I played D&D with friends back in middle school, but it didn't take at the time. (I ended up playing a decent amount years later with some friends using...3.5 I think), but the first video game that got me hooked on video games was Pong.
Yes, Pong. Just that little console you could attach to your TVs antenna that advertised itself as having "seven different games". Four of which were just pixel tennis and then the other three were "Breakout." For me, I think the initial draw was "ooooh.... TV you can interact with!" Because I was like 7.
We had the Atari 2600 afterwards, but those games didn't grab like Pong did. Just basically more of the same in slightly more complicated forms. I got more interested again when the Super NES came out, but really it's PC games that would make me what I would consider to be a gamer. There was an old game that came out in the 90's at some point.. The Journeyman Project. It was first person. You were a time agent and you traveled through a photorealistic (which was a big deal at the time) future solving a mystery. No combat, but it was the first time I really had the sense I was navigating a character through a virtual space, and felt not only engaged by the fun, but immersed in it.
Free to download demos of games from BBS systems like Wolfenstein, Duke Nuke'em, Doom, and Quake gave me a thirst for virtual blood.
And then Baldur's Gate came out, which I HATED at first. Hated. Wanted to throw the CDs across the room. A month later, I tried again with a fresh perspective, then I went out and bought a new monitor because it didn't look pretty enough on the old one. It is the only game I have ever played at a LAN party. Kicking ass with Minsc and Boo saw me through plenty dark winter nights. (and neverwinter ones, too.)
