You might know Robin Williams for his roles in top-rated films like the universally acclaimed Good Will Hunting, the $262 million grossing Jumanji, or the 90’s comedy hit Mrs. Doubtfire. What you might not know is that he identified himself as a “hardcore gamer”.
Robin Williams spent decades of his life enjoying video games, casual and hardcore. He got to see first hand how far technology went, from the 80’s dominated by Mario, to today’s photo realistic titles that an 80’s gamer could only dream of.
Related: R.I.P. Robin Williams (1951-2014)
We’ve decided to look back at one of Robin Williams’ favorite hobbies: video games. These are just some of the games that he enjoyed playing.
Call of Duty
Which Call of Duty? None in particular. Robin Williams posted several times on his Twitter account over the years that he loved playing Call of Duty. First-person shooters were his favorite genre, after all.
Here’s a post he made on his most recent Reddit AMA:
No! I haven’t. I’m still waiting for the next Call of Duty. It’s been very unusual for me because I’ve done trips overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan, and I would see guys who had just come back from patrol playing Call of Duty, and I would say “you’re living this stuff! And yet you’re still playing this game…”
The game he was referring to was Call of Duty: Ghosts, which came out a month later.
His Call of Duty appetite wasn’t for the online, though. He admitted to not being particularly adept at competing against other players, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy a good story.
Warcraft
Williams always loved his PC gaming, and shared that he played Warcraft 3 when it first came out. He particularly enjoyed the WarCraft lore and characters, leading him to complete the single-player campaign.
Also See: Robin Williams Will Be Memorialized in World of Warcraft
He enjoyed the Warcraft IP enough that he would play World of Warcraft for a while. Some say that he was into raiding, but his online identity was never made public.
Portal
Robin Williams always had a strong taste for clever games and puzzles, so it’s no surprise that Portal was one that made a strong impression on him.
During his Reddit AMA he shared the following:
We believe it’s 2014? We’re jumping now to different decades. The time portal will close soon! Another great game – PORTAL. That one is INSANE>
You were right, Williams. Portal was insane.
Wizardry
This one might come as a shocker. Robin Williams had a particular affinity for pen-and-paper RPGs during the 80s and early 90s, with the Wizardry series being a particular favorite of his, making his Apple 2 purchase worth it.
Williams was regarded as one of a few notable celebrities that played Wizardry a lot, the others being Harry Anderson and the Crown Prince of Bahrain.
Battlestations: Pacific
Battlestations: Pacific was the most recent game Robin Williams spoke about. Although he didn’t say much about it, he played it as recent as 10 months ago.
He said the following about the game and even his excitement for the Xbox One during his Reddit AMA:
I’m playing a game called Battlestation Pacific. I’m looking forward to the next Xbox. I can’t imagine the graphics being any better. It will be like these characters are living in your house. I’ll have to be doing duck and cover just to get to the bathroom! For the WiiU or the PS4, at this point I haven’t seen them yet but I might have to check into the cyber wing at Betty Ford.
Williams always had an attraction to war films, even labeling Saving Private Ryan as one of his personal favorites. It’s only proper to carry that affection to his other hobbies.
Half-Life
Robin Williams’ favorite genre was first-person shooters. Thank goodness he had a chance to play Half-Life and bear witness to its awesomeness. He was fascinated with the game, sharing his admiration during several interviews.
As much as he enjoyed Half-Life, he was even a bigger fan of Half-Life 2. Before it came out was able to spend a half-hour with Valve previewing the game back in 2003
When speaking to USA Today he shared:
It’s like you’ve been seeing two-dimensional and now you can see 3-D. It’s incredible.
His love for Half-Life runs deeper, though…
Day of Defeat
Yup. Robin Williams knew about mod support. Although he never mentioned Counter-Strike, he played a lot of Day of Defeat. You can’t earn a solid reputation with PC gamers any easier than that.
In an interview with Zap2It in 2002 he shared the following:
The mods are taking these games and basically redesigning it and doing it on their own thing. There’s a game called Half-Life and these guys made up a total different take on it using the engine to make a World War II engine called Day of Defeat with Germans and Americans doing kind of like a Normandy beach type thing. But these guys made it on their own and the company basically kind of gave them their blessing.
Just to reiterate, Robin Williams modded Half-Life to play Day of Defeat. Can you think of anything cooler?
The Legend of Zelda
To say that Robin Williams was a The Legend of Zelda fan would be an understatement. Not only did he regard The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as his favorite game of all-time, but he named his only daughter after the princess herself. That’s right, Zelda Rae Williams was named after the famous princess of the series. Now you know for sure he was a serious gamer.
Robin Williams was even in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D‘s commercial, which can be seen above.
Rest in peace, Robin Williams.
