I cut my gaming teeth on my older brother's Sinclair ZX Spectrum when I was a wee gamer. This was followed by Alley Cat on my Dad's old IBM PC. Then, I would go round to my friend's place and play games like Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, Commander Keen, Dune II and Wolfenstein 3D on his 386.

One day my brother got an awesome new 486. The first games he installed were DOOM and TIE Fighter (I only delved into RPGs in the late 90s with Ultima/Daggerfall/Baldur's Gate). I could honestly argue that those two games were a formative part of my youth, and finally, both of these titles are now available on GOG.

When I first joined GOG back in 2008 (I think), they were a legitimate alternative to trying to get old games running off Abandonware sites. Now, together with CD Project Red, they are part of an example of how the PC Gaming community should be: trust and respect for the consumer, recognition of the classics, keeping those classics alive, while supporting the new games.

Bravo GOG. Today's release of DOOM and TIE Fighter, as well as your numerous other nostalgic releases, have helped me recapture some of the magic of my youth.

I think I could probably speak for many here when I say that gaming has never been just about "filling time". It is a big part of my life, a passion and an ongoing hobby. Clearly, this is also a statement that can be applied to GOG.

Cheers!

I second that emotion!

So many memories. I too had the privilege of owning a ZX Spectrum before moving on to PC gaming and I'm still amazed at the quality of those games back in the day, developed with the very limited resources that were available at the time, always pushing technology's boundaries in order to bring us completely original, entertaining and sometimes mind-blowing experiences. I absolutely agree with you, gaming never felt as a time filler for me either, instead it's a very much alive part of myself. Thank you for such heartfelt words, great post. +1

I'll post what I said in another thread like this earlier. What GOG had been doing lately to preserve games and bring games old and new to the site is amazing:

I might have some gripes about how GOG communicates with their customers (the recent radio silence on the gifting restrictions definitely irks me), and some of the stories I've heard about turning down indies and being difficult to work with still confuse me, but I have to give massive credit where massive credit is due. Like the OP said, I'm not sure exactly what it is, but GOG has done a phenomenal job getting games and publishers on the site lately. Disney, WB, renewed interest from Ubisoft, the return of Bethesda, and dabbling in publishing themselves have resulted in a torrent of DRM-free goodness. I love it. I just read this article about the recently released goldbox games and it warms my heart:

http://www.pcgamer.com/how-gog-rescued-13-forgotten-realms-games-from-licensing-hell/

I and many other forum-goers are quick to criticize GOG for perceived slights and missteps, but, in my case at least, it's only because we like what GOG does so much and know how much potential this service has. Keep those games coming, GOG.

1.
Bask in the Glory!

1:1
On the first day our Lord, GOG, made the site, the store, and forum, and the users found it good. They bought games, gave each other gifts, and rejoiced.

1:2
On the second day our Lord, GOG, found the site wanting, the layout unfriendly to mobile devices, the color offensive to his eyes. He remade the site, and made it grey and crappy.

1:3
And on the third day our Lord, GOG, found the users accounts too covenient and user friendly, so he removed manual sorting, and made it so games no longer offended him by resembling boxes on a shelf. For he is a digital Gog, and an altar to the old ways was a blasphemy.

1:4
And the PM system he replaced with Chat, with no basic functions to delete messages and block users. Scammers and trolls multiplied, and in his wisdom he forbade to say "fuck" in capital letters.

1:5
And on the two hundred and sixty fourth day he promised to fix the Chat in two weeks.

1:6
And two weeks later he promised, "My top angels are working on it, no seriously".

1:7
And a week later nothing got done.

1:8
And he found the gift of gifting abused, so he spoke unto his people "thou have made ill use of the power to gift, used it for crime and tomfoolery. Henceforth thou shalt have the power to gift no more!"

1:9
Well, actually he didn't speak, he just kinda restricted the gifting and hoped no one would notice.

1:10
Days and weeks passed, but our Lord, GOG, remained silent. He spoke to the users no longer. Things would happen, but the Voice would not explain. Prayers were raised, but not answered.

1:11
Great games were given to the users, though the site and the forum lay in ruins. They rejoiced again, and forgot their misfortunes.

Bask in the Glory!

that avatar is so fucking boss. ha!

yes I agree. hooray for gog.com and so on and so forth. iwinski4pres

*basks*

I'm basking as hard as I can.

Due to all the games I have on Gog, I've had to add "Basking in the glory of Gog.com" to my backlog. =P

I refuse to bask until Gog gets Simpson: Hit and Run, Impossible Creatures and Freelancer, damn it!

...okay, I might bask a little bit, just for a minute.