One day back in October of 2012, I was watching some videos on Youtube out of boredom, and while watching
, I stumbled across a comment that said "You should rename this video "My First Hours in Kerbal Space Program". I had no idea what the heck this "Kerbal" stuff was, so I did some research on the almighty Google, and came across KurtJMac's North Pole Exploration video.
I was hooked. At the time of my aquishision of KSP, I was a really bad Orbiter player, so I was excited for a game like this. After playing the demo for like, 11 minutes, I quickly used my report card money and bought the game. After getting the game all I knew was "go up to go to space", so after a little research and some Scott Manley, by the time 0.18 was out I had the hang of orbiting and could construct decent spacecraft too. After being baffled by the new parts and planets in 0.18, I finally constructed a probe and on December 10th, 2012, landed on the Mun. That feeling of finally doing it still lingers inside me whenever I land. After reaching the Mun, I decided to travel to the planet I found most interesting: Jool. I constructed a spacecraft and after a LOT of trials and tribulations, I reached Jool on December 21st, 2012. That was a major accomplishment, because soon I was sending probes to every planet, and soon, by 0.19, Kerbals too. After 0.19 came out I constructed my first true space stations. I also got the hang of docking, and that was probably the most important thing I ever learned in this game (other than orbital mechanics itself). I soon built my first Space Station, "Astro One", and soon my first kerbed Duna Mission, "Ares". By 0.20, I had fully traversed the community of KSP. I got a Reddit account in September due to me not being able to get a KSP forums account for some reason, and for the first time actually got to talk with other KSPers about the game. But after the second Great Forum-Splotion in October (I think) I finally was able to get a KSP forums account. And now I'm here, typing away on my keyboard about my experience with this game. Since I was like, 12, when I first got this game, I heartily think that this game has shaped the last portion of my childhood. This game also got me into other games, shows, and internet cultures. In fact, after I bought this game, I was more accepting of people and their likings, which led me on the track to discover Doctor Who, Nostalgia Critic, Minecraft, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which today is my all-time favorite show. Seriously, this game has introduced me to the internet, it's culture, and so much more, and when I look back, I'm ever so happy that I watched that video back in October of 2012. Thank you SQUAD, thank you for this wonderful game, and opening my eyes to the internet and the world.