when i have beaten csb - but i have to admit, i dont like csb too much compared to dm - too confusing layout).
after >50 times of completing dm from time to time, i found this online-community when searching for stuff i hadn't discovered so far in ians forum and also dmute and began creating a few dungeons, you might know them. they rock
atm im retired for dm and only lurk a bit or share knowledge if possible...
Hi, I'm 28, originally am an accomplished telecommunications technician, have been working as a telecommunications support callcenter agent the recent years and have begun to study medicine last week.
I played DM first on Amiga2000(XT), my first own machine after my father left and took all the machines from SharpMZ700 to Atari MegaST with him (but luckily leaving at least the C64 behind). And I have been totally hooked on that game too! I remember casting a light spell in DM those days, wondering why nothing happened and only after the 3rd try noticed, that it was one of the 3 light bulbs in the room I had my machine in that went out...man! those were games, and the mean CSB dungeon is a kingly gift indeed bestowed to us gamers by FTL...
Parting is all we know from Heaven, and all we need of hell.
I'm 18, and a college student studying a two-year course in Animal Management. I used to play DM back on the Atari, CSB too, and when Dad found a downloadable version online after all these years...woohoo! I can remember finishing DM with Azizi in my second slot because she was dead when I did it lol. I also remember being scared of the Drago and running away, but now I love the things and think it's great fun killing them . I've finished GG's DM (original, not RTC) about three or four times now, but ont CSB yet, eeevil mobs everywhere. And I been trying to make my own dungeon but the file seems to have buggered . But if it ever gets working again then I will continue to post complaints about some silly thing that I can't do lol .
I'm 29, living in Vienna (Austria), working in a software company. First encounter with DM was an Amiga500 like cowsmanaut and my most vivid recollection of those days is stepping through the false wall at "When is rock not rock" and directly facing a pain rat. This was at three in the morning and I was jumpy already, so the sound it's attack made caused me to jump up and bang my head on the lamp... and ever since it's kept me hooked. When I discovered more than a year ago there was actually a community still discussing and even enhancing available resources (RTC, CSBwin to name just two) I was delighted -and still am.
I'm 26, live in Aberdeen, UK and working as a product engineer...whatever that really means!
First saw DM on the atari when i was 12, and was instantly captured by how immersive and deceptively simple it was. Took me a long whiel to get a computer (CDTV, if you can believe it) and then longer still to get DM...someone gave it to me not knowing i'd searched for it for quite a while
Hookign a few people into playign it at school so there was lots of 'have you done this part...foudn that part?' talk was fun, but of course playign in the dark and hearign the 'pitter pitter pitter' or scorpions or worms and then havign the loud attack sound behind you was the most fun
I always find it amusing that one of the first things people do when they meet each other is ask "What do you do?", as if the answer somehow defines us.
Psychologists and behavioural experts will tell you we do it because it's an instinctive way of determining our position in the social heirarchy of the people we meet. It's like we automatically 'grade' ourselves according to how we perceive our place. I realise that it's a lot more complicated than that: we're also assessing whether or not we want to spend time with that person, among many other factors. Of course, this doesn't ring true for everyone, as many people simply don't think that way.
You may be thinking that this is utter bollocks, but I challenge anyone to honestly say that they have never judged someone based on the fact that they might do a more lowly job...
My favourite answer to this question will always be "I live, I breathe, I read books, I drink, I eat.... etc..."
Anyway, for the record, I'm 31, currently unemployed and trying to get into freelance design, and live in Brighton, England. First saw DM on my friends Amiga when I was 15 or 16, and was instantly hooked. It was a long time before I got my own computer and copy, probably 1990, and played it constantly. I know exactly what Cowsmanaut means describing trying to look around the corners... I used to do that a lot and didn't even notice for a long time until my sister pointed it out! The scariest bit was the first meeting with the materializer -- just a floating blue ball that suddenly appeared and blew my party to bits with a fireball -- in my panic, I actually backed away in my chair, made the party run away straight into a wall, launching a fireball, and toasting the rest of the group. Heady days indeed...
