Runescape was the MMORPG.

I started playing 1985-era D&D and space-based games with persistent worlds, such as Demon's Winter and Starflight.  When I hit college, I first saw multiplayer games in the form of BBS games, then a MOO and finally XTrek.

XTrek was amazing for the time, and unbelievably cool.  It was the first true multiplayer game I'd ever seen, and I was hooked.

Not too long after that I switched schools and lost XTrek access.  It was there that I found a MUD called Hidden Worlds.  Even though it was only text, it held my interest much more strongly than XTrek ever did.  New MMOGs take the experience to the next level.  They can really be time sinks though :P

Everquest 1 got me started.  I saw an ad for it in a magazine years ago, back in 2000, and it got my interest.   I bought the game and ended up meeting a good group of friends on the RP server, we made a guild and I have been hooked ever since.

I have since lost contact with most of those people, but still remain in close touch with 3 from way back when!

It was D&D's  Gold Box edition of Pool of Radience that hooked me on computer games.  Everquest 1 was the start of my online gaming. 

Asheron's Call.  To this day no MMO has captured me like AC.  The open world and freedom with character development was awesome.  The guild system was also unmatched. 

If we are talkin computer games in general then id have to say Wasteland and Bards Tale

This first MMORPG I got into was Star Wars Galaxies.  When I started playing it at the time there was a highly active community and me being a huge Star Wars fan only added to it.  I loved role playing in that game.  It was the first and last MMORPG I role played in.

I believe the first for me was The Myth Of Soma.

But i may have played a few console games before  then, but i honestly can't remember so they probably aren't worth mentioning.

Ultima Online Pre-Trammel, early 1998.  No game has come close for me.

I miss being on the edge of my seat farming some feathers or mining, hoping I can get it home or to the bank without dieing....

Each new MMO seems to be MORE carebear oriented.. Nothing scary, nothing to worry about, death has no penalty...

If UO re-released exactly as the original, graphics and all, I would play it again in a heartbeat.

Pre-Trammel Ultima Online was not just a game, it was a virtual world. At times you became so immersed within the game that you forgot you were playing one. Now that is a good game!

There has been no other game like it.

I think the first RPG I really took seriously was Morrowind.  My first experiences with roleplaying were from a forum some people made for Oblivion.  From there I joined a forum dedicated to roleplaying, went on to join a roleplaying guild in Mabinogi, and just recently I made my own roleplaying guild for Guild Wars.

For me it was Final Fantasy 1 (NES), D&D ver. 2.0 but more World of Darkness Werewolves and Vampires, for MMO's it was this site and Flyff.. though that clearly shows I suck at picking MMO's. ^^

Phantasy Star got me started on console games, Dark Age Of Camelot got me started in online games.

 Started with Asheron's Call.

It was lineage 2 that got me started with all the roleplaying games i play now

Pokemon Yellow Version was my first RPG.

Gemstone II

Consoles... Final Fantasy.. the original.  Online. hmm.. I know very few if any will know this one.  Dark Sun Online. or if you wanna get even further back how bout duke 3d for just wanton violence.  Games in general.... Asteroids and RPGs by far the best of the bunch Dungeon Master

HM

Secret of Mana, I played it when I was about five (I'm 15 now) and I did hardly understand it. Played it again some time ago and for me it is still the best RPG.

Well for me, it's Diablo 2.. When I start playing this game, I find it very hard because I don't know how to build an amazing character and other things at that time. But what I really like in this game are  the graphics, the team play, the PvP, and  the story.. Well at that time I was amazed on how blizzard created this game. Well to be honest, I'm still playing this game until now.:D

       I really started my online multiplayer gaming with 2 games: Diablo 2 and UO......UO was just a ten day trial (or 7 dont really remember).......My first impressions of online multiplayer gaming were not very good.......I thought both communities were terrible.....Both seemed very childish and immature and both were just gankfests.......After a few months I decided to try one last time....This time I tried EQ and finally found a home.......Almost 10 years later and still going strong, though I havent had the same enjoyment as I did in my years in EQ (5 years total)........

I started out with pen and papers, first with a swedish Runequest clone in '84, then I oved over to Star frontiers a while, played almost all pen and paper RPGs there is.

I started with SSIs Computer RPGs in the late 80s. Champions of Krynn and Pool of radiance, and whoever made the 2 "Eye of the beholder" games.

I never did MUDs however, my first MMO was Meridian 59, but I had some technical problems with it. Then I did the beta for Linage.

God do i feel old..I cant remember that far back late 60s into 70s to what games i was playing..

 Role playing games? Hmmm... It would have to be the first atari game called Adventure for Atari, I was hooked the first time I got that Holy Grail.

Then it was D & D 2.0, the tomb of horrors that got me into pen and paper rpg's. After that was a stupidlong line of rpg's ranging from nintendo's original final fantasy to phantasy star on sega, super nintendo and then finally ps2. That's where I got FFXi for free with the HDD they sold,  then it was all downhill from there.

Ultima Online. Back in the days, this is the best mmo available, and it's still really good right now.

Was Everquest for me. I took more time RPing in SWG though. In fact, I stayed a extra year for just the RP.

What really got me started what a table top role playing game that my boyfriend created.  I completely feel in love with role playing after finishing the game... I wanted it so much that we actually created a card board game with all the characters & mobs, and now we finally put it up on the PC to share with everyone !