What years comprise your own "Golden Age" of PC Gaming?

[Huncowboy]

For me it started in 1991 and it still goes on but the golden age ended around 1995 when other things started to entertain me more LOL.

Some cool games:

X-Wing series
King's Quest
Police Quest
Aces of The Pacific (and WW2 I think)
Formula One Grand Prix  (and the follow up)

... bunch others I can remember.

But I do remember that I had an 80 MB hard drive, no sound card for years just the built in speakers, and I think 2MB of ram, or was it 4? Not sure anymore.

[Skylark]

[...] to 1996 (the year I started working in the gaming industry) [...]

Yeah, that kind of kills it doesn't it. 

Personally, I'd agree with those who said early '90s to late '90s, which probably just means we're all mostly in the same age range...   More precisely I'd say 1993-1998 like Kevin Grey (and others who agreed with him).

Perhaps uncoincidentally, that coincides with what I'd call the golden age of the PC demoscene (if anyone here knows about that, I was more into that than into gaming in those days, and it's what got me interested in graphics programming as a kid, therefore on the road I'm now on as an adult).

[morlac]

I just played Roadwar 2000 about a year or so ago.  It's hideous looking but was a great 'car wars' like game(20 shades of green!).  Semis/buses flanked by cars following motorcycle scouts.   Good stuff!

The fat man has got a neat little website as well.  He basically was 80's gaming music.

[Purge]

Oooo, I thought of another title: Kingpin.

[Ironrod]

[...] to 1996 (the year I started working in the gaming industry) [...]

Yeah, that kind of kills it doesn't it. 

Personally, I'd agree with those who said early '90s to late '90s, which probably just means we're all mostly in the same age range...  

Anything stops being fun when it starts being work.

The death of the Golden Age is less subjective than you think. It came about when marketers took over game publishing in the late 1990s. Largely in response to the technical things I mentioned earlier, development teams got much larger, budgets exploded, and suddenly every new game had to have blockbuster potential. I very clearly remember the Sierra directive: "No more "B" games". The studio that employed me specialized in "B" games and never successfully transitioned into the brave new all-blockbuster world, although they tried time and time again by dumbing down and tarting up their designs. With the marketers in charge, every game suddenly had to have multiplayer and 3D and realtime, because that's what the market surveys said would sell. With the stakes that high, publishers could not take risks anymore. Every game had to have a predictable sales potential, and that's why we got nothing but clones and sequels. It was not for lack of original ideas, but the need for predictable revenue.

[Skylark]

The death of the Golden Age is less subjective than you think. It came about when marketers took over game publishing in the late 1990s. Largely in response to the technical things I mentioned earlier, development teams got much larger, budgets exploded, and suddenly every new game had to have blockbuster potential. I very clearly remember the Sierra directive: "No more "B" games". The studio that employed me specialized in "B" games and never successfully transitioned into the brave new all-blockbuster world, although they tried time and time again by dumbing down and tarting up their designs. With the marketers in charge, every game suddenly had to have multiplayer and 3D and realtime, because that's what the market surveys said would sell. With the stakes that high, publishers could not take risks anymore. Every game had to have a predictable sales potential, and that's why we got nothing but clones and sequels. It was not for lack of original ideas, but the need for predictable revenue.

You're right in your analysis of the industry, but I stand by my comment that each person has their "golden age" and it normally spans from a few years after they started gaming to about 5-10 years later. I think your comment applies to the "golden age of the industry" whereas each person will have their own golden age because their tastes were formed by their early experiences with gaming.

But yeah, I'm generalizing too. There are always exceptions.

[morlac]

I believe I am entering a new golden age for me personally.  I finally have a very capable system.  This last year there were more great games than I could play and with Fallout, Dragon Age, WAR combined with the rpg's from this season  my favorite genre is making a big resurgence.  FPS's have never been better for both online and single play.  I am building up a backlog that will keep me busy for years.

[Ninyu]

Got to say 1993-1998.

Their Finest Hour, Doom, XCom, System Shock, Tie Fighter, X-Wing, Empire Deluxe, Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Warcraft 2, Crusader: No Remorse, Terra Nova, Full Throttle.

[Little Raven]

I haven't been gaming for as long as some of you have, but it's been a while - I started playing Sneakers on my parent's Apple IIe and I've never looked back.

I'm not sure my Golden Age has ended yet. Or maybe I've just started a new one - I admit things seemed a little dry there for a while. But in the last few months I've played some truly fantabulous games. BioShock, Mass Effect, Sins of a Solar Empire, and Twilight of the Arnor are all pretty damn impressive. Sure, they're not SMAC-level games, but then, there's only ever been one SMAC.

That said, the world is sorely in need of another Tie Fighter.

[Giles Habibula]

... but I stand by my comment that each person has their "golden age" and it normally spans from a few years after they started gaming to about 5-10 years later.

Interesting generalization, but it is certainly accurate in my case.

[D.A.Lewis]

I fondly remember my Apple2 years and it's what turned gaming from a flavor of the month to a life long hobby.

Strangely my golden years  have very little to do with the gaming I prefer to play the most - RPGs.

1995 - 2000

My goldern era was around the time when X-Com, NOLF 1, Deus Ex, Twinson and Grim Fandango came out. All those games I enjoyed immensely and happily completed all.

the current era may be giving that era a run for its money
Bioshock, Gothic 1 and 2, Riddick, Sam & Max season 1
the last few years have been good

[Ironrod]

... but I stand by my comment that each person has their "golden age" and it normally spans from a few years after they started gaming to about 5-10 years later.

Interesting generalization, but it is certainly accurate in my case.

I'll go along with that. The Golden Age of anything ended about five years before YOU came along.  But the ex-developer in me still maintains that the industry's Golden Age ended when it changed from being a hobbyist niche to mainstream entertainment -- from a labor of love to big business -- in the mid to late 1990s.

[Purge]

That said, the world is sorely in need of another Tie Fighter Wing Commander.

[Giles Habibula]

... ended when it changed from being a hobbyist niche to mainstream entertainment -- from a labor of love to big business --

That sums it up perfectly, right there.
For me, anyway.

For most people (not hanging out here), blockbuster titles are the only things that interest them.

[Skylark]

But the ex-developer in me still maintains that the industry's Golden Age ended when it changed from being a hobbyist niche to mainstream entertainment -- from a labor of love to big business -- in the mid to late 1990s.

Re-read my post above, I agreed with you that that was indeed when the industry's golden age ended.

Then again, I'm sure a psychologist would say that that's a normal reaction when something you love (and most other people don't know about) becomes mainstream. But I don't care about psychologists (other than Counselor Troi) so I share your opinion 

[Greggy_D]

1994-2000