No worries about posting in here rather than a DM. I use my Early Intel Macs to support my hobbies so this correlates. 😉
Anyway, over the years I've managed to condense my history and based on some past transactions I feel that it saves time and lets people know where I stand by being honest about a few things. Pushing people to game with me has rarely met with good results.
So…1983, I'm in 7th grade and I develop my own RPG based on a dungeon map. But it's not really a game because as the GM, I'm controlling everyone and there's no real adventure/scenario outside of what I've created.
1984, 14th birthday, a friend gets me the red basic D&D set and we start playing D&D. Only, he's using 1st Gen books and not the red basic set. And I trust him, not knowing the rules. Turns out he was misleading me for a year or so and we were playing some made up thing so that he could have a body count of my characters that he killed off for the stupidest reasons.
Another friend gets me involved in the real thing.
1985 and the whole 'Satanic Panic' thing is in full swing. My dad overreacts and all my D&D books get burned.
1986 I discover Mechwarrior and because it's a Sci-Fi RPG my dad has no reaction to it. I play that until 1989 when my friend gets me back in to D&D via 2e. I'm 19 that year, so my dad can't really say anything.
1990-1994 is gaming (AD&D) with a group of late high-school kids in my own campaign world. By 1994, most of them have graduated and no one wants to play anymore. So, I move on to another group where it's mainly Rolemaster 2e.
So, 1995 to 1999 is that group but by the end of '99 I've largely lost interest and am not gaming with this group much.
In between, I've met a woman, dated and got married. My wife (we are still married) understands that I like a lot of these things and she's never demanded that I stop. But, at some point, I do have to give up a day on the weekend.
2000 and we move here to Phoenix and it's been tough finding people/groups. I've gamed maybe three times in 25 years. Things are much different now, two kids and 28 years after marrying. We're comfortable with each other, so things that used to bother us years ago - don't.
Anyway, I usually GM and that usually means people over at our house. So, the sticking point is that these are people my wife is either going to like or not have any issues with. She's not letting people in her house she doesn't care for. And let's face it - there are some gamers out there who could stand to develop some interpersonal skills, anger management and impulse control. 😀
Since about late 2016 or so, I've just focused on writing about the world(s) I've created and that most of my fantasy RPGs, PCs and NPCs were set in.
I'm going to look in to your link and for the record, I would take you up on your offer to game with your group. I used to always want to be the GM/DM (to be in control), but I've long since learned that being a player is also great fun.
PS. My son is 22 and during his HS years had a few D&D 3e sessions. Unfortunately, his DM was another body count type of person who was there just to be controlling. My daughter is 17 and has zero interest. 🙂
