Noob here; introducing myself!

Hello SRO! I am BigDAlcala. I have been a fan of Shadowrun ever since I was in elementary school. The thing is, I was introduced to it through an unconventional way: Videogames. I first played Shadowrun on the Sega Genesis, and that is what made me fall in love with the whole cyberpunk scene. I was pulled into the storyline, and immersed into the overall feel of the game. After beating that, I went on to play and beat the Super Nintendo version of Shadowrun, which I didn't like as much as the Genesis version, but I enjoyed it anyways.

I don't have much experience with "pen & paper" role-playing games. All of the RPG's I've played were of the video variety (Final Fantasy, Shining Force, Chrono Trigger, etc.). I attempted to play Dungeons and Dragons when I was about six or seven years old at the Boys & Girls Club, but time only allowed us to create our character sheets. I played a very dumbed-down version called Hero Quest, but that's about the closest I've come. I once owned a Dungeons & Dragons set of books, but never had anyone to dive into the game with.

So, given I'm a total noob, I'm planning on acting as an observer for the time being. I hope you don't mind my lurking the boards, as I will be trying to get a feel for how the game is played on this site. I'm big on reading, and I'm big on writing. To tell the truth, I once played a forum-based wrestling game, so I guess you might say THAT is the closest I've come to playing a role-playing game. But that all centered around building character, and hoping your wrestler got picked to win the match. That was years ago, when my only web-access was my dad's WebTV.

I hope to eventually be a part of your games. I'll look into acquiring a 4th edition rulebook (that is standard now, right?), and if all goes well, I'd love to join in and run the shadows with y'all!

Until, then, "chums"!

UPDATE:
I've been reading up on the rulebook. Sheesh! LOTS of reading! The thing is, a lot of it seems like it can be used as reference, while much of it is stuff you really need to know. I'll get through this book sooner or later, but I'm still reading Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind. If you have any tips as to which sections to skip for now and which sections I should not go without reading in-depth, that would be great. I'd like to start creating my first character and start running the shadows ASAP.