when did you start/stop playing PC games?
Well, much before I could use a computer at home... In my kid's years there were no computers or consoles (cough). So I played A LOT in arcade machines in pubs and other places. (I indeed remember invaders' machine, or later on those International Karate ones. There was even sort of a competition with that one in my village). I knew some friends doing the coin with a wire thing....Then, some friend's dad had an XT (remember, previous to PC it was that...), was one of those green screen monitors "computers". Also could access another one which had its monochrome screen in orange colors. In that friend's one I started my very first video game making, with 2 friends, programming in basic, me making the graphics. I think that was 1980-81. Then I could enjoy at others friends' houses an Amstrad, and a ZX Spectrum 128k. Much later, in I think 1985, I was a very young teen, I got my first computer, ZX Spectrum 48k. It was a very good machine, and allowed quite some programming. Much later, my actual first PC, a 286. It had so little ram that I learnt to optimize it to be able to play the games that asked for more than 540k, lol... Yep, actually not even 1 full megabyte of RAM (was announced with 1mb, but actually 300ks were for the graphics shadow memory, lol..)...Then I expanded it with 4MB, but it was a bit nonsense as almost all games started to require the 386 (I think this was still used by the nasa for controlling telescopes, till very recently, maybe even yet now,, as they're more reliable than later on pentiums and etc). I remember it was sx or dx... and sx was less powerful... Then came the 486, where a friend always bragged about he had modeled (actually, he had) all his favorite cars in 3DS Studio (MS DOS version, pre "MAX", a jewel by the times, I learnt 3D with it in a course ). Stopped playing PC? Well, I can say funnily very recently.... As a staff employee, it was even rewarding to arrive home, and play some FPS to remove the stress from the job... It became less needed as experience makes you close to inmune to stress, or almost, but... As a freelancer, I don't have any stress (more than the milestones) but way less free time... I am realizing I have virtually stopped playing, maybe for once in my life, lol... Also, lost a bit of interest on it. Surely not in making them, making games (or art for them) is yet fun. Playing is fun, too, but too little time available....