Tagin Dragon

1990, Age 8

I have always loved dragons, and when I was a little girl, games where you played as the dragon were few and far between.  Thus when I saw this game at the rental store, I was very excited about.

This was also the first game that so disturbed me with its depiction of violence that I was turned away from the rest of the game.  The premise is simple: you play a dragon crawling around a maze with other dragons, and you have to bite them on the tail.  When you bite them twice, they die, and turn into a dragon skeleton before disappearing (as I have attempted to capture in the image).

Something about going for the step of showing the dead dragon's skeleton was too much for 8-year-old me, and I found its depiction unsettling.  This was amidst plenty of games with more direct forms of killing, and later games with guns and blood that don't move me at all.  It's certain subtle details that push things across the line for me, and this game was my first experience with that idea.

Joust

1990, Age 8

The draw to Joust was simple for me: you got to ride an ostrich! And the enemies were riding vultures! Awesomesauce! My young brain at the time was not as accommodated to simple twists on conventional traditions, like jousting in the air instead of on the ground, so the novelty of the idea delighted me.

I also remember Joust having a distinctive weight to the controls, and in spite of the primitive graphics and NES controller, I felt like I was manipulating a heavy beast just from the way momentum worked with turning around in mid-air and landing while you were flying at a fast clip. It made the simple world feel very real.

Abandoned House Game

1990, Age 8

I lived behind an airport, and they decided to expand and kick us all our of our homes, thus there was a period of time when people started moving out where our neighborhood was full of abandoned houses. What a perfect exploring opportunity!

We would be adventurers, and select a location for our home base (often a shed or garage we broke into), then set out and break into the houses to explore and gather supplies. We were very sneaky in order to avoid our imaginary pursuers.

Being the smallest, I had a very important job. The others would bust out a window, and I would have to carefully reach through the sharded glass to unlock the window or door.

The best part of this game? Um, immersion? Hello? What was more exciting than actually exploring actual new spaces! The imaginary monsters that lived within were merely a bonus.

Walkie-talkie Hide and Seek

1990, Age 8

In this game, one of us would hide somewhere deep in the neighborhood, and give clues to our whereabouts via walkie talkie. Ah, what game can not be improved by the incorporation of this technology? (Don't answer that). It certainly allowed us to stretch our range from "the backyard" to "the entire neighborhood," and there was always a sense of excitement and anticipation as you closed in on the hider, for they would announce that they could see you, or start speaking very quietly because you were close enough to hear them. It was partially terrifying, for being so very close, and knowing that they could see you...knew exactly where you were...but their location was still a mystery.

Guerilla Warfare Barbie

1990, Age 8

Everyone goes through a phase in their childhood where they blow stuff up with fireworks, right? Right?!?! I'm not sure if this was a game so much as a very scientific study comparing the durability of Barbie dolls to that of the average G.I. Joe. My friends and I conducted a series of tests with bottle rockets and Roman candles. Barbie didn't have a chance. I believe we all knew this from the beginning, but there is a certain human fascination with destruction that drove us forward.

Space Cow

1990, Age 8

For a brief period of time, my entire third grade class (there were 14 of us) would play Star Trek at recess. I didn't watch Star Trek at the time, so I made up a new character to fit in the theme…the elusive talking Space Cow. Dr. McCoy was intent on catching me and turning me into a normal earth cow. The scenario would usually go like this... (Becky, aka McCoy, would capture me and zap with with some kind of device. She and her staff would lean in and listen carefully)
Me: "Moooooo........."
McCoy: "The operation was a success!"
Me: "Hooray! A successful operation!"
McCoy: "Nooooooooo!!"
Me: "Bwahahahaha!" (at which point I would flee in triumph). There were two things I loved about this game: 1) Fitting in the world, but still being just a bit off in terms of character and 2) Thinking myself very, very clever.

Pictionary

1990, Age 8

Being "the one who could draw," I had a natural affinity for Pictionary. Unfortunately, my artistic interpretations of things had a tendency to confuse the average adult, so having me as a partner was a double-edged sword. I think a commonly overlooked aspect of Pictionary is its incorporation of flailing, and other such kinesthetic expressions, to assist in the guessing. I noticed this the first time I played online Pictionary, when I couldn't encourage someone on the right track by waving my arms excitedly.