Man, Baldur's Gate II as so much fun. I totally gotta reinstall that now lol. I just wish nowadays I could find more people that had 2nd edition books (all I find are 3.5) let alone a group and willing DM. Still, I gotta say for someone I've yak'd at in the Speculation thread, you're pretty awesome.

I started off with Morrowind, I seen some article in a game magazine with some screenshots telling the openendness of it all. The next day I went out and preordered it even though I didn't really have to. Once Oblivion was announced I preordered it and was amazed by the graphics but disappointed by everything else. I then kinda worked my way back to the begining starting with Daggerfall being my favorite of their earlier games. I'm hoping that some of the heart and soul of the earlier games make their way back into Skyrim.

HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT HALT

I got the Morrowind Collector's Edition for my birthday the year it came out for the PC. My parents had bought a really top of the line computer for the time, so I was able to run Morrowind's graphics in one of the higher settings. I remember the first time I loaded it up, I was amazed at what I could do. And the graphics? Top-notch. Also purchased the Tribunal and Bloodmoon expansions when they came out, and it continued to immerse me.

Been playing computer games since I got a Commodore Vic-20 back in the day (yep, I am old). I picked up DaggerFall because of all the hype in gaming magazines at the time, but I was knee deep in isometric RPG's (think Ultima 6/7) and found DaggerFall impossible to play. I just absolutely svcked at that game. Put it on the shelf and forgot about it. Then Morrowind came out and blew my doors off. Closest game I ever found to the endless possibilities that existed in Ultima 7. It instantly became on of my favorite games ever. I was uber-excited when Oblivion came out. I enjoyed it, though not as much as Morrowind until all the mods came out. For me a modded Oblivion is better than Morrowind. CANNOT WAIT for Skyrim.

Daggerfall
hardcoe, even with pen and paper experience.
PC

I remember in Daggerfall I would create characters based on school people, but make up fantasy-like last names.

I'd say Morrowind definitely is my favorite due to an enjoyable experience. Music, characters, story etc. Not to mention all the lore and yes, I read and studied all of it.

Started TES with Arena (the first actual CRPG I had was Ultima Underworld), and have played each and every one, and the expansions. So I fear not claiming Living Legend status..... (How many graybeards here remember how to tweak autoexec.bat? Or even know what it is?) hardcoe when in the zone (as in he who gets between me and my immersion might just lose a finger. I bite.) And there =is= no true gaming platform other than the incredible PC (and yes, I do own a couple; the good old NES, SEGA Genesis, and Sega CD). Power galore, and regular upgradeablility trumps ease of use any day. Consoles are great for Sonic, but nothing beats a keyboard and mouse for complex game controlling. And been on the boards as myself since the days before Daggerfall went gold.....

I started with Morrowind, though I think Oblivion was out at the time, but I didn't know about it. I've played all of the games in the main series, but only ever finished Morrowind and Oblivion (by finished I mean played it enough to complete the majority of quests and the main quest).

As for hardcoe. I chose the 3rd option. I like to read about the games a lot, and I plan my characters out usually.

For platform, I've played a lot of the games on both so I chose the option for both. But as of now I just play the games on PC.

I started with Redguard...got it as a birthday gift from a relative who knew my tastes and interests. LOVED it. Then bought Morrowind and absolutely fell in love with it and the whole world/series. Immediately got Arena, then got an old copy of Daggerfall from a friend. Daggerfall is still my favorite of all the series. My enjoyment greatly diminished with Oblivion, because of the substantial decrease in hardcoe RPGness. Hoping/believing Skyrim will make somewhat of a return.

I read and loved the lore in all the games, but am not quite as much a stickler for game-to-game lore continuity. As long as each game has lots of lore and doesn't completely negate whatever came before, I'm okay with it.

Been with Bethesda since Morrowind. Been lurking on the forums for a couple of years (I do have an old account here, but for the life of me, I just can't remember name/login).

Been playing for ~20 years and my rpg experience (before Morrowind) mainly came from Baldurs Gate, Fallout and pnp rpg's. Then I happened to stumbled upon Morrowind. I had never thought of rpg's along those lines so it made a real impact on me. I wasn't as impressed by Oblivion but it was a decent enough game. F3 had some good qualities, I can't deny that, but I felt that the charm of the original was lost.

I really don't consider myself hardcoe, maybe a bit informed, but when I compare myself to anyone I know who play games I can't really deny that my passion for games is bordering obsession. But I take games for what they are and don't really try to claim that I'm able to count the pixels, so if I'm hardcoe I'm as laid back as they get.

Btw, it's nice being back on the boards.

Started back as a teenager with Arena. I'm an ancient lich-like RPG-er who completed Arena, and all the Might and Magics, Ultimas, Wizardry and Final Fantasy series. Arena was groundbreaking as far as being able to move around freely in a 3d environment. I remember being awed by going through a dungeon and finding a hidden room by jumping into a pool and swimming underneath another room.