Lol, this is true, buts its also one of the most effective tools in smalltalk. As your occupation tends to be what you send a significant amount of your life on, then either a) it shows your general interests if you enjoy it, or b) you hate it, and it will be such a bugbear that it will then launch into subjects you would rather be doing...
I would be curious to know what small percentage actually do somehting, even if they enjoy it, that is directly attacted to their strongest passions
indeed the social status bit is always looming over us. Fuzzface has the perfect point though. Who of these high end jobs.. love what they do? What would their hobbies be? That doctor removing moles and fixing acne might likley enjoy painting and sketching when he gets home. Wouldn't it be better for him to be an illustrator? However, that wouldn't be as prestigious as a doctor now would it. What if he liked building things? Enjoyed making shed's amd log cabins and what not? He might make a good contruction worker.. he might find it very enjoyable. However, again that's even lower a social status point.
I can be quite happy to say I do what I love. I enjoy my job and really do not think of it as work. I mean there is the occasional thing I come across that might be less interesting to do or the occasional issue that bothers me but all in all I wouldn't rather be anywhere else.
I find being between jobs is the best time to find and think about what it is you most want to do. I could be so bold as to say that unemployment is the point at which we most evaluate our lives. I think it's a strong person who can come out of it with some good choices and land on top.
(shrug)
I don't think a job really defines a person unless they love what they do.. period.
Probably right but that does not change what was brought up before - it may define how someone else looks at you and reacts towards you. This may not be of any significance, but it may also be a person on who's decision or well-meaning you may depend (job-interview etc...) and then it can get quite nasty...
Cows, I completely agree. It's interesting your point about unemployment causing us to evaluate our situation -- that's exactly where I am at the moment (well, not exactly -- I'm too desparate for money to even think about pursuing a careeer I'm pasisonate about -- first things first eh?). You're absolutely right about the doctor who might paint when he gets home -- we are all far more complicated and special than our job description simply dictates. I really like this (chopped up) quote from the interview I conducted with Michael Newton (Dungeon Master programmer and dungeon designer) which I think is something we can all aspire to:
Software was always just a craft I did well, but I never felt defined or limited by it.... I've always felt very interested in literature and music and anthropological research, and I always wanted to exploit our FTL technology for creating games to explore those themes..... I really wanted to invest my energy and imagination in the Arts and Humanities. So I moved off to Scotland and did a PhD in Celtic Studies..... It's pretty crazy now that I look back on it, especially as there is virtually no money in it. However, I have managed to produce articles and books on the subject, and do feel very committed to Scottish Gaelic culture, and to the plight of minority languages and cultures in general. They are far more important, and more sustainable and sustaining, in the long run, than anything we can create with technology.
I'm just about to start reading a book called "The work we were born to do" by Nick Williams. Subtitled "Find the work you love, love the work you do". I suspect this will become my bible over the next few months.
I think it's fantastic Cows that you are in a position to really love the work you do. I'm really looking forward to getting over my current difficulties and moving in to something new and exciting, that I love. I know that I'll be a lot happier when I do.
Some good points there, cows. I and my wife have never both worked at the same time. Whe one of us gets a job, the other quits (she used to be a doctor, I used to be dilbert). Now she's a soon-to-be-ex-waitress writing a book and I'm a contractor working a few hours a day from my home office in between writing a DM-inspired game. We're poor now, but we've never been happier. As Aristotle said, "you are what you repeatedly do". It's up to us to define what that is. Any time spent away from the things you are passionate about is time spent away from your life and you don't get it back. Social status be damned!
I know some people use the 'what work do you do?' question as a method of fitting you into some silly social hierarchy but the question can have more meaning than that. When my wife was an MD people were much more impressed by her response, but what it actually meant was, "I'm wasting my life doing something I hate". When you see past the socially accepted standards then the answer to this question CAN tell you the most about a person but not in the way people usually mean. It tells you whether a person values other people's opinions over their own and that's one of those things that defines a person's entire character.
So, it's not an issue of should we have a lot or a little money, or a lot or a little technology, but are you living the life you want or are you accepting less far too often? Unfortunately, a lot of people will take money/gadgets as a substitute for fulfillment.
