It was because of Escape Velocity that I discovered web forums and IRC; it was because I wanted to make mods for EV that I learned to use POV-Ray and ResEdit; it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that I eventually became a professional programmer because of EV's plugin system.
And I'd be right there with you. The plugin system allowed me to dream of making interactive the stories, ships and characters I was reading in 2001, Rama, and all the rest. And the reasonable technical knowledge required to interface with the plugins made getting there a fun, and attainable goal.
