I graduated from Pepperdine University in 1983 with a degree in Radio and Television Broadcasting. My first job was a midnight radio show at a light rock station in Ventura, California.  I'd work from 11: 45 PM to 6:00 AM, drive home, have breakfast with my wife and then head off to bed as she was leaving the condo to go to her job.  The second she was gone, though, I'd hop out of bed and fire up my Commodore 64 to play games. 

I loved my C-64 games and I taught myself machine language programming.  When I found out about a local game company (Funsoft, I think), I called them to ask if I could come by for a tour.  A young programmer named Troy Lyndon answered the phone (the first game developer I ever talked to), and he invited me to come see the operation. 

If you could call it that. 

The Funsoft offices were in an old warehouse and Troy was basically living in a second story control room.  When I walked in the door he was working on the C-64 version of a platformer called Snokie.  Troy received no salary for his efforts, but he got a small royalty for each disk.  Troy and I became friends and eventually worked together at GameStar in Santa Barbara.  Troy went on to co-found Park Place Productions with Mike Knox.

One of my favorite gaming moments happened while I was playing EQ one night.  It was late and I was running (invisible) through the Karanas on my way to Qeynos to log off.  As I passed the gypsy camp I noticed a lion walking up behind a young gnome.  Even though I was really tired I decided to be a good samaritan and help the guy out. 

I targeted the lion, clicked on my mesmerize spell, and then I started to type: "I am mezzing the lion for you."  I got as far as: "I am " when I suddenly remembered that I had replaced my mesmerize spell with an AoE mesmerize spell.  Seeing the high level gypsy enchantress in the camp I knew I was in big trouble. The spell was going to hit her for sure.

Panicked, I tried to move and interrupt the spell.  I stabbed at my WASD keys, muttering "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit" under my breath, but nothing happened. Why couldn't I move??? 

I forgot that I was in typing mode. 

The spell fired off and sure enough, the gypsy enchantress didn't like my attempt to mesmerize her.  She promptly turned around and charmed me.  Next thing I know, my peace loving gnome pulls out a dagger and heads for the guy I was trying to *save*. I swear to god that little gnome looked like a deer caught in headlights when I came after him, but there was nothing either of us could do. Knife flailing like a crazed sushi chef, I chased him down and stabbed him to death. 

Dying in Everquest was a pretty horrible experience, so I felt terrible about what happened. I eventually found my victim and he admitted to being VERY confused. He said, "There I was minding my own business, no other players around; suddenly, a strange gnome appears out of nowhere, announces 'I am waaaadddddd',  and then he slices me to pieces like some miniature Freddy Krueger!" 

NOTE: I posted this story on an Everquest forum and it gained a small following.  Four or five years later I was telling a work friend about my experience that day and a guy from a nearby cubicle ran over excitedly and said, "Oh my god.  You're waaaadddd?????"