Kasey Chang @kschang

First time I played a computer game was on some Apple II+'s in a summer school, and that had me hooked on computers ever since. I went ahead and borrowed books on BASIC programming and decided to learn programming and the rest. I actually got two games BEFORE I got a computer... The ORIGINAL subLOGIC Flight Simulator II, and Broderbund's Spare Change.

I started gaming on a Commodore VIC-20 and Omega Race (now that's a classic... Extremely simple... Unfortunately I was a bit TOO enthusiastic with it... It hit the floor and... Well... Ahem. :-)

Next computer was Apple IIe, with a DuoDisk and 80 column card. Got the monochrome monitor though. The most memorable game on it was classic Polarware/Dynamix Stellar 7. Did a little Apple Pascal, BASIC, and more. Later, got hooked on the original Silent Service from MicroProse, and later someone bought me the Apple Color monitor.

When I got into college, one of the requirements was to learn Modula II (a programming language invented by the guy who invented Pascal) which means I had to move to the PC platform. The closest place that has a computer is the local Radio Shack, so I ended up with a Tandy 1000 SL (5.25 floppy, no hard drive, 384K RAM). Then when the compiler I ordered arrived, it needs 512K, and the store is out of RAM expansion kits. I traded the SL in for a Tandy 1000 TL (286), which comes with 640K. I added joystick, 128K RAM (total of 768K), printer, and later a 40meg Miniscribe hard drive. Most memorable game on it? Wing Commander. It RUNS on the Tandy, but only if you have 768K of RAM. Actually finished WC with keyboard only. Radio Shack sold a lot of Tandy-special software as well. Also worked at Spectrum HoloByte at around this time for a few months, and learned a lot about the software industry.

Next computer was 486/33, and that started the shopping trips to the local Electronic Boutique (Stonestown mall). I remember pre-ordering Wing Commander II and a lot of the older classics. Upgraded this machine myself to a NexGen 586/90, then a Pentium 133. Added so many parts (Thunderboard, SB Pro, Voodoo 1, memory, and more), and played a LOT of the MicroProse classics, and Starflight... Or more recent titles like Diablo (yes, it runs fine on a P133) and Whiplash (Fatal Racing).

Currently playing on a Celeron 400. Just got DSL not too long ago, so finally enjoying true multiplayer (NFS:PU, Mechwarrior 4, and more).

Between then and now, I kept most of my game collection... and a lot of game trivia.

I personaly enjoy driving games, though I also do sims and strategy. Can't stand fantasy (except Diablo) and adventure (not a puzzle person).

I also write game FAQs, which you can find on gamefaqs.com. I'm probably best known for my XCOM and TFTD FAQs, though I have quite a few others on file.

I'm employed as a web developer in Allaire Cold Fusion. HTML, and Microsoft Active Server Pages, though I also do PC/Windows technical support. Need help? Come to help.com and you'll find me answering lots of questions.