Cows: It can also be the other way round with being/becoming a doctor: If I stayed in my former job as a telecommunications technician I'd have quite a decent income now. But after thorough reconsideration of what I really want to do for a living, I concluded that curing people is what I want to do. Sot true, the doctor may be seen as having more social prestige in the end, but considering that you need to study at least 7 years first (at least where I live) I have consciously chosen poverty for many years to come.
Strangely: In the end, it's all about understanding what "Do what thou willt" truly means. Yes, social status be damned.
Parting is all we know from Heaven, and all we need of hell.
It is not such an easy decision as it looks like and I respect everyone who tries to live accordingly. But it's not simple in the end to weigh (for example) money (like Lunever) against a struggle for years if you are not even sure you will get the job actually... but I agree it is worth the try !
The thoughts of Strangely struck me for their affinity with my own ones. We also have similar lives: my girlfriend is a doctor, I was a dilbert too. And I utterly agree with his opinions... Anyway, here's my 2p...
By some aspects I had a quite harsh life (according to western, first world criteria). I live in poverty, I had an unhappy teenage and several strikes of bad luck. I knew hunger for long periods, up to the point of fainting. I lived almost half my life alone, without familly, as a stranger in a foreign country. I felt, physically speaking, depressed many times.
But...
But I never felt represented by the events surrounding my life. I also never cared about social status.
In fact, I never stopped being happy and active. I went through so many jobs that I lost the count. I studied everything I could and didn't stop reading since I'm 6. My spanlife won't be enough to satiate my inquisitiveness. I feel I could cope emotively with almost any situation, and usually avoid routine. "Life is 99% attitude, 1% event" could be my motto.
I do not reinvindicate life as "my sweet misery" as was mentionned before in other thread, but rather as "the perpetual adventure" (like trying to make sense in english!;-). Loneliness and frustation for not being able to communicate my inner thoughts are my current challenges.
Yet some aspects of the society fill me of dread: people willing to make suffer other, people in need of assistance. I'm still looking for a path to change this world. Rejecting the path of abnegation and sacrifice or the path of the warrior, I keep aiming for a way of wisdom and intelligence.
Yes there is despair in my personnal song because I feel I am walking on a tight rope, with my beautiful, yet ineffable inner world on one side, and with the so unhappy outside world on the other. Still, I am walking!
I am thinking more and more about writing (see current challenges)... I don't want my life to be about collecting objects (I surely reached this goal as I only own a chait and a table!). I don't want my life to be a collection of disconnected moments either. Writing could be a solution.
As you can see, work is totally absent from my "psychological life". That's why I cannot care about the judgements of the others based on my working position.
PitD: Seems like I didn't get my point across. Indeed it is not as easy as wighting money against effort. To come to know one's self, one's inner desire, one's true will is a lifetime task, a long and ardeous yet rewarding path, and one's work and social position are but a tiny part of it, and certainly not a too important one. Yet even seemingly unimportant things can be quite annoying if they are out of balance.
Parting is all we know from Heaven, and all we need of hell.
No, I think you did perfexctly well with your first description - I just wanted to add that even if you decide to live according to your dreams rather than someone else's expectations or your education you will still face problems (probably even more) than the other way - and that leads exactly to your conclusion of a lifelong process. So we're agreed I guess.
Knowing one's inner desire I suppose is a life time task.. however it's not hard if you just listen to it. What takes the life time is the fact it changes and evolves over the ages. You don't know you like something untill you try it right? So life should be an exploration of things you enjoy. However that is where it goes back to my philosphy on life and people having this tendancy to focus on the negative. I just don't see the point to staying completely brain locked with something that bothers you.. do what you can about it and then move on to something more enjoyable. However, that's just me.
For me there are also very few people I allow to influence my life.. where I care what they think. For most people I can enjoy their company and conversation without being worried what they think of me. This is not to say I will go outof my way to piss someone off or to ignore their feelings. I just simply will not make choices about my life based on their ideals.
. But if it ever gets working again then I will continue to post complaints about some silly thing that I can't do lol 
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