Machine Memories: PC P75

On 02/12/2023 at 03:37 PM by KnightDriver

My friend, who is the same friend I played with then and now, had a computer related job and ended up with several left-over computers in his apartment. These were IBM PCs running on Pentium 75 processors (clock rate of 75 MHz. Today we messure in GHz). We quickly figured out how to make a local area network and started playing games.

P75

Ours looked something like this.

First-person shooters were are first concern. Games like Wolfenstein 3D (‘92), Doom (‘93), Doom II ('94), Heretic (‘94), Quake (‘96), Duke Nukem (‘96), and Shadow Warrior (‘97) all got played exhaustively both solo and co-op. We eventually played these games on console too as they got ported except for Heretic, which never got a port. Its sequel Hexen: Beyond Heretic got a port on N64 though. We played that version.

The other genre I got hooked on for PC at this time was the real-time strategy game. Blizzard’s Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (‘94) and Warcraft II (‘95) were my absolute favorites and still are. Just last week on Xbox I finally got to play Age of Empires II (‘99), the other RTS I wanted to play back then but didn’t for whatever reason.

Myst (‘93) was an adventure game I played alongside a different friend who was into puzzle-type games and Minesweeper. I enjoyed Myst to an extent, but it also frustrated the heck out of me - could the puzzles BE more obscure? It looked great though and was a harbinger of graphical environments to come.

TV Time! Remember Circuit City? This was computer buying in '94.

Cary Woodham

02/12/2023 at 09:15 PM

Wolfenstein seemed especially popular where I live because I live in the same area as the people who made it!

My dad LOVES the Myst games.

KnightDriver

02/13/2023 at 04:34 PM

I've read about ID Software, so I know about their Texas connection.

Myst drives me totally nuts. I don't know how my friend could keep at it like he did. When a puzzle's solution gets too obscure, I just walk away.

SanAndreas

02/13/2023 at 02:43 PM

I remember my parents played Myst and The 7th Guest together. I played them a bit, but I was more interested in Zelda and Final Fantasy on SNES. I did play Doom, Wolfenstein, and Heretic/Hexen with my dad, though.

02/13/2023 at 04:45 PM

I was only occationally playing RPGs in the 90s probably because my friend wasn't that into them. It's something I'd love to remedy sometime.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/17/2023 at 10:51 AM

Remember Circuit City? Do I?! Yes, vaguely. I mostly remember the outside logo thing and the inside being pretty big. I think Fry's Electronics is still around but there are fewer of them. Always preferred City's carpet and display a lot more than Fry's warehouse feel, but to each their own and I guess Fry's lasted longer.

02/17/2023 at 10:53 AM

I've even seen some Best Buy closures around me, but there are still several more.

PixlBit