While I'm sure others may disagree.. biggest thing I miss about those games is the depth. They weren't held back as much by graphics, so could make thousands of more unique areas, monsters, dungeons, weapons, etc..

Voted Daggerfall but really got started with Morrowind. My friend had an old copy of Daggerfall that I played in between Morrowind and Oblivion.

I usually like to sit down and plan out a character before starting a new one.

Usually pick up the vanilla game on console and move over to pc when the goty version is released.

Started with Morrowind back in 2003. I finally got to play Oblivion in late 2008, and I'm going to give Arena and Daggerfall another shot though the controls in those games make me feel like I need four arms just to play them.

Game comes to my mind is Albion. I've spent 400+ hours alone due to the story, areas, dungeons etc. You basically crash on a planet known as Albion due to the AI messing up your ship's machinery. So the first half is about trying to find a way off of Albion, but middle to end is about how the corporation you work for (supplied the ship etc) sent you to the planet to dig up Albion's minerals for profit. For a 1996 game which did not rely on graphics, it certainly did held my interest and appeal from start to finish. Oh yeah, you face the AI at end and turns out Albion is your new home from Earth due to the memorable characters you encountered and destroying your company that happened to land on the planet (near end) also.

I miss the game.

I've played all the main series, but I did so in reverse order.

My uncle got me hooked on Arena and Daggerfall. I've purchased and played Morrowind and Oblivion. I've also played Battlespire
I've only played on PC and I consider myself hardcoe and have made some mods.

I started at Morrowind and played Oblivion. I don't really care for the TES games before Morrowind. I played Arena and didn't like it to be honest. Too old and too hard.

I Stumbled on to Morrowind when my Brother-in-Law and me rented it soon after it was released on Xbox. Over the next few years I burns out 2 consoles playing very little else that Morrowind. I bought a 360 mainly to play Oblivion and still play it (played it just earlier today) when I had a computer that could handle Oblivion I went for the PC version for the sole purpose of playing Mods. I have never been talented at making them but some of you are amazing.
For Skyrim I will likely play on my 360 since my computer is getting warn out but I will not likely be replacing it soon enough to play Skyrim on its release day as I plan to

My first RPG experience ever was Dragon Warrior for the NES. Never really got very far in that game. I also played a lot of Sierra adventures. Space Quest. King's Quest. Quest for Glory. Legend of Kyrandia. The Hand of Fate. Monkey Island. Oh, wait. Those aren't all Sierra, but they're the same type of game anyway.

Later on, in high school, having played several console and PC RPGs, I played Dungeons and Dragons, and RIFTs, which were PnP RPGs. Good times remembered there.

I played a bit of Daggerfall on a PC lab computer in high school. I remember it was amazing, but I could never find it in stores to buy for myself. Later, an acquaintance of mine informed me that Beth was working on a sequel to Daggerfall, and he showed me a magazine with screenshots and coverage. I latched onto this game and never let go until release. I couldn't believe a game could possibly look that good! I first played it on PC, then XBox, then finally finished it on PC. I was officially hooked.

I latched onto the upcoming Oblivion even harder. And now Skyrim is probably finally going to kill me. Hopefully not before I actually get a chance to play it.

I started with Daggerfall, went back to Arena, then played Morrowind and Oblivion. I never played Redguard or Battlespire. I wouldn't exactly consider myself a casual gamer, but I have an aversion to the word "hardcoe" in relation to something that involves sitting on your backside in front of a computer. I play for fun, and I get as deep into the gameplay as I need to accomplish that.

There is no option for both modding and pan&paper...

D&D FTW!!!!
Yep, I have pen and paper experience. I first started with Morrowind. Then Oblivion, I was a bit disappointed over the lack of skills compared to MW, but the Stealth and Combat were pretty good. I got Arena once but couldn't get it to work on my computer.

Been playing TES since Daggerfall. I have Arena, though I haven't played it. I haven't played a pen and paper rpg in a while, though I certainly love to. Nothing beats a good session of D&D. Especially when I'm DMing and like to put arrogant players in their place, heh.

I generally play rpgs on PC, I much prefer it that way.

Someone back in school told me about this amazing Daggerfall game he had started playing, and all about the total freedom of it. I picked it up and was hooked. Since then I have played every game and expansion, own every DLC, and even run a weekly pen and paper game in the TES world, with a d10 system of my own.

Yet another person who started with Morrowind. I can't remember exactly how I came to be playing it - I think I just had a taste for RPGs, but somehow wound up getting an Xbox rather than a PS2. Morrowind, of course, totally changed my definition of what an RPG was (having had nothing but JRPGs up until that point). I consider myself a fairly "hardcoe" gamer (at least, hardcoe enough that I'm studying game design). I tend to switch between consoles and PCs much more than I used to, but I grew up on consoles and I'll never feel right playing anything but strategy games on PCs. Certainly, I'll never play a TES game on the PC.