My dad had left his computer screen on while he went to grab something to drink after hours of playing some new game he had purchased at Fry’s. I climbed up onto his desk chair and began wiggling the mouse around, shocked that as I moved the mouse or pressed the keys, the character on screen would react. I found I could control the character with each press of a button, and there I was; nothing more than a wee child in complete awe at an interactive moving image.
Since that moment, my free time has almost revolved entirely around what new video games I could afford and get my virtual hands on.
Here are a few that have shaped my gaming history thus far.
Barbie Secret Agent (2001)- PC
Alright, you can laugh. But this was the first game that my dad ever purchased for me and I was obsessed with it. I think I got more playtime out of this single plot line game than I’ve gotten use out of pairs of socks. I mean, who doesn’t want to fly in a jumbo spy jet to a ball in Paris to help your designer friend track down her stolen fashion designs? Just me? Yeah right, okay.
One of my best memories from childhood actually comes from the “Easter egg” that my sister and I discovered within the game. It happened whilst taking Barbie through the streets of Tokyo and trying to avoid security guards working for the evil Camille Sasoon (whose alias is Chamelion- how cool is that?). Suddenly, Barbie’s bright pink floral shirt was partially covered by a black rectangular box. After smashing all the keys on the keyboard, we found that Barbie was randomly gifted a jet pack and could fly. After 4 hours on the same map, Barbie accidentally flew into a doorway which led to the next stage of the game. This, consequently, erased all evidence that Barbie had ever used a jet pack at all. I feel a sense of loss just thinking about it.