Most of us remember our 'first time' for every significant experience or particular moment in our lives, and gaming is no different. Yet, of all the great times we have with video games, none are as significant as those 'first times' we did things; the times when games surprised us by taking us places and letting us do things we'd never done before - or maybe didn't think was possible. A lot of these experiences may look pretty rudimentary by today's standards. The idea of freely running around a 3D-modelled game space is the norm today, but seriously, playing games across the last 30 years has been like embodying some intrepid explorer, machete'ing your way through an entire rainforest of awesome innovations that would go on to shape the industry as a whole. If you're a hardened veteran who's been gaming for decades, then it's easy to lose sight of how magical those first-time moments really were. So wipe away those cobwebs and reawaken that naive young gamer in you, as I take you through some of the greatest first-time moments in video game history.
10. Bob-Omb Battlefield In Super Mario 64
When you emerged for the very first time from that green pipe outside Peach's castle in Mario 64, you probably just bounded joyfully around the lush meadow for a good 15 minutes, unbelieving of just how liberating it all felt. Once you got comfortable with the 'wa, hoo-hoo,ya-hooo!' jumps, you headed into the castle, and jumped into the painting to head onto the Bob-Omb Battlefield. Entering this level for the first time was a revelation. You could just pick a direction to walk, and see where it took you. Those stars dotted around the level? You can collect them in any order you damn well please. Climb a mountain, shoot yourself from a cannon onto a floating island in the sky, whatever. Mario 64 offered freedom of the sort that you'd never have thought possible in a game of such technical quality, and Bob-Omb Battlefield was your first taste of it. Bob-Omb Battlefield opened gaming onto the third dimension, and until the medium somehow transcends the fourth dimension, there's really no topping it.