Like many gamers, I started off on one of the classics, Dungeons & Dragons.
Keith Dacson came back from RPI one summer with the original little books.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons came out soon after, and we all stocked up on the books.
In those days, it was Keith, myself, Scott Carlson, John O'Kane, Ned, Grant Carlquist, Dave Arnoff and a few others.

My characters included:

I worked all of these up from 1st level. Yes, I was a geek even back then...

I'm still a geek. I've read some really good reviews of D&D 5th Edition, so I bought a copy of the Player's Handbook.
I like it so far. I've knocked out some first level characters. The process was pretty straight forward and fun.

I've also started mucking around on the online D&D MMORPG, Neverwinter. Interesting story lines, excellent graphics, and no lag that I've noticed.

The designers must have had fun with this. One small bit I really liked was the wererat merchant you run across in one of the early quests. A good place to cash out some loot and stock up on potions in middle of the sewers.
RPG Links
Space Vermin Home Page