3-D World Runner

1989, Age 7

Most of the things that delighted me about this game were visual. The perspective of going into the world instead of sidescrolling was novel to me for a platformer, and I loved the idea of trying to reach what was depicted in the background (even though they never got closer).

I also felt an incredible sense of freedom with this game, which is interesting since you are constantly moving forward on a rail, so in actuality you are quite limited. It was a combination of the endless horizon and the fact that you could (seemingly) move to the sides to an infinite degree. It seems the game used every trick it could to create the illusion of freedom under its constraints, and it it did so very well!

I also remember thinking the 3-D in the title was referring to the fact that you were moving into z space, and also being baffled by the weird janky color mode which young-Lisa-logic assumed to be "night time mode." It turns out you could actually play this game with 3-D glasses, hm!

Once Upon a Time

2008, Age 26

My favorite card game EVER. The freedom of making up a story from scratch and using cards as a mere guide to one's imagination is quite joyful!

The trick is, you have to play with people who follow the improv rules. People who are more focused on the competitive part of this game than the cooperative one are no fun to play with.

Spyro the Dragon

1999, Age 17

A game where you get to play a purple dragon? Clearly, this series was marketed directly towards me. It worked, I set out and bought a Playstation soon after seeing a commercial for this game. I was not disappointed.

Spyro was the first 3D platformer I played, and thus I was mesmerized and delighted by the exploratory posibilities in the game. Finding that I could glide over to an entirely new area that I thought was merely decorative background often made me squeek with joy.